The less time a cow spends in the holding pen, the more time it has to engage in productive functions

Kiefland Holsteins in southeastern Minnesota installed its first robotic milkers in 2011, and the family has learned a great deal in the past four years

Kraft's "Lunchables Uploaded" is more than a meal in a box. They got me. After reading this week's Hoard's Dairyman Intel about the best new food products of 2014, I decided to try the chart topper "Lunchables...

If water logged fields have made replanting top of mind, first consider if the effort is worth the reward

Applying fungicide to alfalfa may result in a yield bump, but that gain may not be enough to cover application costs

It was a difficult decision to leave my family and our farm in 2011. On the most recent return trip, I brought home a small piece of the herd

Little things add up to quality feed and increased production

Shrink is hard to define, but committing to best management practices during harvest, ensiling and feedout can reduce its impact. Over the past few years, sustainability has earned its status as a dairy...

On-farm milk culturing can lead to better mastitis treatment decisions that benefit you, the cow and our industry

The list of precision dairy farming technologies continues to grow and tell us more about our cows

Only 1,631 farms left, but it was still the 22nd yearly decline in a row. "Get out while the getting is good" saw 1,631 U.S. dairies leave the industry in 2014. According to data released earlier this...

Raising dairy steers can be a profitable venture, but consider how it will impact the rest of your operation before jumping in headfirst. Beef prices are exceptionally high. Beef cattle numbers are near...

Drought, less acreage, and rising global demand are reasons why. Droughts in the West and rising demand around the world are increasing the price of hay and other forages for U.S. milk producers. And...

Volatility and opportunities exist in the peaks and valleys.Producing milk is full of peaks and valleys. We love the highs and dread the lows. Understanding your financial status can help your herd maximize...

In difficult economic times, we become better managers. Shrink is one area where we can tighten our belts. Dairy rations are balanced on the cents per cow that an ingredient will add to or cut from a feed...

Running a business has a lot to do with building and maintaining relationships, and for a farm, an extremely important relationship is the one with their lender. The foundation of that relationship is...

Growing prospect of another recession threatens exports and farm milk prices. Despite big dips in the stock market this week, the U.S. economy remains in fabulous shape. Except that's in comparison to...

Global warming or not, the world's climate is changing. In the United States, greater variability in precipitation patterns, more pronounced differences in weather between regions, and rising average temperatures...

Simply guessing as to the cause is part of the problem. Death loss is a challenge to every producer. Minimizing early removals from the herd should be the goal, but it starts with an understanding of the...

"In the best-case scenario, we'll lose only 2 to 3 percent of our harvested forage tons to fermentation shrink," noted John Goeser, Rock River Laboratory, at the Penn State Dairy Nutrition Conference