1. Study: Community impact of CAFOs a ‘mixed bag’
(News/Industry News)

The expansion of confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) is a controversial issue in many communities. Producers, residents and local decision-makers often clash over conflicting interests regarding ...

2. Manure Expo moves to Northeast
(News/Industry News)

To help manure handlers adopt new technologies and best management practices, Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will host the 2010 Manure Expo, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 15 at the ...

3. For better decisions, add structure
(Dairy basics/Management)

The road to better marketing continues for Dave Geiser and Deb Reinhart of Gold Star Farms. After choosing a marketing consultant in November 2009, Dave and Deb began their journey. The destination: ...

4. A hand at stopping milk spilling
(Dairy basics/Management)

Rube Goldberg was a noted cartoonist of the first half of the 20th Century. Among his many honors was a Pulitzer Prize for political satire. But we know him today not for his satire, but for a series ...

5. Just dropping by... To my graduating children
(Columns/Yevet Tenney)

(Click here to listen to the podcast of this column.) Two of my children, Paul and Ashley, have finished high school and are going out into the world “to seek their fortune,” as it is often written ...

6. Reynolds Unwrapped Issue 10 2010
(Comics/Reynolds Unwrapped)

To sign up for a daily e-mail subscription to Reynolds Unwrapped for $10 per year, contact Dan Reynolds at cartoonist89@hotmail.com

7. CityBoy Issue 10 2010
(Comics/CityBoy)

8. Keeping up with the Kiwis
(Departments/Editorial)

After reading Ben Yale’s commentary from this issue, I googled the music video he mentions. It is highly entertaining. I recommend viewing it. While taking short breaks to watch a World Cup match, ...

9. Dairy topic watchlist: High-impact Animal Activism
(SpkUp!/Watchlists)

The following update is provided by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), which manages the national dairy checkoff program, and is a producer-funded, nonprofit domestic and international planning ...

10. You’re working for tips
(Dairy basics/Management)

Throughout high school and college it seemed like everyone I knew had a seasonal or part-time job working at a restaurant. I remember one really fun summer as a cook at my uncle’s restaurant. His ...

11. Dealing with the downturn
(Dairy basics/Management)

At the Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference in Dubuque, Iowa in June, a four-member panel related what they did or recommended to be done throughout the last 18 months of low milk ...

12. Livestock producers in their sights
(Dairy basics/Cow Comfort)

By now dairy producers and others have heard about or viewed the released video of animal abuse on an Ohio farm. Anyone who has seen it will agree the actions shown are intolerable. There is some ...

13. Tools to use when talking to media and activists
(SpkUp!/Social Media Toolkit)

Everyone likes an advocate, especially if they are advocating for you. One advocate group has repeatedly earned its reputation of helping farmers. Ohio Farm Bureau (OFB) has been instrumental ...

14. Improve feed efficiency, increase profitability by selecting high-quality corn silage hybrids
(Dairy basics/Feed and Nutrition)

Recent economic hardships have left the dairy industry reeling. Now more than ever, it is crucial that dairy producers carefully analyze all of their input costs to make sure they are using their ...

15. Reinventing ration cost evaluation: Utilizing income over feed cost
(Dairy basics/Feed and Nutrition)

Producers feeding high-quality ingredients to their herds are often faced with the question, “Is this making my dairy more money or just increasing my ration costs?” While it’s hard to know the ...

16. The ins and outs of forage quality
(Dairy basics/Feed and Nutrition)

Forages make up 45 to 95 percent of the feed that dairy animals receive on a farm. We usually think in terms of just the lactating cows. It is more difficult to think in terms of the whole herd ...

17. The role of plant extracts in ruminant diets
(Dairy basics/Feed and Nutrition)

Before antibiotics were commercially available, extracts from various plants were used to treat human aliments and diseases. With trial-and-error, man discovered which botanicals contained secondary ...

18. Computer ration modeling: A valuable tool
(Dairy basics/Feed and Nutrition)

Back about 25 years ago when the first personal computers were becoming affordable, I discovered the power and utility of the electronic spreadsheet. With the aid of feed analysis data that I found ...

19. Comparing apples to apples can enhance your milk check
(Dairy basics/Feed and Nutrition)

If you visit a local farmer’s market you’ll find a feast for your senses. Baskets, bins and counters filled with vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables, the sugary smell of ripening peaches and ...

20. Sorghum: An economical forage for dairy producers
(Dairy basics/Feed and Nutrition)

We have all heard that happy cows come from California, but what exactly do happy cows eat? Just in the last 10 years, researchers have learned that sorghum can offer the same nutrients and benefits ...

