Each year, I anxiously wait for harvest season to roll around for the sweet smell of freshly chopped corn, the crisp morning air, sweater weather and getting to hop in a tractor and follow Dad around …
I originally wrote this poem four or so years ago, but as I delivered the lunches to the pile-packing posse this past Thursday, thinking about how I needed to can more grape juice when I got done, …
I want to share details about my recent trip to Washington, D.C. Before stepping on the plane in Milwaukee, I had to prepare myself for the long days of traveling and walking around our …
The comment period for the Federal Milk Marketing Order reform process wrapped up earlier this month. American Farm Bureau Federation Chief Economist Roger Cryan said his organization is not happy …
Where did the summer go? Am I the only one who was not able to cram in everything that was on the list of things to do before school started? We missed out on some of the adventures we were planning, …
We sometimes underestimate the power a simple connection can make in one’s life. Those of us writing for this paper, and likely you reading it, connect over the dairy industry. It is our shared …
Today as I was driving to take photos for Dairy Star, I called my parents to pass the time. It was a moment of shock when my mom told me about a life-ending crash when a dairy farmer friend’s …
There are some things wrong with today’s world that can be traced back to some of the customs we’ve abandoned. For instance, we were a much more civilized society when men wore …
Our veterinary practice runs an in-house laboratory where we perform several types of cultures, including milk cultures from the bulk tank and individual cows. Bulk tank cultures are an …
Farmers are cultivators of land, caretakers of animals and producers of food for our communities. We take great pride in the legacy that has led us to where we are today. The foundation our ancestors …
There are only a few moments in life when we truly feel a sense of community, surrounded by the people who cheer us on in everything we do. I experienced this on the evening before opening day of the …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the August Federal Order Class III milk price at $20.66 per hundredweight, up 87 cents from July, $3.47 above August 2023, and the highest Class III price …
I can see the signs of fall all around me these days. Early morning school bus routes. Drooping ears of corn. The sound of sandhill cranes congregating for their southward trip. It also signals a …
The presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris introduced her vice-presidential pick at their first campaign stop. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz referenced his 12 years in Congress in …
A few years ago, a friend gifted me two sheet pans — one with ‘cake pan sides’ and one with ‘bar’ sides. Both came with lids. I never in my life thought I would use …
Since I was a child, I have seen dairy farms slowly disappear. I did not grow up on a dairy farm but knew many friends who lived on farms and also had neighbors who milked cows. If I was riding my …
On August 16, I sent my youngest off to school for the first day of his senior year. It doesn’t matter that he is 17. I still gave him a hug and a kiss and told him that I loved him. That was …
The Great Minnesota Get-Together is once again underway and, once again, I have the privilege of serving as a chaperone for our county’s 4-H livestock exhibitors. I truly am lucky to have …
I don’t know which is worse — cleaning up little kids or cleaning up big cows? It doesn’t seem to matter how hard you work to get them both clean, they always seem to find a way to …
People watching is my favorite hobby. It’s much more interesting than bird watching, although the use of binoculars is frowned upon when one studies the sapiens species. An increasingly …