Al and Ann Middendorf, Long Prairie, Minnesota, start their farm work days together, milking 82 Holsteins. “We work well together,” Ann said. “We put our ideas together to solve any day-to-day issues.” Ann wasn’t raised on a farm. “I’ve got a good wife,” Al said. “I snowballed her and told her this would be a lot of fun.” However…

Shelby Biasini earned her dairy bona fides growing up on her family’s dairy farm in Morrisville, Vermont where they currently milk 40 head of registered Brown Swiss and Holsteins. “In 2009, we started Mt. Mansfield Creamery where we make a number of raw milk European style cheeses which are aged a minimum of…

Only nine months after a USDA proposal to transition away from metal and plastic identification ear tags, USDA reversed course. They can now be used indefinitely on dairy cattle, cattle that cross state borders and on cattle exhibited at fairs. In case of an outbreak of dangerous diseases, APHIS was signaling radio frequency…

In the late 1920s, the federal government understood healthy farm economies make our country stronger. The agricultural parity concept was created to ensure farmers received fair prices for their back-breaking work. The Great Depression caused farmers to go broke, because their purchasing power declined year after…

The past year has brought enormous challenges for our organization and for each of our farmer members. I’ve recently had a wonderful reminder that we are not alone in facing those challenges. That’s some good news for Dairy Month! I have written before about how we must get rid of bloc voting if we want to have any…

The first of four quarterly stocks and acres reports prepared by the USDA put acres for both corn and soybeans below expectations of even some of the more historical bulls out there. Very rarely does this happen and it could result in higher prices down the road as trends tracking 50- and 100-day moving averages remain…