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.

As you may recall, our June issue featured four on-farm processors from a panel presentation at the Canadian Dairy XPO. Since dairy products are key ingredients in holiday baking, Progressive Dairyman asked each of the panelists what added promotions they do for the Christmas season.

In order to combat lower milk prices, most Progressive Dairyman readers are cutting back on capital expenditures.

Baseball season was a little more interesting this year for Ontario dairy farmer Derek van Dieten. Van Dieten, who milks 90 purebred Holsteins on his dairy in midwestern Ontario, decided to match each home run from the Toronto Blue Jays during this year’s World Series play-offs with a donation of 100 litres of milk that would then go to local food banks.

The effects of heat stress on dry cows are profound and have an impact on the herd year-round, despite what the outside thermometer might read. The production and physiological effects on cows and the effects on the calf from heat stress during the dry period are significant contributors to lower overall milk potential, productivity and profitability.

Last month, I wrote about Hank Wagner and his passion for lifelong learning. The advice he shared was to read a little bit each day. I decided to take Hank’s advice and sought out a book from one of his favourite authors, John C. Maxwell.

I could hear her frustration and feel the pain as I read the lengthy email describing an all-too-common scenario for farm families today. The aging parents have been pressured to be “fair” to the non-farm siblings, who have noticed that farmland values have increased significantly.