New school lunch policies improved food consumption and minimized waste in one school district; can we do even better? By Abby Bauer, Hoard's Dairyman Associate Editor When the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids...
For those looking to shed pounds, dodging dairy fat may be bad for your waistline. Fat is having a heyday. For decades, the standard recommendation within the nutrition community has been to avoid fat...
Last year, the United States saw another drop in farm acres and number of farms, but productivity filled the gap. Our nation's farmers are faced with the continuous challenge of doing more with less. The...
Students holding degrees in agricultural and natural resources are anticipated to earn a starting salary of $51,220, on average. The ultimate goal for most students is to graduate from college employed....
Only 1,631 farms left, but it was still the 22nd yearly decline in a row. "Get out while the getting is good" saw 1,631 U.S. dairies leave the industry in 2014. According to data released earlier this...
If you have good prep and good milkers, the use of an automatic teat scrubber or more conventional prep routine should have little impact on production. Forestripping serves two purposes in the parlor:...
Dairy challenge competition allows students to connect the dots between classes, experiences and instinct. I was the buzzer beater in junior dairy bowl. I studied and studied the questions, and on many...
Volatility and opportunities exist in the peaks and valleys.Producing milk is full of peaks and valleys. We love the highs and dread the lows. Understanding your financial status can help your herd maximize...
Two new apps are now available to help producers evaluate calves' respiratory health. Respiratory disease can be a devastating issue for the calf caretakers on your farm. According to Terry Ollivett from...
A PCR assay can enhance your milk quality diagnostics. The incorporation of a robust diagnostic strategy has been promoted heavily in recent years as a way to identify the predominant pathogens causing...
DHIA milk sample-based method is 91 percent accurate identifying herd prevalence. Next to mastitis, perhaps no subclinical health problem is as common, as unseen (if not outright ignored) or as costly...
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...
Research sheds additional light on the specific effects of mastitis on reproductive efficiencies. The dairy cow's internal balance can often be a fragile thing, and it is never more apparent than when...
Little by little, cow milking is evolving from manual to automated. Not just for small herds, but for everyone. Adoption of robotic milking technology, whether as individual "box" units or as automated...
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...
"In the best-case scenario, we'll lose only 2 to 3 percent of our harvested forage tons to fermentation shrink," noted John Goeser, Rock River Laboratory, at the Penn State Dairy Nutrition Conference
A cow that's come down with milk fever is easily recognizable. Oftentimes, the cow, unable to stand, has its head against its side, and its ears are cold to the touch
Even well-educated parents with access to healthy foods struggle to meet the nutritional needs of their children. The groundwork for a healthy life is built during childhood. Unfortunately, financial limitations,...
Living and childrearing expenses continue to climb. Family living costs are up for urban and rural residents alike. In a survey of over 1,300 farm families, Illinois farmers reported that their cost of...
