Contestants get some final practice before tomorrow's national contest. It was a beautiful morning in Fort Atkinson. Over 150 students and coaches arrived at the Hoard's Dairyman Farm in preparation for...
by Amanda Smith, Hoard's Dairyman Associate Editor Early and frequent harvesting at the bud stage to yield dairy quality alfalfa comes at a cost to the plant, noted Dan Undersander with the University...
It seems like just yesterday Eastside Lewisdale Gold Missy paraded across the colored shavings and was crowned Supreme Champion at the 2011 World Dairy Expo. Therefore, it's fitting that she is front and...
Smartphones have quickly risen in popularity. In the 2012 Hoard's Dairyman Continuing Marketing Study, 28.5 percent of dairy farmers surveyed owned a device similar to a smartphone, BlackBerry or iPad....
Time is fading quickly if you want to land a contract for Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) insurance for dairy cattle. This Friday, August 31, approximately $2.5 million will be released as part of the final...
Last year was a banner year for U.S. dairy product exports, which accounted for a record 13.3 percent of all milk production in the country on a total solids basis. That's roughly 26 billion pounds of...
Production in the 23 major dairy producing states remained static for two consecutive months. With a slight revision of less than 0.1 percent from preliminary estimates, June milk production was bolstered...
In a state often fraught with regulatory burdens, New York's political entity has finally seen the need to work with and not against agriculture in upstate. The current boom in the state's yogurt industry...
Leave it to farm kids to come up with creative ideas. When gathered with family over the 4th of July, Clymer, N.Y. brothers, 18-year-old Justin and 9-year-old Fred White decided to respond to the recent...
Bad has turned to worse for milk producers in the nation's largest dairy state. Few, if any, California dairies managed to fully recover from the 2009 cost:price crisis before another outbreak in 2012
Last fall the Purebred Dairy Cattle Association (PDCA) updated their showmanship scorecard. The committee felt the scorecard should more accurately reflect how showmanship is evaluated. They removed the...
With advancing technologies, how many (other than producers) have seen a working modern farm? The red barn, white fence and silo are not commonplace anymore. Thousands of guests, both rural and urban,...
While it may no longer be June Dairy Month, educating the public is a year-round challenge. As summer shows and fairs get into full swing, do you take the time to educate the public about your animals,...
Gratitude seems to be lost these days. A sincere thank you is replaced with a "Yea, thanks man." While some gestures only need a quick thank you, others might necessitate more. Writing thank you notes...
Recent size and landscape changes of New Zealand's dairy industry are worth noting. Even though New Zealand currently produces less than 5 percent of the global milk supply, recent changes in size and...
After 22 years leading the largest dairy state's nutrition education program, Peggy Biltz will retire July 13 as CEO of Dairy Council of California. Replacing her will be Tammy Anderson-Wise (pictured),...
Use pictures to catch the eye and use your words to catch the mind To build trust, farmers know they must become a familiar face to their customers. From coffee shops to hay sales, farmers have used these...
Do you enjoy money, knowledge or friends? This is not a multiple-choice question, as you can have all three through a prominent dairy charity. National Dairy Shrine is a 17,000-member nonprofit charity...
Serve dairy products at events to promote the industry by Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman staff Last weekend, I attended a high school graduation party for a student pursuing higher education in our industry....
Consider writing a standard operating procedure to ensure tasks are completed uniformly on your operation. The workforce on a modern dairy farm is both multigenerational and multicultural. Without training,...
