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The Future of dairy Farming

You learn a lot leading a dairy farm that your family has owned for 50 years. Looking at everything from energy efficiency to water conservation to what we feed our cows, our farm continuously evolves as we find new ways to take better care of our cows and the land. Our own experiences certainly have informed our approach over the years, but it’s also a result of what we’ve learned from other farmers – both those down the road from us...

Robotic milkers Pros & Cons

while expensive, Robotic milkers allow cows to be milked at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The cows walk into a large box whenever they want, and a robotic arm performs the milking, and then the cow leaves. “It gives a lot more freedom for the cows, rather than having a set schedule,” Grossnickle says. “And I think it makes them more comfortable. The more comfortable a cow is, the more milk it’s going to give,...

Challenges for dairy farmers

Perhaps the biggest challenge for dairy farmers are milk prices. Milk prices are set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture using formulas, which many farmers say are arcane, based on the current value of dairy products like cheese, dry whey and butter. The formula is complicated and changes frequently, so farmers never know what prices they’re going to get for their milk as they’re producing it. But over the last four years, they’ve known one thing is certain: the...