My travels in Australia last month included a visit to a dairy farm and milk processing facility. One-hundred-twenty Guernsey cows grazed the pastured hills in Maleny, in the state of Queensland, Australia,...
Earlier this month, I attended the Royal Easter Show held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The dairy show is part of a larger event, similar to a very large state fair, with cattle, agriculture and...
Few things can irritate a person like finding out they overpaid for a product or did not sell their own for its true value. In the April 8 Hoard's Dairyman "Reviewing forage and feed costs – What's...
Members, delegates, directors and employees of the Associated Milk Producers Cooperative met in Bloomington, Minn., for its annual meeting on March 25 and 26
Ev Thomas of the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute shared his experience with growing forages, especially alfalfa, on the March 11 Hoard's Dairyman webinar, "ABCs of alfalfa harvest."
"I am not prepared to accept the fact that feet and leg heritabilities are as low as they currently appear. We need to evaluate the trait better," Gordon Atkins, D.V.M., told those attending the 122nd...
As we wrap-up our 62nd Round Table series, "Robots milk our herds," the four herds featured in our February 25 issue share advise for others considering robots
Sequestration went into effect on March 1 as a result of the Budget Control Act. And with it, the federal budget will be reduced by $85 billion this year or $1.2 trillion over the next decade if congressional...
Milking and managing cows with robots requires some new management styles. As a follow-up to our February 25 Round Table "Robots milk our herds," these herd owners discuss handling repairs and buying used...
According to data just released by the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA), the number of Jerseys on Dairy Herd Information(DHI) test in 2012 rose for the ninth straight year and their actual average...
"You can't just go out there, feed them and squeeze them," was one of the many great financial one-liners Gary Sipiorski shared with a packed audience at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Frankenmuth,...
Milk Income Loss Contracts (MILC) were automatically extended through September 30, 2013, under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. There is no need for producers to re-enroll in MILC
Dairy management programs offered at no cost. No dairy herd is a cookie cutter of the next. Each have their own unique set of fixed costs, feed options and management criteria. Fortunately, there is software...
Time and resources limit teaching efforts. Contests should facilitate learning, not just provide scores. by Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager The ability to learn from past experience...
While most of us hope an OSHA inspector never has cause to pull up to our farm, dairy is slowly, but surely, coming under additional scrutiny. An inspection has a limited scope; it is a snapshot - one...
Can't we all just get along? People have their favorite peer groups and cows need them, too. On Monday, January 14, Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois, presented a webinar on cow grouping strategies...
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack confirmed that he had accepted the challenge of continuing as Secretary of Agriculture for another term. With one change, the five people that have their hands full of farm...
When all is said and done, the farm bill basically was extended for one year. That is because language to renew most of its old components was inserted into legislation passed on New Year's Day to avert...
Late December is traditionally the time of year when Americans spend time with their families. Not so if you are a congressional staffer, an elected national official . . . or even a dairy farmer
