"Wow, the Holsteins here are smaller than the ones back home!" I said while walking to work with a co-worker. "You must be American. Those black and whites are Friesians, not Holsteins." This was one of...
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...
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...
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...
"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...
In recent years, it seems that more opinions have given credence to the notion that raising high-producing cows in freestall barns, storing manure in lagoons, and storing silage in bunkers are all better...
While at the sixth annual AgSTAR conference last week, Jerry Bingold had plenty to announce. First, he explained all the initiatives that the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy was taking part in, and they...
If your herd could talk to you about their pen dynamics, what would they say? Would they compliment the soft, bedded freestalls, the wide alley ways, and the roominess of the feedbunk? Or would they be...
Delegates to the bi-annual National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments yesterday narrowly defeated a proposal to reduce the somatic cell count (SCC) legal limit from the current 750,000 cells per...
We are all familiar with the daily routine on our own farms and maybe how dairy producers in other regions of the country operate their facilities, but a select few have ventured internationally to learn...
As we've said before, farmers, industry professionals, and educators need to continue lobbying for dairy as much as we can. School teachers, supermarkets, and senators alike need to be reminded of just...
If you are an active online agriculturalist (or "agvocate" as it is termed in pro-agriculture Twitter and Facebook circles like #AgChat), you have probably realized that the New York Times and its associated...
Last week's Cooperative Network Dairy Directors and Leadership Conference slides are now posted. We did mention the Minneapolis Federal Reserve bank's economic outlook last week
The rate of childhood injury on farms and ranches has dropped by nearly 60 percent since 1998. Officials at the Marshfield Clinic point out this is an encouraging sign that research and public awareness...
Want to know what the administrator of the EPA is up to today? In the past few months, it has become evident that many farmers, agricultural organizations, and agribusinesses have become suspect of the...
With the recent events of an earthquake and tsunami, the safety of the human food supply in Japan is getting much attention. The World Health Organization official claims the food safety situation is "more...
Higher milk prices and the optimism they inspire are translating into a large, positive crowd this week at the 10th Western Dairy Management Conference in Reno, Nevada, that concludes today. Total registration...
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the seventh Young Dairy Leaders Institute in Albuquerque, New Mex. This two-year leadership program is sponsored by the Holstein Foundation and a nationally recognized...
It's that time of year. The snow is about to leave us, baseball games will be televised, and demand for ice cream will increase. In theory, higher milk prices, feed costs, and haymaking season will be...
