Not everyone is a farmer, but a love for animals and people has drawn many to a career in agriculture. According to a recent survey, the agriculture industry is a pretty good place to make a living right...
In the decades ahead, climate change is expected to make heat stress an increasingly bigger problem for dairy cows everywhere. Breeding animals with more natural resistance is one way farmers will cope,...
Accurate samples are the cornerstone of diet formulation. Yet, for some nutrients, sampling itself is a major source of the variation seen from one nutrient analysis to the next
"Farm size is a lightning rod for criticism in agriculture," said Dan Weary as he spoke to those attending the April 14 Hoard's Dairyman webinar, "Cow welfare and farm size – challenges and opportunities"
The Federal Department of Absurd – er, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – is an entity that regularly seems to defy common sense and logic. This is yet another example: Smoking is a proven...
"SNP chips are information powerhouses," says Tami Smith with Neogen Corporation. Smith addressed the audience at the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association's annual conference last week. A SNP (pronounced...
Renae Konkler Scheiderer always read the personal classifieds in her dad's Hoard's Dairyman for giggles. However, in the April 25, 2000, issue, one ad caught her eye. Al Scheiderer had given his email...
Transition cow diets have been the focus of considerable research the last few decades. However, 90 percent of that research has been done on dry cow or prefresh rations, says Ric Grummer, University of...
We don't have to look to a third-world country to find a hungry population. Hunger is here in our own backyards. With 49 million hungry people in the U.S., it is likely you are touched by food insecurity...
"Beef is in the global marketplace," reminded University of Wisconsin-Madison Animal Sciences Department Chairman Dan Schaefer. Depending whether it is beef, pork or poultry, about 10 to 25 percent is...
It's a refreshing new trend: farmers and lawmakers saying "no" to groups that think they are entitled to obtaining private information about farmers and then making it public
Thirty years ago, dairy representatives wanted a way to promote the positive image of the industry. Their ideas brought forth the Northeast Dairy Farm Beautification Program. At that time it included the...
When it comes to finding sick cows, tie stall herds have the upper hand. As we have transitioned our dairies from this individual care system to managing groups, illness detection has become one of our...
Garrett Oetzel, University of Wisconsin, presented "Cows and their calcium", in our Monday, March 10 webinar. For 30 years our presenter has studied the topic. With development of a new calf and the onset...
Even during a down year, the average U.S. dairy grew in 2013. Both average herd size and milk production per cow went up - herd size by a lot and production per cow by a little. The result was a big bump...
Like many of you, the Hoard's Dairyman Farm met its match this winter. Amidst frozen feed, frozen pipes and a few calves lost too soon, we've battled unpredicted and unforeseen cold. And, as every member...
The Hoard Farm team, headed up by Jason Yurs, continues to be pleased with the performance our Jersey herd. This group was evaluated by a pair of American Jersey Cattle Association appraisers on a very...
Animal rights group is doing massive spin doctoring and distortion to oppose it. A bill that would make it illegal to trespass or use fraudulent misrepresentation to gain entry onto a farm for the purpose...
The tie stall herds from our February 25, 2014, Round Table have more to share. Earlier this week, the February 25 issue of Hoard's Dairyman hit our readers' mailboxes. On pages 118 to 120, four herds...