Court interpretations of environmental laws, combined with increased financial risks related to the environment, are converging to create a new reality: Manure is manure until it pollutes, and environmental insurance protects dairy farms against liability until it doesn’t.

Wealth planning is a process that should begin with a detailed review of all aspects of your financial life and a thorough understanding of your personal situation. The purpose of a wealth plan is to create a customized road map you can follow to position your assets in a way that will help achieve your objectives in the most tax-efficient manner.

It only takes a mere 30 seconds with Tom Trantham of Pelzer, South Carolina, to understand why he was named 2015 South Carolina Farmer of the Year.

Making and feeding hay and silage is a lot of work. It takes time and money. “Can we get the animals to do some of that work for us?”

We bought our farm in 1991, and I learned very quickly that it was impossible to get my crops planted early in the spring. By planting late, it really cut into my crop yields. Back then, I was way in debt and couldn’t do anything about it, though.

“Tennessee Williams lived in this house,” the landlord said. She was a quiet woman in her 60s who had tried to shut the door on me, having explained that she wasn’t showing the room today. I handed her the check and said I was desperate and would take it sight-unseen.

“For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he ...”—Proverbs 23:7 That quote is a powerful, life-changing statement. Our minds – or our thoughts – allow us to achieve greatness or to remain in abject poverty.

Skid steer loaders and compact track loaders can be very versatile dairy tools, but with so many manufacturers and options, it can be difficult to figure out what machine really suits your operation best. Tires and tracks both have their advantages and disadvantages depending on the applications they will be used in.

What is iNDF or uNDF? A: The fiber that is locked within lignin and never (ever) capable of being digested is now termed indigestible NDF (iNDF). We use undigested NDF (uNDF) at 120 or 240 hours of digestion to estimate iNDF.

When I got asked to write the HERd management column for the “State of the Dairy Industry” issue, I knew it could be a challenge. After all, how do you summarize an entire year into so few words?