A third year of drought with no end in sight, household wells going dry, and suburban water shortages are turning public sentiment against farmers in the country's biggest agricultural state. Hot and dry...
"There is no doubt the California drought is adding cost to buying feed," Robert Chesler told those attending the 11th annual INTL FCStone Dairy Outlook Conference. "However, first-cutting alfalfa had...
On Tuesday, June 24, a team of three American Guernsey Association personnel made a visit to the Hoard's Dairyman Farm to evaluate Rolling Prairie Bella Blue. The special trip occurred because Guernsey...
On Tuesday, June 24, a team of three American Guernsey Association personnel made a visit to the Hoard's Dairyman Farm to evaluate Rolling Prairie Bella Blue. The special trip occurred because Guernsey...
There are disadvantages to dairying in California, not the least of which is Class 4b (cheese) milk prices that are consistently less than Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Class III prices. It's a disadvantage...
Handy Hint: June 2014 Quick and easy calf ID When our primary calf feeder had time off, we sometimes got behind on tagging calves. We came to the solution of using plastic tags and dry erase markers that...
Across the industry, there is one struggle upon which we can unite. Regardless of your chosen production method or location in the country, margins have been tight as of late
Less food, less jobs and $1.7 billion in agricultural losses are preliminary projections of the damage that will be done by the epic ongoing drought in the nation's largest agricultural state, according...
For a good part of my childhood and most of my high school and college years, I have been the employee at my parents' 150-cow dairy in Valley Center, Kan. Like most farm children, I headed up calf care
Dairy farmers in the nation's top milk producing state saw minor relief in their production costs last year. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, it cost California dairy producers...
While the 2001 National Research Council (NRC) has been an ally of nutritionists for years, Bill Weiss' research and experience have proven that some of the minimum levels set in the NRC guidelines are...
Brazil's second confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was announced last week by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The animal, a 12-year-old beef cow that was born and...
When it rained, it didn't pour in California last year. As a result, the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) has officially declared 2013 the driest year since records began being kept in 1895
Milk fever impacts fresh cow health, production, reproduction and immune function. As our cows transition into lactation, their calcium requirements elevate two to three-fold over their dry period needs....
I won't be Chicken Little and shout, "the sky is falling!" but California's agricultural horizon is definitely a long way from being filled with sunshine and butterflies
When combined with the five slip-ups below, fluctuating temperatures and wet spring conditions can often lead to an uptick in the rate of scours and respiratory illness we see on farm, noted Sam Leadley...
Results have been announced for an auction held recently in Bakersfield, Calif., for surplus water supplies held by a small water district. The average price per acre-foot was eye-opening, and could affect...
Facing mounting resource pressure, can California dairymen rise to the challenge, or will they continue to disappear? Kansas already requires dairies that pump more than 15 acre-feet of water to put meters...
We've been indoctrinated with the five C's to give calves their best possible start. Colostrum tops this list, followed by calories, cleanliness, comfort and consistency. Despite the order we've all been...
Calves with maintained health and growth as young animals will deliver greater performance and value as cows. Industry research shows this, but often the most valuable insights come from dairy producers...
