Antibiotics play a critical role in fighting bacterial infections in animals on our farms. Of course, many of these same medications also restore human health, and that is one of the reasons why certa

“Efficiency is where it’s at right now. We’ve got to make sure every dollar invested in feed works for us,” said Steve Martin, a nutritionist who works with dairy farms across the...

The alfalfa price figure used to determine Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) feed costs was amended in the final rule released late last year. What was once calculated as the average of high quality and ave

In many ways, the inflationary society we have been living and running our businesses in for more than a year now is a wakeup call. One of the shocks has been the climbing cost of borrowing money as t

Over the past 12 months, 18.2% of U.S. dairy exports have gone to China. The world’s most populated nation is the second-largest destination for U.S. dairy after Mexico, which absorbed about 22.8%...

What have two banking experts learned through decades of helping farm families transition their businesses?“You can’t start soon enough,” was one piece of advice Brad Guse offered during...

Inflation. Interest rates. Recession.Those are among the many elements that business and government leaders are trying to balance to keep the economy moving forward. Earlier this week, the U.S. Labor

Through the rain and weather, we have been working to keep our cows healthy this winter

For businesses such as farms to remain healthy, they must be resilient. This means having the ability to adapt to changing circumstances in a way that keeps the operation running smoothly and profitab

Dairy helps us make our favorite cookies, desserts, drinks, and more during this special time of year

Staphylococci are the most prevalent bacteria isolated from bovine mammary secretions. In the past, we would call them CNS, as in coagulase-negative Staphylococci. However, another classification sche

Butterfat composition in the national bulk tank has been on a meteoric rise over the past decade. Before that, according to USDA data, butterfat levels held in a tight window of 3.65% to 3.69% from 19

For both crops and animals, timing often means everything on a farm. Following the appropriate timeline can be the difference between a healthy outcome and one that fails. On the cow side, that means

Feeding prepartum diets with a negative dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) to close-up dry cows is a practice used frequently to reduce the risk of hypocalcemia postpartum. The DCAD is determined

There have been a lot of discussions this year about possible changes to the milk pricing system with dairy cooperatives within the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) aligning on a set of propo

On Tuesday, December 6, nearly 79 million dairy animals will receive updated U.S. genetic evaluations – commonly called “proofs.” The Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) delivers...

At $3.3720 per pound, the five-month run that saw the federal order butterfat price set new monthly records from June to October ended in November 2022 milk checks. However, the November $3.3720 per p

Social media makes it hard not to compare our lives to others, but we can be proud of them and ourselves at the same time

Forage production trends and forage markets are very regional, depending on what’s being grown, how it is being used, and local inventories. Still, the average alfalfa price for 2022 was a record...