The jargon in our industry can overwhelm the ordinary urbanite. The words we choose when talking to our dairy neighbor at the feed mill are different than the vocabulary used to talk to the teacher at...
It took a ground swell of support in rural America to finally convince the Obama Administration's Department of Labor to withdraw its proposed rule further regulating children under the age of 16 who work...
With a smaller-than-anticipated corn crop, how do we balance domestic, global, and industry needs for corn? The first ethanol-run vehicle was developed in Philadelphia in 1826. Therefore, we would not...
Most of us have a warm comfortable home to go to when our days are done, an even greater blessing in winter. But, this holiday season, have we given our cows the gift of a comfortable environment?
Dairy prices for October forecasted lower than September but stay above 2010 levels. Beef production remains strong. The milk production forecast for the remainder of 2011 has been raised. September production...
Scott Nordstrom, D.V.M., has seen it happen over and over: He cuts the number of vaccinations calves receive and then watches them do better. "One of the first things people need to recognize is there...
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...
Most of the focus on 2011 U.S. planted acreage centers on corn acreage. There are a number of reasons for that focus, according to Darrel Good, an agricultural economist at the University of Illinois....
The Minnesota Supreme Court recently ruled on the side of two Southeast Minnesota dairy farms who sued Northern States Power County, a division of Xcel Energy, over allegations that stray voltage killed...
As people get older, some believe that they have learned all they need to know and forego any further education, whether formal or informal. And with the hectic lives that dairy producers lead, many focus...
Most people would agree that dehorning cattle not only protects animals from each other, but it also protects employees who work with them. While dehorning, the process of removing horn buds from a calf,...
Last week, I received a newsletter from my local bank giving parents financial tips for their college students. Some of the items were common sense, but, if their children have never had to handle a budget,...
The deep financial cuts suffered by Western dairy producers last year still have a long way to go before they heal, but attitudes out there really do seem to be getting better. In recent weeks, we've visited...
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....
Walmart, Wendy's, Burger King, and Subway have all jumped on the cage-free egg bandwagon. Each of these food retailers has made some sort of commitment to providing food products made with eggs from chickens...
On January 23, 1885, Wisconsin's 16th Governor, William Dempster Hoard, launched the very first edition of Hoard's Dairyman. In Hoard's own words, the masthead read, "Hoard's Dairyman is especially devoted...