With a healthy margin of victory, four members of the Spencer County FFA chapter took home the top prize at the 2016 National FFA Convention in Indianapolis, Ind. For this national FFA contest
As my daughter, Caitlin, and I have written our blogs for Hoard’s Dairyman, we have tried to emphasize the positives of being dairy farmers even though this past year has been extremely hard financially
We can help reduce animal stress when milking by maintaining a calm environment. Amidst the humming of fans and the constant rhythm of the milking machines, I tend to do some of my best thinking while...
Hoard's Dairyman compiles details on dairy colleges. School is about to start or has already begun for a few. It's a new school year with new teachers, and maybe even a different school. For high school...
Careful attention during the first three months of a calf's life sets the stage for a lifetime of productivity on Hillcrest Farms. By Caitlin Rodgers, Georgia dairy farmer How important are the first 100...
What can you learn while pushing up the feed? "Go push up the feed." Those were some of my least favorite words to hear as child growing up on a small dairy. I hated having to go push up the feed by hand,...
Farmers are a lot like baseball team managers, working hard to keep their top performers healthy and "on the field." I like to think of my milking herd groups like baseball teams and myself as the team...
Block, curd, or shredded, put it on your plate. "A can a week is all we ask." That was a very successful marketing campaign for Blue Diamond Almonds decades ago. I saw plenty of those commercials and almond...
Housing that satisfies a cow's most basic needs- fresh air, feed, water, and resting space- is worth the investment. "Dairy housing design must focus on cow needs." That was the message of John Tyson's...
Ration strategies for groups of dairy cows summarized. Maximize production, but don't waste resources. That sums up the art and science of formulating rations for milking groups. The challenge is that...
Type and production are partners in extreme production. Last month it was announced that Bur-Wall Buckeye Gigi produced 74,650 pounds of milk. That equates to 8,680 gallons of milk and set the single lactation...
Understanding immunity promotes calf health. Vaccinations are designed to stimulate the immune system. They aren't cures, but tools to help the calf defend its body from viruses, bacteria and parasites....
Have a plan for what you want to see and do. Winter – the season when not a lot happens in the fields. And for this reason, trade shows are scheduled to entice busy farmers to attend. With World...
Action can be taken to reduce feed losses during the TMR mixing process. Now you see it . . . and now you don't. Just like that, feed that was once available for your herd can be lost due to mold, pests,...
Producers who are most ahead are those who didn't sign up at all. No matter what kind of insurance a dairy owner has, not needing to use it means nothing bad has happened, which is exactly what they hope...
Delaying a herd's age at first calving to 25 months has the potential to cost $45 to $90 per heifer. Age? Weight? Height? If you ask three dairy producers what criteria they use to breed heifers, each...
Choosing the correct bedding material for your farm's system is an integral part of managing milk quality and production. Selecting the ideal bedding for a farm can be a difficult and intensive project....
Performance evaluations identify the milking routine bottlenecks that are holding your herd back. Farms operate on pennies and seconds. The pennies saved per head after a ration reformulation can equate...
