As printed in our March 10, 2015 issue... MARGINS FELL to their lowest level since September 2013 as measured by the Milk-Feed-Price Ratio. January's 2.09 netted a $9.18 income-over-feed cost based on...
Automated calf feeding systems offer huge benefits but can also challenge management systems. Offering quicker gains, healthier calves and greater labor efficiencies, automated calf feeders have revolutionized...
As printed in our February 25, 2015 issue... CALIFORNIA'S THREE LARGEST CO-OPS submitted a proposal to create a Federal Milk Marketing Order that would supplant the existing state order. Groups have until...
As printed in our February 10, 2015 issue... A $17.04 ALL-MILK PRICE FOR 2015 was the latest projection by the University of Wisconsin's Bob Cropp. That would be $6.93 per cwt. lower than 2014. He further...
As printed in our January 25, 2015 issue... HALF OF ALL U.S. DAIRY PRODUCERS SIGNED UP for 2015 coverage in the new Margin Protection Program (MPP-Dairy). Of the 23,000 who enrolled, 12,000 bought up additional...
As printed in our January 10, 2015 issue... 2014 WENT INTO THE MILK-PRICE BOOKS as a record year with the first 11 months each posting watermarks for Class III prices. With an estimated $17.75 December...
Mastitis threatens your young ladies – and your bottom line – long before they reach the milking parlor. Heifer mastitis is real, it is costly, and dairy scientists say it is more common than...
As printed in our December 2014 issue... DECEMBER 19 SHOULD BE THE LAST opportunity for producers to sign up for the farm bill's Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy). Designed to protect milk...
A smaller than ever beef cattle herd has created higher prices in the grocery store, but another product in our every day lives is feeling the pinch, too: leather. Beef hide prices have more than quadrupled...
As printed in our November 2014 issue... A RECORD 11 MONTHS OF $23-PLUS per hundredweight All-Milk prices should be complete once November's final numbers have been calculated. Prices ranged from $23.20...
Americans' desire for organic food continues to grow, and the nation's largest grocer is responding. Retail giant Walmart recently announced plans to expand its organic selection in stores. Even further,...
As a parched postscript to a third straight year of drought, farmers in California's San Joaquin Valley who hold senior water rights are suing the state for deliveries they didn't receive in 2014, in hopes...
As printed in our October 25, 2014 issue... CLASS III PRICES POSTED A NEW RECORD in September notching $24.60 per hundredweight for milk headed to the cheese vat. Strong domestic and international demand...
Handy Hint: October 10, 2014 Keep water tank hose in place Our cows kept pulling the hose for our plate cooler out of the water tank. If we kept the end of the hose below the water surface, it would back...
As printed in our October 10, 2014 issue... BUTTER PRESSED AHEAD and notched new market highs at $3.06 per pound in late September trading on the CME. Cheese blocks sold for $2.28 on the spot market while...
With much talk surrounding our ability as agriculturalists to feed 9 billion people by the year 2050, a recent Washington Post article reminded us of another big food issue: food waste. The article highlighted...
As printed in our September 25, 2014 issue... DAIRY EXPORTS HAVE SPUTTERED as U.S. dairy product prices traded well above global levels, which has made exporting slightly more difficult. Since April, the...
As printed in our September 10, 2014 issue... SPOT BUTTER PRICES POSTED A NEW RECORD at $2.82-1/4 per pound in late August trading on the CME. That price topped the September 1998 record. Butter inventories...
As printed in our August 25, 2014 issue... RULES FOR THE NEW MILK PROGRAM passed in the latest farm bill should be released shortly after Labor Day. Dairy producers then will have 90 days (September to...
This year's ongoing national debate about minimum wage levels from state to state should remind everyone in the dairy industry that there is nothing minimum about how much workers on their farms typically...
