September 2017 U.S. milk production grew 1.1 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, the smallest year-over-year increase since May 2016. Declining cow numbers and a meager increase in milk output per cow slowed the overall growth rate, according to the USDA’s latest Milk Production report.

My husband and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary at the end of September by going for a swim at our friends’ quarry lake. It hit 91ºF that day, tying a record set in 1936.

The simple solution to boosting dairy cattle conception rates (CR) is to improve reproductive management and cow environment, as these two general categories account for 96 percent of CR variation.

Selz-Pralle Aftershock 3918 is the new national milk production record holder for the Holstein breed. This Holstein cow has set a new 365-day milk production record of 78,170 pounds of milk, with 3,094 pounds of fat and 2,393 pounds of protein.

Leaves are falling, combines are rolling and pumpkin patches, corn mazes and orchards are attracting urban and rural visitors for some farm fun. An increasing number of farms are opting to add an agritourism component to their operation. One of the reasons a farm may choose to diversify with agritourism is the opportunity to bring another family member into the farming business without adding more cows or more acreage.

Following a trip to World Dairy Expo to view new ideas and to get recharged for the year ahead, I have been reflecting on the supply struggles that the industry is facing. The last two years have seen continued growth of production holding prices down. At first glance, this seems to be a simple supply and demand issue, but as I have done some closer looking, I am wondering if there are also some issues with product/market fit.

Fighting to maintain low somatic cell count (SCC) is a battle in itself, but after the abnormally harsh winter of 2016-2017, Idaho dairyman John Wind is in a quality tug-of-war to return to his previous somatic cell count of under 100,000.

My inquisitive 11-year-old recently asked me if a newborn child belonging to a family we know was in the hospital because the baby didn’t get enough colostrum. Wow. I could tell by the look on his face it was going to be a long conversation when I told him human babies don’t need colostrum like calves do.

The USDA’s Sept. 1 grain stocks estimates provided smaller-than-expected inventories for both corn and soybeans, initially giving some price support for both crops.

See a need Rivers and streams are threatened across rural America. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, agriculture sources contribute over 70 percent of the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi Basin.