One of the most important parts, and your first step, to starting a health and safety plan for your farm is to see where you excel and where your farm needs some TLC when it comes to safety. You need to perform a “safety audit” on your farm.

When I first typed out the title to this article, it was, “How to make your farming father really happy,” but that didn’t sit well because I believe each of us, as an emotionally mature adult, gets to wake up every morning and decide what our mood and responses will be.

I am not a farm girl by nature. Although I was raised in the country, I did not live on a farm. I certainly had friends who were farmers, was a member of the local 4-H horse club and even helped our neighbours milk their cows a few times.

I love no-bake cookies, and I love caramel! I mean who doesn’t, right? These cookies take only a few minutes to make, and they seem to disappear about as fast as it takes to throw them together.

Regional land values are a mixed bag, but unless there’s a fourth-quarter comeback, Federal Reserve bankers have widespread farm income and credit worries.

Record-high commodity stocks, China and currency value fluctuations are wildcards in determining the global agricultural economy in 2017, with dairy standing as one potential beneficiary, according to a global agricultural outlook from Rabobank.

Wisconsin dairy producers are increasingly adopting a practice that makes economic and environmental sense: They plant oats in early to mid-August and either allow cattle to graze them through late November or harvest the crop in early November for later use.

A number of universities and other organizations compile yield data from annual crop variety field trials. Crops tested varies by state. Data may be useful for seed and crop selection for the coming year. Check these websites for results in your area.

In a dairy herd, efficiency and profitability can be achieved or lost depending on the successful balance between production and reproduction. Better reproductive performance benefits the herd directly by decreasing the days open and the average days in milk (DIM), placing cows closer to peak than to late lactation in their curve, and consequently producing more milk per cow per day.