Animal Welfare

For the Harre family of Wilra Farms, progress and innovation in their dairy operation moves in a perfect circle. That circle is a rotary milking parlor where cows are milked on a giant carousel that rotates during milking.

If one sentence proved the need to listen to Liz Wagstrom, it was the matter-of-fact statement from Dermot Hayes, just an hour earlier and a few buildings away from where Wagstrom spoke.

The eyes of the nation may be focused on another Supreme Court decision, but an upcoming debate in the nation’s highest court could hinge on how an unwritten clause is interpreted by the court.

How do you challenge a state law that could have major impacts to the U.S. pork industry as a whole? A case — or a court — at a time, according to the general counsel for the National Pork Producers Council.

The late and wet start for farming season really piled on the projects lately, but the too-dry weather we have been having has been advantageous in getting us caught up. First-crop hay is behind us as is our wheat harvest.

In mid-June, a tragic and unforeseeable heat index crisis hit a part of southwest Kansas, causing several hundred feeder cattle just days from harvest to succumb to heat stress.

As a vocal proponent for animal agriculture, I receive letters, emails, social media messages and phone calls from those who read my column or listen to my commentary on the radio. Some throw shade. Some thank me for standing up for agriculture or sharing their story.

Do you consider yourself a lifelong learner? If you’re nodding your head, then you know that label is a badge of honor for those of us who often find ourselves asking, “Why?” or “How?”

Is it OK for free-range chickens to not range freely? That’s a question free-range egg producers have been pondering lately as they try to be open about their product while also protecting chickens from a highly infectious bird flu that has killed roughly 28 million poultry acros

We are all feeling the pressures these days of rising costs, from the grocery store to the fuel pump. Most Americans are already making adjustments here and there.

Avian influenza has been detected in a northern Indiana duck farm, state officials said, marking the disease’s spread to a third poultry species.

Another 15,000 chickens and 37,000 turkeys will have to be killed after bird flu spread to two more Iowa farms, state agriculture officials announced.

Minnesota animal health officials say more than a million birds across the state have now been infected with bird flu.

Embracing the role model within themselves is important for women in agriculture. “Any time I have the opportunity to engage with a group of women that love agriculture as much as I do is a good day,” said Kim Kidwell.

Adding ionophores to sheep rations helps to capture more energy from the feed. “Anything that helps feed efficiency and feed conversion is going to be a good thing when we have expensive feed,” said Josh McCann, assistant professor of animal sciences.