Connie Tipton and Jerry Kozak shared the stage at Dairy Forum as they discussed and at times debated dairy policy. Future dairy policy was a prevailing theme during presentations and in hallway dialogue...
The size of the turnout spoke volumes about interest in the subject material at the "Dairy Financing Conference" February 22 in Visalia, Calif. Over 120 people – dairy owners, bankers, co-op leaders,...
Most of the focus on 2011 U.S. planted acreage centers on corn acreage. There are a number of reasons for that focus, according to Darrel Good, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois....
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently ruled on the side of two Southeast Minnesota dairy farms who sued Northern States Power County, a division of Xcel Energy, over allegations that stray voltage killed...
We understand that in our roles at a magazine, the good news and the bad news is going to come our way. Unfortunately, it seems that in recent years the people who bring us much of the good news are facing...
Dr. Pam Ruegg talks about the implications of 400,000 cell count limits. Topics included somatic cell count, milk quality, udder health, federal regulations
Four million soil samples reveal fertility shifts Soil fertility rises and falls in response to crop removal rates. At the same time, nutrient surpluses raise soil test levels, while deficits draw them...
The triple combination of sedentary technology such as video games and the internet, reduced physical activity, and eating poor diets are just some of the contributing factors causing over one-third of...
Late last week, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) granted nonregulated status for alfalfa that has been genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide commercially known...
It must be a busy week for dairy meetings. The editorial staff of Hoard's Dairyman is spread thin this week with one editor attending the International Dairy Foods Association meetings in Miami, Fla.,...
As people get older, some believe that they have learned all they need to know and forego any further education, whether formal or informal. And with the hectic lives that dairy producers lead, many focus...
The demand for corn continues to grow due, in part, to the federal government's ethanol mandate and the world's growing population. As this occurs, corn growers are planting the crop on land that is not...
My father used to recite an old saying now and then, "What's good for the goose is good for the gander." What this phrase means is that what is good for the goose is good for everybody else. Recently,...
Except for a handful of states primarily in the West, hourly workers across the U.S. aren't in line to get raises this year. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 24 states set their minimum wage...
Late yesterday, National Milk announced that it was nearing its goal for the revised Cooperatives Working Together program that will focus exclusively on export assistance. The new CWT payment rate is...
Just yesterday, President Barack Obama signed into law the first major overhaul of U.S. food safety infrastructure since 1983. The bill, known as the American Food Safety Modernization Act or S. 510, comes...
As a new year begins, we wrap up the 125th anniversary celebration of Hoard's Dairyman. In our June 2010 issue, we chronicled how Hoard was instrumental in launching many endeavors far beyond his magazine....
What goes into a "next year's outlook" prediction? Paying attention all year long this year, talking regularly to producers, studying the economic horizon outside the industry, tracking trends, and decades...
In recent weeks, we've sadly heard of several barn collapses in the upper Midwest. Each of the barns that failed was bearing an extreme snow load due to an overly white Christmas we had in this part of...
Rollover protection systems (ROPS) save lives. When ROPS are used with seat belts, 99 percent of tractor drivers survive rollover accidents. And, even if the seat belt isn't worn, 70 percent of drivers...