It takes brains, dedication and determination to run a farm of any kind. It also costs money, and, in 2013, farmers spent even more than they did the year before. The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics...
Since the Net Merit (NM$) index was developed 20 years ago, it has undergone five revisions as new traits have been added and the relative emphasis on these traits is reevaluated. As an index for commercial...
In the hand-to-hand combat of the morning breakfast routine, speed and convenience has landed another blow against the antiquated sit-down meal. Consumption of a bowl of cereal that was once considered...
The well-publicized rift between Russia and the European Union, the U.S. and Canada over the battle between the Ukraine and Russia could end up hurting U.S. dairy producers. However, the potential market...
The newest edition of Dairy Statistics Annual from the California Department of Food and Agriculture suggests that the Golden State's stunning milk growth days are over. According to the report: After...
What ration do your cows eat? The ration created on paper often differs from the one that is delivered, consumed and digested. Only when we deliver a consistent ration and cows consume it according to...
Beef prices remain at record highs, in part, because the U.S. has the smallest combined beef and dairy herd since 1951. While it's true there were only 87.7 million head of cattle on inventory this past...
Multiple component pricing has the potential to raise the value of producer milk in the pool. The magnitude of the increase will depend on the solids-nonfat and utilization of milk in manufacturing classes
The top 25 counties are now home to one-third of the nation's entire dairy herd. That compares to one-fifth of the cows just 20 years ago. With 489,436 cows in the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture,...
The National Holstein Convention Panel in Dubuque, Iowa (L to R): Brent Schuler, Diesel Hitt, John Meyer, Jeff Brantmeier, Dan Bolin and Ashley Abbott. by Corey Geiger, Managing Editor "Have a vision for...
It's sadly ironic to say that public frustration with California's epic drought is a fluid situation. Mandatory water use cutbacks, brown lawns, "water cops" who fine violators, rapidly drying reservoirs...
Today, more than 15 percent of domestic milk production on a milk solids basis is being exported, and that proportion only looks to go up. The OECD-FAO 2013-2022 Agricultural Outlook report anticipates...
Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) has a long history of both use and disuse in the U.S. "Since commercial sales began in 1994, rBST has been given to approximately 35 million cows," noted Dale Bauman,...
At $1,970 each, replacement prices have shot up $530 on average since the first of the year, according to data published in USDA's Agricultural Prices. That is the highest value since July of 2008 when...
Handy Hint: August 10, 2014 Makes great footing for cows I made this grooving bull float to create good traction on the concrete in our dry cow yard. I bought a 4-foot magnesium bull float for $90 and...
As printed in our August 10, 2014 issue... CANADA'S AGROPUR HAS EXPANDED RAPIDLY as it entered into three different business agreements this past July. The largest deal would have Agropur, Canada's largest...
Reader Response: Ignored bad butter advice In response to: Hoard's Dairyman Intel item, "Time does about face on butter." I was born on a dairy farm in 1930, in Pennsylvania, and we always drank lots of...
Once the Margin Protection Plan - the milk insurance coverage passed in the latest farm bill - and its associated rules are formally announced later this summer, some dairy farmers will have to make some...
If one California is already too much for some people, would six be a nightmare? The idea of breaking the Golden State into several nuggets has been proposed hundreds of times since the 1850s, but has...
A recently published study on greenhouse gas emissions produced by livestock is placing the blame on the beef industry. The work of scientist Gidon Eshel from Bard College in New York was released last...
