Remember hauling cattle as a kid? I guess I am showing my age here, but I remember helping Dad build a portable, adjustable loading chute in our shop when I was barely in grade school. It was long and heavy (probably too heavy, but that was Dad’s way).

The nutritional requirements of animals vary, and ensuring that their dietary needs are met from grazed forages can be challenging.

It’s been several years since I paid someone else to shoe my horses. That’s a chore I always do for myself. The main reasons for this are twofold: because I’m cheap and because I can.

U.S. alfalfa hay exports remain a brighter spot in what is turning into a deficit ag trade picture, according to latest estimates from USDA’s Foreign Ag Service.

U.S. dairy export volume posted an 11-month high in May (on a daily average basis), according to Alan Levitt, with the U.S. Dairy Export Council. The strong showing was led by improved sales of whey, lactose and whole milk powder (WMP).

The road to the milk pricing transparency provided by Pennsylvania House Bill 1265 has been a lonely one for the state’s dairy farmers. Many of the farm groups and organizations, which supposedly exist to serve and represent the interests of farmers, have chosen to remain silent and not take a position. Some groups, such as PennAg Industries Association, have even taken the official position of opposing this bill.

Editor’s note: This article is the fourth in a series profiling sources for an in-depth feature about the Chinese dairy industry, appearing in print later this summer. Dr. Robert Collier is a professor and former chairman of the department of animal sciences at the University of Arizona. A former scientist with Monsanto, Collier has also served as the Donald Barron Visiting Professor at the University of Florida.

For most beef producers, the genetic packages are already in place for the 2017 calf crop and consequently, the next 20 years.

The second weekend in June, I spent about four hours talking to consumers at a local Dairy Days event with Midwest Dairy. The goal was to share information about dairy farming and dairy products with consumers in our community. Our booth was frequented by mostly parents with young children.

Most readers prefer to wean their calves in the fall.