While all the research conducted by the world's animal scientists is geared towards building a better agricultural system, it's important for everyone to remember that ultimately our number one goal is...
What a crazy, incredible turnaround. Huge 2014 crop outlooks in the U.S. and other major grain-producing countries have destroyed the high prices for feed grains that made life so painful for anyone with...
Flies become a nuisance in the summer, especially for our cattle. An unmanaged fly population can reduce milk production 10 to 30 percent and decreases feed efficiency
The Commercial Herd Award recognizes the top herd in the nation for Energy Corrected Milk. The herd must complete over 50 lactations during the year. Hoard's Dairyman Farm completed 147 records in 2013...
At 7 a.m. on a typical June day, most young people are still in bed enjoying the start to their summer vacation. Members of the Barnyard Clovers 4-H club are not among the late risers. Almost every June...
Gone are the days where every youth at a dairy event resides on a farm. There was a time when nearly every youth showing at a fair, competing in dairy judging or competing in quiz bowl lived and worked...
If robots are the next evolution of milking cows on a large scale, then the future is here already. Except it is happening slowly and not at all in the U.S. . . . yet
The 2014 meetings of the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey Inc., took place in Alexandria, Va., just miles away from the nation's capitol
Despite slower economic growth overall in the U.S., the agricultural sector is finally on the upswing. Real GDP (gross domestic product) rose 1.9 percent in 2013, down from the 2.8 percent growth rate...
Farm grows to accommodate more family and modern technology. June is Dairy Month. Along with celebrating the nutritious products made possible by dairy farmers, the Watertown Agri-Business Club highlighted...
Steady growth in the number of Jersey herds in the U.S., particularly among large dairy owners in the West, naturally leads to the question of how do they do financially? It's not an easy question to answer,...
I grew up listening to my grandpa talk about the "good ol' days" when computers did not exist and cellphones were a figment of the imagination. For better or worse, I have never known agriculture without...
With high summertime temps looming, it is time to start paying attention to Temperature Humidity Index values to manage your cows' heat stress. Just like the kids at the local swimming pool who are cooling...
For a good part of my childhood and most of my high school and college years, I have been the employee at my parents' 150-cow dairy in Valley Center, Kan. Like most farm children, I headed up calf care
The Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, more commonly known as Cattlemen's Beef Board consists of 103 members who represent domestic beef, veal and dairy producers. Yes, dairy. As dairy producers,...
Dairy farms in the U.S. can't be clumped into one cookie cutter mold, as new Census of Agriculture data shows that the dairy industry is still comprised of farms of varying shapes and sizes
When it rained, it didn't pour in California last year. As a result, the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) has officially declared 2013 the driest year since records began being kept in 1895
How do you explain genetically modified organisms to a consumer without getting too science-based in your explanation? I recently heard the analogy of comparing the technology to produce GMO foods with...
