Alfalfa stands thin out over time, often slowly but sometimes suddenly. And as stands decline, tonnage and economic returns decline with them. When yield gets too low, the usual suggestion is to plant new fields to alfalfa, but sometimes factors like the immediate forage need, the cropping plans or field location make this suggestion undesirable.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the availability of more than $19 million in grants to help train, educate and enhance the sustainability of the next generation of agricultural producers through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP).

Since recent droughts have caused a lack of available forage in many areas, the incentive to retain heifers and purchase cows has been very low.

Optimism for the dairy industry’s future filled the convention center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where 264 college students gathered to improve skills, network and learn about careers and industry innovation. The national Dairy Challenge held April 3-5 attracted students from 37 colleges in 25 states and three Canadian provinces.

Farmers and ranchers need tax certainty to thrive in a modern economy, and making permanent deductions that expired in 2013 is a good first step, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) recently told the House Ways and Means Committee.

In January, while the West made national news with extreme cold weather caused by the polar vortex, the Southwest experienced another phenomenon. It was the morning of Jan. 27 when strong winds hit the town of Clovis, breaking off dry tumbleweeds from the fields. In a matter of hours, thousands of weeds covered houses and businesses, many up to the roof. It took heavy machinery to help people out of their own houses.

The Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association (MADA) and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program (PDPP) board of directors recently elected officers for the 2014 term during their annual reorganization meeting.

Schreiber Foods will begin construction of a distribution center in Richland Center, Wisconsin, in order to handle increased production from its two Richland Center yogurt plants.

Semex has opened its newly expanded Génbank-Semex Hungary facilities in Mezőhegyes, Hungary, meeting the company’s increased sire housing, semen collection, processing and distribution needs.