Ask Doug Boop for his thoughts on the future of the dairy industry, and you’ll receive a thoughtful smile followed by a single word: challenging.

Ten years ago, when Gregg and Doug Ode of Brandon, South Dakota, chose to relocate their 30-year-old Royalwood Farms dairy operation back to the farm they’d grown up on, something was different.

From gowns to guests and everything in between, planning a wedding is no simple task. Add in factors like arranging a planting and a harvest, working around the schedules of guests and groomsmen who need to be home for morning and evening milkings, and the struggles of planning a ceremony or reception outdoors on the farm when the weather could turn at any moment, there is no doubt that incorporating the farm into that special day will take time, energy and many helping hands.

June Dairy Month is a time for many dairy producers to open up their barn doors and educate the public through tours and community events. Some have even made it into a business. Whether you host an occasional elementary school tour or promote your farm as a tourist destination, there are a few things you should consider.

As the turn of the calendar brings us closer to the holidays, collegiate dairy science clubs across the nation are at their busiest – taking, cutting, packaging and shipping orders to cheese sale customers near and far just in time for the holiday season.

It’s a hidden, silent danger on a growing number of farms across the U.S. Each year, manure pit-related incidences claim lives of farmers and their family members across the nation – and as more and more producers begin to implement these tools on their operations, the number is sure to rise. 

It’s no secret. Farming requires a great deal of time, energy, know-how and heavy lifting. Who knew it could all be done in a gingham dress?

The interaction between the foot of a dairy cow and the floor of the facility in which she is housed is one of the most important factors in an animal’s daily life, according to extension veterinarian and field investigator Ernest Hovingh of Penn State’s Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences.

One in 8 million. That’s the probability of triplet calves being born at all – let alone a set of three healthy, happy heifer calves to a cow with no known history of multiple births.