Feb. 22 2021
Our farm has been able to keep running despite the nasty winter weather that’s hit this month
Feb. 5 2021
The other night, our robotic milkers called 36 times with one alarm or another. My dad got an early start on morning milking simply because he had been up since 11 p.m. the night prior tending to the robots
Jan. 7 2021
The new year always feels like a refreshed time. Even though it is just one day different, somehow, flipping to the new year on the calendar makes it a fresh start
Dec. 30 2020
While digital dermatitis tends to garner the headlines when it comes to hoof health, sole ulcers remain a real concern
Dec. 21 2020
Nearly 98% of the U.S. milk supply is produced on farms that participate in the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) program
Nov. 30 2020
“If you look around your farm . . . what sort of things do I want to hide from the public? What’s not going on the packaging on the milk container at the grocery store?”
Nov. 27 2020
My view today is filled with rain, snow, sleet, and lots of fog (because that’s Midwest weather for you)
Nov. 18 2020
We can all agree that the angry animal activists are the worst, right? They don’t just comment on one post and move on, they ask their friends to attack, too
Nov. 17 2020
In my last blog, I shared insights from the Animal Agriculture Alliance’s report from the virtual Farmed Animal Conference E-Summit (FACES) hosted during the summer
Nov. 16 2020
Last week, as the North American International Livestock Expo in Louisville, Ky., finished up, it was easy to admire all the beautiful cows
Nov. 13 2020
For years, people working with dairy cows have called the drop in calcium around calving milk fever. Ironically, milk fever, also known as hypocalcemia, does not cause a fever at all
Nov. 2 2020
Cow hugging, known as "koe knuffelen" in Dutch, has emerged as a new wellness trend, complete with YouTube videos, an international media hype, and plenty of uptake on Instagram
Oct. 30 2020
Newborn calves are an everyday occurrence on our family’s farm. Each one has its own unique pedigree, birth story, personality, and set of quirks
Oct. 23 2020
I was recently involved in a discussion among some of my professors and classmates regarding consumer interaction and education
Oct. 21 2020
We all know how important the transition period is for cows. To be clear, I’m talking about the weeks surrounding when a cow calves
Oct. 14 2020
It makes me sick, nearly to the point of vomiting. It hurts my eyes so much they start to close. It infuriates me so much that I cannot stay mute
Oct. 12 2020
There’s almost always a shortage of time and a lack of space on dairy farms. When deciding which animals get the most attention and best resources, the answer is typically the milking herd, and understandably...
Oct. 1 2020
As many of you know, we switched to a robotic milking system last November. When we made the change, we had a pretty good idea of how things would go initially
Sept. 15 2020
For the past week, our farm and family have found ourselves in the path of a wildfire. It’s one of those natural disaster situations you hope and pray you never have to deal with
Sept. 14 2020
Gary Oetzel, D.V.M., a professor for the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, presented “Calcium and the transition cow”. Calcium is a key determinant of transition period success...