Magazine

The dairy industry, like most agribusiness firms, must deal with risk perhaps more than any other. There’s little reason to expect smoother sailing or lower prices in 2023, as soaring input prices, record drought, staff [Read More …]

Dairy Trends to Watch in 2023

The dairy industry is expected to face several challenges throughout 2023, including extreme inflation, supply chain issues, shifts in consumer behavior and other external factors influencing consumer demand in the new (ab)normal. Despite these challenges, [Read More …]

How Do You Measure Success?

Are you thriving in your business or simply surviving? This is a crucial question to answer, especially as we move through years that are financially challenging. As I mentioned in a prior blog, the rising [Read More …]

Fall 2022 Survey Reveals Marginal Drought Improvements for Farmers and Ranchers

With over 60% of the American West, Southwest and Central Plains categorized as D1 (moderate) drought or higher, AFBF conducted a fourth round of its survey to evaluate drought’s continued impact on farm and ranch [Read More …]

BMR, Non-BMR and Male-Sterile Sorghum

Is the nutritional value different? Reduced well capacity is a growing threat to forage production to feed cattle in the U.S. southern High Plains. The intensity of droughts impairs forage production in irrigated lands that [Read More …]

The Big Cheese

Kerry Henning has a larger-than-life personality—a booming laugh, a huge grin, an endlessly cheerful attitude—and he makes larger-than-life cheddar to match. “Mammoth cheddars are any wheel of cheese 75 pounds or bigger,” says the Master Cheesemaker, whose [Read More …]

Management Points to Consider when Increasing Milking Frequency

Increased milking frequency can offer an increase in milk productivity and farm income. Switching from milking the dairy herd from two times a day (2x) to three times (3x) or more times a day has [Read More …]

What does 2023 hold for Texas dairy?

Happy New Year to Texas dairy farmers, and welcome to Austin to all the state lawmakers who have returned for the 88th Texas Legislature. At this start of a new year, I’d like to reflect on [Read More …]

Reflecting on checkoff successes with eye toward promising future

As 2022 concludes, I want to again express my thanks to the Dairy Management Inc. board of directors for their confidence in me as CEO. This past year has given me a tremendous opportunity to [Read More …]

A New Look at Feed Efficiency

Feed efficiency has been a frustrating topic for dairy producers and their nutritionists ever since the concept of getting more production from the same amount of feed was devised. The “getting more milk” part is [Read More …]

Congress Fails to Pass Agriculture Immigration Reform Legislation

This is not surprising given the heavy legislative schedule and the political headwinds that were present during the closing days of the 117th Congress. Immigration legislation did not top the list of legislative priorities as [Read More …]

Are You Fighting DF?

I recently read an excellent article by Julia Ubbenga about “Decision Fatigue” and how it’s impacting a lot of people in their lives. I suspect you know what I am referring to. With all the [Read More …]

A new dairy report from Rabobank shows weakened dairy markets in 2023

Weaker global dairy markets remain a key theme as 2022 comes to a close, says a new dairy report from Rabobank. After record farmgate prices in many exporting regions this year, milk supply growth has [Read More …]

Anaerobic Digesters: Utilization and Benefit for Dairies

Introduction Managing manure and controlling on-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from operations has become a costly challenge that many are trying to find solutions for. It is estimated that the U.S. dairy sector contributes 1.9% [Read More …]

Nutrition and Milk Persistency: Something to Think About!

Persistency is generally considered in terms of dairy cow genetics. Cows that decline in milk more slowly after peaking can produce more milk in their lactation than ones that experience a rapid decline in milk [Read More …]

California’s climate-smart dairy practices creating pathway to significant methane reduction

The California Dairy Research Foundation (CDRF) and University of California, Davis CLEAR Center has announced the release of a new analysis of methane reduction progress titled Meeting the Call: How California is Pioneering a Pathway to [Read More …]

From Aflatoxin to Zearalenone: Key Mycotoxins You Should Know – Fumonisins

Fumonisins are mycotoxins commonly found in corn and other cereals. Learn about the sources of these toxins, how contamination occurs, and the potential effects on animals and humans. Mycotoxins are substances produced by fungi that [Read More …]

SWOT Analysis for Your Ranch

December 22, 2022 DairyBusiness News Team DP 0

With any approaching new year, there are grand plans of going to the gym, drinking less, eating more vegetables, and so on. And while those are great goals, they mean little and might not get [Read More …]

DairyBusiness Update Video: Ashlie Johnson on priorities to put in place for 2023

In this video, Ashlie Johnson of Brooke Human Resource Solutions explains that the number one priority is leader and manager effectiveness. Today, leaders are required to be more authentic, empathetic, and adaptive. Ashlie refers to [Read More …]

Checkoff Strategy Rooted in Understanding Changing Consumer Needs

Long before the butter board craze and long before a dairy-themed video generated 3 million views in 24 hours, there was a foundation. It’s a foundation based in farmers’ guidance and support through their checkoff [Read More …]

The Balancing Act of Heifer Inventory

A hard pill to swallow is knowing that the days of a surplus heifer inventory defining a dairy’s profitability are long gone. Twenty years ago, excess heifers brought a profitable source of income, but now [Read More …]

Comparison of Selected Measures and Costs by Quartiles of Profitability

December 2, 2022 DairyBusiness News Team DP 0

138 Dairy Farms, New York State, 2021 For farms that participated in the Dairy Farm Business Summary and Analysis Program in 2021, earnings were most affected by traditional factors and less impacted by government programs [Read More …]

What to do in Tough Times?

I recently listened to an excellent podcast from motivational speaker Brendon Burchard about how to deal with “tough times.” Life in America has historically been good, but I know many people are concerned about things [Read More …]

A Successful 2022 Southwest Dairy Day

The 2022 Southwest Dairy Day hosted in Scotland and Windthorst Texas highlighted three different automated milking systems, or robotic dairies. This was the first time Southwest Dairy Day was held in this region of Texas [Read More …]

From Aflatoxin to Zearalenone: Mycotoxins You Should Know – Deoxynivalenol (DON)

The presence of deoxynivalenol (DON, vomitoxin) in grain crops causes great economic losses. Why is it a concern? Where does it come from? Mycotoxins are substances produced by fungi that infect grain crops like maize [Read More …]

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