In some cases, averages can be misleading. That would certainly be true when looking at the average U.S. dairy herd size. These days, the average (mean) U.S. dairy herd has 144 milk cows. That total was...
A few weeks ago, one of our parish's Lenten living bulletin inserts raised concerns with an important part of our parish family, mainly those involved in agriculture. After hearing from a number of our...
Our little boy's passion made me realize the weight we carry as advocates and educators of our industry. Our local preschool class did a fun project this year where all the kids picked a topic and did...
Ration strategies for groups of dairy cows summarized. Maximize production, but don't waste resources. That sums up the art and science of formulating rations for milking groups. The challenge is that...
Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Archives April 11, 2016: Target rations for your milking groups presented by Bill Weiss, The Ohio State University Brought to you by: Kuhn North America (www.KuhnNorthAmerica.com)...
Living in a rural community is no guarantee that your neighbors understand farming and where food comes from.When you're engaged to a large animal veterinarian and your job is tracking and responding to...
While the breed-changing demand involves chickens, it does illustrate the changing tide among retailers and consumers alike. It also puts recent dairy controversies such as tail docking into clearer perspective....
Hand-scoring and double-checks is still the most efficient for us. The Cow Judging Contest has been part of the Hoard's Dairyman brand for 86 years. Images of the cows were originally printed in just black...
"The New Rotisserie-Style Chicken: Raised Without Antibiotics." That headline is proudly displayed at Subway restaurants across the country and is front and center of the restaurant chain's website. The...
Our actions need to speak louder than words when working with livestock. Cows may not speak like we do, but that does not mean that we cannot communicate with them. We must simply interact in ways they...
Check that dipstick. Or more likely, check that milk house floor and make adjustments to the pedestals on the bulk tank to ensure that milk weights are accurate. That's one message gleaned from an ongoing...
by Maggie Seiler, Associate Editor The USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) orchestrated the sale of more than 300 U.S. heifers to Pakistani commercial and research farms, reopening that export market...
Don't look now, but Michigan's dairy industry is on a roll. Surprise, California's is not. California is still the largest U.S. dairy state for both cows and milk, and by a wide margin, but not much is...
Vitamin D is essential for human health, but very few foods contain it naturally. How, then, do we make sure we consume enough on a daily basis? Thankfully, through fortification, this critical nutrient...
Significant scientific evidence that does not support benefits often associated with tail docking. by Brandon Treichler, D.V.M. The author wishes to thank Gatz Riddell, D.V.M.; Fred Gingrich, D.V.M.; Dave...
I'm not disagreeing with the findings of the study highlighted in the article "Minnesota's dairy sector at a crossroads," but I think they left a lot of important information out of the study
Business owners, including dairymen, felt the pinch when an estimated 20,000 people converged on Wisconsin's state Capitol last Thursday, February 18 during the "A Day Without Latinos" rally. Attendees...
Major renovations will be made to the Oklahoma State University Dairy thanks to a generous gift from a former student. Who would have thought that a love story from years past would lead to new state-of-the-art...
Outside perspectives can benefit your herd in many ways. We recently took my nephew Michael out to our family's dairy barn for the first time. At just under four months of age, Michael couldn't say what...
