It was a beautiful, warm, late-summer afternoon, and I was enjoying every minute of it. I was busy baling a heavy third crop of alfalfa hay off of my upper-marsh hay field. I was baling hay with my old 276 New Holland hay baler I had bought used 24 years before from John, who was the implement dealer in my hometown.

My parents packed their bags and came to visit me on what they termed their “once-in-a-lifetime trip.” Being farmers, their opportunity to travel locally was limited, let alone to Europe. When I asked them what they wanted to see, they simply replied it didn’t matter – it was up to me to decide.

I know I’m not the only one who has ever waited, waited and waited for a return phone call from a parts dealer, repair person, salesperson or loan officer. Seriously, how do some of these people even stay in business? They always tell me, “I’ll get back with you later today,” or “We should be out there tomorrow.”

Stony Brook Farms in Amsterdam, New York, has a closed Holstein herd of 525 mature cows, 470 of which are milked three times per day – 9 a.m., 5 p.m. and 1 a.m. – in a double-10 parallel parlor. Although the parlor could readily be expanded to a double-14, this dairy farm has been operating at maximum capacity for four years and is not interested in milking more cows.

According to neurology studies, the average human only thinks about seven to nine things at a time. Indeed, there are only a handful of things kicking around in that brain of yours and mine.

Have you ever been embarrassed by your good dog? Me either. I’ve got a good dog. An Australian shepherd with one blue eye, and I believe he loves me. I believe I love him. He’ll go with me anywhere.

The number of females attending colleges of veterinary medicine surpassed the number of male enrollees in 1986. And with current nationwide enrollment hovering around 80 percent women, most vets who retire in the coming years will be replaced by a female practitioner.

Happy cows have healthy teats. Keeping your herd’s udder health in tip-top shape, however, is proving to be more challenging. If your cows are experiencing dry and cracked teats, you can guarantee two things are happening:

California Dairies Inc. (CDI) announced on Jan. 16, 2018, it will cease operations at its Los Banos, California, manufacturing facility on March 17, 2018. The entire facility will close, affecting approximately 63 employees.

Farm Credit East recently hosted its annual dairy outlook webinar featuring nationally recognized dairy economist Dr. Mark Stephenson of University of Wisconsin – Madison, along with commentary from Farm Credit East loan officer Corey Kayhart and business consultant Gregg McConnell.