If you want to start a grass-based business, the most important question is how to make the wisest use of all the financial resources at your disposal.

What is your number one challenge in the next five years? Is it commodity prices, trade wars or low yields? Or is it how you manage your operation, the resources available to you and your use of technology?

While a great many dairy producers are breeding their lower-end cows to beef bulls, that might not be your best option, according to Dr. Dan Schaefer, professor and former chair of animal sciences at the University of Wisconsin College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. He has been researching Holstein steers since 1982.

Knowing what is really going on with the health of your transition cows is not just important – “It is critical to overall profitability and production. The financial impact of transition cow disease is greater than we realize,” said Dr. Mike Overton.

Dairy producers are committed to improving animal welfare every day, but the needs of the animal caregivers play heavily into it, said Dr. Michelle Calvo-Lorenzo, technical consultant for Elanco Animal Health.

Two Midwest dairies shared their strategies for managing costs during the 2019 Four-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, held in Dubuque, Iowa, this past June.

During the last 20 years, many dairy farmers have seen their profit margins reduced even though they’re producing more milk.

“Someday this will all be yours.” In today’s economy, most dairy families know that vague promises about transferring the farm to the next generation are simply inadequate.