The day this paper comes out, we will be celebrating my youngest daughter’s 11th birthday. As this day approaches, I think about when she was born. My husband, Jason, and I were renting a farm …
The past few months were filled with farm meetings, conventions and overnight getaways. I can’t control what happens when I am gone. It doesn’t make a difference if I am not able to …
I can recall sitting next to my mom at her sewing machine when I was young, listening to the tap-tap-tap of it doing its work. I watched with amazement as she created whatever her mind …
This winter was one of the warmest we’ve experienced in the past several years. While the nice weather has advantages, these conditions also can be stressful for calves and heifers. Increased …
Galena: (gә lē’nә) noun. Primary ore of lead: a lustrous blue-gray crystalline mineral that consists mainly of lead sulfide and is the main source of lead. Another definition of galena …
What do you do with a winter like ours? Things you could only imagine. Many of the projects on the bottom of the to-do list have suddenly pushed their way to the top of working projects. …
Three years ago, when Dan joined the wrestling team, I could often be heard saying, “Never in a million years did I think I’d have a wrestler.” Now, I have three wrestlers, and …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture lowered its milk production forecast in its fifth consecutive World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates report, citing a smaller dairy cow inventory and slower …
World Trade Organization negotiations went into overtime at its ministerial meeting in Dubai but failed to reach consensus on agriculture or any other major trade initiatives. In an apparent …
“Teamwork makes the dream work.” This line oozes with cheesiness. It is one of those you hear coaches saying to pump kids up and get them playing better. You can hear the …
Winter is receding, and these recent warm days have us preparing and planning for the quickly approaching growing season. In this annual tradition, we find it exciting and comforting to retreat …
I will never tire of learning new things. Maybe that’s not surprising as I think, all people are naturally curious. In college, there was a saying the professors and every motivational speaker …
In my neighborhood, a warm dairy barn used to mean a tiestall or stanchion barn, and those barns had temperatures well above freezing even on the coldest winter days. As freestall barns became the …
My wife and I are at an awkward, in-between age. Many of our contemporaries have become grandparents, yet at the same time, we have young friends who are having babies. This can lead to some …
As February is the month of love, it has given me the opportunity to reflect on what I love about my position this year. Of course, there are all of the incredible dairy farmers who …
Being raised on a dairy farm is a special gift. Countless lessons are taught — an appreciation for life, an understanding of death and a respect for everything that comes in between. On a dairy …
I know the calendar says it is only the beginning of March, but did anyone tell Mother Nature? Golfers are taking swings and walking the greens. Novice gardeners are ready to start digging and …
The nation’s benchmark milk price reversed two months of decline in February but still has a way to go to return profitability to most U.S. farms. The federal order Class III price was …
Dairy product consumption continues to please, and butter was the big story in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest supply and utilization report, according to HighGround Dairy’s …
Schedules and lists. That’s what parents and dairy farmers are made of. The top questions in our house are: What do we have going on today? What’s on your list for today? Who’s on …