As many parts of the US continue to face drought, farms and their nutritionists must make difficult decisions to help optimize performance under less-than-ideal circumstances.

Political advocacy has never been more relevant for the future of farming than in today’s climate. 

From elementary and middle school to high school, college and beyond, the Dairy Excellence Foundation offers curriculum, interactive dairy education programs, scholarships and internships to students of all ages – all available at no cost thanks to our donors and partners. 

It would be handy to have a crystal ball at dry-off time. After freshening, will the cow produce high-quality colostrum that transfers needed antibodies to her calf? Will she freshen without mastitis?

Your farm can exceed all the industry benchmarks for production, but if someone is severely injured, those production benchmarks are suddenly not important. Effective leaders incorporate building and maintaining a safety culture into their farm management strategy.

With the opportunity to capitalize on record-low native beef herd numbers and the growing demand for high-quality beef, dairy-beef crossbred cattle producers can benefit from taking a second look at their early life calf nutrition program.

Dairy producers must realize that improving first-service conception rates to 45%-60% is possible. This goal takes a multifaceted approach that starts in dry and transition phases and leans on superb management practices.

As humans, I think it is just part of our nature that we tend to go for the same brand or same type of product time and time again. Often, we are hesitant to try something new or don’t see the need to, since what we are currently using is serving its purpose for us.