Tick… tick… tick. Time is running out fast on what USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack (pictured here) thinks would be a Medusa-headed disaster for U.S. milk producers if a new farm bill is not passed...
It is a question that has prompted industry-wide information meetings in the past and it prompted another one last week in Tulare. Interest tends to surface during awful financial times, so it's no wonder...
The ninth Hoard's Dairyman webinar of 2012 featured Gordie Jones, a veterinarian and partner at Central Sands Dairy in central Wisconsin. The operation milks 4,000 head in a 72-cow rotary where cows are...
At the beginning of the year, forecasts indicated lower milk prices for the first half of the year but a nice recovery for the second half. So far milk prices have been lower . . . lower than many forecasted...
Over the years, nothing has repeatedly brought out the spirit of cooperation between dairy cooperatives like low milk prices and tough times. Adversarial attitudes arrive when times are good, but working...
May milk production refused to buck the trend set by the preceding months. When compared to May 2011, 2012's production was up 2.1 percent in the 23 major states. The milk production estimates are provided...
As a commodity price rally rolls over and a trend or cycle price high is identified, attention shifts to evaluating how low a price may fall. A number of sophisticated technical price analysis tools are...
Consumers say they hear the warnings about raw milk, but they don't care. A recent article in the San Jose Mercury News highlighted one of the head-shaking realities that the dairy industry is up against...
If the milk prices didn't already tell you, you should know that there's a lot of milk being produced in the U.S. today. Year-over-year, January through April have averaged 767,000 pounds more per month...
by Scott Brown The author is a research assistant professor in the department of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Missouri. The elimination of the Western federal milk order sheds...
Did your herd's average somatic cell count drop a little in 2011? Chances are it did, according to USDA and the National Dairy Herd Improvement Association. The annual report by the Animal Improvement...
Pennsylvania was the lone state among the top 23 that did not boost milk flow when this March was compared to the same time last year. The Keystone state's reduction was quite small, 0.6 percent. All other...
Milk production is beginning to outpace demand even though domestic and international consumption remains strong. As this takes place, milk prices could soften. For good or bad, basic economics remain...
A number of dairy processors have implemented or reconfirmed delivery constraints. U.S. milk production is heading up, up, and up with milk flow growing 2.5, 3.4, and 4.3 percent nationally in December,...
Those who support the legalized sales of raw milk do so with a zeal and passion that is rarely seen in our industry. Despite proponents' strong personal beliefs, science is not on their side. A study recently...
At the onset of lactation, metabolic adaption mechanisms for calcium are not rapid enough; cows need a day or two to maximize calcium flows from the intestinal tract and bone to the mammary gland
For back-to-back years, U.S. milk output rose by a remarkably uniform 1.8 percent. However, unlike 2010 when higher production gains fell solely on improved milk per cow, the nation's dairy herd expanded...
We've talked to quite a few Western dairy producers in the last four weeks, and what they've told us paints a picture that is filled with concern. Hay prices are still crazy. Widespread hopes that they...
Despite gains in milk per cow, component levels are climbing. It's good for manufacturers and bottlers alike. Without the fat, protein, and other solids, milk has little or no economic value. Today, more...
The twin combo of more milk per cow and a larger dairy herd pushed up milk production last year. When looking at the year-end statistics released by USDA, cow numbers went up 75,000-head or 0.8 percent...
