by Corey Geiger, Managing Editor Even though the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding now calculates all U.S. genetic evaluations, it is clear USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) laboratory in Beltsville,...
I placed this quality class of Guernsey cows D A C B. D easily starts the class with her long, deep and wide frame and quality mammary system. D places over A with a longer, more snugly-attached fore udder....
Even though the body of scientific evidence backing GMOs is overwhelming, humans more easily relate to emotions, not facts. With the name "genetically modified organism" identifying the GMO moniker, all...
Many studies demonstrate that milk consumption improves health and lowers an individual's risk of chronic disease. For over 50 years, the concept of eating healthy has been synonymous with avoiding dietary...
Not everyone is a farmer, but a love for animals and people has drawn many to a career in agriculture. According to a recent survey, the agriculture industry is a pretty good place to make a living right...
"In the next 15 to 20 years, we are going to breed some amazing cows," said Bob Miller when asked how genomics will impact our industry. However, Miller believes we have yet to harness its full potential
In the decades ahead, climate change is expected to make heat stress an increasingly bigger problem for dairy cows everywhere. Breeding animals with more natural resistance is one way farmers will cope,...
Farm milk prices and margins were surprisingly strong this past winter. As we head into spring, prices may weaken, as they often do, as milk production marches toward its seasonal peak. Even so, prices...
China and India's practices leapfrog a generation Farmers in the world's two most populous countries are updating production practices at a rapid pace. Even so, this modernization effort isn't without...
April is National Grilled Cheese Month. Just the thought of warm melting cheese on hot buttered toast stimulates the taste buds. Delighted customers foster the continued consumption of dairy products....
"SNP chips are information powerhouses," says Tami Smith with Neogen Corporation. Smith addressed the audience at the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association's annual conference last week. A SNP (pronounced...
I recently read a report on "The Enough Movement" and thought I would share its findings. It addresses world hunger and looks at not only food quantity, but quality. Most often when we think of not having...
Reader Response: Genomics better, not perfect Good piece on genomics, "Genomic bulls still have inflated grades," in the March 24 Hoard's Dairyman Intel. It reminds me of the long-term study of Ben McDaniel,...
We don't have to look to a third-world country to find a hungry population. Hunger is here in our own backyards. With 49 million hungry people in the U.S., it is likely you are touched by food insecurity...
The family farm can beat the odds and survive with well-thought-out planning and sound execution. You may have never heard of the family business, Kongo Gumi, but it is in the Guinness Book of World Records
The author has a dairy nutrition consulting business, Paradox Nutrition, LLC, in West Chazy, N.Y. At one time, I was a big advocate of two dry cow groups: a far-off group (60 to 21 days before calving)...
In our interactions with dairy producers, especially those who study their dairy genetics closely, there have been fairly steady murmurs regarding somewhat exaggerated genetic evaluations among young genomic...
February and March have brought new reminders that nondairy events almost anywhere in the world can affect milk production costs on U.S. farms. The latest examples continue to bring new price volatility...
By 2023, U.S. milk output could reach a record 246 billion pounds, projected USDA economists. That would be a 22 percent expansion of milk supply when compared to the 201.2 billion pounds of milk produced...
