In a perfect agriculture world, farms would pass seamlessly from one generation to the next

Animal care is often the most recognizable aspect of Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM), but another important evaluation area is a newer program in the organization: environmental stewardship

Recently, I attended one of the many webinars available these days. By the end of the presentation, the speaker mentioned that the debt at a dairy can sometimes escalate to $12,500 per cow

To move the newborn calves to the calf barn, I built this wagon. I used an old wagon and welded four corner posts to it

There are about 100 organisms that can cause infections in the udders of dairy cows. Selecting the best path of management for an individual case of mastitis starts with knowing what type of bacteria

Coming out of graduate school over a decade ago, I had sound academic training from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I needed a few years of experience in the fields and agriculture industry to begin...

More than 70 years ago, Robert and Dottie Jacquier started Laurelbrook Farm with just 18 cows and nothing to their name

By planning early for succession, farm owners have the chance to minimize debt, put plans in place in case of an unexpected death or accident, and pass on the knowledge necessary so the next generation...

For me, social media and blogging has been both a blessing and a struggle. To be honest, sometimes lately it’s more of the latter

In the debate for President-elect Joe Biden’s secretary of agriculture, many names were reported and discussed, but a familiar one emerged as the top choice: Tom Vilsack, who served as USDA Secretary...

Raising heifers economically isn’t just about feed prices, as herd management practices can make a big impact on the bottom line

As the wild ride that has been 2020 comes to a close, dairy economists have their eyes directed toward what’s in store for 2021

It’s almost time to ring in the new year. Now is the time that farmers need to be collecting, tracking, and using information to prepare for the end of 2020

Recently, I was lecturing about the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program in my dairy enterprise management class when a student asked how farmers can obtain their own feed costs in a simple and fast way

The 2020 election has been historic in a number of ways, and that includes agriculture

“The industry, on the demand side, cannot be firing on all cylinders as long as food service continues to be impacted by the pandemic,” said Peter Vitaliano

I’m writing this through tears of anger, frustration, disbelief, and exhaustion. I am so tired of being a farmer

“If you look around your farm . . . what sort of things do I want to hide from the public? What’s not going on the packaging on the milk container at the grocery store?”

Dairy farmers have become accustomed to operating in an environment of “reasonable uncertainty.” However, the COVID-19 crisis has made 2020 prices especially volatile for the industry

My view today is filled with rain, snow, sleet, and lots of fog (because that’s Midwest weather for you)