Various authors and studies have likened willpower to a muscle. They have explained that it must be repeatedly practiced before it becomes stronger and the new habit second nature

Thanks to COVID-19 it is looking like all the summer fun has been canceled this year. I was doing alright with the restrictions, after all farm life mostly keeps us at home

There are a few statistics that are thrown around in the ag community so often that most farmers know them off the top of their head

For farmers, working with family can be an awesome blessing or one of life’s greatest challenges

In the span of just over a week, my two oldest cows both passed away. Both developed conditions that sprang up and were treated meticulously — only to no avail

When I tell people that my favorite breed of dairy cow is the Brown Swiss, about 85% of the time they laugh, and then ask me why

Our wedding anniversary is in June, on Flag Day to be exact, and two of our children were born in June as well. I was even told by my husband, while in labor with our two youngest children, "This isn't...

Two months. It’s been just over two months since I made the bold step of quitting my full-time, steady, and equally rewarding job as a youth 4-H educator (which I loved, by the way)

My parents bought a farm that came with a house. The house ended up being a bit of a fixer-upper . . . I’m talking very little siding, negligible plumbing, and small animals in the walls

We know there are so many ways to enjoy the milk we produce — in a glass, on an ice cream cone, as a cup of yogurt, as sour cream on a burrito, or as cheese on just about anything

Summer is the time for cow shows. It’s time for training and spending a lot of time at the wash rack. This year looks different, and I know for many people every fair that’s canceled is a blow...

Dear Jacob, A decade ago I introduced you to the world with my first "Around the Kitchen Table" column

This time of year typically involves graduation parties and family BBQs to kick off summer. Flowers are in bloom, the grass is getting green, and the corn is growing in early June in the Midwest

When I was 2 years old, my parents both worked as herd managers on successful dairy farms in central New York, but then, everything changed

Food can carry quite a few labels these days. There’s grass-fed, organic, no antibiotics used, vegan, from cows not treated with rBST, clean . . . and probably at least a dozen others

You might be thinking that with COVID-19 stay-at-home rules in place and limits on how many people can gather, your annual National Dairy Month farm tour should be canceled, too

The concept of an agricultural spelling bee — Agribee — was started by a local Farm Bureau group in Northern California 16 years ago

The pandemic has dramatically changed life as we know it. Consumers now shop, eat, live, and work differently

Last summer I had the opportunity to tour agricultural enterprises in Scotland and Ireland as part of the international dairy judging tour

To say we are all trying to find a new normal would be an understatement. With schools closing and classrooms moving to distance learning, the biggest learning curve I think