Just how much has our industry consolidated? It took only 11 counties to produce 25 percent of our nation's milk last year. By casting a slightly wider net, 55 counties were responsible for producing half...
Calves need more energy in cold weather just to stay alive. Welcome to November; it's officially "that time of year" again. Even if snow isn't a normal part of winters where you dairy, colder temperatures...
Over 55,000 are expected to converge on Louisville, Ky., this weekend. The National FFA Convention and Expo is a highlight for many FFA members. With nearly 580,000 FFA members in every state, along with...
A pair of Hoard's West articles titled "California's pricing system is killing its dairies" were the center of a discussion initiated by a longtime California dairy industry leader. In this man's opinion,...
Animal agriculture is sustainable and essential to feeding a growing world. Even after significant improvements in sustainability and contributions to society over the last several decades, animal agriculture...
Agriculture has made great strides in reducing nutrient movement from our farm fields even though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relentlessly aims for tighter standards. From our vantage point,...
As consolidation continues, producers who remain in business will need to develop a plan to handle the mounting economic pressures. While processors continue to consolidate, retailing is concentrating...
Latest price hike denial should be the final straw for producers.One of Albert Einstein's famous quotes is, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." It's a madness...
Intensive management nets an extra $35 per heifer, without considering the value of additional milk. Replacement heifers have long been viewed as a two-year economic sinkhole. "While heifer programs usually...
Fines totaled nearly $63 million. The remaining 22 countries were all under quota limits. by Corey Geiger, Hoard's Dairyman Managing Editor Since the 1980s, Europe has operated with a quota system to address...
If a trade pact between Canada and the European Union gains approval, our neighbors to the north would be subject to double the current cheese imports from Europe. The deal would be one small component...
An old dairy ration evaluation tool has a new trick. The Penn State Particle Separator (PSPS) received an update for 2013 in the form of a 0.16-inch (or 4 mm) screen. This new, smaller screen adds the...
Cross your fingers; continued profitability may be in the cards for dairy producers in 2014. At an outlook conference in Twin Falls, Idaho, last week, Daily Dairy Report editor Mary Ledman (seen here)...
Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Archives October 14, 2013: "The crop year's over ... now what?" presented by Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois Brought to you by Zinpro Performance Minerals (www.zinpro.com/dairy)...
Buy land, build a plant and start processing milk, right? Ha! Every state, county and city likes to claim it is "business friendly" in hopes of attracting new companies and the economy-sustaining jobs...
Innovation and choice must be allowed on farm or all hope is lost. In a changing tact from the 50-70-100 message he has spread since 2009, Elanco's Jeff Simmons has three new numbers for us to consider....
American cheese consumption remains at near-record pace, according to two data sets released by USDA. Last year, Americans ate an average of 33.5 pounds per person which is about one slice off of 2007's...
The Old West code is long gone; $5,000 fines are the new law. The Old West of cowboy lore is a distant thing of the past, yet plenty of critters are still being rustled on dairies, farms and ranches across...
As farms have grown in size, so has the equipment used in crop production. Field equipment is heavier, with the potential to cause more soil compaction at depths that make it difficult (in some cases impossible)...
