It's just a tiny trickle so far, but solar power projects are slowly beginning to pop up on Western dairies. The latest one to begin generating electricity for the power grid is a big one, more than 200...
Last weekend several members of the Hoard's Dairyman staff had the opportunity to attend and volunteer at Cows on the Concourse on the square surrounding Madison's capitol building. A dedicated group of...
California took over as the largest U.S. dairy state in 1994 and for the last nine years has made more milk than No. 2 and No. 3 combined. For over 40 years, it thrived by embracing a business philosophy...
Holstein Association USA recognizes the importance of identifying heritable, sometimes undesirable, unique genes in Holstein cattle, to provide breeders with the tools they need to make informed breeding...
Scott Nordstrom, D.V.M., has seen it happen over and over: He cuts the number of vaccinations calves receive and then watches them do better. "One of the first things people need to recognize is there...
If the large and attentive crowd that turned out in Visalia, Calif., on Tuesday to discuss the "Foundation for the Future" (FFTF) dairy policy proposal by National Milk Producers Federation reflected anything,...
A rainy season that arrived early, stayed long, and was unusually productive prompted California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday to declare an official end to the Golden State's three-year drought. Rainfall...
After completing the most comprehensive study on a genetically engineered (GE) crop in the nation's history, the organic community is still not satisfied with USDA's recent decision to make Roundup Ready...
Heifers are not only the most fertile group of females on your dairy, they generally represent the best genetics. Despite these positive attributes, too many dairies don't take full advantage...
Handy Hint: March 10, 2011 Cable prevents cows from getting caught in stalls After constructing their recent free stall barn, Jay and Amy Krahn of Brillion, Wis., advised their builder to include a cable...
Question: We have had two cases recently of what we initially thought were unusual milk fevers in first-calf heifers. One of them was three days in milk, and the other about seven. Both of the heifers...
TV newscasts and city newspaper articles dote on the idyllic image of small farms while deriding commercial agriculture, all the while blissfully ignorant about which group actually feeds America. But...
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently ruled on the side of two Southeast Minnesota dairy farms who sued Northern States Power County, a division of Xcel Energy, over allegations that stray voltage killed...
On day two of the World Ag Expo, we marveled at the booming attendance starting bright and early. We camped-out in one of the main parking lots and videoed visitors entering the grounds and parking their...
Each winter, we start to receive this call, "Hey Doc, I have 10- to 14-day-old calves that are dying and nothing I treat them with works." When we visit the farm, we see thin, weak calves that are scouring,...
Most people would agree that dehorning cattle not only protects animals from each other, but it also protects employees who work with them. While dehorning, the process of removing horn buds from a calf,...
Bill Ramsey speaks after being honored at the National Dairy Shrine's Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder. He has some valuable insight into his success and talks about the three important facets of his...
With a herd dispersal planed for spring 2011, Clark and Joy Vilter of Four Winds Farm, Hartland, Wis. captured the honor of Grand Champion Guernsey at World Dairy Expo 2010. The cow- Four Winds Mentor...
