Animal Welfare

The policies that impact our daily lives are often shaped at the local level. Yes, state and national policies are very important, but I cannot help but notice that sometimes we lose sight of what’s right in front of us in our communities.

Optimal cow and bull management will produce a uniform calf crop that is born in a 60-day window or less for most commercial herds.

An outbreak of often-fatal epizootic hemorrhagic disease afflicted more than 500 white-tailed deer in Indiana’s Allen, Porter and Wabash counties last summer.

Focusing on comfort and nutrition for a few weeks before and after calving will help dairy cows with a smooth transition into lactation.

Cattle and sheep graze on permanent pasture, cover crops and crop residue on Pasture Grazed Regenerative Farm in northern Illinois.

Registration is open for the 2025 Indiana Dairy Producers Forum, which will take place Jan 28-29 in French Lick.

Even amidst the ever-present challenges that are part of farming, we have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

Activist-driven ballot measures were shot down by voters in Colorado and California on Nov. 5.

The best option for adding sheep or goats to an operation is to purchase from a reputable breeder.

The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management Program released Environmental Stewardship Version 3 supporting the dairy community’s efforts to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050.

Benzimidazoles, or white dewormers, are an important tool for managing internal parasites in cattle, but it’s essential to use this dewormer class correctly.

Kipster, the nation’s first carbon-neutral egg brand, won the 2024 Good Egg Award hosted by Compassion in World Farming.

For more than 30 years, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association has offered the annual Redbook to help cattle producers effectively and efficiently record their daily production efforts.

What a great harvest we had, huge crop and great weather to harvest in. Aside from the dusty road conditions, I do not recall an easier harvest ever.

Once again, no shortage of things to do on the farm and couple that with the planning and office work that continues to be done, there won’t be much time for rest or slacking.

Prairie Farms Dairy Inc. took top honors in the National Milk Producers Federation’s annual cooperative communications contest, winning five categories and the competition’s Best in Show: Writing award.

The Beef Quality Assurance training and certification program will be offered at 11 sites in Indiana.

The focus at Schoepp Farms LLC is to keep soil and nutrients on the land.

Multiple research projects focused on making a difference for cattle producers has earned Lizzie Schafer the honor of being selected a finalist for the American Star in Agriscience award.

For more than 30 years, Cattlemen’s College sponsored by Zoetis has provided cattle producers with valuable information to help improve their herds and businesses.

We have all but finished our harvest for the year. Corn chopping went extremely smooth with no rain delays and to my recollection only one truck needing pulled all season long — surely a record.

Who would have thought that hurricanes would impact Illinois weather so much, but that is what has happened. Not just one, but two of those storms made their way to southern Illinois with ample amounts of rain.

Dairymen can reduce the methane produced by their cows with the addition of the feed ingredient Bovaer to the ration.

Farmers are increasingly turning to high-moisture corn silage, specifically earlage or snaplage, due to its high energy content and easy digestibility.

A cow’s ideal herd management cowcard has just four events — fresh, bred, confirmed pregnant and dry.

A team of nine people from Huntington University traveled to serve local communities through sustainable agriculture projects to Momostenango, Guatemala.

Every day, rain or shine, farmers rise to do their jobs. Whether we’re tired or stressed, we press on. If we disagree with a family member, we find a way forward. We don’t stall on planting or harvesting or caring for our animals.

After waiting, not so patiently, for the corn to mature, we finally had a field last week get mature enough to start chopping. Now we will race to stay ahead of the corn getting too mature.

It certainly has dried up in a hurry and pastures are showing the ill effects of that. We have had some hot days, but for the most part temperatures have been moderate, so it could have been worse.

Working as a veterinarian means every day is different — and that’s what Taryn Pfeiffer really enjoys about her career.

Few states put on a show like the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin, where 50,000 visitors from nearly 100 countries will see 1,800 owners exhibiting 2,500 or so of the best dairy cattle in the galaxy.

Dairymen have a new way to continuously monitor the health of their calves with the SenseHub Dairy Youngstock system.

The annual Orr Beef Research Center Field Day will take place at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Ag Sciences Complex and Fred Bradshaw Learning Center at the John Wood Community College Agricultural Education Center.

The Illinois Grazing Lands Coalition announced two upcoming grazing schools: Sept. 6-7 in Macomb and Sept. 13-14 in Creal Springs.

While the dictionary doesn’t include the word “stockmanship,” most livestock producers know what it means: handling livestock in a calm, quiet manner that results in animals that are healthier and gain faster.

Sheep and goats are a popular choice for youth and adults. Small ruminants are a good place for anyone to enter the livestock business on small acreage. Often, they develop into significant farm enterprises.

Demand for high-quality beef and a tight cattle supply has experts predicting historically high cattle markets for the next several years.

Small steps go a long way when it comes to protecting your cows, employees and neighbors against H5N1.

Proper ventilation plays a critical role in providing an ideal environment in swine barns.

The more we learn about H5N1, the more we understand that good biosecurity is a critically important path to containing the virus.

The earth provides an overabundance of food, but the distribution of that food is the struggle.

Wet and hot conditions in northern Illinois are impacting crop growth, as well as providing an opportunity for increased disease pressure this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture began accepting applications to provide financial assistance to eligible dairy producers who incur milk losses due to highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management Program released new versions of the Animal Care and Workforce Development programs, benchmarks for best practices.

In the last two years, bird flu has been blamed for the deaths of millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide. But it seems to have hardly touched people.

As the Fourth of July celebrations come to a close, it’s a good idea to look out for your pets and livestock.

Berkeley Boehne and his brother, Vaughn, raise corn, soybeans and wheat on their DeKalb County farm, where they also feed pigs and operate a custom manure application business.

Teens from around the state gathered for the 95th Indiana FFA State Convention, where they took part in workshops, volunteered and were honored for their accomplishments.

Indiana Pork and Legacy Farms hosted two pork buyers from McDonald’s Japan on their recent visit to Fair Oaks Farms and Belstra Milling.

Five new officers elected by the delegates during the 96th Illinois FFA State Convention will be traveling throughout the state during the upcoming year engaging with members to inspire them to achieve their goals.