USDA finally appears ready to make a decision on national ID. According to the May 24, 2011, Wall Street Journal, "USDA wants every cow to have a unique numerical ID, stamped on an inexpensive ear tag...
An anniversary only comes around once a year, and Hoard's Dairyman has celebrated plenty of them! This year marks the 126th anniversary of the publication. After great fanfare with our 125th anniversary...
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...
April milk production in the top 23 states was up just 1.7 percent over a year ago. This represents a slowing of milk production growth from earlier this year. Milk production nationally during the first...
While at the sixth annual AgSTAR conference last week, Jerry Bingold had plenty to announce. First, he explained all the initiatives that the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy was taking part in, and they...
Holstein Association USA recognizes the importance of identifying heritable, sometimes undesirable, unique genes in Holstein cattle, to provide breeders with the tools they need to make informed breeding...
Will the 2012 Farm Bill actually be written and passed in 2012? What will it look like? That was the focus of the discussion at the opening session of the National Dairy Producers Conference in Omaha,...
Milk production for 2012 is forecast to climb as the decline in milk cows is expected to be offset by growth in milk per cow, according to USDA's World Supply and Demand Estimates released yesterday. Although...
At the Environmental Protection Agency's AgSTAR (http://www.epa.gov/agstar/) conference this week, we will hear from experts on the latest and greatest things happening with anaerobic digesters. Yesterday,...
If your herd could talk to you about their pen dynamics, what would they say? Would they compliment the soft, bedded freestalls, the wide alley ways, and the roominess of the feedbunk? Or would they be...
American farmers have an incredible ability to plant corn once favorable weather conditions exist. In Iowa, corn planting progressed from 8 to 69 percent in just seven days. That represented by far the...
Delegates to the bi-annual National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments yesterday narrowly defeated a proposal to reduce the somatic cell count (SCC) legal limit from the current 750,000 cells per...
Only 13 percent of the nation's corn crop has been planted according to USDA's most recent Crop Progress released May 2. This year's cool, wet spring weather has limited farmers' ability to work fields...
We are all familiar with the daily routine on our own farms and maybe how dairy producers in other regions of the country operate their facilities, but a select few have ventured internationally to learn...
As we've said before, farmers, industry professionals, and educators need to continue lobbying for dairy as much as we can. School teachers, supermarkets, and senators alike need to be reminded of just...
Animal scientists at Washington State University think they do and are embarking on an extensive research project with several other universities that they hope will identify genetic markers that can be...
If you are an active online agriculturalist (or "agvocate" as it is termed in pro-agriculture Twitter and Facebook circles like #AgChat), you have probably realized that the New York Times and its associated...
It may not seem like spring weather, but spring is here! That means it's time to clean, replace, and check on your equipment and facilities. David Bray at the University of Florida provided several items...
Have you ever been in the middle of a huge mess or fight with no exit door? But when you think about it, you're not exactly sure what got you into the chaos in the first place? For those of us in agriculture,...
Under ideal conditions, corn will emerge in 10 days or less after planting. But, the cool, wet weather throughout much of the Corn Belt during April has been anything but ideal. Given these cooler soil...
