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Current Progressive Dairy digital edition

1. State of the industry: Historic or hysteric?: (From the Editor); This is one of my favorite issues of the year. In addition to the annual insertion of a free dairy stats poster, we delve into some of the industry's hottest topics, including national changes to dairy ...; Created on 16 March 2010
2. Proud of Mystic Valley Dairy: (Event Coverage); The newly renamed Professional Dairy Producers Foundation, formerly known as the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin Education Foundation, has received a commitment from a Wisconsin producer that ...; Created on 16 March 2010
3. My farm for a form: (Management); King Richard III, as many such monarchs do, made many enemies. Over time, one, Henry, gathered enough supporters and challenged Richard for the throne of England. Their forces met near Market Bosworth. ...; Created on 16 March 2010
4. Making financial decisions in a volatile environment: (Management); The dairy industry, as with virtually all other agricultural commodity industries, can and will have volatile price cycles over time. These price cycles provide both challenges and opportunities in making ...; Created on 16 March 2010
5. Understanding your electric bill: A good foundation for future savings opportunities: (Management); Shuffling through the mail on a daily basis is a menial, yet important task that can rarely be described as exciting. Every once and a while, however, an envelope flashes through your hands that grabs ...; Created on 16 March 2010
6. Should I exit the dairy industry?: (Management); This article was #14 in PDmag's Top 25 most-well read articles in 2010. Summary: As a former dairyman, Peter Callan knew what producers were going through at the end of 2009. In this article, he discussed ...; Created on 16 March 2010
7. Establish an entry/exit plan for your farm business: (Management); Entry into farming is all too often thought of and treated as an event. At some undetermined date the farmer will “turn it all over” to the successor. After all, for years the farmer has been saying, “Someday, ...; Created on 16 March 2010
8. How we mapped out our feed strategies: (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: ...; Created on 16 March 2010
9. Reducing the cost of producing a pound of milk: (Management); The most dramatic year in the dairy business in living memory, 2009, has turned dairy farmers’ attention worldwide to the ever-present issue of the cost of producing a pound of milk. Of paramount importance ...; Created on 16 March 2010
10. Schoutens’ plan is to survive, recover, retire: (People); In 1988, dairyman Pete Schouten, a California native, ventured to Texas. “I came for the opportunity to get started [on my own],” Schouten says. “You couldn’t get started in California – not at a low ...; Created on 16 March 2010
11. A game of dairy poker, anyone?: (Management); I suspect that being in the dairy business these days is a lot like playing poker. “You have to know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away and know when to run.” The dairy ...; Created on 16 March 2010
12. When will milk prices cover your costs?: (Management); When will milk prices cover your costs? The operative word in this question is “when” – not “will” milk prices ever cover your costs again. Milk prices will cover your cost of production; however, for ...; Created on 16 March 2010
13. Dairy equity drops $1.8 billion in Wisconsin: (Industry News); As the dairy industry suffered a huge economic blow in 2009, so did Wisconsin’s agriculture industry. Total receipts from the state’s farm marketings dropped by an estimated $1.8 billion (18 percent) in ...; Created on 16 March 2010
14. Building tomorrow’s dairy industry: (Management); 2009 was a rough year for dairy farmers. Many faced the worst economic crisis of their lives. Although there are signs of life in the dairy economy, recovery is coming much slower than expected. Today ...; Created on 16 March 2010
15. What is our role as veterinarians?: (Guest Blog); The service a food animal veterinarian provides has dramatically changed over the past 50 years. In the past, food animal veterinarians awaited farm calls concerning the health of individual animals, which ...; Created on 16 March 2010
16. How do ration balancing sub-models work in your rations?: (Feed & Nutrition); Dairy producers are keenly aware of the importance of feed and feed management. Your choices of what and how to feed affects profitability. You know and understand the importance of feed uniformity. To ...; Created on 16 March 2010
17. How to adjust rations to incorporate BMR corn silage: (Feed & Nutrition); This article was #22 in PDmag's Top 25 most-well read articles in 2010. Summary: BMR corn silage has become a valuable tool in dairy rations for helping to increase milk production and improve herd ...; Created on 16 March 2010
18. Manage feedbunk for consistency: (Feed & Nutrition); When it comes to managing the feedbunk, who is responsible is not as important as the responsibilities that need to be done. First is the need to start with high-quality, fresh and palatable feed ingredients ...; Created on 16 March 2010
19. Working with less-than-optimum feed: (Feed & Nutrition); If you were lucky, the 2009 harvest caused little or no problems. But for many of you, luck just wasn’t part of the program. Hail damage or lack of moisture struck some areas during the summer. In the ...; Created on 16 March 2010
20. Feeding encapsulated nutrients bolsters herd performance: (Feed & Nutrition); If you’re like most of us, you occasionally bake a frozen, self-rising pizza from the grocery store. The “self-rising” crust is made possible by an encapsulated leavening system. Now the same innovative ...; Created on 16 March 2010
21. Quality silage production pays for itself: (Feed & Nutrition); The foundation of any dairy nutrition program is built around forages. Forages typically make up 40 to 60 percent of the ration dry matter (DM). Forage (silage) quality, whether good or poor, dictates ...; Created on 16 March 2010
22. Variability leads to inconsistent performance: (Feed & Nutrition); Cows are creatures of habit. They expect to get milked and fed at the same time every day, to have the same amount of time to rest and remain in the same pens with the same cows. This consistency in their ...; Created on 16 March 2010
23. Stop disease transmission by controlling house flies: (Herd Health); In North America alone, there are over 700 species of flies that belong to the Muscidae (filth fly) group. Probably the single-most common of these is the house fly. No geographic locations or socioeconomic ...; Created on 16 March 2010
