My view of the dairy situation I have tried to educate myself about the underlying causes of our situation by reading about the proposed solutions (Holstein’s plan, S. 889, USDA actions, etc.) as well as listening to the NY dairy meeting at Morrisville College.

Mrs. First Lady Obama’s organic gardening is good for all of us involved in agriculture. So few citizens have the time or interest or space to grow anything they eat, that they have no way to relate to the land and what it takes to make it fruitful.

When brothers Sander and Rolf Penterman and their wives, Amy and Marieke, started up a dairy in northern Wisconsin they realized their new lives were sorely lacking one thing – cheese from their homeland.

“In the ag industry we have very trusting individuals. Unfortunately, there are individuals out there that want to take advantage of that,” says Ryan Jacobsen, a representative from the Fresno County Farm Bureau.

We begin our discussion of a complex topic with a simple question: How can I motivate my employees? We propose a simple yet unique answer: You can’t do it alone!

During tough economic times, it is prudent to evaluate the efficiency of your business. There are many measuring sticks for success, but the most useful during good and bad times is cost per hundredweight generated from accountant summaries.

When times are tough farmers often ask: “What are the most profitable practices under these conditions?” The answer usually disappoints those who ask it because practices that maximize profitability when “times are good” are the same practices that help maximize profits (or in many cases, minimize losses) when “times are tough.”

The underlying success of a business agreement depends on healthy family relationships. Probably more two-generation business arrangements fail because of poor family relations than for any other reason.

One thing you can do to limit costs and maximize milk production is to carefully examine your current mastitis protocols. From my experience, in the average herd, the mastitis incidence rate runs about 20 percent.

Lately I’ve been packing a GPS locator when I’m checking cows. Now I can find my way back to the horse trailer! But the GPS in rent cars with all the streets and highways displayed turns my blood cold.