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...
What goes into a "next year's outlook" prediction? Paying attention all year long this year, talking regularly to producers, studying the economic horizon outside the industry, tracking trends, and decades...
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,...
Rising corn prices mean higher feed bills for dairy producers, which is why a recent forecast about global oil demand points to the possibility of higher milk production costs in 2011. Connecting the dots...
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...
This Tuesday, USDA released its monthly Milk-Feed Price Ratio, which was 2.22 for November, down notably from October's 2.4o. The ratio was 2.26 last November. (The Milk-Feed Price Ratio reflects the pounds...
Margins are going to be squeezed for those of us in the dairy business. The cheese and butter prices that drive our milk prices are on the way down, and corn prices are on the way up. Butter prices dropped...
Milk producers hoping for an optimistic feed outlook in 2011 got just the opposite at the Arizona Dairy Production Conference October 21. Instead of lower prices, speakers said there is a great risk of...
Although milk prices in 2011 are forecast to remain near this year's level, higher feed prices are expected to squeeze producer margins, impacting the size of the dairy herd in 2011, according to the USDA's...
I remember having to write an answer to this essay question in my high school English course. We were asked if we would rather be a second-rate artist or be known for making a first-rate soup. While most...
This year has been plagued with countless accidents that have severely injured dairy producers, or worst, taken their lives. Rollovers, auto accidents, exposure to toxic silo gas, hay bale crushing incidents,...
USDA's October forecast of milk production for 2010 is raised slightly from last month as higher milk per cow more than offsets lower cow numbers. The agency now puts the 2010 estimate at 192.8 billion...
The Class III roller-coaster cycle we've come to hate will eventually swing back to $20. Count on it. Every down has been followed by an up, so it's important to plan for the inevitable recovery that's...
Over 600 people came to Knigge Farms of Omro, Wis., to celebrate the 10th anniversary of robotic milking in the United States. It was in August 2000 that Pete and Theo Knigge, and their son, Charlie, installed...
Slowly, but surely, modest profitability is returning for U.S. dairy producers. Even so, few are relaxing just yet. Both of the major financial barometers they watch – Class III milk and 40-pound...
The most current USDA forecast continues the trend of lower cow numbers that has been more than offset by higher output per cow in 2010. Output per cow is expected to rise by 2.5 percent compared with...
Under the summer sun is a popular place to showcase the latest corn hybrids, new equipment, and the latest technologies at annual farm shows. One for example, Empire Farm Days, the largest outdoor farm...
Away at college, working on a master's degree, many of my daughter's calls and e-mails now include personal insights into the financial "joy" of being a grown-up. "One day you'll appreciate the starving...
In the past few days, three key reports have been released that provide some insight into what's ahead for dairy markets. They are last Wednesday's Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook from USDA's Economic...
