All dairy producers want to reduce their operating costs, and installing energy-efficient equipment is one way to help achieve this goal. However, energy efficiency is just one area competing for attention on the farm, so dairies want to make sure any equipment upgrade provides as many benefits as possible.

Most of a young calf’s nutrition is supplied via milk or milk replacer during the first two to three weeks of life, making it the young calf’s only source of energy. Starter grain fed during this time does not supply a significant amount of additional energy, as it is primarily fed for rumen development.

Managing livestock mortality, or deadstock, can be challenging. First, there is the loss of the animal, which is an economic loss, and second, it is important that disposal be as efficient and effective as possible.

Age: 49 Location: Rickland Holsteins is located an hour north of Madison, Wisconsin. Your agricultural background, in a nutshell: Eldor Rickert, my grandpa, purchased the farm in 1936. Later in the 1950s, my father, Don, took over the responsibilities and introduced registered Holsteins into the herd, and by 1976 the herd had increased to 100 cows.

School’s back in session, but this summer the next generation of veterinarians, nutritionists and dairy farmers honed their dairy skills through on-farm summer internships.

Age: 55 Location: Clarksville, Iowa Your agricultural background, in a nutshell: I have been the co-owner of Beaver Creek Farm for more than 35 years, working in the dairy business with my husband, Dave. I bought my first Holstein in fifth grade, and some of the animals in the herd yet today trace back to “Milly.”

Modern intensive research is usually carried out in highly specialized research stations, but for West Virginia University, moving their research work to a commercial dairy farm has brought numerous benefits to both the researchers and the host dairyman.

How should rural communities entice the next generation to return to their hometowns? “Build more parks and bike trials” is the advice from John Cromartie, a research geographer with the USDA Economic Research Service.