Our practice has been compiling a dairy herd benchmarking spreadsheet every year for nearly 15 years. We use DairyComp 305 data from most of the farms we work with who utilize the program on-farm for …
“Quite the weather we’re having,” is a popular phrase in our family this winter season. Then again, what winter season in the Upper Midwest isn’t it a popular phrase? Some …
One thing that is for certain is that nothing is certain. Robert Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement are another potential black swan facing our healthcare, our food industry and …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued its final rule on Federal Milk Marketing Orders. Most of the changes take effect June 1. “The final rule, which contains the regulatory language, …
While growing up on a dairy farm, my siblings and I worked hard, but we also played hard. Whether it was winter, spring, summer or fall, we could always be found playing outside. In the winter, …
Class 3 of Midwest Dairy’s Dairy Experience and Agricultural Leadership Program met in Chicago, Illinois, in November 2024 for phase two of the program. The theme for this phase was …
High-quality forages are essential to maximize performance of lactating dairy cows, especially if your goal is to feed high-forage diets. In the 2024 crop harvest year, many farms across the Midwest …
Like age, cold is just a number. It does not matter what the actual temperature is but more of how it feels. Without looking at a thermometer, there are telling signs of just how cold it is outside. …
It’s been one month since my shoulder surgery, and it’s been one wildly emotional month. The first two weeks were easier than I expected. The initial pain was manageable thanks to …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture published its Federal Order Final Decision. All 11 orders approved the final changes. USDA said: “This final rule amends the 11 FMMOs with implementation on …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the final Federal Order Class III milk price of 2024 at $18.62 per hundredweight, down $1.33 from November, but $2.58 above December 2023. It’s the …
January 2025 is finally football playoff season for Minnesota Vikings fans. I grew up in Illinois cheering for the Purple People Eaters of the 70s. It seemed like the Vikings were always in the Super …
Three, two, one. Like the countdown on Dec. 31 each year, people count down the days until they say, “New year, new me.” Growing up, my family never did anything big for the New Year, so …
Happy New Year. This past year was one of gratitude, new beginnings and embracing challenges. Reflecting on the past 12 months, it is truly remarkable how much can happen in just one year. …
Every boy dreams of discovering buried treasure. Finding gold doubloons and muttering “Yar” are among its chief benefits. I recently voyaged out to where the rotting hulk has rested …
Right, wrong or otherwise, highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 remains a hot topic in the production animal industries. After detection in dairy cattle across multiple states in March 2024, …
It’s a new year, so I will need to constantly remind myself not to accidentally write 2024 when dating checks and signing documents for the next couple of months. I hope that your holiday …
The time of year has come when we eagerly proclaim our New Year resolutions — our goals for the upcoming year. We declare that this year will be the year we finally accomplish the goal. Or …
Dear readers, It took some deep thinking while moving cows to decide how to write this issue’s column. I settled on this format because, in many ways, you have been part of the chaos of my …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has established a goal of eradicating the H5N1 virus from the U.S. dairy herd. Lucas Sjostrom , a member of the government affairs team for Edge Cooperative, admits …