In December 2009, Progressive Dairyman featured the Reed family in Jasper, Minnesota. The Reeds were forced out of dairying because they weren't able to overcome problems with stray voltage, despite their efforts to solve these issues with the help of Chuck Untiedt. Out of the more than 1,500 articles we published since then, the article, "The boogey man in the milking parlor" ranked as the third most read. As part of our year-end recap, we followed up with Untiedt to find out what he's learned since then about detecting stray voltage.

TULARE, Calif - The 44th annual World Ag Expo 2011, Tools for Agri-Business, will run Feb. 8-10 at the International Agri-Center show grounds in Tulare, Calif. An estimated annual average of 100,000 attendees from 72 countries are expected to attend World Ag Expo this year.

In 1999, a 34 year old dairy couple milking 80 cows in a 52 cow stall barn became interested in following Extension’s Model for dairy grazing. The first step was to reduce crop work and their swine enterprise to have the labor to add more cows. By 2001, the couple was milking 115 cows in the stall barn. The physical stress led to the stall barn being converted to a low cost swing 16 milking parlor at a cost of $38,000 in 2002. The pastures, the parlor, the low cost facilities, the crossbreeding, the labor efficiency and the annual financial analysis were the keys to their success.

Scott Munes Green Bay, Wisconsin Business Development Manager Dairy Business Milk Marketing Cooperative

Rick Hanshew
Bakersfield, California
Southwest Territory Manager
Reinke Manufacturing

David Packard Montgomery, Pennsylvania District Sales Representative Semex USA

As we begin a new year, we always see a lot of predictions for the upcoming year, whether it be for the most popular movies, the most glamorous people, the hottest cars, etc. While I sure can't offer any insight into those important pop-culture topics, I could offer my best guesses for what we'll see in the cattle market this year.

The Grober Young Animal Development Centre opened its doors in 2009 with the mission of uncovering and presenting best rearing practices for young animals. Over the past two years, approximately 160 calves and 40 lambs have resided at the Woodstock facility for the purpose of conducting nutritional and management research.