Farmers need to share their stories with each other, too. As dairy farmers, we hear a lot about sharing our stories with consumers. Stories about why we farm and how we care for our cattle help us connect...
Locomotion scoring can help detect lame cows and gauge overall herd health. When it's not a problem, foot and leg health is something that flies under the radar on a many dairies, but soggy spring conditions...
Animal activists are becoming bolder in their actions; even events like dairy shows could attract guests with ulterior motives. You've lined up the judge, secured the award sponsors and ordered the ribbons....
Young calves demand much care and patience. My two siblings and I grew up showing Holsteins, and from the time I was pretty young, I seemed to be the one who always ended up showing the flighty animals....
Jim Baird, gifted Hoard's Dairyman Art Director, passes on We would consider ourselves lucky to be really good at one thing – something that truly symbolized the essence of our being. But to be...
The Holstein breed would look different without the influence of Roy Ormiston. As dairy producers, we can all appreciate the power of a single generation or a single cow to alter the course of genetic...
Colostrum offers newborn calves benefits beyond immunity, including critical energy used early in life. Carrying around a few extra pounds of holiday weight gain, some of us in colder climates may joke...
California's dairy industry highlighted during annual event. It was the first time in the 127 year-history of the Rose Parade, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) had a float entry. The organization...
Independent report says the agency illegally tried to shape public opinion about its water rule proposal. The firestorm that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ignited last May with a proposal...
Gadgets and devices aid – not replace dairy management. All that cool technology that people use to communicate, record exercise levels and monitor their sleep patterns, now are being applied to...
Make a ride in the cattle trailer safer for your young bovine passengers by following these AABP guidelines.There are times we need to get our livestock from Point A to Point B, and that process often...
The old saying goes, "the first step to fixing a problem is knowing you have one." I would argue the second step is knowing what and how significant that problem is
Whether you're in the barn or the showring, you have to stay calm. You never know who's watching. by Hannah Thompson Earlier this year, I was in the crowd at a county fair's dairy show for the supreme...
A warming box can save young calves born during the frigid cold. There's definitely a chill in the air, and for those of us in Northern climates, that chill is not going away any time soon. Falling temperatures...
Subclinical hypocalcemia management is important, but it remains hard to monitor the successfulness of treatments.Drink your milk so you can have strong bones and healthy teeth was probably the first nutrition...
Managing corral conditions year round in open-lot dairies is important for cow health, comfort and production in the rainy season. In the areas of the country where open-lot dairies are popular, the onset...
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...
National-winning FFA Dairy Judging Coach talks about preparing a non-traditional dairy judging team. "This was an extremely hard-working bunch of kids," commented coach Bland Baird. His dairy judging program...
Three years running and six wins in 11 years. Coach Baird, Tanner Goodlett, Marissa Allen, Jacob Whitely and Ryan Linton Winning the 2015 National FFA Dairy Cattle Evaluation and Management Career Development...
FARM program has moved up its deadline to stop the practice by 2017. Time is running out faster than ever on the routine tail docking of dairy cows - and it can't end soon enough. The biggest step taken...
