I grew up listening to my grandpa talk about the "good ol' days" when computers did not exist and cellphones were a figment of the imagination. For better or worse, I have never known agriculture without...
With high summertime temps looming, it is time to start paying attention to Temperature Humidity Index values to manage your cows' heat stress. Just like the kids at the local swimming pool who are cooling...
Tractors hit the road with renewed vigor over the holiday weekend in America's Dairyland. As is the case in many dairy states with a cropping emphasis, the pressure is on to apply manure, work ground and...
For a good part of my childhood and most of my high school and college years, I have been the employee at my parents' 150-cow dairy in Valley Center, Kan. Like most farm children, I headed up calf care
Dairy farms in the U.S. can't be clumped into one cookie cutter mold, as new Census of Agriculture data shows that the dairy industry is still comprised of farms of varying shapes and sizes
Dairy producers are living a milk price dream right now, even though scars from the nightmare five years ago are not fully healed. It's a bust-to-boom turnaround of staggering proportions that producers...
Still a long road ahead of us. By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager Based on 2014 data, 29 percent of American food consumers think food companies are trustworthy. With 44 percent neutral...
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,...
Life does truly go full circle. Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to be on the speaking docket with Scott Armbrust, D.V.M., at the Livestock Genetics Export Seminar in Madison, Wis
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...
If you were raised on a tie stall dairy, you quickly learned that a cow's appetite dropped well before her milk yield showed signs of slowing. As our industry has transitioned from this one-on-one setup,...
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
February and March have brought new reminders that nondairy events almost anywhere in the world can affect milk production costs on U.S. farms. The latest examples continue to bring new price volatility...
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...
Tighter heifer management could be a window of opportunity for many herds. A heifer needs to make about 33,000 pounds of milk to repay her rearing costs, said Cheryl Marti, a dairy production specialist...
The gap between milk demand and supply is widening in the world's largest country. This is a great time to be a milk producer in China. It's an even better time to be a high-quality producer. But it's...
"Bacteria must be kept away from the teat ends. Fundamentally, 99 percent of the time mastitis occurs when the ability of the teat end sphincter to control bacteria is exceeded. To control mastitis, the...
Dairy portion outlined in Hoard's Dairyman webinar. By Patti Hurtgen, Online Media Manager One of the earliest discussions on the farm bill took place on Monday, February 10, when Hoard's Dairyman presented...
