Climate change is real. It has happened, it is happening, and it will continue to happen. It is impacted by agricultural practices, and it impacts agricultural practices.

From breeding and nutrition to manure management and education, efforts are underway to keep agriculture on the forefront of climate change solutions.

Climate change means more heat stress. Dairy herds under heat stress mean less milk production, more illness, less dry matter intake, decreased fertility, increased embryonic loss and poor growth.

Farmers need to assume climate change will cause changes in weather patterns and that it will require them to make changes.

“Dairy farms do have some impact on climate change. Dairy farms do emit greenhouse gases (GHG). And, of course, the changing climate impacts dairy farms,” Al Rotz, USDA-ARS, said.

Dairies around the world should be concerned about mycotoxins emerging on the farm as fungal threats continue to affect animal, plant and ecosystem health.

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?”