2009 was an awful year for producer milk prices, but another good one for milk quality. According to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, average bulk tank somatic cell count (BTSCC) for...
August 17 is the release date for the DVD of the award-winning HBO movie about one of the livestock industry's most colorful and influential persons. The movie, Temple Grandin, is based on the writings...
The dairy industry has a lot of catching up to do in the snack world. Dairy products accounted for less than 3 percent of the $93.5 billion dollars spent on snack foods in 2009. Snacking: Identifying a...
Late last month, the entire Hoard Guernsey herd was appraised as part of June's scheduled rotation in Wisconsin. The youngest cow to receive a score was Dairyman Ben Neater, #1167. She calved on May 31...
Late last month, the entire Hoard Guernsey herd was appraised as part of June's scheduled rotation in Wisconsin. The youngest cow to receive a score was Dairyman Ben Neater, #1167. She calved on May 31...
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...
When there's producer and grower money at stake –quite a bit of it– there always are strong feelings about who should spend it and how it should be spent. That's why both the beef check-off...
Taking the nation as a whole, milk production was up 2.4 in June compared to a year earlier. In the top 23 states, milk output was up 2.7 percent. Milk production has been on the rise since February, but...
Cooperatives Working Together announced yesterday that it has tentatively accepted 194 bids as part of its latest (tenth) herd retirement. A total of 209 operations had submitted bids. The bids accepted...
Earlier this month, the Hoard Jersey herd which now numbers 101 cows (plus 11 heifers) was appraised by AJCA appraiser, Blake Renner. We purchased the Jerseys from three Wisconsin herds, and they are housed...
Earlier this month, the Hoard Jersey herd which now numbers 101 cows (plus 11 heifers) was appraised by AJCA appraiser, Blake Renner. We purchased the Jerseys from three Wisconsin herds, and they are housed...
It's not exactly like M*A*S*H, but if you squint there's definitely a similarity. A new team of Texas rangers has been formed that stands ready to serve the state's citizens during times of emergency....
On a 7 to 1 vote, the United States Supreme Court reversed an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer that placed a nationwide injunction on planting Roundup Ready Alfalfa and barring USDA...
It was interesting to try to get a handle on the mood of those attending the Four State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference last week at Dubuque. The annual gathering has become popular for the nutritionists,...
Yesterday, the National Milk Producers federation board of directors approved a recently formulated proposal that will request a major overhaul of U.S. dairy policy. The group's goal is to better protect...
Dairy producers are also beef producers, and wearing both hats has never been as strange as it has been in 2010. Suddenly higher demand for beef around the world has been squeezing U.S. supplies this year,...
Total farm business operating expenditures amounted to more than $187 billion in 2008, according to a recent report from USDA's Economic Research Service. Nearly half of those expenditures were spent locally....
Trying to guess the corn market in the months ahead was among the topics when the financial management team for the Hoard's Dairyman Farm met yesterday. The good news was that our cows just finished eating...
Trying to guess the corn market in the months ahead was among the topics when the financial management team for the Hoard's Dairyman Farm met yesterday. The good news was that our cows just finished eating...
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week that $2 million will be made available to dairy, beef, poultry, and swine producers for energy evaluations. The new agriculture energy conservation...
