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Blog
June 7 2013
A 20 percent drop in supply is predicted in 2013. A record corn crop and lower prices – keep your fingers crossed – are still forecast for 2013, but the same can't be said for whole cottonseed....
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Blog
June 3 2013
For the second straight year, California's cost to produce milk jumped over 10 percent. Nearly all the higher costs were due to higher feed prices. Rising feed costs were the root cause of the higher costs...
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Blog
May 29 2013
We aren't dealing with salmon or deer. It's much more difficult to get our cows pregnant. "If dairy cows were like salmon, it would be easy to get them bred. Salmon turn red before they ovulate. If dairy...
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Article
May 25 2013
In moving beyond the current government-sponsored dairy safety net, margin risk insurance would consider milk prices and feed costs. That combination would offer the greatest assistance when producers...
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Blog
May 24 2013
"C'mon Charlie Brown, I'll hold the football and you kick it." The latest installment of California's longest-running dairy soap opera, "We're Begging You For More Money," unfolded again this week. On...
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Blog
May 21 2013
With record-low hay stocks, many farms will need to stretch their forage supplies. by Abby Huibregtse, Hoard's Dairyman Associate Editor The USDA recently released estimates for hay in storage, and it's...
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Blog
May 20 2013
Among the 504 dairy farms in the Northeast Dairy Farm Summary, the net cost of production was $18.23, up 12 cents from 2011. The cost to produce 100 pounds of milk rose for the third straight year for...
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Blog
May 17 2013
Authorization is included in House Ag Committee's draft of 2013 Farm Bill. The emotional and growing revolt by California milk producers against what they say is their state's inadequate and unresponsive...
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Blog
May 15 2013
Heat stress during late gestation impacts not only cow health and production but calf performance and immunity, as well. As temperatures rise, so does the need for cow cooling. On some farms, milking...
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Blog
May 10 2013
Some are already gone. More will follow. The big question is, how many can be saved? The greatest milk-producing machine the U.S. dairy industry has ever seen is breaking down. Doomsday feed prices and...
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Article
May 10 2013
We need to revisit corn's nutrient needs
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Blog
May 10 2013
Does it still benefit farmers or does it discourage product investment and innovation? I don't have the answer, but because exports now account for more than 13 percent of all milk solids made in the U.S....
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Blog
May 8 2013
Producers have options for identifying ketotic cows, but some methods are better than others. Cows that do not adapt to the negative energy balance experienced after calving are candidates for developing...
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Blog
May 6 2013
Having a heifer enterprise won't make sense for every operation. Most dairies have three enterprises on-farm: cows, cropping and heifers. Within this subset, the cost of raising replacements also accounts...
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Blog
May 3 2013
State Assembly Ag Committee votes 6-0 in support of better parity with FMMO values. May Day was a good day for California dairy producers – and an unusually crowded one for members of the State...
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Blog
May 1 2013
Students write essays to connect farming with their food. This spring, Wisconsin's Ag in the Classroom program held an essay contest. Fourth and fifth grade students from across the state wrote one-page...
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Blog
April 30 2013
The drought has been hard on pastureland, so extra attention should be given to prepare paddocks for this growing season. The drought that affected much of the United States last summer will likely have...
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Blog
April 26 2013
In back-to-back days, dairy celebrated sustainability efforts already in action and renewed focus on future projects. In honoring herds milking 50 cows all the way to those with several thousand, the Innovation...
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Article
April 25 2013
California's pricing system is killing its dairies Some are already gone. More will follow. The big question is, how many can be saved? The greatest milk-producing machine the U.S. dairy industry has ever...
Blog
April 24 2013
Harris Poll finds consumers are skeptical and less willing to pay for "green" goods. It turns out that most U.S. consumers are smarter about food-buying choices than many people in agriculture may have...