Seven steps that allow you to establish an effective mastitis control program. Over time, somatic cell count (SCC) levels on dairies in the U.S. have gradually dropped. With time though, it is likely that...
Everyone dies eventually. But when a milk producer passes away it can also mean the end of the dairy, its jobs and family traditions unless some fairly straightforward legal planning has been done to prevent...
A report last month from a major dairy lender confirmed what many producers already knew: the long era of mostly gradual ebbs and flows in U.S. milk prices and production costs is over
Launched in 2002, the idea behind the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge was to allow students to incorporate the knowledge they had gained in all aspects of dairy management into one competition
On the farm, the need for a smartphone depends on the user. But I could make the case that each farm could have one if they wanted. Your extra costs are about $100 initially (over two years) for the phone,...
The terms are all too familiar for those in animal agriculture: "growth hormone," "mad cow disease" and "factory farm." All are nicknames for longer, dryer formal names. The mainstream media loves them...
In a state often fraught with regulatory burdens, New York's political entity has finally seen the need to work with and not against agriculture in upstate. The current boom in the state's yogurt industry...
Immigration reform is an ongoing national debate. Those of us involved in the paperwork and potential legal harassment associated with finding capable, willing and possibly foreign workers have considered...
Most dairy nutritionists already have been stuffing cows with as many alternative feeds as they can lay their ration formulas on. If there is less corn or soybeans at harvest time, due to our current...
You may have heard Kelly Clarkson sing, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." However, Julia Ridpath, of the National Animal Disease Center/ARS/USDA staff, reminded dairy producers that in the case...
Over the years, nothing has repeatedly brought out the spirit of cooperation between dairy cooperatives like low milk prices and tough times. Adversarial attitudes arrive when times are good, but working...
Gratitude seems to be lost these days. A sincere thank you is replaced with a "Yea, thanks man." While some gestures only need a quick thank you, others might necessitate more. Writing thank you notes...
You may be facing challenges with the availability and expense of common bedding sources such as sawdust or the management of sand bedding. In recent years recycled manure solids have become a more prevalent...
Hundreds of votes are in from all over the world; in a landslide election, our Guernsey calf beat our Jersey with a final tally of 55.6 percent to 44.4 percent at 8 a.m
April 24 was vocabulary-building day not only for consumers, but for many dairy producers, too. The word we learned was "atypical." We also learned that its meaning basically boils down to: Every now and...
Share the safety aspect of your operation to promote prevention by Hoard's Dairyman staff While the warm weather brings a smile to our face, it can be a time of danger. Animal projects for the summer fairs...
Attorney warns food shortages are possible if agency continues to operate unchecked. Get Washington, D.C. attorney Gary Baise (pictured) started on the Environmental Protection Agency. Please. It won't...
This year's conference "Got Manure?" featured a preconference tour of three New York digester systems. Methane digester interest continues to grow, as a near capacity crowd filled the conference room at...
Consumers say they hear the warnings about raw milk, but they don't care. A well-done article in last week's San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News highlighted one of the head-shaking realities that the dairy...