What are children in schools being taught about agriculture? The number of teachers with agriculture backgrounds continues to decline. And, teaching about a topic that is not familiar to an instructor...
The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance is looking for the new face of farming and ranching. Two dairy producers are amongst the finalists. Deciding who agriculture's spokespersons should be is not a debate....
A highlight of many students' college career is competing at the National Collegiate Dairy Judging contest, now held at World Dairy Expo. The coveted Otto Schnering Trophy has been awarded to the National...
Contestants get some final practice before tomorrow's national contest. It was a beautiful morning in Fort Atkinson. Over 150 students and coaches arrived at the Hoard's Dairyman Farm in preparation for...
J and Allan Schanbacher have never planted oats any time but early spring. But this year they planted 63 acres in mid-August as they scramble to make up for drought-ravaged hay and corn crops
Nichelle Stewert, a Georgia farmer who volunteers with her local Farm Bureau, gave one of our favorite sessions at this year's National Agriculture in the Classroom Conference
While it may no longer be June Dairy Month, educating the public is a year-round challenge. As summer shows and fairs get into full swing, do you take the time to educate the public about your animals,...
On a decent number of dairy operations, migrant workers comprise a portion or the majority of the labor force. These are people we have come to depend on day to day to successfully run our dairies
We posted a photo yesterday on our Hoard's Dairyman Facebook page of a well-dressed young man standing at the end of his dairy barn with rose petals sprinkled down the alley. We thought it was a unique...
Dairy leadership program will now be held more frequently. The time for leadership in the dairy industry becomes more critical as producer numbers decline and the number of consumers grow. Fortunately,...
Use pictures to catch the eye and use your words to catch the mind To build trust, farmers know they must become a familiar face to their customers. From coffee shops to hay sales, farmers have used these...
It seems people choose to focus on the negative. When sharing milk's story, highlight the positive. The phases you speak or type become memorable and often quotable. MyDairy shares some reminders as we...
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) seems to have its hands in everything lately. When we turn on the news, HSUS is often cited as a credible source
For decades, other states have flirted with California dairies like they're the prettiest girls at the dance. There have been many suitors, too; a dozen from as far away as Wisconsin come to mind. South...
Many of us in agriculture stay involved in local pro-agriculture organizations. While each has its political tilt or bias, I hope we can all agree that Farm Bureau does a great job promoting the national...
It was 1948 when Cornelis and Arij van der Lely invented the finger-wheel rake. Since then, Lely has aimed to improve manual tasks in many areas of agriculture and other industries. We sat down with Chad...
Well-spoken young professionals, both producers and allied industry, participated in leadership training in Albuquerque, N.M. They were exposed to break-out sessions, media training, and a panel discussion...
Mud, sun, warmth, cold, crowds, and fun were all part of the familiar mix at World Ag Expo last week in Tulare, Calif. But it's what was not there that was the show's biggest dairy story. If 2009 was...
The birth of healthy twin heifer calves with a healthy mother cow is a gift on any dairy farm. Multiply that by two, and what do you get? 179,200,000. A normal day at Zuppan Dairy, Orland, Calif., includes...