Dairy farmers are often advised that listening to their cows is a valuable management tool. Working with dairy youth programs, I remind myself of the same logic when it comes to kids, parents and volunteers. If I hope to plan programs that are progressive and useful, time should be set aside to listen to the […]
A brain teaser is meant to challenge or stimulate. So, the Dairy Brain Teaser is used to stimulate our thinking and provide some valuable information about the dairy industry and about management of dairy enterprises. You will find the correct answers at the end of the article and use the scale provided to relate to […]
Hello northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania dairy farmers.
Ohio State University Extension in Ashtabula County will hold a milk marketing workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Nov. 25 at the Williamsfield Community Center in southern Ashtabula County. This workshop, New Tools for the Dairy Farm Manager — Managing your Margin and Profits with MILC-2008 […]
I recall just a few months ago when the whole cottonseed market jumped above $250 per ton. I received numerous phone calls and e-mails requesting help on how to deal “with these obscene cottonseed prices.”
I imagine that most dairy producers wouldn’t mind still paying $250 per ton for whole cottonseed. But the rapid changes in […]
About 9:30 p.m. on Labor Day, 16 4-H and Ohio State University collegiate judges and their coaches drove into the Waterman Dairy at OSU. Dairy judging boot camp had officially ended. Everyone scrambled to locate their luggage and find their vehicles or parents to head home.
Some had another two or three hours to drive […]
“What is holding you back?” A popular statement five years ago when we first addressed this topic in this column.
The seatbelt safety campaign signs can still be found along the roads of rural Ohio urging drivers and passengers to buckle up for their safety. But, if we ask that same question of our dairy businesses, […]
I have decided to use a new format for my contribution to this column — referring to it as the Dairy Brain Teaser. I think the terms “test” or “quiz” often have negative views, causing us to remember our the school days, which may even challenge the memory for a few of us to remember […]
Recently, a letter to the editor of my local newspaper used data from a U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization report to argue that eating meat and dairy products contributes significantly to global warming.
This claim is based on the estimate that animal agriculture accounts for 18 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions which supposedly […]
Millie, Tillie, and Cindy; Zeller’s cow, Dick’s cow, and Wilford’s cow; Daisy, Penny and Ann.
These are the first 10 cows entered in a small “Farmer’s Pocket Ledger” as they calved in late 1967 and 1968. Each entry carefully notes the new calf’s tattoo number, their dam, birthdate, and sire. A progressive herd, nearly all the […]
The behavior of cows has been studied for many years, but little research has focused on behavior from a nutritional perspective. Research scientists at the University of Guelph and the University of British Columbia recently conducted an experiment to determine how behavior influences nutrition of dairy cattle.
Ensuring adequate feeding time and equal access to […]
