With two years of planning and touring robotic farms under our belts, it is now time to break ground on the next phase for our family farm

First thing tomorrow morning I have to milk the cows, but I also cannot forget about the fresh heifer, I have to make sure the calves are fed, and then I need to hurry back to get the kids on the bus

We are learning more and more all the time about how the amount of milk we feed a calf can affect future production

Calving is one of the most stressful events a dairy cow will experience during a production cycle. During this time, the cow must be able to cope with a painful labor along with changes in its environment

Growing up on a dairy farm, I was never treated like the girl. I was given all the same opportunities as my brothers, and it was up to me to take them

$1,320. That’s the price quoted for dairy herd replacements by USDA in its April 2018 Agricultural Prices

According to Ohio State’s Bill Weiss, error can sidetrack even the best of rations

Fred and Ethel are the newest and most consistent employees at Jones Farms in Stevinson, Calif. They never miss a milking shift and they follow every protocol with every cow

It’s been estimated that 2 percent of America’s cows are now milked with robots. That number climbs to nearly 15 percent when looking north of the border

Cow C excels over the rest of the class with more bloom and width of udder, capacity of rib, and a correct, steep foot angle in this class that I placed C-D-A-B

I place this class of Brown Swiss cows D-B-C-A. For me, D is the most balanced cow in the class and shows the best overall dairy quality among any individual in the class

I place this class of Guernsey cows B-D-A-C. In a very close placing, B places over D for the advantage in the udder

In placing this class of Holstein cows D-C-A-B, Cow D wins on her balance of frame, width of chest, dairy strength, and symmetry to the udder

I place this class of Jerseys A-C-B-D. A makes her way to the top using her advantage in udder attachments and bloom of udder

Winter grains, primarily winter triticale or winter rye, are growing in popularity. With management backed by research, yields have moved from 1.5 to 2 tons of dry matter

As those of us in dairy circles continue to hope for a recovery, the rest of the economy keeps growing

Growing up on my family’s dairy farm, more than once I had the opportunity to give a slippery, wet newborn calf its very first meal

“There’s a new calf killer in town” was the title of the April 2018 Hoard’s Dairyman webinar

The raised without antibiotics (RWA) program has gained steam in consumer circles

At $2.61 per pound, butterfat prices climbed 13 percent last year to post a record high in the Northeast Federal Milk Market Order