This week, March 10 to 16, is recognized as National Groundwater Awareness week. Groundwater is one of our most valuable resources, needed by people, animals and crops every day
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
Sequestration went into effect on March 1 as a result of the Budget Control Act. And with it, the federal budget will be reduced by $85 billion this year or $1.2 trillion over the next decade if congressional...
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,...
For over half a century, the concept of healthy eating has become synonymous with avoiding fat, especially saturated fats, noted Adam Lock, Michigan State University, at the Southwest Nutrition and Management...
Milking and managing cows with robots requires some new management styles. As a follow-up to our February 25 Round Table "Robots milk our herds," these herd owners discuss handling repairs and buying used...
Focusing on "the other bacteria," or emerging mastitis pathogens, Pam Ruegg, University of Wisconsin-Madison, addressed those gathered at the Wisconsin Dairy Field Representative Conference
At World Ag Expo last week, a giant milk bottle caught my attention. It was filled with hundreds of white ping pong balls with names on them. Each ball, known as a milk drop, represents each dairy producer...
The weather changes every day, there's no way around it. But is it a trend? Factors outside meteorologists, hurricanes and snowstorms can be offered as proof. I'm giving up on "climate consistency." That's...
"You can't just go out there, feed them and squeeze them," was one of the many great financial one-liners Gary Sipiorski shared with a packed audience at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Frankenmuth,...
Dairy management programs offered at no cost. No dairy herd is a cookie cutter of the next. Each have their own unique set of fixed costs, feed options and management criteria. Fortunately, there is software...
U.S. Department of Labor numbers show that many more have the opportunity to add value to our food.Who touches your food? We often hear that 2 percent of people have jobs directly related to agriculture....
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...
Time and resources limit teaching efforts. Contests should facilitate learning, not just provide scores. by Patti Hurtgen, Hoard's Dairyman Online Media Manager The ability to learn from past experience...
A degree of closure has come in the sensational animal abuse video case that occurred in Idaho last October. Jesus Garza, 25, one of three employees seen abusing cattle in an undercover video that was...
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...
With its launch in 2005, Chobani spurred a Greek yogurt movement throughout the U.S. Since then, a number of other manufacturers have gotten in on the action as well
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...
As we reported on Monday (Golden Guernsey plant closed unexpectedly), the Golden Guernsey plant in Waukesha, Wis., closed its doors unexpectedly over the weekend
