For John, the focus was never about just making money. What started as a desire for independence quickly became a quest for sustainability and long-term success. John readily admits, “Nothing great is ever accomplished as a solo affair.”

If you thought dairying has been volatile the last few years, shifts in fundamental economic drivers could make dairying a much more expensive endeavor in the years ahead.

Chad Sime was ready to quit grazing. It was labor-intensive and stressful to him and his cows. He says there was no “natural flow” to it, and the inconvenience of moving cows was actually hampering his decision-making when it came to things like soil conservation.

Farmers markets represent several different opportunities for dairy producers. For some, they provide a chance to branch out and expand business, and for others they’re a great point of contact for outreach in the community.

For many years, the Fry family in Chestertown, Maryland, was able to straddle the line of conventional farmer and organic farmer. In 2000, the family began producing organic grain and forage because Horizon had moved one of their dairies to nearby Kennedyville.

What is the best way to go about choosing genetics for your grazing herd? “No single ideal pasture-based cow exists,” says Ted Probert, regional dairy specialist with the University of Missouri Extension.

Sometimes a person can do everything by the book or owner’s manual – and it ends in failure. Such is what happened here last fall when I was chopping corn silage to fill my back silo. We like to have silage in the ration, which we feed to our cattle. They really like it too, and it’s very good for them.

One of the hardest-working parts of a compact track loader is its undercarriage. However, in order for the moving components to function properly, the undercarriage must be maintained and kept clean.

I have no doubt that, like every generation before us, we will judge the next generation to be spoiled or clueless. Nonetheless, whatever does become of them, I hope that the next generation holds us accountable and thinks for themselves.

It’s that time of the year when people gather and listen to hear how things are going. As citizens, we listen to our governors and the president talk about how our states and country are doing. As farmers, we attend cooperative annual meetings, agronomy listening sessions and more to find out if the cooperative had a good year or what the results were from last year’s test plots.