Nicole Barlass Director of Member Relations Dairy Business Association Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin

HumaneWatch.org, a project of the Center for Consumer Freedom, has released a second video interview with a former undercover investigator for the animal liberation group Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

Dairy commodity prices have dropped 45 percent from a high above $24 per hundredweight in September 2014 to a low below $14 per hundredweight in March 2015. Meanwhile, the dairy industry continues to evolve at a rapid pace as hard working dairy farmers must possess a unique set of business skills to maximize high-quality milk production while managing pricing risks and maintaining successful profit margins.

Cowboys, armed with VetGuns, are pursuing four pesky little parasites that steal profits. The culprits are known as horn flies, face flies, biting lice and sucking lice.

For some Oklahoma cow-calf operations, the bulls go into the breeding pasture with replacement heifers in mid-April. As the bulls are being removed from the replacement heifers in two months, this would be an ideal time to call and make arrangements with your local veterinarian to have those heifers evaluated for pregnancy after another 60 days.

Efficient use of feed resources in beef production is important on several fronts. Feed costs represent the largest of the cost of production items, ranging from 50 to 60 percent of cow-calf costs to 70 to 80 percent of feedlot production costs.

In the Midwest, the primary factor that influences quality of harvested dry forage is weather. In many instances, wet spring weather delays the first cutting, resulting in mature hay that is decreased in quality, palatability and digestibility.

It’s no surprise that Progressive Forage Grower readers are well read. In fact, most read more than four magazines monthly.

Reproductive efficiency is a major driver of dairy profitability. That’s because improved pregnancy rates allow producers to maximize the number of cows in the most profitable stage of their life cycle, as well as empower producers to make better culling and replacement decisions.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on April 10 that the USDA has recently reached agreements allowing U.S. beef and pork producers greater access to consumers in Mexico and Peru.