The demand for corn continues to grow due, in part, to the federal government's ethanol mandate and the world's growing population. As this occurs, corn growers are planting the crop on land that is not...
Each winter, we start to receive this call, "Hey Doc, I have 10- to 14-day-old calves that are dying and nothing I treat them with works." When we visit the farm, we see thin, weak calves that are scouring,...
Most people would agree that dehorning cattle not only protects animals from each other, but it also protects employees who work with them. While dehorning, the process of removing horn buds from a calf,...
In recent weeks, we've sadly heard of several barn collapses in the upper Midwest. Each of the barns that failed was bearing an extreme snow load due to an overly white Christmas we had in this part of...
Rising corn prices mean higher feed bills for dairy producers, which is why a recent forecast about global oil demand points to the possibility of higher milk production costs in 2011. Connecting the dots...
Building a new barn may seem like a glamorous idea. Eventually, you may end up with a sparkly, beautiful new barn, but not until going through countless stressful decisions. What size will the stalls be?...
The holidays are usually spent with family and friends,sharing stories and reminiscing about recent activities. If you have a small holiday gathering with just those you work with, you will likely learn...
USDA just announced they are set to publish their 2,300-plus page Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the Federal Register, nearly four years after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer halted the sale...
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate approved (81 to 19) the big tax package that extends Bush-era tax rates and includes a number of other measures. One of those measures would extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise...
In order to get a better idea on how A.I. is used on farms, we developed a survey asking producers a variety of questions about it. The questionnaire was distributed by University of Wisconsin Extension...
Do you remember what it was like in 2008 . . . when corn and other feed costs were really high, but the milk price also was quite high? Well, I think that 2011 is going to feel a lot like that except without...
Years of repeated tillage and equipment traffic have left many farm soils compacted. In some cases, this compaction can cause water to pond and also lead to shallow root depths which limit crop yields....
When a cow's intake of energy does not meet her energy needs for maintenance and milk production, she begins to burn fat as an energy source. One common form of ketosis (Type I) occurs when a cow is in...
A major goal of corn silage making is to reduce oxygen and raise acidity rapidly so that lactic acid bacteria grow to stabilize and preserve or "pickle" the silage. Often, people believe that corn silage...
Bale silage a great option in wet climates. Mastering the fermentation cycle will lead to the best possible product for your herd. A group of farmers and livestock producers gathered at the historic Hereth...
Winter is here. . . and so is the cold and snow that can be harmful to those of us who work outdoors with livestock. "Bundle up, dress in layers, put on your hat" are familiar sounds to many children who...
World Ag Expo's first permanent exhibit building, the Dairy Center, turns 20 this year and has been upgraded for 2011 in two very exciting ways: The dirt floor is now concrete, and the one remaining wall...
Should you plant only one in an effort to feed corn silage of uniform quality each day, or should you plant several hybrids to reduce the impact of a single hybrid performing poorly? Since there's no standard...
