The Farm Bill needs help. It needs help from both political parties and all regions of our country. But don't panic, this happens quite often – every 5 years or so, in fact. The Farm Bill is said...
Last week, I attended the National Holstein Convention in Virginia, and so did over 1,000 Holstein enthusiasts from across the United States. The four-day event was full of meetings, tours, junior competitions,...
On a recent trip to Minnesota, I visited several farms that were in the process of bringing the next generation into the family business or contemplating starting the process. The farms varied greatly...
On a recent trip to Minnesota, I visited several farms that were in the process of bringing the next generation into the family business or contemplating starting the process. The farms varied greatly...
This past weekend, Fort Atkinson Wis., the home of Hoard's Dairyman, hosted the second annual Fort Atkinson Half-Marathon, with over 500 participants. Once again, the Barnyard Clovers, a local 4-H club...
Every day a milk truck comes to Shoestring Dairy. We exchange our normal "G'day Mate," then the friendly man hooks up the hose and pumps our cows' hard work from our tank into the truck. He prints off...
The arrest of several undocumented workers at a Colorado dairy farm almost two weeks ago and similar events in recent years has brought the issue of labor to the forefront in the dairy industry. Politicians...
U.S. dairy exports are on the upswing, according to the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service's Summary of U.S. Dairy Exports released June 9, 2011. During the February to April 2011 time period, exports...
Most June dairy celebrations have come and gone, but June Dairy Month still has 15 days to go. Are you finding ways to celebrate, educate, or at least partake in three servings of dairy each day? With...
When summer arrives, we know how warm and uncomfortable we can become. We look forward to the shade of a big oak tree, a chance to have lunch in an air-conditioned home, or the feel of the breeze on our...
Lowering the somatic cell count (SCC) limit has received a lot of press lately, but reducing SCC has many benefits for dairy producers regardless of regulations. Higher premiums and improved cow health...
It's just a tiny trickle so far, but solar power projects are slowly beginning to pop up on Western dairies. The latest one to begin generating electricity for the power grid is a big one, more than 200...
Our well-respected dairy products got special recognition when the USDA released its new, MyPlate nutrition education tool. The MyPlate program replaces the Food Pyramid which had been the government's...
Paul Dyk, who recently left University of Wisconsin Extension for a job in the private sector, wrote a good article in a recent UWEX newsletter titled Higher Speed Internet Options for Fond du Lac County....
Western herds' net income ranged from $89 to $252 per head last year, reports Moore, Stephens, Wurth, Frazer, and Torbet, Certified Public Accountants and Consultants. That compares to $585 to $962 losses...
Cash receipts from milk marketed last year totaled $31.36 billion. That was a 24 percent rise over 2009's $24.34 billion. Milk sales totaled $34.85 billion 2008. These numbers come from USDA's annual publication...
Earlier this month, we were introduced to Anna Gibson, a Washington State University student who is working on a dairy in Tasmania, an Australian island. She shares stories from her first week "down under."...
"A few special interest groups have managed to hi-jack the term ‘animal welfare' and managed to create the illusion that they are the animal welfare experts", said Jennifer Walker, D.V.M., at the...
An anniversary only comes around once a year, and Hoard's Dairyman has celebrated plenty of them! This year marks the 126th anniversary of the publication. After great fanfare with our 125th anniversary...
Opposition to the federal government's seemingly single-minded support of ethanol production as a solution to help the U.S. become more energy self-sufficient reached a new boiling point last week, with...
