What goes into a "next year's outlook" prediction? Paying attention all year long this year, talking regularly to producers, studying the economic horizon outside the industry, tracking trends, and decades...
In recent weeks, we've sadly heard of several barn collapses in the upper Midwest. Each of the barns that failed was bearing an extreme snow load due to an overly white Christmas we had in this part of...
Rollover protection systems (ROPS) save lives. When ROPS are used with seat belts, 99 percent of tractor drivers survive rollover accidents. And, even if the seat belt isn't worn, 70 percent of drivers...
Between a forecast for lower milk prices and the likelihood of higher feed costs, it's hard to not have a gloomy financial outlook for U.S. milk producers in 2011. Sorry. Amid the dreariness, however,...
The holidays are usually spent with family and friends,sharing stories and reminiscing about recent activities. If you have a small holiday gathering with just those you work with, you will likely learn...
USDA just announced they are set to publish their 2,300-plus page Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the Federal Register, nearly four years after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer halted the sale...
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate approved (81 to 19) the big tax package that extends Bush-era tax rates and includes a number of other measures. One of those measures would extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise...
Years ago, bunkers were only known as a military hide-out. Those bunkers were safe. The bunkers on our dairy farms can be anything but. Deaths can and do occur because of poor face management, accidental...
Chinese milk production will reach 67 billion pounds in 2011, up 5 percent from 2010. This is among the forecasts of a USDA Foreign Ag Service GAIN report (Global Agricultural Information Network). China's...
One way that we at Hoard's Dairyman stay up to date on the newest research and tools is to subscribe to extension, research, and producer group newsletters. We gladly pass these newsletters around our...
An $860,000 donation from a husband and wife has created a new Dairy Center and dairy professorship in the Food Science and Technology Department at Oregon State University. The Paul G. and Sandra A. Arbuthnot...
While driving home yesterday, I heard the end of a radio show with some interesting content. It prompted me to look into the topic a bit more. We see leaders as very confident spokespersons. But, the radio...
There is always something going on at the Hoard's Dairyman Farm. This week, one of the irons in the fire has been looking at the impact of buying 35 Jersey cows. Here's how we approached the issue: First,...
There is always something going on at the Hoard's Dairyman Farm. This week, one of the irons in the fire has been looking at the impact of buying 35 Jersey cows. Here's how we approached the issue: First,...
This title is an often-heard phase. It tells us to select the best person to accomplish a given task. It makes sense. If you are good with numbers, work with finance. Good with your hands, choose tasks...
National Milk Producers Federation announced last week it will seek a reduction in the maximum allowable somatic cell count for raw milk under the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance at the next meeting of the...
Biggest change, of course, will be in the House, where the Republicans easily gained control. It looks as if the GOP could gain as many as 50 to 60 seats in the lower chamber when all the dust settles....
As the San Francisco Giants clinched the World Series title, I was ecstatic as most long-time central California baseball fans were! 55 years is a long time to wait for a World Series title – years...
Milk producers hoping for an optimistic feed outlook in 2011 got just the opposite at the Arizona Dairy Production Conference October 21. Instead of lower prices, speakers said there is a great risk of...
The results of the annual top 100 coopertives list, ranked by total revenue is now available for 2009. It's release coincides with October being national cooperative month. The document, published by NCB...
