I think baby calves are adorable and sweet. If I see one, there is no doubt that I will walk up to it with my arm outstretched, palm up, to let it suck on my hand with all its slobber and sandpaper-feeling...

As we walk through the barns and pastures to check our cows throughout the day, it pays to watch the cows’ expressions. In a time where people either tend to stare at their phones while going about...

Do you ever sit around your farm shop and listen to the old men talk? I have heard many stories from the second and third generations of the farm, discussing the way it use to be, or things that had happened...

It’s the last week of summer here in the Pacific Northwest, or so the calendar says. That’s because our kids will return to school after Labor Day

Do you ever have to remind yourself that you chose this life? I knew exactly what I was getting into, and I still chose this

As we were moving some cows and heifers to our calving pen today, it hit me that the cattle we were moving all have due dates further out than my own

In years past, while milking in the parlor, labeling an animal as a cull cow was pretty straightforward

Are you and your farm ready for a natural disaster or emergency? There is no way you can prepare your farm for every emergency in every way, but a little preparation can go a long way

It is Corn Silage Harvest 2023 here at Hillcrest Farms. This year we have been blessed with rain and a good corn crop

Have you ever met one of those people who never seem to have anything going wrong?

There are many articles and studies about “impostor syndrome” and its impact on women

One of the annual summer staples around here — best served up lathered in butter and a good sprinkling of salt, in my opinion — is homegrown sweet corn

We are just about halfway through the 500 babies that will be born during this calving season on the farm in New Zealand where I am interning this summer

Recently I saw a picture of a 4-H sign that read, “We don’t have kids to help raise our livestock. We have livestock to help raise our kids.”

County and state dairy promotion programs were created to help promote the nutritional benefits of milk and dairy products to consumers

New Zealand is home to about 5 million people and 5 million cows. That is half the number of cows that are in the United States, all on an island not quite the size of California

Served in a classic cone, layered with cookie dough, whipped together with fresh peaches, concocted into a brownie-lover’s dream, drenched with strawberries, submerged in a tall glass of root beer,...

There’s something about the warm glow of summer sunshine that puts everything into the perfect light

As fast as agriculture is changing, some things have stayed the same. Most farms — over 90% — are still family owned and operated

I grew up in a house that was busy. That’s just the nature of dairy farming