Some good news came at year's end as Capitol Hill allowed two key ethanol subsidies to expire. That decision could have eased corn and soybean prices were it not for the 15.2-billion-gallon Renewable Fuel...
You can explain risk management and its potential benefits to milk producers all day long, but if they go away thinking it's too expensive or too complicated, then they probably won't try it. The dairy...
We were halfway through reproductive exams when Henry told me that they had sold a load of cull cows last week that averaged 1,900 pounds and that brought in over $1,100 each. At first, this seems very...
During IDFA's Tuesday morning session at Dairy Forum 2012, Rabobanks's Tim Hunt and Blimling and Associate's Phil Plourd discussed the topic of "Dairy Market Outlook" with nearly 800 conference attendees....
USDA projected a larger-than-expected U.S. corn and soybean crop in their year-end "Crop Production 2011 Summary" released early Thursday. Most market analysts had anticipated that final 2011 corn estimates...
One of the dairy industry's best-known personalities, Doug Maddox, passed away this morning in his office after a massive heart attack. A vibrant person until his last day, Doug had a personality that...
Since genomics burst onto the scene in 2008, the dairy genetics sector has been under constant flux. This seismic change brought on by genomics caused some leaders to investigate a new long-term approach...
With his unique background and story-telling ability, author Ed Janus does an exceptional job capturing Wisconsin's rise to a major dairy state. "How caring for cows saved our soil, created our landscape,...
For the first eight months of 2011, the average somatic cell count (SCC), for all months, has remained under 260,000. Traditionally, the highest SCC month is August. This year, August came in at 260,000
Management of the fresh cow during the first 21 days of lactation is a critical control point for maximizing health and productivity on all dairy farms. Identifying an off-feed fresh cow was a breeze when...
Brett Yerina, Johnstown, N.Y., won the coveted Klussendorf-MacKenzie Award presented during the 45th World Dairy Expo, in memory of Duncan McKenzie, 1961 Klussendorf winner. View the video of the Klussendorf-MacKenzie...
We drove through central and southern Illinois on the way to and from the joint American Association of Bovine Practitioners and National Mastitis Council meeting in St. Louis, Mo
While it's not June, it's always in season to promote dairy. The Young Dairy Leaders Institute began in 1994 with its first class of young leaders. Some class participants were dairy producers, while others...
The Daily Beast (www.thedailybeast.com), an online news site which merged with Newsweek this year, printed their list of the "20 Most Useless College Majors." Let's just say, we don't think they nailed...
Here's a quick dairy farming quiz: What three things do all dairies have a constant supply of? Some easy answers are cows, milk . . . and manure. All day and every day, manure never stops coming. The hard...
It contains the same nine essential nutrients for childhood development and growth; yet chocolate milk is swiftly being pulled from lunch menus. This fall, though, it is taking on an improved nutrition...
To get a better handle on hoof health, researchers at the University of California-Davis partnered with a hoof trimmer who exclusively trimmed feet at three California dairies. In all, 2,247 sire-identified...
With so much uncertainty in the world, the only constant is market volatility. The extreme swings will be too much for some producers to manage; those who prepare for this new world have the potential...
