100-year-old replacement for antibiotics might be on the horizon. Antibiotics are a common remedy in today's society for human and livestock illnesses. However, there is a rise in antibiotic-resistant...
Aside from having top tier dairy programs, what do the University of Wisconsin- Madison, Iowa State, Cornell, Virginia Tech, Kansas State and the University of Minnesota have in common? Over the past 26...
Cole Leonard from Virginia FFA topped the Junior Dairy Management Contest, taking home the $1000 scholarship. The contest encompasses judging, linear scoring, feed identification, business and finance...
Decades ago, cows gave far less milk and reproduction came easy. Today's cows produce high volumes of milk, but are still expected to calve back consistently. There was a downward trend for fertility until...
Few dairymen readily admit when the time has come to retire. After pouring decades of blood, sweat and capital into their business, hanging up the milkers is likely the most difficult decision they will...
When times are tough, the ag family is one of the most supportive around. **Update on Reece and Hans: Hans had a successful second stem-cell transplant and is back home. He is doing well and is working...
4-H members promote chocolate milk in winning presentation. Hand out the research, spend money on television ads and speak about healthy food choices, but there is something special about hearing the same...
A television show traces actor's ancestry. On a spring day in late May, the phone rang at my family's dairy. A television show wanted to film at our location, as someone famous had relatives that previously...
Sometime in the next two weeks or so – the deadline is September 1 – the U.S. Department of Agriculture will issue final details about how the 2014 Farm Bill's voluntary Dairy Margin Protection...
Since the early 2000s, automated heat detection has played an important role in reducing breeding and associated labor costs by eliminating the need for reproductive synchronization protocols
"Do not compare proven sires PTAs to genomic PTAs. Only compare them within their contemporaries for rankings," cautioned Chad Dechow when presenting "The new world of genetics" during the monthly Hoard's...
How do you know where you're going if you don't know where you are? Tracking various aspects of your dairy business is one of the biggest contributors to your financial success. The reasons to keep records...
A common strategy for spending available dollars on the farm is investing it close to the milk parlor. Areas that tend to get the most attention are the ones that directly affect milk production such as...
Educational games share agriculture's story. "Corn is grown in every state and on six continents." That is just one of the agriculture facts state fair attendees could learn in the American Farm Bureau's...
It takes preventative strategies and early detection to keep cows walking comfortably on all four feet. Do lame cows get better on their own? According to Gerard Cramer, D.V.M, associate professor from...
Water quality is paramount to cow health. "My cows are dying. What is going on?" sobbed the 65-year-old dairy producer as his cracked hands cradled his cheeks and covered his swollen eyes. "They calve,...
Before there was 4-H and FFA, there was the Hoard's Dairyman Juniors. In addition to launching the Young Dairyman page for farm youth in 1915, Hoard created the Juniors, which was the forerunner of the...
Americans are worth more today than ever before, but many still struggle financially. As a group, Americans are the wealthiest they have ever been. This spring household financial wealth was at its peak,...
Webinar shares steps to boost production. One pound of milk per cow per day over your entire herd really adds up over a whole year. In his Monday, July 14, webinar, Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois,...
At 7 a.m. on a typical June day, most young people are still in bed enjoying the start to their summer vacation. Members of the Barnyard Clovers 4-H club are not among the late risers. Almost every June...
