I’ve often wondered over the years if other professions were encouraged to advocate for themselves in the way farmers and ag industry representatives are. I’ve seen my fair share of teacher appreciation ...
U.S. dairies owners overwhelmingly prefer to be called “farmers” as opposed to “producers.” That’s according to recent online and phone surveys conducted by Progressive Dairyman. Readers said they prefer ...
A good hoof maintenance schedule is one of the most important contributors to a successful dairy operation. Foot health has a direct impact on milk production, and ignoring lameness in a herd can be far ...
How did you get started in photography?
Kasper: Growing up, I always loved taking pictures of our animals on the farm. Kittens, ducks, piglets, calves and cows … everything got their picture taken. I ...
A unique observation deck at Kreider Farms in Manheim, Pennsylvania, gives visitors a true birds-eye view of Amish country – from atop a silo.
Last year, more than 13,000 guests toured Kreider Farms ...
There was a time in our industry when whey was more waste product than valuable byproduct. The whey that remained from cheese making was either discarded or spread on farmers’ fields years ago.
It ...
More U.S. dairy cows are working, and they’re more productive than ever. However, continuing a two-year trend, they again brought home less money in 2016.
The USDA’s annual Milk Production, Disposition ...
Do you want your farm to be the farm of choice, the place where employees want to work?
Jennifer Blazek, dairy and livestock educator with the University of Wisconsin Extension, said many employees become ...
Across America, ice cream shops give flavor to small towns, large cities and even college campuses. Members of the Progressive Dairyman editorial team, along with a couple of our producer bloggers, shared ...
Should everyone know a dairy farmer? Yes, I believe they should. But you might be thinking, “Why would anyone want to know a dairy farmer?”
For the past four years working for Dairy Management Inc. ...
Keeping diseases off goat farms can be difficult even if you are familiar with how diseases are transmitted and how to identify signs. Many disease-causing agents can only be identified by serological ...
If you are looking for higher yields, stockpiled feed for the summer slump as well as better soil, growing corn for your cows to graze instead of perennial grasses may be the answer.
Olaf Haugen manages ...
Ask Doug Boop for his thoughts on the future of the dairy industry, and you’ll receive a thoughtful smile followed by a single word: challenging.
A Penn State junior studying animal science, Boop is ...
It’s an agriculture tradition as old as dirt itself – teaching and preparing the next generation of farmers, advocates and industry leaders for the world they will inherit.
Kirsten Areias, coach of ...
This famous, or better yet, infamous Mark Twain quote has been the rallying cry for many an ambitious youth. It goes, “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” This was the case for ...
Most parents gift their toddlers with toys and cuddly teddy bears. However, little Kaila Wussow’s parents, Ron and Nicole Wussow, wanted to give her something a bit more lifelike.
“When I was just ...
For 4-H youth in the city neighborhoods of Larimer County, Colorado, dairies throughout the county are keeping the program in Fort Collins stronger than ever.
Lease-A-Dairy Program provides a place ...
“The turnout is incredible. It shows there is a definite interest in this,” said Jayne Sebright, executive director of the Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence, addressing the crowd at the On-Farm ...
Dairy producers are facing fewer options to sell their milk. Cooperatives have been consolidating, and consumption of fluid milk has struggled to grow in recent years. This can be a worrisome time for ...
Three years ago I bought Molly, an American Milking Devon cow, from Bundten Farm in Orford, New Hampshire. Bundten was a small raw milk dairy that made cheese, butter and yogurt on-farm. State inspectors ...
Organic food sales in the U.S. reached new records in 2015, hitting a benchmark of $43.3 billion. With the rising demand for organic milk, more dairy operations are choosing robotic milkers to help increase ...
Ten years ago, when Gregg and Doug Ode of Brandon, South Dakota, chose to relocate their 30-year-old Royalwood Farms dairy operation back to the farm they’d grown up on, something was different.
Mere ...
Value-added opportunities for dairy farmers are one way to stabilize long-term dairy farm profitability, bring another generation into the business or grow without adding land and cows. As farm gate prices ...
