The National Dairy Shrine announces the winners of its scholarships for 2011. The scholarships will be presented at the Awards Banquet at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., on October 6. For more...
Volunteers are a special gift to many organizations and clubs – especially youth organizations. Not all parents have the time to be a soccer coach, club scout leaders or Sunday school teacher. Parents...
Those of us in the Plains may want an extra application of sunscreen this week. The National Weather Service is predicting spots from Oklahoma through South Dakota to match temperatures in Death Valley,...
In the dairy industry, we have our own version of the "Big 10" schools. These are the four-year universities charged with the task of generating some of the latest research and producing future industry...
We planned to provide more information on groups that help form the farm bill today, but instead will save that for future Wednesdays. Two of our editors had the opportunity to spend the week at the American...
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...
Most June dairy celebrations have come and gone, but June Dairy Month still has 15 days to go. Are you finding ways to celebrate, educate, or at least partake in three servings of dairy each day? With...
It may be an essential nutrient for growing crops, but phosphorus (P) can wreak havoc when it flows to noncropping areas like streams, rivers, and lakes. Once in waterways, it can lead to algal blooms....
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...
Cash receipts from milk marketed last year totaled $31.36 billion. That was a 24 percent rise over 2009's $24.34 billion. Milk sales totaled $34.85 billion 2008. These numbers come from USDA's annual publication...
My hometown has a population of about 5,000 people, and it is the largest town in my county. There were almost 450 students in my high school, and the surrounding schools had fewer students and were located...
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...
While at the sixth annual AgSTAR conference last week, Jerry Bingold had plenty to announce. First, he explained all the initiatives that the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy was taking part in, and they...
If your herd could talk to you about their pen dynamics, what would they say? Would they compliment the soft, bedded freestalls, the wide alley ways, and the roominess of the feedbunk? Or would they be...
American farmers have an incredible ability to plant corn once favorable weather conditions exist. In Iowa, corn planting progressed from 8 to 69 percent in just seven days. That represented by far the...
Only 13 percent of the nation's corn crop has been planted according to USDA's most recent Crop Progress released May 2. This year's cool, wet spring weather has limited farmers' ability to work fields...
It may not seem like spring weather, but spring is here! That means it's time to clean, replace, and check on your equipment and facilities. David Bray at the University of Florida provided several items...
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,...
Under ideal conditions, corn will emerge in 10 days or less after planting. But, the cool, wet weather throughout much of the Corn Belt during April has been anything but ideal. Given these cooler soil...