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Within the last year, two new websites have established online domains to connect dairy producers directly to feed suppliers.
Both were inspired by their sponsors’ own experiences in trying to broker or purchase feed. They both aim to grow the number of dairy producers and vendors using their sites.
Media attention will turn toward the Supreme Court this month for two important rulings.
Did you know the federal government used Supreme Court precedence involving a dairy processor and dairy farmers to argue the constitutionality and precedence for Obamacare and the individual mandate? Contributor Ben Yale explains the context for the government’s case in his article (click here to read).
The court will also issue its ruling in the matter of Arizona v. U.S., which will impact states’ legal bounds for immigration status inquiries and enforcement.
Editor's note: Click here to read Stewart-Peterson CEO Scott Stewart's review of Great by Choice.
In January 2008, I sat next at the dinner table with a Colorado dairyman who was explaining the intricacies of his strategy to sell two bull calves for a heifer calf in order to rapidly expand his dairy herd size.
The other dairymen dining with us were amazed by his scheme, which relied on a never-ending supply of capital, a bull market for milk (the all-milk price was $20.50 at the time) and lots of risk.
Just over one year later, in the heart of the Great Recession, I read how that same producer’s business and his herd were being dispersed.
In this issue, we publish a popular article that first appeared in our electronic newsletter. The article describes a group of producers who are early-adopters of robotic milking technology who meet regularly – both in person and online –to share ideas about how to improve their automated operations.
University of Illinois chemist Wilfred van der Donk (right) has identified a chemical compound that could be the next frontier in mastitis treatment. The synthetic compound, geobacillin, is similar to a natural mastitis-fighting compound, nisin, which is made in a cow’s udder.
A commercial form of nisin for mastitis treatment is currently under FDA review and a decision is expected soon. (Read an update about this drug’s approval status below.)
Research initially shows the new compound to be even more potent than nisin against at least one bacterial strain that causes mastitis. Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley talked with Van der Donk about his discovery.
The upcoming 4-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference will be held June 13-14, 2012, in Dubuque, Iowa. Click here to learn how you can attend the conference.
We asked two of the speakers a few questions about their topics and why producers should be interested in attending.
Thomas Overton Associate Professor and PRO-DAIRY Director Cornell University
Pam Boocher, member of Elanco Animal Health's U.S. Dairy Marketing Team, talks with Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley about Elanco's new app, Dairy Source. Find out why Boocher calls it a "one stop shop for the dairy industry." Video by PD Webmaster Ray Merritt.
Since we’ve started asking questions to dairy consumers and printing their responses in the magazine, I’ve noticed an interesting trend develop around one of our standard questions. Consumers who are distanced from agriculture, and I mean those whose relatives aren’t involved in farming or livestock, respond to this one question nearly the same way every time:
Two years ago, So-Fine Bovines in Westfield, Wisconsin, replaced Presynch/Ovsynch with automated heat detection as its primary breeding protocol.
Brooks Buchholz, the dairy’s herd manager, says he likes that the new system has cut down on the number of shots he must administer.
