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It would seem fair to say that dairy farms are beneficial to their local communities. Not only do they provide a nutritious food source, but have contributed nearly 900,000 jobs nationwide.
On the contrary, could dairy farms have negative effects on our livelihood?
I have to admit that I wanted to write this editorial just because the headline is so intriguing. When I teased the idea of it to my fellow editors Emily Caldwell, Peggy Coffeen and Karen Lee, they said they wanted to read a draft when it was ready.
What follows is mostly a travelog, but it does have a happy ending.
The country’s dairy farmers are proud to produce products that can be an important part of the American diet. Sometimes, however, consumers are confused about what role dairy can, or should, play in their diets. Their concerns run the gamut – from lactose intolerance to organic versus non-organic milk to the safety of raw milk.
Bill Christoph operates Liberty Jersey Farm, which milks about 400 Jerseys in Fallon, Nevada. Christoph recently was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times for an article about the new Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) milk powder factory, also in Fallon.
The article explored how Chinese demand is driving the dairy export market.
The dry matter (DM) content of corn silage at harvest will significantly influence the amount of nutrients delivered and the nutrient value. Before deciding on a target DM for corn silage harvest, talk with your nutritionist about your silage goals and feeding strategy.
Pagel’s Ponderosa
John Pagel, owner | Chris Szydel, herd manager
Casco, Wisconsin
Maintaining hoof health during the dry period can be a challenge on many dairies, but at Pagel’s Ponderosa, a movable, homemade stainless-steel footbath ensures that all cows are covered.
Trucks, tractors and tons of feed make harvest season a busy time on dairies – and potentially a dangerous one, too.
Juan Quezada, director of safety and training at Milk Source, strives to keep employees out of harm’s way while putting up large volumes of forage. The dairy located in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, handles roughly 360,000 tons of corn silage, 130,000 tons of haylage and 50,000 tons of sorghum silage per year.
The global dairy markets, suffering from excess production and a halt in orders from China, fell to a two-year low in early August. Over the last six months, milk powder prices have fallen 25 to 35 percent while butter prices are off nearly 25 percent and cheese prices are down about 15 percent.
As many as half of all producers who use milk replacer may change the formulation of their feed or the amount they feed as the seasons change. That’s according to recent surveys conducted by Progressive Dairyman.
We began asking readers a question about their milk replacer feed formulation practices back in May and continued polling readers throughout the summer. The online question was: Do you change the formulation of the milk or milk replacer fed to your calves as the seasons change?
Belle and David Dallam
Broom’s Bloom Dairy is a ninth-generation farm and a second-generation dairy farm in Bel Air, Maryland, just north of Baltimore.
