Farms with more cows prove that animal welfare is still a priority. The average herd size for dairy farms in the United States keeps growing while the number of farms continues to decline. This trend is...
An array of factors help this Illinois dairy farm maintain a below average somatic cell count month after month. When it comes to milk quality, Sycamore, Ill., dairyman Bill Deutsch focuses both inside...
There are real benefits for herds that can achieve a 25 percent pregnancy rate. One common goal all dairy producers share is getting cows bred in a timely fashion. What is a realistic target for which...
One Wisconsin city rings in the New Year by dropping a big piece of cheese. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's an . . . 80-pound Styrofoam cheese wedge . . . falling from the sky . . . at midnight? Yes, it...
Independent report says the agency illegally tried to shape public opinion about its water rule proposal. The firestorm that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ignited last May with a proposal...
The old saying goes, "the first step to fixing a problem is knowing you have one." I would argue the second step is knowing what and how significant that problem is
The math behind a plan to give a liter per day to 30 million schoolchildren doesn't work. by Dennis Halladay, Hoard's Dairyman Western Editor In the middle of a rising global flood of dairy products, the...
That creamy spread hasn't changed, but its public perception has. Butter is back! On family tables and restaurant menus, our old friend is asking consumers to rethink this dairy staple. Dairy Management...
State showcases family dairy operation in video series. The Georgia National Fair just concluded this weekend and celebrated its 25th anniversary. During the 11 days of the annual state-sponsored fair,...
Animal welfare is at the forefront of consumers' minds and at the core of dairy producers' businesses. Happy cows come from California or Wisconsin or wherever. Whatever your opinion is as to where the...
A milk marketing cooperative born out of farmers' concerns has grown to become a nationally ranked organization. Dairy farmers won't soon forget 2009. Abysmal milk prices and razor thin margins were enough...
Because it would probably hurt producer prices just about everywhere else. One of the interesting aspects of USDA's public hearing that is underway in Clovis, Calif., to gather testimony on establishing...
Few people have the honor of traveling to Buckingham Place. Even fewer have the opportunity to meet Queen Elizabeth. James Duke, the owner and innovator behind ADF Milking has done both. In 2013, Duke...
Over Labor Day weekend, I checked milking in a tie stall barn off my bucket list. Hoard's Dairyman editors stay close to the business of dairying through involvement on their home farms and the Hoard's...
Performance evaluations identify the milking routine bottlenecks that are holding your herd back. Farms operate on pennies and seconds. The pennies saved per head after a ration reformulation can equate...
Nearly 60,000 openings each year for new graduates, but do students have the right skills? "Not only will those who study agriculture be likely to get well-paying jobs upon graduation, they will also have...
A falling birthrate and growing Mexican economy are keeping potential employees south of the border. To thrive, dairies are dependent upon a reliable labor source. While some of our farms survive with...
To beat the heat, the nation's cows are concentrated in more temperate regions of the United States. know that cows tend to seek out the coolest places on the farm: beneath shade, under sprinklers and...
One of the most widely known animal rights groups is no stranger to using emotional appeal to win over people's minds. We've seen them all when we view websites, videos or photos posted by anti-agriculture...
Cattle can be efficient users of leftovers. By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager Last week I blogged about different management types that produce beef. One of the interesting facts...
