Hoard's Dairyman's third webinar was a great success! Dr. Mark Stephenson, Director of Dairy Policy Analysis for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented "How milk production control plans compare."...
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the seventh Young Dairy Leaders Institute in Albuquerque, New Mex. This two-year leadership program is sponsored by the Holstein Foundation and a nationally recognized...
The financial divide stands at nearly $3.8 billion. That is a substantial pay gap when it comes to milk checks for the nation's dairy producers during 2009. In a study released in late January, Informa...
I had a pretty expensive week. First I went to the co-op and picked up new tires for the truck. Then, I went to the dentist for my new crown. Finally, I filled up my truck with fuel! That joke, or lack...
Most of the focus on 2011 U.S. planted acreage centers on corn acreage. There are a number of reasons for that focus, according to Darrel Good, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois....
Twenty-two percent of the beef in the US is from dairy cattle. And while only 6 to 8 percent of dairy producers' total dairy income is from the dairy beef, it is an important component in dairy operations....
The triple combination of sedentary technology such as video games and the internet, reduced physical activity, and eating poor diets are just some of the contributing factors causing over one-third of...
Meeting in Arlington, Va., near the nation's capital, the 50th Annual Meeting of the National Mastitis Council was both festive and productive. There was plenty of fun and reminiscing sprinkled amid the...
If you read our most recent issue, you would've noticed an article by Frank Mitloehner from the University of California- Davis who is taking the time to set the record straight on the dairy industry's...
It's just one state and it may not reflect what is happening across the rest of U.S. agriculture, but it's still good news in an industry that can certainly use some: Farmland values in Indiana are shooting...
What a great kick-off to the 2011 Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Series. Yesterday's program was presented by host Mike Hutjens of the University of Illinois. Over 140 people for the inaugural live presentation,...
Just one hour. That's all it will take for you to participate in the new Hoard's Dairyman monthly webinar series starting next Monday, January 10, at noon, central time. And you won't have to go any further...
As a new year begins, we wrap up the 125th anniversary celebration of Hoard's Dairyman. In our June 2010 issue, we chronicled how Hoard was instrumental in launching many endeavors far beyond his magazine....
In recent weeks, we've sadly heard of several barn collapses in the upper Midwest. Each of the barns that failed was bearing an extreme snow load due to an overly white Christmas we had in this part of...
Between a forecast for lower milk prices and the likelihood of higher feed costs, it's hard to not have a gloomy financial outlook for U.S. milk producers in 2011. Sorry. Amid the dreariness, however,...
Building a new barn may seem like a glamorous idea. Eventually, you may end up with a sparkly, beautiful new barn, but not until going through countless stressful decisions. What size will the stalls be?...
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate approved (81 to 19) the big tax package that extends Bush-era tax rates and includes a number of other measures. One of those measures would extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise...
Years ago, bunkers were only known as a military hide-out. Those bunkers were safe. The bunkers on our dairy farms can be anything but. Deaths can and do occur because of poor face management, accidental...
Winter is here. . . and so is the cold and snow that can be harmful to those of us who work outdoors with livestock. "Bundle up, dress in layers, put on your hat" are familiar sounds to many children who...
It is December 7 and sire summary information has been released. It used to be a really exciting time when there were only two sire summaries per year, as the momentum would build in January and July....