Summer always meant fairs and shows as a youngster. As an exhibitor, I looked forward to the shows, especially showmanship – where my ability to work with my heifer or cow as one team could be put...
National Dairy Shrine will name our very own Steven Larson the 2011 Guest of Honor. The Guest of Honor is the highest award from the National Dairy Shrine. This award goes to an individual who has had...
About 25 years after the exodus began, Hoard's WEST joined the dairy migration from southern California to southern Idaho. Since it began publication in 1999, our Western edition was based near the Chino...
New Zealand has followed a similar economic trend to its biggest customer, supplier, and investor, Australia, and it hasn't been pretty. But New Zealand is now beginning to mimic Australia's resource-driven...
This past weekend, Fort Atkinson Wis., the home of Hoard's Dairyman, hosted the second annual Fort Atkinson Half-Marathon, with over 500 participants. Once again, the Barnyard Clovers, a local 4-H club...
The FFA is one of the nation's premier youth organizations and agriculture is blessed to have the organization training future leaders in our industry. The Washington Leadership Conference, one of the...
It's just a tiny trickle so far, but solar power projects are slowly beginning to pop up on Western dairies. The latest one to begin generating electricity for the power grid is a big one, more than 200...
Paul Dyk, who recently left University of Wisconsin Extension for a job in the private sector, wrote a good article in a recent UWEX newsletter titled Higher Speed Internet Options for Fond du Lac County....
Last weekend several members of the Hoard's Dairyman staff had the opportunity to attend and volunteer at Cows on the Concourse on the square surrounding Madison's capitol building. A dedicated group of...
Farm safety is always an important discussion topic, but sometimes we forget about farm safety when machinery leaves the farm to travel on public roads. Tractor and machinery traffic has risen now that...
California took over as the largest U.S. dairy state in 1994 and for the last nine years has made more milk than No. 2 and No. 3 combined. For over 40 years, it thrived by embracing a business philosophy...
In recent years, it seems that more opinions have given credence to the notion that raising high-producing cows in freestall barns, storing manure in lagoons, and storing silage in bunkers are all better...
As we've said before, farmers, industry professionals, and educators need to continue lobbying for dairy as much as we can. School teachers, supermarkets, and senators alike need to be reminded of just...
Have you ever been in the middle of a huge mess or fight with no exit door? But when you think about it, you're not exactly sure what got you into the chaos in the first place? For those of us in agriculture,...
After reading research from their local University of Wisconsin-Extension agent based in Winnebago County, Pete and Charlie Knigge decided to give frost seeding red clover into winter wheat a try. Last...
The Cooperative Network, a federation of cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin, held their annual dairy policy and leadership conference yesterday and today in Rochester, Minn. On Tuesday, a panel of...
Whole Foods Market is phasing in a new five-step animal welfare rating program for all chicken, beef, and pork products (Click here for their animal welfare page). At the least, all animal products must...
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...
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...
