In California's third year of historic drought, the price of water on the open market is being pushed to staggering levels that scream what a bargain farmers have enjoyed forever. It also raises the question...
Fifty years after its formation, the Red and White Dairy Cattle Association (RWDCA) returned to its roots by hosting its 2014 national convention in Elkhorn, Wis
It takes brains, dedication and determination to run a farm of any kind. It also costs money, and, in 2013, farmers spent even more than they did the year before. The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics...
The newest edition of Dairy Statistics Annual from the California Department of Food and Agriculture suggests that the Golden State's stunning milk growth days are over. According to the report: After...
What ration do your cows eat? The ration created on paper often differs from the one that is delivered, consumed and digested. Only when we deliver a consistent ration and cows consume it according to...
Beef prices remain at record highs, in part, because the U.S. has the smallest combined beef and dairy herd since 1951. While it's true there were only 87.7 million head of cattle on inventory this past...
Multiple component pricing has the potential to raise the value of producer milk in the pool. The magnitude of the increase will depend on the solids-nonfat and utilization of milk in manufacturing classes
The top 25 counties are now home to one-third of the nation's entire dairy herd. That compares to one-fifth of the cows just 20 years ago. With 489,436 cows in the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture,...
Can the United States and other countries meet their needs? A staggering picture of just how big China's demand for dairy products already is – and how much bigger it is expected to be in less than...
A common strategy for spending available dollars on the farm is investing it close to the milk parlor. Areas that tend to get the most attention are the ones that directly affect milk production such as...
It takes preventative strategies and early detection to keep cows walking comfortably on all four feet. Do lame cows get better on their own? According to Gerard Cramer, D.V.M, associate professor from...
It's sadly ironic to say that public frustration with California's epic drought is a fluid situation. Mandatory water use cutbacks, brown lawns, "water cops" who fine violators, rapidly drying reservoirs...
Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) has a long history of both use and disuse in the U.S. "Since commercial sales began in 1994, rBST has been given to approximately 35 million cows," noted Dale Bauman,...
Handy Hint: August 10, 2014 Makes great footing for cows I made this grooving bull float to create good traction on the concrete in our dry cow yard. I bought a 4-foot magnesium bull float for $90 and...
Flies become a nuisance in the summer, especially for our cattle. An unmanaged fly population can reduce milk production 10 to 30 percent and decreases feed efficiency
If one California is already too much for some people, would six be a nightmare? The idea of breaking the Golden State into several nuggets has been proposed hundreds of times since the 1850s, but has...
by Corey Geiger, Managing Editor "The future of dairy is data and managing that data." That insightful quote from Dan Bolin was just one of many thoughtful ideas shared by five young dairy producers at...
Before there was 4-H and FFA, there was the Hoard's Dairyman Juniors. In addition to launching the Young Dairyman page for farm youth in 1915, Hoard created the Juniors, which was the forerunner of the...
I have a response to two of the letters you received on cloned milk. 1) The letter writer opposed to clones tells us to trust him. "Reader Response: Disagree on milk from clones." Why should we? How is...
