Management
Meet our 2014 Dollars and Sense dairy farmer contributors.
Measuring, recording and posting performance data can enable the whole team to achieve improvements on the farm.
The U.S. is entering its steepest, most severe recession since the early 1980s, but the nation’s productivity plus strong global demand for American commodities will revive the economy by late 2009, Wells Fargo senior economist Michael Swanson predicted today.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a seven-year-old dairy cow from British Columbia.
Global dairy markets will remain weak through the first half of 2009 due to weak economic conditions worldwide and plentiful dairy supplies, say Rabobank analysts in a report released this morning.
Bonus content: More on risk management: Lookout Ridge Consulting Valley Futures Trading While it’s not always possible to lock in a margin through hedging, knowing your cost of production and monthly cash flow needs are critical in any risk management plan.
The U.S. ethanol industry exported 5.64 million metric tons (mmt) of distillers grains worth nearly $1 billion in 2009, shattering the previous record set in 2008, the Renewable Fuels Association reported recently.
The newly-launched “Dairy Decisions Consultant” program aims to assist Pennsylvania dairy farm families in the decision-making and planning processes that come in the wake of 15 months of low milk prices and negative margins.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement today that $2 million will be made available to dairy, beef, poultry and swine producers to help cut energy-related production costs
Although the U.S. dairy herd continues to decrease, the rate of decline appears to be moderating.
CLAAS introduces its new Moisture Meter to give producers an effective production management tool to ensure that their crop has reached its optimal point of harvest.
USDA reported this morning that dairy cow slaughter in March was 18,000 head higher than in March 2009, a 7.6% increase.
Sidney Manufacturing introduces its new Gorilla Grapple, a versatile, powerful grapple designed to fit most skid steers.
To help dairy producers better understand Johne’s disease and become acquainted with preventive measures, two online courses -- one in English, and the other in Spanish -- have been developed specifically for dairy producers.
OSHA says that dairies account for a higher incidence of accidents over the general workforce. The most frequent dairy injuries involve hands and fingers, backs, legs and knees. These often result in employees missing work and, ultimately, higher insurance premiums.
The 75 dairy farms enrolled in the Dairy Profit Team Program from 2005-2009 generated $12.3 million in additional revenue, according to a summary recently released by the Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence.
Dairy economists from the Universities of Missouri (UM) and Wisconsin have prepared a Policy Brief analyzing the pros and cons of such a national dairy gross margin program. In essence, LGM-Dairy pays an insurance indemnity equal to the difference, if positive, between the gross margin expected at producer sign-up and the gross margin actually experienced.
USDA reported this afternoon that milk production rose 1.4% in November over last year in the 23 major dairy states.
A new study reports that low somatic cell counts and mastitis prevention are key to reducing new clinical cases after calving.
California’s 1,700 dairies have cut their milk production for eight consecutive months, underscoring what some call the worst economic climate the state’s dairy producers have ever seen.
The pain felt by California’s financially strapped dairy producers was evident yesterday as they gathered to hear about a new growth management program proposed by Holstein USA Association.
Harry DeWit of Friona, Texas, was named the 2009 Innovative Dairy Farmer of the Year this week at the International Dairy Foods Association’s Dairy Forum 2009.
Bonus content: Click here to access a paper on “Understanding TMR Particle Size and the Effects on the Lactating Dairy Cow” by P.J. Kononoff from the Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference held in June. For the Spanish version of this story, follow this link .
Bonus content: Click here to read “Dairy cows and the environment: Were we better off 83 years ago?” by Alvaro Garcia, dairy nutritionist with South Dakota State University, and Jim Linn, dairy nutritionist with the University of Minnesota.
Bonus content: Click here to read in Spanish. Click here for a manual on treatment and control of lameness in cattle.
Bonus content: Managing Alfalfa-Grass and Grass Silage for High Producing Dairy Cows