When summer arrives, we know how warm and uncomfortable we can become. We look forward to the shade of a big oak tree, a chance to have lunch in an air-conditioned home, or the feel of the breeze on our...
It may be an essential nutrient for growing crops, but phosphorus (P) can wreak havoc when it flows to noncropping areas like streams, rivers, and lakes. Once in waterways, it can lead to algal blooms....
It's just a tiny trickle so far, but solar power projects are slowly beginning to pop up on Western dairies. The latest one to begin generating electricity for the power grid is a big one, more than 200...
Last weekend several members of the Hoard's Dairyman staff had the opportunity to attend and volunteer at Cows on the Concourse on the square surrounding Madison's capitol building. A dedicated group of...
Ben Logan's The Land Remembers was originally published in 1975. He is now 90 years old and lives in Viroqua, Wis. Photo by Caroline Beckett used with permission of Itchy Cat Press. As a transplant to...
California took over as the largest U.S. dairy state in 1994 and for the last nine years has made more milk than No. 2 and No. 3 combined. For over 40 years, it thrived by embracing a business philosophy...
In recent years, it seems that more opinions have given credence to the notion that raising high-producing cows in freestall barns, storing manure in lagoons, and storing silage in bunkers are all better...
An anniversary only comes around once a year, and Hoard's Dairyman has celebrated plenty of them! This year marks the 126th anniversary of the publication. After great fanfare with our 125th anniversary...
Will the 2012 Farm Bill actually be written and passed in 2012? What will it look like? That was the focus of the discussion at the opening session of the National Dairy Producers Conference in Omaha,...
At the Environmental Protection Agency's AgSTAR (http://www.epa.gov/agstar/) conference this week, we will hear from experts on the latest and greatest things happening with anaerobic digesters. Yesterday,...
Longevity and milking persistency finally paid off for a Maryland cow on Wednesday, when the American Jersey Cattle Association named her the breed's Living Lifetime Production Leader for 2010. She had...
Delegates to the bi-annual National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments yesterday narrowly defeated a proposal to reduce the somatic cell count (SCC) legal limit from the current 750,000 cells per...
Only 13 percent of the nation's corn crop has been planted according to USDA's most recent Crop Progress released May 2. This year's cool, wet spring weather has limited farmers' ability to work fields...
We are all familiar with the daily routine on our own farms and maybe how dairy producers in other regions of the country operate their facilities, but a select few have ventured internationally to learn...
It may not seem like spring weather, but spring is here! That means it's time to clean, replace, and check on your equipment and facilities. David Bray at the University of Florida provided several items...
Have you ever been in the middle of a huge mess or fight with no exit door? But when you think about it, you're not exactly sure what got you into the chaos in the first place? For those of us in agriculture,...
Under ideal conditions, corn will emerge in 10 days or less after planting. But, the cool, wet weather throughout much of the Corn Belt during April has been anything but ideal. Given these cooler soil...
We are very familiar with the four H's: (head, heart, hands, and health) in the 4-H pledge. But now the "health for better living" holds even more meaning. According to recent findings from Tufts University,...
After reading research from their local University of Wisconsin-Extension agent based in Winnebago County, Pete and Charlie Knigge decided to give frost seeding red clover into winter wheat a try. Last...
Talking about the federal budget for FY (fiscal year) 2012, which runs from next October to September 2012, seems a little like getting the cart before the horse. After all, Congress still is trying to...
