As printed in our March 10, 2013 issue... JANUARY MILK ROSE 0.5 PERCENT nationwide over a year ago. Cows fell 17,000 (-0.2 percent) from last January. However, the national herd has grown three consecutive...
Grader makes great feed scraper We needed something to scrape up feed on our farm and had this three-point grader blade that we no longer used. We welded a short piece of angle iron onto our skidloader...
Safer calf hauler After seeing some great adaptations of chemical totes for calf haulers in the Handy Hints' section, we tried our own. Hoard's Dairyman Farm staff folded one section of plastic down and...
According to data just released by the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA), the number of Jerseys on Dairy Herd Information(DHI) test in 2012 rose for the ninth straight year and their actual average...
As printed in our February 25, 2013 issue... FOR THE 21ST STRAIGHT YEAR, cheese production posted a new record. It rose 2.5 percent (unadjusted for leap year) to 10.86 billion pounds. AT 244.8 MILLION...
As printed in our February 10, 2013 issue... YEARLY MILK FLOW TOPPED 200 BILLION POUNDS for the first time in the U.S. That represented a 2.1 percent or 4-billion-pound gain over 2011. DECEMBER OUTPUT...
Simple pipe protects water source I put a bent pipe around the waterer to protect it from the bull and tractor. It has saved the waterer many times already and costs almost nothing to manufacture
As printed in our January 25, 2013 issue... A FARM BILL EXTENSION was rolled into year-end fiscal cliff legislation. It extended three dairy programs until September 30: the Dairy Export Incentive (DEIP),...
Accelerated Genetics Scholarship Scholarships Youth are the foundation and next generation of agriculture. Accelerated Genetics is excited to present these scholarships to its customer's families to ensure...
Durable milk room port I installed a piece of 6-inch PVC pipe through the milk house wall, then added a cabinet handle to the 6-inch PVC cap. I have a long-lasting port that won't tear up the milk
As printed in our January 10, 2013 issue... CLASS III FUTURES REBOUNDED 20 cents from late November trading to average $18.58 for the first nine months of 2013. However, these contracts remain $2.35 lower...
Another milk price year is in the rear view mirror, so it's time to sort through the rubble and see what it says. First, Class III prices for the year averaged $17.44 per hundredweight
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack confirmed that he had accepted the challenge of continuing as Secretary of Agriculture for another term. With one change, the five people that have their hands full of farm...
Leg bands track weaning progress To keep track of our weaning calves' weaning process, we use red leg bands on the hutch gates. A red band on the top row indicates that the calf is weaning. After one week...
When all is said and done, the farm bill basically was extended for one year. That is because language to renew most of its old components was inserted into legislation passed on New Year's Day to avert...
Every event in life is a learning experience, even if what you learn is "I don't want to do that again." The same can be said of 2012. It was a year that flew by but still left many lessons for dairy producers....
2012 Webinars (Click on the webinar title to see the latest webinar) December 10: Consistent, efficient TMR feeding 3rd Place, AAEA webinar 2013 presented by Tom Oelberg Brought to you by Kuhn North America...
Every year, about this time, I spend extra effort developing my outlook for dairy. Every year a story unfolds about why milk prices are expected to move up or down, and the story usually derives from a...
Expensive corn and ever-increasing demand from China and other foreign buyers are expected to keep alfalfa hay from becoming cheap in the West in 2013, according to longtime market expert Seth Hoyt (pictured)
Springs keep buckets in place These rake springs keep our calf pails in the right spot. It's very simple to assemble. We just screw the spring into the stand for our calf buckets. Michael Kleinsasser
