It’s that busy time a year, when trying to get the crops planted and worrying about getting the first cutting of hay off is weighing heavily on every farmer’s mind.
This seasonal stress is added to the already existing stress of keeping up with all the day-to-day activities. Along with these “normal seasonal” and “day-to-day” stressors, […]
Limit feeding heifers. Sounds like a plan when feed ingredient prices are soaring out of sight. Less feed, less cost, right? Maybe, maybe not.
What is limit feeding? When I first heard that phrase, with the implication that heifers aren’t being fed as much as “normal,” my first thought was, “Hope their heifer barn isn’t close […]
A few weeks ago, our state dairy specialist, Dianne Shoemaker, gave a preview of Ohio State University Extension’s newly revamped Bulletin 864 — “15 Measures of Dairy Farm Competitiveness.”
As we gear up for our busy spring plant season, it is a great time to highlight some of the concepts discussed in the bulletin about managing […]
I remember thinking that $3 corn was outrageous, that $300 soybean meal was a rip-off and that $200 cottonseed must have been a revenge of the Confederates.
How much I would like to see these prices again!
We’ve had high corn prices in the past; we’ve experienced high soybean meal and cottonseed prices, also. Some years, hay […]
“How do I know if I am competitive?”
“How can I become more competitive?”
These were the questions from producers that led to the development and publication of Dairy Excel’s 15 Measures of Dairy Farm Competitiveness in 1997.
Those same questions are just as valid today and can be answered in the context of today’s dairy […]
It is no surprise that farming is one of the most dangerous occupations. A number of factors, including noise, heavy machinery, animals, machine parts that rotate, cut and pinch, and long hours all contribute to this fact.
Budgeting helps guide you through your decision-making process as you attempt to commit resources to the most profitable enterprises on the farm.
Monitoring herd feed costs is very critical for increasing dairy farm profitability.
Even when feed costs are much lower than the present market situation, monitoring herd feed costs is very critical for increasing farm profitability.
Total feed cost per hundredweight of milk sold is a measure of the effectiveness of management in controlling the largest cost item in producing milk.
This measure accounts for all of the feed provided […]
After you have gone through the recruitment and hiring process, how do you develop a working relationship that will encourage your employees to stay with your farm for the long term?
This is a question that all businesses struggle with today, as the younger generations are projected to change careers six to seven times over their […]