For the second year in a row, the team from Maryland took home the prestigious First Place trophy for the National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest. Team members included Kaitlyn Corbett, Hannah Hood, Jessica...
Fifteen teams from post secondary programs from coast to coast competed at this year's contest, including an international team from Honduras. This was the 22nd International Post Secondary Dairy Cattle...
Cattle will start rolling into World Dairy Expo today. And, as they arrive on the grounds, all trailers must go through the Rimrock Road gate and stop by the Arena Building to not only receive stalling...
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...
Last week, I received a newsletter from my local bank giving parents financial tips for their college students. Some of the items were common sense, but, if their children have never had to handle a budget,...
Welcome to Hoard's @ Expo! The staff at Hoard's Dairyman has prepared this section just for youwith pre-show stories, schedules, history, photos and our Hoard's @ Expo blog. We'll be posting new content...
In my elementary school years, one of my favorite days each year was our small parochial school's track meet held every spring. Besides the fun I had spending the day outside with classmates, I always...
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 deep financial cuts suffered by Western dairy producers last year still have a long way to go before they heal, but attitudes out there really do seem to be getting better. In recent weeks, we've visited...
All too often we hear of tragic accidents in our industry that not only claim the life of a loved one, but the head of a dairy farm business. On August 26, Brian Krull of Lake Mills, Wis., was killed in...
Now when temperatures heat up in California, so will the responsibility of dairy and other farm owners to provide heat safety protection for their employees. On August 20, the State Occupational Safety...
A bill that would have set a national precedent by reducing the number of hours California farm employees must work in order to qualify for overtime pay has been vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger....
Corn production is forecast at a record high 13.4 billion bushels, up 2 percent from the previous record set in 2009, according to USDA's Crop Production report issued yesterday. Based on conditions as...
How deep a financial hole did milk producers dig in 2009? It was "Lassie, go get help!" deep. It was a horribly serious situation whose magnitude was simply absurd. High feed costs and a collapse in milk...
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...
A couple tablespoons of bleach and stainless steel water troughs could be your next arsenal in the fight against Johne's disease. That's the conclusion from Kim Cook, a USDA Agricultural Research Service...
Wisconsin agriculture lost a dedicated leader and advocate on Wednesday, July 21, when Rod Nilsestuen, the state's ag secretary, passed away unexpectedly. Nilsestuen drowned in Lake Superior while in Marquette,...
Dairy Farmers of Canada, partnering with Canadian processors from across the country, announced it officially set a new world record. On July 8, 2010, they broke the Guinness World Record for the world's...
Forecast milk production for 2010 and 2011 is raised slightly from last month in USDA Supply and Demand Estimates released late last week. Cow numbers have remained higher than expected, and milk per cow...