24. Much the same as 120 years ago: (Management); Not much has changed for the dairy producer in 120 years. The following insights are taken from the Pennsylvania State Board of Agriculture minutes in 1889. In answer to the question, “What are the chief ...; Created on 16 March 2010
25. Just dropping by... Wedding day advice: (Yevet Tenney); When Reg, my husband, and I were married, the man who performed the ceremony gave us some advice. He was a gray-haired gentleman with an experience-lined face. He had years of living written in the lines ...; Created on 16 March 2010
26. Mechanics Corner: Safety first: (Barns & Equipment); I know a boy and a father that were killed in rollovers, a boy that was wrapped up and killed in a PTO and another guy that had his arm messed up in a PTO. I barely pulled a small boy out of the way ...; Created on 16 March 2010
27. On the Edge of Common Sense: Olympic distraction: (Baxter Black); You know the inmates have taken over the asylum when you’re turning to PETA as the voice of reason! These are the animal rights extremists who compared eating chicken to the Holocaust, compared the murdering ...; Created on 16 March 2010
28. Running out of time: U.S. must become a global dairy supplier: (Management); This article was #13 in PDmag's Top 25 most-well read articles in 2010. Summary: During his February 2010 trip to the Middle East, Editor Walt Cooley learned a great deal about the global dairy market. ...; Created on 16 March 2010
29. Dairy and livestock air emission and odor study completed: (Manure); A recently completed study by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Department of Natural Resources has increased the understanding of air emissions and odors on larger-sized ...; Created on 16 March 2010
30. What factors have the greatest impact on your dairy cows’ nutrient requirements?: (Feed & Nutrition); Lactating dairy cows are high-performance animals and, as such, they require a tremendous amount of nutrients. These nutrients are required to support basic life functions, known as maintenance, as well ...; Created on 16 March 2010
31. Livestock producers face safety hazards when manure pumping: (Manure); News reports have surfaced detailing flash fires and explosions in livestock buildings while liquid pit manure was being agitated and pumped. For this reason, Extension staff are urging caution when agitating ...; Created on 16 March 2010
32. Too much of a good thing: (Feed & Nutrition); If a little is good, then more must be better, right? Not always, and especially not when it comes to feeding your animals. This article describes a basic concept of feed management, and why you might ...; Created on 16 March 2010
33. Animal care and well-being: Perceptions and reality: (Management); Animal agriculture and farming “as usual” is increasingly coming under evaluation. This evaluation may be in the form of financial experts seeking to improve the sustainability/profitability of the agriculture ...; Created on 16 March 2010
34. Nutritional management of the dry cow: (Feed & Nutrition); The dry period is as important to the life of a cow as any period during lactation. Proper management and nutrition while dry is crucial for obtaining maximum milk production in the following lactation. ...; Created on 16 March 2010
35. Minerals: Small amounts, major impact: (Feed & Nutrition); Minerals comprise a small percentage of the diet, but can have huge consequences if supplements are removed or are supplied at inadequate levels in the ration. The major minerals, macrominerals, required ...; Created on 16 March 2010
36. Is proper cleaning possible?: (Barns & Equipment); In order to do a good job of cleaning, we calf raisers have to learn how to do each step properly. In addition to knowing how to do the job, what else is needed? Proper water, chemicals and supplies! Water ...; Created on 16 March 2010
37. Challenging a big family dairy: (Industry News); During the Western Regional Dairy Challenge held in Twin Falls, Idaho on March 4-6, 50 students from five universities across the Western states were acquainted with a dairy and the problems that can come ...; Created on 16 March 2010
38. Genetic indexes: Improvements to aid your sire selection: (A.I. & Breeding); There were many changes in the dairy industry in the last five years, and adjustments to genetic bases and net merit indexes are definitely warranted. By utilizing these modifications, improvements to ...; Created on 16 March 2010
39. On the Edge of Common Sense: One more for the tourists: (Baxter Black); Moira and Clive, British tourists, had taken in the Arkansas attractions of Eureka Springs, the Chuck Wagon races in Clinton, the sale barn in Green Forest and now found themselves in Ft. Smith for the ...; Created on 16 March 2010
40. The View from Here: The greatest challenge is six to seven inches: (Guest Blog); As of this writing, I have completed my first full year in Iraq. My supervisors in Washington D.C. and here at the U.S. Embassy have added an additional four months on to my deployment. We have several ...; Created on 16 March 2010
41. How to choose a farm insurance carrier: (Management); In today’s market choosing a farm insurance carrier can be one of the most overwhelming yet critical business decisions farm families will make. Unlike making choices between John Deere or Case IH and ...; Created on 16 March 2010
42. New line of calf formula available from Provimi North America: (Products & Services); Provimi North America is very pleased to introduce Nurture calf formula, a new line of milk replacer products. This formula was developed with the calf raiser in mind and is a product that fosters the ...; Created on 23 February 2010
43. Arrest for scouring animals now available with microbials: (Products & Services); Milk Specialties Global Animal Nutrition (MSGAN) is pleased to announce that Advance Arrest non-medicated energy supplement is now available with ProVance Microbials. The new unique natural formula provides ...; Created on 23 February 2010
44. JCB Telehandler offers maneuverability, lifting height and power for smaller worksites: (Products & Services); Heavy equipment manufacturer JCB is launching the most compact and maneuverable telescopic handler model the company has produced to date. This machine, the new JCB 515-40, is the result of an innovative ...; Created on 23 February 2010
45. New spool roll tarp from Shur-Co: (Products & Services); From the inventors of the Original Shur-Lok roll tarp system, Shur-Co. introduces its Cable-Lok Spool Roll Tarp system. The cable locking system is the smoothest move in tarping – from open to closed, ...; Created on 23 February 2010