The animals are smelling green grass and are tired of eating their winter vittles. The rye looks great, but the cool temps have slowed its growth enough that I have decided to delay the usual turnout a few days.

Some of the highlights I came away with from the Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition’s 2025 Grazing Conference are: soil microbes help the water percolate through the soil and cover crops help feed the soil microbes which make them multiply.

It is great to see several tractors in the fields around northern Illinois. They are putting fertilizer down and soil finishing the fields. No planting yet, but it will not be too long.

With over 90% of the business wholesale, nearly every day is delivery day for Ken Ropp. “I spend a majority of the time on the road,” said the Ropp Jersey Cheese proprietor.

Cow size has been on the rise for decades. Cows today weigh 1.4 times as much as their predecessors in 1980. In fact, cow weight is rising 100 pounds every 10 years.

Grass will be ready for turnout soon. It is hard to hold out, but so important to give grass a fair start.

The futures market is reacting as expected with all this tariff news creating plenty of uncertainty which usually trends lower as most players look to eliminate risk.

We have faced several consecutive days over a six-state area where there have been multiple tornados causing damage, a lot of rain, lightning, hail and serious flooding and washouts of roads and bridges.

Shepherds should consider what diseases are on their farms to develop a disease prevention strategy.