Search - Dairy Herd

Thunder clapped and rain fell just before Bionce, Sassy and the rest of Mark Argall’s prize-winning dairy herd went up for auction.Had the storm come a few weeks earlier, and if the drought had eased, it might have saved the cows -- some of which were named with a bit of poetic license (“You can spell names however you want,” he said) for pop-culture divas and celebrities.As it was, however, Argall’s pasture was so dry that his cattle had nothing to eat, and the farmer was losing $75 a day just trying to feed them.Five generations of his family have milked dairy cows in this secluded stretch of Missouri’s Ozark Mountains, but the inch or so of rain that fell on this recent Thursday was too little, too late. Argall -- a 54-year-old with a wiry, broomstick mustache -- had no choice but to sell nearly all of his cows at a livestock auction.

President Barack Obama, campaigning in Iowa Monday, announced $170 million in government meat purchases to help farmers struck by drought, helping to send hog prices to a one-week high.The purchase of as much as $100 million of pork, $50 million of chicken, and $10 million each of lamb and catfish come on top of $30 million in assistance announced last week. Farmers and ranchers are struggling with the worst combination of heat and dryness since the 1950s, the administration said.Obama said he also directed the Defense Department to speed up purchases and hold the meat for later use. The buying will help farmers, and the government will get a better price on products than if they were bought later, he said.

Year-to-date, they have sent 1,523,000 cows to their demise, 65,000 more than last year (+4.5%).

Dairy and beef producers can hear firsthand from other producers and veterinarians how they provide immediate immunity to their calves at birth.

Keep an eye on the crop – especially data from the August and September USDA reports--and consider that 2013 is poised to offer little reprieve.

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 18 requests for export assistance from Bongards Creamery, Dairy Farmers of America, Darigold and Foremost Farms for customers in Asia, Central America, North Africa and the Middle East.

CDI is California’s largest member-owned milk marketing and processing cooperative.

SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah dairy operation will close its doors at the end of the month, marking the end of a local institution that has changed hands several times during the past decade as it struggled to stay in business.

Paul Rovey, Glendale, Ariz., leads Dairy Management, Inc.; Stephen Maddox, Riverdale, Calif., leads the National Dairy, Research and Promotion Board.

Close to half the corn crop in Wisconsin and other corn-producing states is in poor to very poor condition, the U. S. Department of Agriculture said Monday, as one of the nation’s worst-ever droughts continues to turn the growing season into a nightmare for many. In Wisconsin, 43% of the corn crop is in very poor to poor condition, the report said. About a third of the state’s corn - 31% - is considered to be in good or excellent condition by the USDA, and 26% of the state’s corn crop is in fair condition.