As summer comes to a close, so does the end of an internship. Just like every good book, the story must come to an end. My story was only 12 chapters long, one for each week during my internship here at...
Handy Hint: August 10, 2016 Keep New Calves Close By We only have one calving pen on our farm, so sometimes we have to calve a cow in her stall. We purchased a small 40-gallon water tank that works perfectly...
Members of the Hoard's Dairyman staff spent a day on farms to stay in touch with the magazine's roots. By The Hoard's Dairyman editorial team has a long standing tradition of being actively involved in...
We can critique ideas constructively without resorting to rudeness or insults. After all, it's vigorous discussion that built America . . . whether it is a discussion about the Presidential election or...
Feeding consistency is difficult with robots. Automated milking systems come with advantages that include customization of both milking schedules and feeding of concentrates based on individual cows' requirements....
Agriculture's bridge to worldwide customers. It ranks among the least-discussed divisions of USDA. However, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has one of agriculture's tallest tasks by linking U.S....
Farm wages climb with no end in sight. Labor cost is an important factor in determining dairy farm profitability. In general, it accounts for about 15 percent of total expenses for a typical dairy enterprise
Sorting behavior starts with calves. Cows are creatures of habit, and as science is showing, the formation of their behavioral tendencies begins early in their lives. According to Emily Miller-Cushon,...
Dairy manure needs legal clarity. Last year an eastern Washington Federal Judge found that storage and application of dairy manure in ways that may lead to leaching of nitrates to groundwater constituted...
Dairy doesn't bait kids with bright colors. Bright colors attract the attention of children. That's why we see brightly colored toys, vibrantly illustrated books, and vividly animated movies. The same...
Reader Response: Nondairy drives convenience A few years ago, I did a survey of drink products at common shopping centers and convenience stores and came to the conclusion that less than 8 percent of total...
Which country tops the beef export charts? Since the turn of the century, India's beef exports have expanded rapidly. With that growth, the South Asian country surpassed Brazil to become the world's largest...
Consider everything to lower cell count. "Whenever you lose interest in being better at something, chances are you have already stopped being good at it," challenged milk quality specialist Andrew Johnson,...
One Michigan dairyman took a unique approach at romance. You know you're a dairy farmer when . . . You propose to your girlfriend using cow manure. It may sound like a joke you would hear from a Jeff Foxworthy...
This isn't just my work; it's my passion. I recently saw a quote that really struck me and made me think about how lucky we are in the dairy industry. The things you are passionate about are not random,...
Reader Response: Mature cows are profitable I found this short article, "Older cows digest feed better," in the July 5, 2016, Intel, to be very revealing. Many of us involved in dairy cattle genetics have...
Reader Response: Comments on "Brexit" News publications such as Hoard's Dairyman can only print what they know to be true at press deadline. By now we all know that the reaction to "Brexit" was short-term...
What is the national cull rate? Cull rates are one of the bellwethers of herd health. However, herd health and dairy cow removal aren't the only factor that drives cull rates . . . the inventory of herd...
Could vegan cheese be the next nut juice? by Corey Geiger, Managing Editor Since 2010, sales of nondairy alternatives such as almond and soy beverages have surged 54 percent, reported Bloomberg's editors...
