Meat is a diet staple for many Americans, yet some parts of the country tend to be more meaty than others. In a nonscientific study, cable news channel CNN created a list of the top 12 meatiest cities...
Lameness and hoof health have garnered a great deal of attention in recent years. At the Vita Plus Dairy Summit, veterinarian Gerard Cramer discussed how we can address hoof health globally. An often-mentioned...
Prevent problems before they cause early culling. Mike Hutjens presented "Feeding cows for transition success" during the January Hoard's Dairyman webinar. He shared 10 Key Performance Indicators (KPI)....
Growing prospect of another recession threatens exports and farm milk prices. Despite big dips in the stock market this week, the U.S. economy remains in fabulous shape. Except that's in comparison to...
It seems like every day there's a new video or angry blog post that condemns farmers and their practices. While these are usually exaggerated and hold few truths, animal agriculture and dairy, in particular
"One of the most important events on a dairy is calving," said Mark Thomas, D.V.M., a New York veterinarian and consultant with Dairy Health and Management Services, LLC
On NFL draft night, the team with the worst record picks first. They are, in theory, in need of the best talent. It used to surprise me that the most touted college players, like Heisman Trophy finalists,...
Your lighting decisions affect animals at all ages, not just lactating dairy cows. A recent Kentucky Cooperative Extension paper reminds us of the importance of both long-day and short-day photoperiods...
Slowly but surely, the average quality of U.S. milk is becoming amazingly good. In 2013, for the 12th year in a row, the nationwide average somatic cell count (SCC) for all cows on Dairy Herd Information...
Forage digestibility can be a game changer. For dairymen who were banking on the harvested tons to add some breathing room back in their forage budget, a crop like 2014's provided little relief
It's the time of year when children dream. And there is no better time to "dream big" than Christmas. There seems to be less guilt about asking for things during the holidays as compared to other times...
Is the trend motivated by cost or convenience? Just about anyone could guess that health care, housing and transportation costs were higher in 2013. And they'd be right. Americans have cut back across...
Take a seat, have a taste . . . and say hello to farmer Frank. None of these are part of the grocery store shopping experience today, but "Supermarket Guru" and NBC Television Today Show food trends editor...
Haste makes waste. An idiom that's long been applied to children completing their household chores is just as relevant to our corn silage harvest and storage. Occasionally, in the haste to stay ahead of...
Virtually no one doubts that U.S. farm milk prices will be lower in 2015. While many different predictions are out there, the only debate is about how far they may fall
Simply guessing as to the cause is part of the problem. Death loss is a challenge to every producer. Minimizing early removals from the herd should be the goal, but it starts with an understanding of the...
Over the past year, I have repeatedly been asked how I became interested in dairy cattle considering I grew up in a state more well-known for beef and wheat. Many times, that conversation prompt leaves...
This year's harvest marks two very different ends of the spectrum. Some dairies have been blessed with an abundance of forage to feed over the coming year
Automatic feeders and group housing are very trendy topics in calf raising today, and for good reason. The opportunity to feed more milk and provide social interaction appears to deliver great benefits...
