In layman’s terms, what does IOFC mean? Producers and nutritionists use this formula (income over feed costs) to determine the farm’s profitability and identify changes to help increase efficiencies. Feed cost can be up to 65 percent of a dairy operation’s cost of production.

Weather this time of year can change in a hurry. So how many of you, as dairy producers, have heeded the warning and taken the time to prepare for the upcoming winter?

The cooler mornings lately remind us that it is time to make sure the trucks and equipment we rely on to finish harvest or feed cattle need to start and run when we need them.

I got roped into having a farm tour for my niece’s third-grade class. I’m not complaining about trying to educate these young minds on agriculture. I’m not venting about the “helicopter” moms wiping my entire farm down with Clorox wipes.

Weaned calves in the preconditioning or backgrounding pen should have come in with a plan. For those happy with weanling prices, calves in the pen may be limited to replacement heifer prospects. Others may see this as a year to retain ownership through finishing, or you’re just waiting to sell calves in a new year. No matter why you’re feeding those calves now, you face significant challenges from respiratory disease (BRD). Even fall-born, nursing calves are at risk with the fluctuating temperatures and frequent changes in weather.

Some recent research conducted at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln shows that when managed correctly, larger heifers can be more profitable than smaller heifers.

A small milk price increase combined with mostly steady feed prices to boost the September 2016 U.S. average milk-income margin. The increase reduces the likelihood there will be any Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) indemnity payments for the September-October pay period.

Consumers are bombarded with food company marketing messages and negative information campaigns from activists. Through all the noise, consumers make food-buying decisions that impact family farm economics, on-farm production practices and the availability of proven technologies.

The Matsche family from Birnamwood, Wisconsin, recently expanded their dairy with the addition of new barns and an 80-cow rotary milking parlor. Take a peek here to see inside the office, the parlor and the pens.

Folks, meet Lady. Lady is a Black Angus cow from Oklahoma. A group of USDA NRCS workers fitted Lady with a GoPro camera on a collar to follow her eating routine throughout the day.