Are my heifers growing well enough? Are automatic calf feeders best for my calves? How do I get heifers to calve in on time? How can I make sure they are productive when they start milking?
These are ...
A couple days ago, when I was out in the barn feeding the cows, something that happened many years ago came to my mind. I was surprised because I hadn’t thought about it in years. But it brought a smile ...
Over the years, I have seen many dads come and go. I have met great ones and not-so-great ones. I’ve seen dads who dote on their children and dads who completely abandon their little ones.
Then there ...
Today’s tractors and implements are truly amazing. Drones and GPS guidance systems, auto steering and implements that tell the tractor to speed up or slow down.
With all of that mechanization, automation ...
I was working off of a playground tip, and the first thing I noticed was: The gym was blue – the walls, the court – as in so much blue that when I walked out of it an hour later, the colors of the outside ...
Seventeen years ago, I was introduced to a tiny Holstein spring calf that taught me more about life than any person I’d ever met. She wasn’t even my own calf. She belonged to my sister, who had just turned ...
We all like scores: golf scores, bowling scores, limestone scores – single numbers that tell us volumes about complex situations. We use scores all the time. A bowling score of 300 is not just good; it’s ...
There are many risk factors for phosphorus loss from soil that can lead to water quality problems. It is important to consider both source and transport when using an index to identify these potential ...
A common malady we encounter when owning and operating farm trucks and equipment is fluid leaks. Today’s trucks and equipment are more sophisticated and complex than ever before.
More than once I’ve ...
High-quality nutrition isn’t just a goal to shoot for in your calf-feeding program; it’s a necessity when it comes to raising healthy, productive calves.
If you feed pasteurized milk, providing a consistent, ...
Could your dairy herd do well on 100 percent grass-fed milk? Yes, if you have well-managed pastures, said dairy producer Kevin Mahalko.
He presented the story of his operation’s journey at the 2017 ...
The theme of the first Indiana Dairy Forum was “Your Family, Your Farm, Our Commitment.” Brownfield’s Dave Russell served as emcee, and Dr. Tom Furhmann of Dairyworks provided leadership tools for management ...
It is not uncommon to hear layers of skepticism from veterinarians and producers when it comes to testing for pathogens associated with scours and respiratory disease. “Every farm has every pathogen” is ...
A prominent U.S. presidential campaign issue, President Donald Trump frequently identified the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as an economic drain on the U.S. economy. Trump administration ...
It was an accident that began one farm’s journey to direct sales of raw milk and processed dairy products. After dairy farmer Layne Klein was injured and sold the milking herd, he and wife, Beth, decided ...
Milk may no longer be an item customers will go out of the way to purchase, even when it is being bottled right at the farm, as it is at Way-Har Farms in Bernville, Pennsylvania. The dairy, run today by ...
Emily and Jay Montgomery came home to Highland Farm, operated today by Emily’s father and brother, William and Zack Bryant, in 2006. The farm, located in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, has been in the family ...
My daughter received a book when she was born titled Click, Clack, Moo. Maybe some of you are familiar with it. In the book the cows have developed a most clever form of communication in which they send ...
Leaks of pictures and videos depicting poor animal handling practices in the dairy industry in recent years have led to growing consumer distrust with the treatment of livestock. Training on proper cattle ...
“Angels don’t always come in white robes with wings; angels also can come as little Brown Swiss heifers.” —Anita van der Laan
Anita van der Laan emigrated from Holland to the U.S. and started a dairy ...
Taylor Clifford and Eric Bogardus decided it was time to get creative when their already decrepit barn cleaner finally gave up the ghost, and shelling out money for a new one just wasn’t in the budget. ...
Parade goers can expect a real treat anytime Tom Konz and his “candy combine” come to town.
Konz, who farms about 700 acres of corn and beans, and raises dairy steers near Marty, Minnesota, is a veteran ...
With less than 2 percent of Americans directly involved in farming, it is essential to connect with consumers to help them learn how food is produced.
In addition to educating the general public about ...
Created on 13 September 2016
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