We are globally connected. The earthquake, tsunami, and pending nuclear crisis in Japan have reminded us of that. We first need to reflect and be thankful for our own families and loved ones as we watch...
Hoard's Dairyman's third webinar was a great success! Dr. Mark Stephenson, Director of Dairy Policy Analysis for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, presented "How milk production control plans compare."...
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...
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....
Three reports came available recently. So, instead of focusing on one topic, today we will touch on three. Last week, the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC) met in Washington and reviewed a final...
What a great kick-off to the 2011 Hoard's Dairyman Webinar Series. Yesterday's program was presented by host Mike Hutjens of the University of Illinois. Over 140 people for the inaugural live presentation,...
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,...
Just yesterday, President Barack Obama signed into law the first major overhaul of U.S. food safety infrastructure since 1983. The bill, known as the American Food Safety Modernization Act or S. 510, comes...
Between a forecast for lower milk prices and the likelihood of higher feed costs, it's hard to not have a gloomy financial outlook for U.S. milk producers in 2011. Sorry. Amid the dreariness, however,...
Chinese milk production will reach 67 billion pounds in 2011, up 5 percent from 2010. This is among the forecasts of a USDA Foreign Ag Service GAIN report (Global Agricultural Information Network). China's...
This title is an often-heard phase. It tells us to select the best person to accomplish a given task. It makes sense. If you are good with numbers, work with finance. Good with your hands, choose tasks...
Biggest change, of course, will be in the House, where the Republicans easily gained control. It looks as if the GOP could gain as many as 50 to 60 seats in the lower chamber when all the dust settles....
Recession still handcuffs the U.S. economy as a whole (what is the National Bureau of Economic Research thinking?), but a semi-boom has been underway all year in global demand for dairy products. Thanks...
Corn production is forecast at a record high 13.4 billion bushels, up 2 percent from the previous record set in 2009, according to USDA's Crop Production report issued yesterday. Based on conditions as...
When there's producer and grower money at stake –quite a bit of it– there always are strong feelings about who should spend it and how it should be spent. That's why both the beef check-off...
Away at college, working on a master's degree, many of my daughter's calls and e-mails now include personal insights into the financial "joy" of being a grown-up. "One day you'll appreciate the starving...
Forecast milk production for 2010 and 2011 is raised slightly from last month in USDA Supply and Demand Estimates released late last week. Cow numbers have remained higher than expected, and milk per cow...
Expect gradual improvement in milk prices and margins, according to USDA's recent Livestock, Dairy, & Poultry Outlook. Corn prices are forecast to average $3.50 to $3.70 a bushel through this crop year,...
Are you ready for the kids to come running off the school bus on the last day of school and right into the farm yard? Summer vacation for children raised on farms is usually filled with memory-making activities...
Anyone who milks cows wants demand for their milk, and the more the better. But as producers saw all too painfully in 2008-09, expanding to meet that demand comes with risk. Recent news from the U.S. Dairy...
