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1 week ago | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
In a Virginia Tech Dairy Pipeline newsletter, graduate student Prashant Ghimire and extension scientist Gonzalo Ferreira discussed the importance of copper, an essential micromineral, in dairy cattle nutrition. Copper supports growth, immunity, metabolism, and reproduction, but can cause deficiency or toxicity if not managed properly.
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1 month ago | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
Each year, herbicide performance is influenced by weather, and spring 2025 has brought concerns related to dry conditions in the Midwest. Dry weather can significantly impact herbicide efficacy in two key ways: by hindering the activation of pre-emergence herbicides and by reducing the effectiveness of postemergence applications.
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1 month ago | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
Unfortunately, crop diseases can begin early after planting, sometimes becoming detrimental to the plant’s growth for the entirety of the season. In an Iowa State University Integrated Crop Management blog, extension field crops pathologist Alison Robertson highlighted the importance of scouting for seedling disease early on. As seeds begin the germination process, they may leak nutrients that attract unwanted pathogens such as Pythium and Fusarium, boosting the risk of disease.
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2 months ago | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
April 14 2025 08:03 AMOur surrounding environment helps build our immune system; what we are exposed to can impact what our immune system can handle. Emily Bourdeau, a graduate student of the Miner Institute, explained why farm kids are often healthier in a recent Farm Report article. Studies have shown that children who grow up on farms are at a lower risk of developing health conditions such as allergies.
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2 months ago | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
Underfeeding and overfeeding heifers can result in poor or over-conditioned animals. With the heifer inventory currently being very limited, doing what we can to produce good quality heifers will go a long way. Mature body weight (MBW) is the weight that an animal reaches once it has stopped growing. Farmers use this as a tool to balance rations specifically tailored to their herd.
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Mar 13, 2025 | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
When planning an expansion, farmers tend to focus on the construction and design parts of the building process. Although an important part of the process, farmers must have the plan approved by their financing institution. The expansion must make sense for the farm in terms of growth and profitability and also make sense to the lender.
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Feb 27, 2025 | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
With planting season right around the corner, farmers are busy preparing for the year ahead. While we can’t control the weather, we can control other factors, one of them being technology. In an Iowa State University Extension dairy webinar, farm management specialist Alexis Stevens highlighted AI’s role when it comes to agronomy. With over 29,000 AI tools available, farmers are taking cropping to the next level. AI has seen substantial growth over the past 10 years.
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Feb 20, 2025 | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
First only set aside to be celebrated one day a year, National FFA Week has had agriculture students celebrating the seven days around George Washington’s birthday since 1947. During the sixth National FFA Convention in 1933, delegates voted to establish a National FFA Day. During this time, it was recommended that the celebration day be held during a regular National FFA broadcasting day. By doing so, special broadcasts could be planned along with hosting chapter banquets on the day specified.
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Feb 17, 2025 | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
Feb. 17 2025 08:04 AMThe genetics of the U.S. dairy herd has improved incredibly over the years. Now, with the help of technology, we can record more data that helps us adjust genetic evaluations more accordingly. To keep accurate tabs on the ever-changing production traits, once every five years, genetic bases are adjusted to complement the improvement of herdmates, comparing current genetics to the average animal born in 2020.
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Feb 17, 2025 | 
hoards.com | Jenna Byrne
Feb. 17 2025 08:02 AMThere is a list of nutrients that are considered required to help ruminants perform bodily functions properly. Each is specifically designed for a unique function. At the recent Southwest Nutrition Conference held in Chandler, Ariz., professor Jose Santos of the University of Florida discussed the importance of choline in a transition dairy cows’ diet and the role it plays in production, reproduction, and health.
