Locomotion scoring can help detect lame cows and gauge overall herd health. When it's not a problem, foot and leg health is something that flies under the radar on a many dairies, but soggy spring conditions...
Record milk prices in 2014 spurred positive financial health. As a result, the average U.S. dairy farm saw its equity position grow to $2.21 million by the end of 2014, reported the USDA in its Agricultural...
California is the nation's top exporter. One day each week, every U.S. cow produces milk destined for a consumer outside of America's borders. While that statement is accurate, cows in California are working...
Americans do not consume enough of four primary nutrients. Dairy delivers three of those four dietary needs - calcium, potassium and vitamin D. The final version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans...
Editorial: Dietary Guidelines Reaffirm Dairy Dairy products bring a host of healthy attributes to American diets. That is why the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, along with USDA, reconfirmed...
Bank's outlook: "The sky is falling!" As I write this on January 20, the stock market has dumped 550 points before lunchtime. That's on top of the 1,409 that had already gone poof this month. Happy New...
Handy Hint: February 10, 2016 Get little helpers ready for barn chores For most farm moms, the worst part of taking little ones out to the barn is getting them ready. It can take half as long as chores...
Young calves demand much care and patience. My two siblings and I grew up showing Holsteins, and from the time I was pretty young, I seemed to be the one who always ended up showing the flighty animals....
Taking the plunge and investing in precision technology like activity and rumination monitors is a big decision. The return on investment is dependent on how a producer uses this new wealth of information...
"Price recovery will likely come in 2016, but it still could be some way off," said Kevin Bellamy, a global dairy strategist with Rabobank, eluding that a milk price recovery could happen in the fourth...
Jim Baird, gifted Hoard's Dairyman Art Director, passes on We would consider ourselves lucky to be really good at one thing – something that truly symbolized the essence of our being. But to be...
"On one side of the tale, East Coast and Michigan markets were dumping milk last year because of excess production and limited plant capacity," said Mark Stephenson at the Wisconsin Agricultural Economic...
There are real benefits for herds that can achieve a 25 percent pregnancy rate. One common goal all dairy producers share is getting cows bred in a timely fashion. What is a realistic target for which...
Minnesota's dairy sector at a crossroads. A reduction in overall milk production; nearly maxed out cheese plant capacity; and sluggish demand for soft products are among the factors that have conspired...
Goliath's dairy toll will last all year After the blizzard, Carlos Arias, who works at the Clovis, N.M., Municipal Airport, took this self-portrait standing on a snowdrift against one of the hangers -...
"Animal signals . . . Really?" Resources Resources from Animal signals . . . Really? from page 30 of the January 10, 2016 issue of Hoard's Dairyman. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/signal Rendall,...
California's dairy industry highlighted during annual event. It was the first time in the 127 year-history of the Rose Parade, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) had a float entry. The organization...
What is "normal" anymore? The start of each new year brings uncertainty about what lies ahead. Like being in front of cows or behind them, how things look depends upon your perspective. For dairy producers,...
Is this California's Dust Bowl? "Drought is not uncommon in California - it happens every summer," noted Thomas Harter when discussing California's past four years of drought. But California is in the...
All plastics aren't created equal by Amanda Smith, Associate Editor Plastic covers are a convenient and effective method to help preserve our silage piles. When silos are not promptly sealed, fewer sugars...
