For the second straight year, California's cost to produce milk jumped over 10 percent. Nearly all the higher costs were due to higher feed prices. Rising feed costs were the root cause of the higher costs...
Why California dairies should plan on having strict emissions regulations forever. If dairies in California need a reminder about why they operate under the most strict air quality emissions regulations...
A field study done by Penn State Extension suggests water quality may be linked to dairy herd milk production. Penn State Extension recently completed a field study of water quality on Pennsylvania dairy...
University of Kentucky student to spend three months in Fort Atkinson. While the Hoard's Dairyman editorial internship program is celebrating its 25th year in 2013, there is another internship we offer....
University of Kentucky student to spend three months in Fort Atkinson. While the Hoard's Dairyman editorial internship program is celebrating its 25th year in 2013, there is another internship we offer....
Overstocking boosts a cow's risk for health problems, low milk yield and poor reproductive performance. The majority of work exploring the consequences of overstocking has focused on the behavioral changes...
Among the 504 dairy farms in the Northeast Dairy Farm Summary, the net cost of production was $18.23, up 12 cents from 2011. The cost to produce 100 pounds of milk rose for the third straight year for...
Foot health impacts reproduction, production and early culling. Nigel Cook presented theHoard's Dairyman monthly webinar on Monday, May 13, 2013, entitled "No more lame excuses." Lameness prevalence has...
Some are already gone. More will follow. The big question is, how many can be saved? The greatest milk-producing machine the U.S. dairy industry has ever seen is breaking down. Doomsday feed prices and...
Cows will sacrifice feeding time in order to lie down when both resources are limited. There are a variety of reasons that can lead to overstocking in our freestalls. While it may be a short-term solution,...
Producers have options for identifying ketotic cows, but some methods are better than others. Cows that do not adapt to the negative energy balance experienced after calving are candidates for developing...
Having a heifer enterprise won't make sense for every operation. Most dairies have three enterprises on-farm: cows, cropping and heifers. Within this subset, the cost of raising replacements also accounts...
It took an NFL stadium to contain the excitement Minnesota youth had for the Fuel Up to Play 60 Program. It's not every day you get to meet an NFL athlete, especially as a 6th grader. But if you're in...
The drought has been hard on pastureland, so extra attention should be given to prepare paddocks for this growing season. The drought that affected much of the United States last summer will likely have...
In back-to-back days, dairy celebrated sustainability efforts already in action and renewed focus on future projects. In honoring herds milking 50 cows all the way to those with several thousand, the Innovation...
My travels in Australia last month included a visit to a dairy farm and milk processing facility. One-hundred-twenty Guernsey cows grazed the pastured hills in Maleny, in the state of Queensland, Australia,...
Earlier this month, I attended the Royal Easter Show held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The dairy show is part of a larger event, similar to a very large state fair, with cattle, agriculture and...
Dairy cows struggle to maintain normal blood calcium levels at the start of each lactation. Colostrum and milk both use a large amount of calcium, and the cow must suddenly adjust for this rapid nutrient...
Few things can irritate a person like finding out they overpaid for a product or did not sell their own for its true value. In the April 8 Hoard's Dairyman "Reviewing forage and feed costs – What's...
The dairy industry is a global industry, and the U.S. is a key player. India actually produces more Energy Corrected Milk (ECM) than the U.S, but for countries that only count cows milk, U.S. is the top...