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Article
Sept. 8 2014
Our June 2 Hoard's Dairyman Intel, "Students are bankrolling public college" drew the largest reader response to date. There is good reason for the interaction. Tuition and other costs associated with...
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Article
Sept. 8 2014
Fall is in the air, and so is the reminder that day-to-night temperature swings are becoming more extreme. They pose a health threat to calves that makes it important to carefully reexamine the quality...
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Article
Sept. 8 2014
John Umhoefer of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) recently assembled the first-of-its kind list of the nation's top natural cheese processors. In making the list, the WCMA executive director...
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Blog
Sept. 3 2014
When times are tough, the ag family is one of the most supportive around. **Update on Reece and Hans: Hans had a successful second stem-cell transplant and is back home. He is doing well and is working...
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Article
Sept. 2 2014
Milk is not alone in losing market share. Soda and orange juice are some other long-time beverage giants that have fielded sputtering national sales totals in recent years. Domestic milk consumption fell...
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Blog
Aug. 27 2014
4-H members promote chocolate milk in winning presentation. Hand out the research, spend money on television ads and speak about healthy food choices, but there is something special about hearing the same...
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Blog
Aug. 26 2014
With strong milk prices, farms may wish to bring more cows in to help fill the bulk tank. Outlets for purchasing dairy cattle are plentiful, but so are the disease risks new animals can bring to your herd
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Article
Aug. 25 2014
Comparisons are often made between organic and conventionally managed dairy operations. Whether it's the nutritional value of milk or the health of the herd, efforts are made to tease out differences and...
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Article
Aug. 25 2014
Yes, there is a "price penalty" for dairying in California, as noted in the June 23 Hoard's Dairyman Intel "A price penalty for dairying in California." The current California system is the penalty. The...
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Article
Aug. 25 2014
This volatile business of milking cows has rewarded many of its caretakers with handsome returns. We always must remember this is a business demands a great deal of capital, planning, time and good old-fashioned...
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Blog
Aug. 25 2014
As we quickly approach harvest season, cornstalk nitrate testing may be something you want to consider adding to your regular fall routine
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Blog
Aug. 22 2014
Another round of expansion at Hilmar Cheese Company's processing facility in Dalhart, Texas, has been announced by the dairy farmer-owned firm. Two major expansions of the plant have already been done...
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Article
Aug. 18 2014
In California's third year of historic drought, the price of water on the open market is being pushed to staggering levels that scream what a bargain farmers have enjoyed forever. It also raises the question...
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Blog
Aug. 18 2014
Fifty years after its formation, the Red and White Dairy Cattle Association (RWDCA) returned to its roots by hosting its 2014 national convention in Elkhorn, Wis
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Article
Aug. 11 2014
It takes brains, dedication and determination to run a farm of any kind. It also costs money, and, in 2013, farmers spent even more than they did the year before. The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics...
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Article
Aug. 11 2014
The newest edition of Dairy Statistics Annual from the California Department of Food and Agriculture suggests that the Golden State's stunning milk growth days are over. According to the report: After...
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Article
Aug. 10 2014
What ration do your cows eat? The ration created on paper often differs from the one that is delivered, consumed and digested. Only when we deliver a consistent ration and cows consume it according to...
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Article
Aug. 10 2014
Beef prices remain at record highs, in part, because the U.S. has the smallest combined beef and dairy herd since 1951. While it's true there were only 87.7 million head of cattle on inventory this past...
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Article
Aug. 10 2014
Multiple component pricing has the potential to raise the value of producer milk in the pool. The magnitude of the increase will depend on the solids-nonfat and utilization of milk in manufacturing classes
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Article
Aug. 10 2014
The top 25 counties are now home to one-third of the nation's entire dairy herd. That compares to one-fifth of the cows just 20 years ago. With 489,436 cows in the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture,...