Twenty years ago, a room full of farmers talking about land prices wouldn't have surprised anyone. But what about a room full of investors? On November 15, we attended the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's...
During a trip to Japan this month, visits to food markets were eye-opening. There were both similarities and differences to the United States. First of all, Class 1 fluid milk use in Japan (they call it...
Anyone shopping for corn or hay supplies may be in store for a challenge well into next year. Last week, USDA reaffirmed its bushels-per-acre estimate for the 2011 corn crop at 148.1, the lowest in six...
In year 17, the Hoard's Dairyman and World Dairy Expo commercial exhibitor party was a great success. Dairy producers and youth from around the country make the trip to World Dairy Expo every year. They...
Growing up in a populous dairy region, I often failed to recognize how expansive our local dairy infrastructure actually was. If we faced a milking equipment break down, someone was there, within the hour,...
Guess which costs more: far away by ship or close by truck? Milk-cow-quality alfalfa hay is already over $300 per ton in California which isn't making this a fun summer for dairy producers there. An article...
Ever been curious about grazing dairy systems? Have you tried grazing in the past and found that it didn't work? Wondering about what grasses to potentially grow, how to manage pasture quality, how to...
We've talked about it before (see our blog, Wars we wage in dairy and agriculture and our editorial from the June 2011 issue, Keep chocolate milk in schools), but, like heat in the summer, the issue of...
Every day a milk truck comes to Shoestring Dairy. We exchange our normal "G'day Mate," then the friendly man hooks up the hose and pumps our cows' hard work from our tank into the truck. He prints off...
U.S. dairy exports are on the upswing, according to the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service's Summary of U.S. Dairy Exports released June 9, 2011. During the February to April 2011 time period, exports...
Opposition to the federal government's seemingly single-minded support of ethanol production as a solution to help the U.S. become more energy self-sufficient reached a new boiling point last week, with...
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...
Even though costs, especially feed costs, are climbing, so are milk prices, and the prospect of higher milk prices have put many dairymen and their suppliers in a more positive mood. That is evident in...
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....
"There's a love affair with dairy around the globe," said International Dairy Foods Association's Chief Executive Office, Connie Tipton at the 26th annual Dairy Forum in Miami, Fla., on Monday, January...
It's just one state and it may not reflect what is happening across the rest of U.S. agriculture, but it's still good news in an industry that can certainly use some: Farmland values in Indiana are shooting...
Memo to Chile: Don't seal up that mine just yet. "Hide and Ignore" appears to be a political strategy across the Atlantic, where the 27-member European Commission has proposed a five-year ban on animal...
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...
The results are in, and all gasses are accounted for. Yes, today, the industry-supported group, Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, has officially announced the completion of an unprecedented life cycle...
The most current USDA forecast continues the trend of lower cow numbers that has been more than offset by higher output per cow in 2010. Output per cow is expected to rise by 2.5 percent compared with...
