Facing the Coliseum and keeping watch over all things Expo, the newest feature of the Alliant Energy Center marks the beginning of the next 50 years. A granite cow now stands in front of the New Holland...

Grand Champion, International Junior Holstein Show It was a pair of Gillette Windhammer daughters that reigned as the Intermediate Champions

With additional divisions, the youth fitting contest grew in 2016. This contest is the first competition of the week, being held on Sunday morning on the Expo grounds

Minnesota 4-H Dairy Judging Team 2016 Just two points separated the top two teams in the 2016 Lely National 4-H Dairy Cattle Judging Contest

Rachel Ekkel Leading the field in three breeds and placing second in a fourth breed was enough to wrap up the post-secondary judging contest for Rachel Ekkel, a student at Michigan State Ag Tech

4-H dairy club members are typically introduced to dairy judging at a young age. Some youth really gravitate to the competition and continue to participate in judging contests throughout high school and...

University of Minnesota Dairy Judging Team 2016 As each breed’s results were announced at the 2016 National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest, it was almost as if a chess match

While all eyes in the dairy industry turn to World Dairy Expo this week, my gaze will be from a distance. This time of year I feel the pull of the 2,010 miles (not that I’m counting or anything)

The Hoard’s Dairyman Farm hosted nearly 300 4-H, 2-year college, and 4-year university dairy judges and their coaches this morning for one final practice before tomorrow’s dairy judging con

The leaves are changing, the temperatures are falling, and the excitement of the 50th World Dairy Expo is in the air. In less than a week, students from across the country will gather to compete

Sometimes heifers bellow for a reason. One group of heifers wouldn’t stop bellowing

The barns at sunset. The globe. The Coliseum. The colored shavings. The first leaves changing colors

As my daughter, Caitlin, and I have written our blogs for Hoard’s Dairyman, we have tried to emphasize the positives of being dairy farmers even though this past year has been extremely hard financially

The leaves are turning color and starting to fall. The warm temperatures that last into the night have faded away

Mastitis control in any herd begins with good protocols facilitated by informed employees who are cognizant of the importance of identifying and handling mastitis cases early and effectively

Make sure that you have high-quality colostrum in stock. The excitement that a newborn calf brings can be one of the best feelings in the world. Unfortunately, the disappointment you feel when you discover...

Managers of all levels on dairy farms have a tough job. They juggle many schedules and a demanding workload that never takes a day off. Maybe more difficult is dealing with employee disagreement

Among the dozens of tasks I tackle each day, some tasks are certainly less fun than others.And, I’ll be honest, I tend to put off what I don’t enjoy

We can help reduce animal stress when milking by maintaining a calm environment. Amidst the humming of fans and the constant rhythm of the milking machines, I tend to do some of my best thinking while...

Utilizing a bedded pack, adequate feedbunk space, and careful monitoring, this herd gets their special needs cows back in business quick. Every operation is unique and different, but there are some ideas...