Judges not only evaluate cattle, they are communicators. You had success in judging contests as a youth. Now, you'd like to move onto the next level and judge dairy shows. What should you know? I spoke...
DHIA milk sample-based method is 91 percent accurate identifying herd prevalence. Next to mastitis, perhaps no subclinical health problem is as common, as unseen (if not outright ignored) or as costly...
Hints to help you save time and computer space. Ah, a clean desk. No piles of brochures and papers surrounding your computer. Few farm offices can claim a pristine desk appearance much less a decluttered...
"I'm fine." How many times have family members commented when a loved one looks under the weather and got that response? I venture a lot if you deal with farmers. They are the "no excuses, gotta get work...
Meat is a diet staple for many Americans, yet some parts of the country tend to be more meaty than others. In a nonscientific study, cable news channel CNN created a list of the top 12 meatiest cities...
Prevent problems before they cause early culling. Mike Hutjens presented "Feeding cows for transition success" during the January Hoard's Dairyman webinar. He shared 10 Key Performance Indicators (KPI)....
"One of the most important events on a dairy is calving," said Mark Thomas, D.V.M., a New York veterinarian and consultant with Dairy Health and Management Services, LLC
Print or digital, it's the same contest . . . with the same cows . . . and the same judges. The only difference . . . You can view the five classes and enter electronically. For 85 years the Hoard's Dairyman...
On NFL draft night, the team with the worst record picks first. They are, in theory, in need of the best talent. It used to surprise me that the most touted college players, like Heisman Trophy finalists,...
Keeping teats soft and healthy is the goal of every producer, but becomes more challenging during winter's cold temperatures. Leo Timms, Iowa State University, discussed this topic during the Hoard's...
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...
An early winter snowstorm dumped up to 7 feet of snow in parts of western New York, shutting down highways and stranding thousands. For farmers, feed delivery was halted and milk that could not be picked...
Haste makes waste. An idiom that's long been applied to children completing their household chores is just as relevant to our corn silage harvest and storage. Occasionally, in the haste to stay ahead of...
Virtually no one doubts that U.S. farm milk prices will be lower in 2015. While many different predictions are out there, the only debate is about how far they may fall
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...
