HD Notebook

Just yesterday, President Barack Obama signed into law the first major overhaul of U.S. food safety infrastructure since 1983. The bill, known as the American Food Safety Modernization Act or S. 510, comes with exemptions protested by major ag groups like Farm Bureau and the National Milk Producer's Federation. Let's also not forget the $1.4 billion price tag it comes with over five years. Read more

Just one hour. That’s all it will take for you to participate in the new Hoard’s Dairyman monthly webinar series starting next Monday, January 10, at noon, central time. And you won’t have to go any further than your computer. The price is just right, too: free! Read more

As a new year begins, we wrap up the 125th anniversary celebration of Hoard’s Dairyman. In our June 2010 issue, we chronicled how Hoard was instrumental in launching many endeavors far beyond his magazine. One such program he helped initiate celebrated its 100th anniversary last year . . . it was a program he called “Experimental Breeding.” Read more

What goes into a “next year’s outlook” prediction? Paying attention all year long this year, talking regularly to producers, studying the economic horizon outside the industry, tracking trends, and decades of experience watching the industry go through its up and downs. Then add a few hunches, a guess or two, and have the guts to say what it all looks like. So here goes: Read more

Dean Foods Company will pay $30 million to settle allegations by a group of dairy farmers that it monopolized the Northeast milk market, reports attorneys representing the plaintiffs. The settlement fund will be shared between an estimated 5,000 and 10,000 dairy farmers in 11 Northeast states. After the U.S. Read more

In recent weeks, we've sadly heard of several barn collapses in the upper Midwest. Each of the barns that failed was bearing an extreme snow load due to an overly white Christmas we had in this part of the country. Now, the eastern U.S. is being pummeled with snowstorms. For those with free stall barns especially, heavy snow can be a concern. Read more

As 2010 comes to a close, we reflect on the past year and plan for a positive 2011. When I look ahead, I think about the future through a young person's eyes – full of hope and the belief that positive actions can change anything. The real world challenges faced by adults don’t weigh them down. Read more

Rollover protection systems (ROPS) save lives. When ROPS are used with seat belts, 99 percent of tractor drivers survive rollover accidents. And, even if the seat belt isn’t worn, 70 percent of drivers live to tell about the accident report researchers in a recent USA Today article titled, “Tractor upgrades cut deaths.” Read more

Between a forecast for lower milk prices and the likelihood of higher feed costs, it’s hard to not have a gloomy financial outlook for U.S. milk producers in 2011. Sorry. Amid the dreariness, however, is the near-certainty of one very bright income light: cull cow prices. Read more

Rising corn prices mean higher feed bills for dairy producers, which is why a recent forecast about global oil demand points to the possibility of higher milk production costs in 2011. Connecting the dots between oil, corn prices, and dairy feed costs is a linkage that also includes China. Here’s how: Read more