We recently received a note from Scott Crandell, a dairy nutritionist in Mifflintown, Pa. One of his clients, Centerview Farm also of Mifflintown, experienced a remarkable delivery this fall. Shown below...
For the first time in over two years, many western U.S. dairy herds began showing a small profit. While these positive numbers are a welcome sight for many dairy farmers, they fall way short of making...
Once upon a time, all cows were milked by hand and the job got done just fine. Then one day technology brought a new tool for dairy producers to consider: milking machines. The evolution of technology...
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just a week away? I almost did until of course, I spent a good hour of my evening going back and forth with family about what time the big "to-do" should be. One of...
Holstein breeders need to set higher goals when it comes to reproduction, said Neil Michael, D.V.M., with Vita Plus when speaking to those attending the fifth annual Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council meeting...
Margins are going to be squeezed for those of us in the dairy business. The cheese and butter prices that drive our milk prices are on the way down, and corn prices are on the way up. Butter prices dropped...
All the hype surrounding methane emissions, greenhouse gases, and odors have left most of our brains spinning. It isn't uncommon for us to think, "Ok, so what am I supposed to do?" In addition, regulations...
Even though it was the smallest cow class of the day, Judge Hank Van Exel and Associate Judge Tom McCauley spent more time deliberating the top end of the extremely competitive Jersey 5-year-old class...
National Milk Producers Federation announced last week it will seek a reduction in the maximum allowable somatic cell count for raw milk under the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance at the next meeting of the...
Biggest change, of course, will be in the House, where the Republicans easily gained control. It looks as if the GOP could gain as many as 50 to 60 seats in the lower chamber when all the dust settles....
In mid-October a record setting sea of blue jackets descended upon Indianapolis, Ind., for the 83rd National FFA Convention. Over 54,000 members, teachers, and guests were in attendance. In this sea of...
As the San Francisco Giants clinched the World Series title, I was ecstatic as most long-time central California baseball fans were! 55 years is a long time to wait for a World Series title – years...
Milk producers hoping for an optimistic feed outlook in 2011 got just the opposite at the Arizona Dairy Production Conference October 21. Instead of lower prices, speakers said there is a great risk of...
Although milk prices in 2011 are forecast to remain near this year's level, higher feed prices are expected to squeeze producer margins, impacting the size of the dairy herd in 2011, according to the USDA's...
I remember having to write an answer to this essay question in my high school English course. We were asked if we would rather be a second-rate artist or be known for making a first-rate soup. While most...
This may not be the case at all universities, but we suspect the trend is occurring at other institutions of higher learning. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, data from Chancellor Biddy Martin's...
The trend continues. More and more milk. September was the seventh month in a row that U.S. milk production has been above year-earlier levels. September's growth in milk production across the nation was...
This year has been plagued with countless accidents that have severely injured dairy producers, or worst, taken their lives. Rollovers, auto accidents, exposure to toxic silo gas, hay bale crushing incidents,...
Chicago, Atlanta and Miami, or Beijing, Tijuana and Riyadh? One group of cities is the perception of where U.S. dairy products are sold; the other is the fast-growing reality and the future. Forecasters...
With 40 percent of dairy operators over the age of 55, some may speculate some push-back to adapting to new information. The average dairy producer hovers around this age demographic. However, all producers,...
