My daughter, Caitlin, and I were discussing our switch to robotic milking and our agri-tourism venture

Nearly 100 years ago, my great-grandfather traveled by himself on a cattle boat from the Azores Islands of Portugal in search of a better life

From time to time, we all like to go on a vacation. Dad likes to hike, kayak, and bike, while Uncle Andy enjoys golfing and spending time at the lake

We build dairy barns for cows, but birds are often unwanted guests that also make themselves at home

I recently tuned in to the NFL football game of the Chicago Bears versus the Philadelphia Eagles

While dairy farming is obviously a year-round occupation, things do tend to slow down a bit over the winter. This makes it an ideal time to review records and plan for the new year

Annie smiled, and even laughed a bit when she said “You’re talking to her” to the hoof trimmer who stopped by her dairy looking for business while I was visiting this past week. He was...

Last year, not even one of our employees called in sick because of the flu

We were hard at work this Halloween. Things are looking a lot different around the farm

I had a unique experience the other day. It is interesting how it all started but even more so how it ended

Growing up on my family farm out west in Oregon, my mother never had to make field meals. Despite milking cows, we never raised crops

You can find some pretty neat things by going through the archives of Hoard’s Dairyman

I am sure most of you know that women are starting to take on more responsibility in the agricultural industry. Back in the 1940s and 1950s, you would see a lot of husbands running the farms while the...

There has been a lot of talk lately about the efficiencies of large-scale dairies and concern that the smaller farms can’t survive

Have you heard of the four-legged milk stool? A popular analogy among author Gary Sipiorki’s talks and Money Matters column articles, he makes the argument that financial awareness is as critical...

Some dairies have a staff of four people, while others have a staff of 100 people. I can say, though, that most dairy staffs are like family

A dear friend of mine once told me that anyone who could afford to take a couple weeks away from their work really must not be needed at their job

If you want to initiate a good debate at the coffee shop, talk about farm size and what is better — the small or large herd

“Hello ma’am, is the owner or the gentleman in charge of the purchasing decisions around?”

Anyone who has watched dairy cows use large mechanical roller brushes knows it’s pretty obvious they love them