While a new barn and robots may not be the answer for every dairy, this new era will improve our future lifestyle, overall business consistency and cow care. This week was very exciting on our farm as...
Hand-scoring and double-checks is still the most efficient for us. The Cow Judging Contest has been part of the Hoard's Dairyman brand for 86 years. Images of the cows were originally printed in just black...
A twist on pretty will debut at a Canadian cattle show in April. While no beauty pageant exists just for young ladies with IQs above 120, there is a pageant of sorts debuting in Canada next month for heifers...
Strategize for ways to minimize heat stress. Even though we are not ready for sunglasses and shorts, warm weather will be here soon. Mike Brouk, Kansas State University, presented "The latest on beating...
Event celebrates the value of food production in our world. Tuesday, March 15 is National Agriculture Day, which marks the 43rd year of celebrating the ways agriculture impacts everyone. This year's theme...
Keep your focus so you don't get pinned or pushed out of the ring. By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager Wrestling can be a bit like dairy farming. Farmers must be scrappy to stay mobile...
National organization continues to develop skills of young people. National FFA Week concludes tomorrow. This weeklong celebration of FFA happens every February, and in honor of the occasion, I recently...
My daughter, Caitlin, decided to return to the farm after graduating with a degree in diversified agriculture to manage our herd health and reproduction programs
Type and production are partners in extreme production. Last month it was announced that Bur-Wall Buckeye Gigi produced 74,650 pounds of milk. That equates to 8,680 gallons of milk and set the single lactation...
Major renovations will be made to the Oklahoma State University Dairy thanks to a generous gift from a former student. Who would have thought that a love story from years past would lead to new state-of-the-art...
Locomotion scoring can help detect lame cows and gauge overall herd health. When it's not a problem, foot and leg health is something that flies under the radar on a many dairies, but soggy spring conditions...
Understanding immunity promotes calf health. Vaccinations are designed to stimulate the immune system. They aren't cures, but tools to help the calf defend its body from viruses, bacteria and parasites....
Have a plan for what you want to see and do. Winter – the season when not a lot happens in the fields. And for this reason, trade shows are scheduled to entice busy farmers to attend. With World...
Farms with more cows prove that animal welfare is still a priority. The average herd size for dairy farms in the United States keeps growing while the number of farms continues to decline. This trend is...
Jim Baird, gifted Hoard's Dairyman Art Director, passes on We would consider ourselves lucky to be really good at one thing – something that truly symbolized the essence of our being. But to be...
An array of factors help this Illinois dairy farm maintain a below average somatic cell count month after month. When it comes to milk quality, Sycamore, Ill., dairyman Bill Deutsch focuses both inside...
Twice per day feedings may expand the time cows spend at the bunk, boost milk production and improve fat and protein content of milk. A cow's time budget allows for three to five hours of eating per day...
Select those that target your needs By Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager If every feed additive delivered on its hype, feeding them all would keep pushing milk production up and up....
California's dairy industry highlighted during annual event. It was the first time in the 127 year-history of the Rose Parade, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) had a float entry. The organization...
Gadgets and devices aid – not replace dairy management. All that cool technology that people use to communicate, record exercise levels and monitor their sleep patterns, now are being applied to...
