They produce the highest quality milk These farms pair preventative practices with effective mastitis treatment. The six Platinum winners in this year's National Dairy Quality Awards competition work closely...
Handy Hint: January 10, 2011 Wire stops for calf hutches We found that filling discarded 15-gallon soap containers with a little sand makes for great stops for calf hutches. They can easily be cleaned,...
What goes into a "next year's outlook" prediction? Paying attention all year long this year, talking regularly to producers, studying the economic horizon outside the industry, tracking trends, and decades...
Handy Hint: Jan 10, 2010 Colored Tape Marks Distance During the winter months, my employees are so bundled up that they have a hard time turning around inside the skid loader to see behind them. This led...
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...
Handy Hint: December 2010 Skid moves calves to heifer operation To help move calves across the road to their heifer operation, the Steve and Carl Ayers Family of Perryville, Ohio, designed this small calf...
For the first time in over two years, many western U.S. dairy herds began showing a small profit. While these positive numbers are a welcome sight for many dairy farmers, they fall way short of making...
Handy Hint: October 25, 2010 Neck rails that give A local builder created a neck rail that has some extra give to it. As shown in the photo, the rail is mounted above the feed aisle and equipped with a...
Handy Hint: October 10, 2010 Colored buckets identify calf sex We have finally found an easy way to identify the sex of our calves when they are in hutches. Heifer calves are given a pink water bucket,...
Welcome to 2010 Hoard's @ Expo! The staff at Hoard's Dairyman has prepared this section just for youwith pre-show stories, schedules, history, photos and our Hoard's @ Expo blog. We'll be posting new content...
Forty-four lots in the World Classic 2010 averaged $19,666. High seller was Lot 7 at $87,000, followed by Lot 6 at $60,000. Both were purchased by De-Su Holsteins in Iowa. Lot 7 was a June calf sired by...
USDA's forecast milk production for 2010 and 2011 was raised from last month in the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates released late last week. Producers continue to add cows to their herds,...
Handy Hint: Sept 25, 2010 Easy access four-wheeler battery Rather than replacing the hard-to-reach battery that's under the fender on our farm four-wheeler, we made our own battery bracket by welding angle...
Handy Hint: Jan 10, 2010 Recalibrated seeder saves time We decided to recalibrate our seeder so we wouldn't have to pour excess alfalfa seed into it. Additionally, we could ensure that we were getting...
2009 was an awful year for producer milk prices, but another good one for milk quality. According to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, average bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC) for...
How deep a financial hole did milk producers dig in 2009? It was "Lassie, go get help!" deep. It was a horribly serious situation whose magnitude was simply absurd. High feed costs and a collapse in milk...
The dairy breeding industry has had a boisterous 2010. Genomic predictions needed a course correction, and one was applied this past April. "Boisterous" is not the adjective that everyone involved would...
