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In today’s tough economic, environmentally conscious world, a dairy operation needs to run with the utmost precision and efficiency. From purchasing opportunity ingredients to using on-farm forages, to production efficiencies and standard operating procedures, all components must work together to have a successful, profitable and earth-friendly operation.
The benefits of pasture-based dairying are enticing, drawing traditional dairy producers to consider entering this niche. Although a traditional dairy cannot be transformed into a pastoral dairy overnight, there are certain management practices that will facilitate the transition process. From small family farms to investor operations, the best pastoral dairies achieve success through careful planning.
Learn from experienced graziers
When working with new and existing grazing dairies, it becomes obvious some are more successful than others. The difference is often found in being open to new ideas and actively seeking new information.
HOW WE MET: Phil was working in the cubicle next to me at the San Francisco International Airport earlier this year.
I was waiting for a connection to Boise, Idaho, when the flight was cancelled. Phil expressed his condolences about my travel delays.
I asked where he was going, and he said to Kansas City for a funeral. I exchanged my condolences.
When I was getting ready for my college graduation, I never would have guessed the journey my life would take. I guess everyone says that, but it really is true in this case.
My son Paul recently came home from a trip to Bulgaria. He has had a hard transition into American culture ever since he was a boy. He started his life on the streets of Varna, Bulgaria, where his gypsy ancestors spent their days.
It is a beautiful day and age to live in. Bill Gates once said, “Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time.”
The age of innovation is now. It does not matter if a person is making reference to computers or dairy equipment – technology is changing both of these industries at a rapid pace.
Technology aids in doing more with less manpower and in less time than ever before. Industries are changing, and the technicians that accompany them must change as well.
I held the phone in one hand on the table and with the other propped up my forehead. Even though the receiver was an arm’s-length away from me, I could hear Paul breathing – or imagined I could – as he waited for my answer. Finally, I brought the phone back to my ear again.
Reporting to you from Juba, South Sudan, Africa …
One realization of my assignment is the number of aid organizations working here in this new country. They may be divided into three groups.
Winston Churchill once said, “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Speakers at the National Institute for Animal Agriculture’s (NIAA) Annual Conference in Denver, March 27-28, identified the opportunities in the challenges faced by those in animal agriculture and stressed the importance of feeding the world despite the challenges ahead.
“We can, and will, feed the world,” stated economist Terry Barr, PhD, senior director of CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange Division.
The byproduct of industry: The West is one of the largest sources of used lumber in the United States. The source: gigantic wooden snow fences.
These elaborate wooden snow fence structures provide protection for roadways from the hazards of blowing snow throughout the winter. There are hundreds of miles of these vast wooden structures.
The science and design of these massive fences cause the howling wind carrying the snow to change direction causing it to dump the snow to the ground rather than carrying it on to the highways.
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