It's the time of year when children dream. And there is no better time to "dream big" than Christmas. There seems to be less guilt about asking for things during the holidays as compared to other times...
Is the trend motivated by cost or convenience? Just about anyone could guess that health care, housing and transportation costs were higher in 2013. And they'd be right. Americans have cut back across...
Discussing policy and practices with consumers is all about talking with them, not at them. by Maggie Seiler, Hoard's Dairyman Editorial Intern As a nation, consumers are no longer interested in just the...
Simply guessing as to the cause is part of the problem. Death loss is a challenge to every producer. Minimizing early removals from the herd should be the goal, but it starts with an understanding of the...
"In the best-case scenario, we'll lose only 2 to 3 percent of our harvested forage tons to fermentation shrink," noted John Goeser, Rock River Laboratory, at the Penn State Dairy Nutrition Conference
Empire State has won nearly one-third of all national contests. After a second place finish in last year's contest, New York 4-H came back in full force in 2014. Not only did they win the team portion...
Spencer County FFA wins 5th National FFA Dairy Judging title in 10 years. When you say you've won the National FFA Dairy Judging Contest, you have done more than just judged cows. The two-day contest encompasses...
Holstein million-unit fraternity hits 50. Breeding and then marketing an elite bull is a tough undertaking, and only a few have been successful. Bulls need to appeal to a wide audience of producers, but...
Living and childrearing expenses continue to climb. Family living costs are up for urban and rural residents alike. In a survey of over 1,300 farm families, Illinois farmers reported that their cost of...
Meatless Monday is a global movement that began in 2003, encouraging consumers to refrain from eating meat on Mondays to better their health and save the environment
Limited pen space on-farm often ties our hands when we attempt to develop a grouping strategy. The options, such as separating cows based on stage of lactation, reproductive status or body condition, are...
First seek to understand, then act on the new farm bill's new dairy component. The recent Farm Bill eliminates the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) and replaces it with a Margin Protection Program (MPP-Dairy)....
"It's a no brainer," remarked Matt Nuckols, a registered Holstein breeder from Virginia and a panelist at the genomics seminar. Extra cattle value and the ability to make more informed herd decisions are...
Americans are drinking less fluid milk, but their taste for dairy is not waning. In fact, USDA data released last month shows that per capita consumption of dairy products has climbed from 539 pounds in...
World Classic Sale sale averages over $23,000 By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager The high selling animal at the World Classic 2014 was Lot 19, De-Su 1912-ET at $74,000. She is a Mountfield...
Holstein and Jerseys flip flop for Supreme. In the Junior Supreme Champion ceremony, the seven breed champions paraded under the spotlight in front of a packed Coliseum crowd. The bright lights stopped...
Youth showcase their cattle presentation skills. It was an amazing sight . . . hundreds of youth stayed late into the night on Thursday to compete in World Dairy Expo's showmanship contest. Youth were...
Attendees at World Dairy Expo were asked dairy-related questions to determine if they were "smarter than a Hoard's Dairyman editor." Associate editor, Amanda Smith, took part in the fun activity on Friday...
Cassy Krull talks about the World Dairy Expo experience. The Merle Howard Award was presented for the 10th time last year. The winner, Cassy Krull of Wisconsin took some time from her very busy Expo schedule...
Winning cow families and farm families rise to the top. The Junior Champion honors was a family affair, with siblings and cousins, Crystal, Jordan, Jake, Josh, Connor and Lauren Siemers of Wisconsin, taking...
