The financial divide stands at nearly $3.8 billion. That is a substantial pay gap when it comes to milk checks for the nation's dairy producers during 2009. In a study released in late January, Informa...
America's dairy industry shrank again in 2010 in terms of both cow and farm numbers, yet produced more milk, according to data released last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Closer scrutiny...
The Milk-Feed Price Ratio for February was 1.96. That is the pounds of a 16 percent-protein complete ration we could purchase with 1 pound of milk. The ratio for last February was 2.36, higher largely...
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...
We are quite familiar with the phase, "We all learn from our mistakes." Nothing smacks you in the face as a poor decision, but, once that mistake is made, it is rarely repeated by the same person. We need...
I had a pretty expensive week. First I went to the co-op and picked up new tires for the truck. Then, I went to the dentist for my new crown. Finally, I filled up my truck with fuel! That joke, or lack...
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....
Dairy producers proved they are a resilient lot. Despite tough economic conditions during the past two years, most producers kept milking cows as only 1,805 licensed dairy farms called it quits last year....
Imagine a world where the manure check equals the milk check. No one is saying it is possible, but there is hope on the horizon for profiting from the waste end of the cow, and some are doing it already....
TV newscasts and city newspaper articles dote on the idyllic image of small farms while deriding commercial agriculture, all the while blissfully ignorant about which group actually feeds America. But...
Milk prices will be higher this year, according to USDA's Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook which was released Tuesday. The Class IV price is expected to average $16.70 to $17.50 per hundredweight...
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...
We understand that in our roles at a magazine, the good news and the bad news is going to come our way. Unfortunately, it seems that in recent years the people who bring us much of the good news are facing...
In a ceremonial fly-over, the blasting engine of an F/A-18F Super Hornet took to the skies to help celebrate the opening of the world's largest annual agricultural expo. Pleasant, sunny, moderate temperatures...
The triple combination of sedentary technology such as video games and the internet, reduced physical activity, and eating poor diets are just some of the contributing factors causing over one-third of...
Class III futures really took off last week with March climbing to $17.44 and April moving up to $17.10 by last Friday. The momentum continued Monday, as March was up 75 cents to $18.19. April jumped 59...
The recent runup in 2011 Class III milk price futures at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange has brought both relief and a euphoria to the nation's milk producers. But, as we've said before, as prices have...
Late last week, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) granted nonregulated status for alfalfa that has been genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide commercially known...
Like many of us in the dairy business, our roots are planted deep in history. Not only did Dad grow up on a dairy farm and milk cows daily, but so did Grandpa. That story was true for Bill Payne of Knob...
Meeting in Arlington, Va., near the nation's capital, the 50th Annual Meeting of the National Mastitis Council was both festive and productive. There was plenty of fun and reminiscing sprinkled amid the...
