Dry erase hutch map One of my jobs is to feed baby calves. I found this dry erase board handy to map calves in hutches. This system works very well when others need to feed calves if I am not available....
We attended the Illinois Agricultural Communications Symposium last week, organized in honor of the University of Illinois Ag Communications' 50-year anniversary. The daylong event started off with a...
As printed in our February 25, 2012 issue... CHEESE OUTPUT ROSE 1.7 PERCENT to 10.61 billion pounds in 2011. That marks 20 straight years that production has set new records. DECEMBER'S STRONG FINISH at...
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...
Mud, sun, warmth, cold, crowds, and fun were all part of the familiar mix at World Ag Expo last week in Tulare, Calif. But it's what was not there that was the show's biggest dairy story. If 2009 was...
Nationally, the breed set new production averages. Based on a record of 91,028 lactations, the Jersey breed set new category records for pounds of milk, fat, and protein. In 2011, the breed averaged 18,633...
Based on a record of 91,028 lactations, the Jersey breed set new category records for pounds of milk, fat, and protein. In 2011, the breed averaged 18,633 pounds of milk, 889 pounds of fat, and 676 pounds...
There's a 50-50 chance for a farm bill in 2012 Former Washington legislative staffers told those attending IDFA's Dairy Forum that we may see a new farm bill before the fall election. If not passed before...
Hip, hip hooray! Now let's do it again. Class III producer milk prices set an all-time record average of $18.37 per hundredweight in 2011. The old record was $18.04, set in 2007. Unfortunately, record...
Improved whey coverage We started feeding whey upon the recommendation of our nutritionist. After pumping whey into our TMR mixer and not getting good coverage of the feed, we added this 6-foot horizontal...
As printed in our February 10, 2012 issue... FDA BEGAN ENHANCED ANTIBIOTIC sampling in January. It plans to finish the project by mid-September. Officials expect to release a report by year's end, but...
No more spilled milk We took a 12- by 15-inch piece of plywood and cut four holes in to fit a 3-quart milk replacer bottle. Then we screwed a 12-inch 2 by 6 on both ends. Now the bottles don't tip
As printed in our January 25, 2012 issue... TWO ETHANOL SUBSIDIES EXPIRED at year's end. The 45-cent-per-gallon ethanol blenders' tax credit led to a $6 billion annual incentive to blend ethanol into gasoline,...
Costs may dip a little, but they'll still be painful for buyers. Alfalfa hay probably won't be as expensive in 2012 as it was a year ago, but don't look for anything close to a repeat of the low prices...
Quick-attach feed pusher At Boucher Family Farm, Highgate Center, Vt., Denis Boucher was looking for a way to push up feed using an existing skid-steer loader attachment. Using the bale fork, he made a...
As printed in our January 10, 2012 issue... TWO NEW CAFO RULES are proposed by the EPA. Proposal would step up reporting requirements for all CAFOs and ask for more information in watersheds with water...
For the 82nd Year, readers can test their dairy judging skills Dairy producers, youth, and allied industry have judged our cover cows in our January 10 to March 10 issues for over eight decades. Rotating...
2011 Webinars (Click on the webinar title to see the latest webinar) Jan 10: Living with today's corn costs and milk prices presented by Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois February 14: What lower cell...
Setting goals for your dairy can be done at any time, but take the time this New Year to write them down.Yesterday, I worked with high school students preparing their 2012 livestock project goals. The...
Electric String Winder To solve my problem of used string storage, I took old electrical wire reels and wound the string on them with a drill. I used a 1/2- by 6-inch bolt with a couple of nuts as
