Having a heifer enterprise won't make sense for every operation. Most dairies have three enterprises on-farm: cows, cropping and heifers. Within this subset, the cost of raising replacements also accounts...
It took an NFL stadium to contain the excitement Minnesota youth had for the Fuel Up to Play 60 Program. It's not every day you get to meet an NFL athlete, especially as a 6th grader. But if you're in...
The drought has been hard on pastureland, so extra attention should be given to prepare paddocks for this growing season. The drought that affected much of the United States last summer will likely have...
Spreaders and other implements are beginning to hit fields across the country as we begin the 2013 cropping season. But have you taken the time to evaluate your nutrient recording keeping system lately?
Dairy cows struggle to maintain normal blood calcium levels at the start of each lactation. Colostrum and milk both use a large amount of calcium, and the cow must suddenly adjust for this rapid nutrient...
Few things can irritate a person like finding out they overpaid for a product or did not sell their own for its true value. In the April 8 Hoard's Dairyman "Reviewing forage and feed costs – What's...
The farm bill came very close to passage last year. As part of that comprehensive national farm law, the Dairy Security Act (DSA) would have become the dairy portion of the farm bill
In the past few years, it seems as if agricultural majors have received a great deal of flack. In 2011, The Daily Beast (an online news information site) listed "agriculture" as their third most useless...
For decades, high concentrate, low forage diets were a staple on dairy farms. As economics have shifted though, there has been a push to produce higher quality forage and maximize its inclusion in the...
On conventional dairy farms, antibiotics have a place in treating sick animals but never in the milk or meat sold by the farm. Consumers can drink milk happily and safely thanks to the efforts put forth...
Ev Thomas of the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute shared his experience with growing forages, especially alfalfa, on the March 11 Hoard's Dairyman webinar, "ABCs of alfalfa harvest."
After reviewing the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announcement from Tuesday, March 12, it became crystal clear that dairy contributed the largest cost savings for NASS' mandated budget...
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 the landscape of the agricultural farmstead has changed from red barns with a variety of livestock and two-story white farmhouses to more single-focused livestock operations, have the words we use changed...
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...
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...
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
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...
"Compared to 1944, milk production per cow is up 443 percent," Dale Bauman told attendees at the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Frankenmuth, Mich
Excellence in what is not only possible for the production of superb quality milk, but what is already taking place on U.S. dairy farms, was celebrated January 29 at the 52nd annual National Mastitis Council...
