A year can go by at record speed, or at least that is how it has felt this past year. Often days and nights intertwined, and somehow, the seasons flew to the next without us having much time to hit the...

For farmers, working with family can be an awesome blessing or one of life’s greatest challenges

There are plenty of “How to” books available on just about anything . . . how to succeed, how to wire a building, how to be a better person, how to be inspiring, and the list goes on and on

As humans, we often make extra food purposely, so that we have leftovers to eat the next day. That same philosophy doesn’t work for dairy cows, who need fresh feed daily

If it’s been on your mind to consider farm expansion during this tough financial time, there is one question dairy lenders say is essential to answer

Water quality, having a plan for dry cow housing, and learning how to work with calves in group housing. Those are the top three lessons Randy Gross learned from real-life experiences during a 2016 dairy...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, milk is being dumped, while exports have disappeared and there is no milk and milk limits in my local stores

Maybe I look younger than I actually am. Maybe I don’t look like the “Rodgers.” Maybe I have a sign stuck to my back saying I can’t help you. Or maybe, just maybe, there is still...

When caring for livestock every day, dairy farmers realize that mortality is an unwanted but real consequence of agriculture

At World Dairy Expo, Chris Wolf, a professor in Agricultural Economics and Management at Cornell University, presented a seminar on the sometimes dreaded topic of dairy farm finances and decision making

In a meeting, I was asked what my main focus on the farm was, and I had to pause for a second to think about it

How many of you ladies would agree that when someone unfamiliar with your farm comes to visit, advertise, or put in a resume, they go to every male on the farm trying to get to the “owner”...

“Did you check the tanks?” “Yes.” “Did you check the temperature charts?” “Yes.”

I was recently asked a question that I had not been asked before, and I had to think about it for a second

Margins in the dairy industry in the past several years have forced dairy producers to further fine-tune their financial strategies

“When you’re in an environment of low margin, high volatility, the reactive manager gets wiped out,” explained Virginia Tech’s David Kohl at the recent Tri-State Dairy Nutrition...

The 10-year challenge that we all really should care about is a far cry from the viral 10-year challenge (#TenYearChallenge) that has taken over social media

This past weekend, I was stunned to hear that a friend of mine had passed away. He was the same age as me, and we had been friends for more than 30 years

Having eyes on your parlor all the time doesn’t sound like a bad thing

Every week, one member of the Hillcrest Farms team will choose a quote to write on the whiteboard in our office for all to see. The quotes can range from Bible verses, inspirational quotes, or even just...