The Penterman family of Holland's Family Cheese is embracing the Wisconsin cheese-making tradition and adding a Dutch flare. Marieke and Rolf Penterman have a passion for dairying that was larger than...
Rearing costs are high, but calving heifers too early may adversely impact lifetime milk production. by Abby (Huibregtse) Bauer, Hoard's Dairyman Associate Editor The earlier a heifer enters the milking...
Chinese consumption and U.S. production are growing at the same rate. Sourcing safe, local raw milk remains expensive in many nations. Countries that are currently in a milk deficit will continue to struggle...
Transition cows need more than just a separate pen during this time of weakened immune response. On dairy farms, we tend to group our animals in an attempt to offer more specialized care. For example,...
Overstocking boosts a cow's risk for health problems, low milk yield and poor reproductive performance. The majority of work exploring the consequences of overstocking has focused on the behavioral changes...
With record-low hay stocks, many farms will need to stretch their forage supplies. by Abby Huibregtse, Hoard's Dairyman Associate Editor The USDA recently released estimates for hay in storage, and it's...
Cows will sacrifice feeding time in order to lie down when both resources are limited. There are a variety of reasons that can lead to overstocking in our freestalls. While it may be a short-term solution,...
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
Change is one of the great constants in U.S. dairy farming. The industry has been evolving for most of a century, but especially in the last 20 years. Like an ice skater who draws in their arms while spinning,...
In our February 10, 2013, issue, four producers from Vermont, New York, Wisconsin and California shared their thoughts on feeding high-forage diets to their herds. With the level of detail these producers...
The long-standing county quota system has been eliminated. One of the most popular activities for Wisconsin dairy youth is exhibiting at the state fair. Last year, there were over 800 dairy exhibitors....
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...
Dairy bowl competitions across the nation are in full swing, at both state breed and 4-H competitions, as youth vie for a chance to show their skills at a national level. For the various breeds, national...
History is constantly evolving, so the records of the past are in continual motion. National Dairy Shrine is working on renovations to the Joe P. Eves Library and displays surrounding it. During World...
Although they gave independent presentations at the World Holstein Conference in Toronto, Canada, both Ken Nordlund, D.V.M., and Gerard Cramer, D.V.M., agreed that the nutrition programs on most dairy...
Throughout the Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium held in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, there was an overarching theme that wrapped through the majority of presentations
Still learning Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn? Pinterest has come to take its own space on the web. Facebook and Twitter have virtually taken over the world as text-based ways to communicate...
Gordie Jones, D.V.M., kept a crowd curious with the ideas he developed over the years, all in the name of improving life for the dairy cow. Cows turn right easier than they can turn left. Cows move faster...
