Perhaps you recall the editorial from our January issue where I talked about choosing “one word” to live by in 2017, and perhaps you chose your own. My word for this year is “fearless” and, with the help of an 11-year-old, I am finding out just what it means for me.

A full room of farmers and agribusiness professionals gathered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Feb. 15, but unlike most meetings and conferences, they were not there to hear about milk price projections or the latest trends in transition cows.

The fans and sprinklers in the holding pen may be running, but that does not guarantee cows are effectively cooled in this area, where they may spend several hours each day.

A ventilation and cooling concept borrowed from calf barns is delivering fresh air and relieving holding area heat stress at Mystic Valley Dairy near Sauk City, Wisconsin.

At Paul Dotterer and Sons Inc., modifications made to the holding pen have cows cooler and more comfortable. The 940-cow dairy located near Mill Hall,Pennsylvania, chose to invest in better cow cooling for their holding area last year.

When Amy Shiplett joined her family’s operation full time in 2006, she struggled to find detailed information on raising calves and heifers from local resources, but through an online search, she stumbled across an organization that fulfilled her needs.

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Tucked away in a pleasant little valley on the outskirts of Westminster, Maryland, a little old barn has found a big new purpose.

1. Describe your farm. PETERS: My parents, Jeff and Janet Peters, brother (Cole) and I own and operate a dairy farm in northwestern Pennsylvania called Spruce Row Farm.

Few things hurt a dairy producer more than sending a pregnant cow milking 100 pounds of milk a day on a trailer to slaughter because she is severely lame, but in herds that battle thin soles. However, this emotionally and financially painful scene occurs more often than one may think.