Dairy Herd
After three years of well-publicized drought, California has received near-normal precipitation this year.
Direct payment assistance to dairy farmers was announced at 20 cents per hundredweight, with total payments capped at $250,000 per farm operation or legal entity.
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board is soliciting comments from beef and dairy producers and industry organizations for possible improvements to the beef checkoff program.
New report shows the worldwide dairy industry’s contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is just 2.7%
Mark Wustenberg suggests simple places to check for a dairy’s source of bacteria problems in milk counts.
Dakota Country Cheese, Mandan, N.D., closes its doors June 28, 2010.
USDA reporting increasing numbers of crossbred dairy cattle.
Crisis management drill hones ability to respond to emergencies.
Employers, rather than employees, are the primary work-site targets of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative unveiled its final principles and guidelines at World Dairy Expo in October.
2009 dairy exports may cool; long-term prospects hot
Regulatory obstacles curb digesters’’ future in California.
California dairies try to outlast the downturn
California dairies combine for manure-to-energy benefits
Clear expectations, firsthand knowledge breed success
Harry DeWit rose from immigrant herdsman to Texas dairy leader and innovator
Dairy Today has covered numerous U.S. dairy digester and cap-and-trade projects in recent years. These producers tell what they’ve learned since we first featured them.
High-quality forage allows less corn in diets.
“Uncertainty about the future is creating consternation among producers,” says Tony Mendes, who milks 1,400 cows near Riverdale, Calif. “We’re preoccupied with survival.”
Tail docking of dairy cows was already an uncommon and diminishing practice in California when a state legislator introduced a bill in February 2009 to ban the practice.
Large dairy operations, those with 50 or more employees, will now be required to provide health insurance for their employees and possibly for their families as well.
Kevin Van der Poel, a co-owner of Focal Dairy, began an intensive, pasture-grazing business with a new spin on old dairy traditions. The business is not about producing the most milk. The New Zealander’s method is focused on efficiency, management and reduced costs.
Come August, dairy producers and calf raisers will no longer be able to buy milk replacers with Neomycin-Terramycin in the tried-and-true 2:1 ratio formulation.
Three years ago, Tillamook Cooperative Creamery switched to using the Foss Bactoscan for determining bacterial counts of milk samples. We also decided to test every load of milk received rather than testing weekly.
From June 2005 through November 2009, Osterkamp Dairy achieved a milk quality bonus for 52 out of 53 months—a 98% success rate. Those results, says owner Mark Osterkamp, don’t happen without teamwork. In fact, getting milkers to buy in to the team concept is key to making everything work, he says.