21. The impact of better nutrient measures on the dairy
(Dairy basics/Feed and Nutrition)

The complexity of dairy nutrition is increasing every day. A higher percentage of diets are likely balanced for amino acids, taking into account digestibility measures such as digestible NDF, and ...

22. What can manure tell you about the ration?
(Dairy basics/Manure)

Feed analysis doesn’t stop at the bunk. A lot can be discovered at the other end of the digestive tract. “Fresh, undisturbed piles of feces or droppings may provide valuable clues and should be part ...

23. The high cost of heat stress
(Dairy basics/Cow Comfort)

The economic consequences of heat stress to the dairy industry have been calculated to be approximately $900 million annually. This sum reflects not only milk production decline, but reproductive ...

24. Summer’s heat is here
(Dairy basics/Cow Comfort)

Two main responses cows usually have to heat and humidity are to eat less feed and produce less milk. Another problem that often occurs with heat and humidity stress is an elevation in the somatic ...

25. Dairy cattle need ventilation to prevent heat stress
(Dairy basics/Cow Comfort)

Historically, dairy barns were constructed like houses, striving to keep barns closed-in to protect cows from winter weather. But building them that way ignored the fact that cows have a different ...

26. Rules of the road
(Dairy basics/Manure)

Dana Cook, owner of Cook’s Countryside Trucking LLC in North Freedom, Wisconsin, and president of the Professional Nutrient Applicators Association of Wisconsin (PNAAW), knows the importance of sharing ...

27. Be proactive with manure regulations
(Dairy basics/Manure)

Regulations are a commonplace way of managing manure. To keep them from piling up, Dr. Doug Beegle says it’s as simple as a little common sense. A distinguished professor of agronomy at Penn State ...

28. Issue 10 PD: Letters to the editor
(Departments/Letters to the editor)

I will support any action, measure or legislation that will aid and/or comfort U.S. dairy farm families. In a recent e-mail, I was asked my view on the prospects of a specific measure, U.S. Senate ...

29. Mechanics Corner: Straight from the mechanic’s shop
(Columns/Mechanics Corner)

Just like a doctor that works on patients all the time, your mechanic knows your machine, and the machines like it, best. They get a lot of the same problems and usually can give you ways to avoid ...

30. Tales of a Hay Hauler: Numbers game
(Columns/Brad Nelson)

1 The number of women I have been married to. I intend to keep this one forever. Among other things, I’m too old to start breaking in another one. Number One tells me I’m so set in my ways that ...

31. On the Edge of Common Sense: Strawberry detractors
(Columns/Baxter Black)

Back before the collapse of the United Soviet Socialist Republic, we had visitors from Romania tour our feedlot. We explained the program including cost of cattle, feed, maintenance and cost of ...

32. Dairy profitability 101: Milk quality and feed efficiency
(Dairy basics/Management)

In very simple terms, dairy profitability can be defined as the difference between milk prices and the cost of production, multiplied by the pounds of milk produced. Thus, milk prices, cost of production, ...

33. Bulk tank milk quality
(Dairy basics/Herd Health)

Who is responsible for the safety and quality of dairy products? Dairy producers? Processors? Retailers? Consumers? In fact, all of these parties – from farm to fork – share in this responsibility. ...

34. Calving management
(Dairy basics/Calf and Heifer Raising)

Two elements of calving management can make a big difference in newborn calf health. They are stress and pathogen exposure. Managing stress Deliveries requiring assistance are common among Holstein ...

35. On the Edge of Common Sense: Letter to Norm ‘bout spring gather
(Columns/Baxter Black)

Dear Norm, I just wanted you to know we’re still punchin’ cows here on the S X. Not much has changed. The Beacon well is working again. It’s opened up the west side for us. We’re trying to get the ...

36. The View from Here: Salty marshes and lack of opportunity
(Columns/Mike Gangwer)

I am in travel status most of my last few months here in Iraq. As I write, I have just less than a month to finish my 16-month tour. I look forward to turning my PPE, or body armor, in for the last ...

37. What can we learn from the bovine genome?
(Dairy basics/A.I. and Breeding)

After a six-year endeavor, the Bovine Genome Project was completed in 2009 through the efforts of over 300 scientists from 25 countries. A female Hereford cow served as the genetic source for the ...

38. What is the true impact of heat stress?
(Dairy basics/Cow Comfort)

A long, hot summer will impact the health and performance of dairy herds. There are many different systems that can be used to effectively cool cows in the summer. So, instead of focusing on  ...

39. Adding to the bottom line with increased cow comfort
(Dairy basics/Cow Comfort)

In the dairy industry, it’s a commonly held belief that cow comfort contributes to healthier and higher-producing dairy herds. One additional way to increase cow comfort is to manage and control ectoparasites ...