Archive for September 2009
Introduction To Cattle Handling
Cattle Handling Facilities
Cattle handling facilities are an essential part of any cattle operation. If well-built and functional, they contribute much to the easy, safe and rapid handling of cattle. Good handling facilities need not be overly expensive. It pays to invest in quality for some of the critical areas such as pressure treated posts, a good squeeze, and sturdy gates and latches. Every cattleman’s needs and situation is different. Some can build directly from plan leaflets, others will have to redesign the handling system to fit their farmsteads and individual requirements. Design assistance is available from Two-W Livestock Equipment Ltd. Attention to the ways cattle react, and to the designs we offer, will help make the operation more successful. Read the rest of this entry »
Bullennium Sale 2007
It is important that we influence these changing times in cattle marketing. That is the reason for our focus on the fine-tuning of Triple C genetics. Not just EPD’s as once thought to be the whole answer. Now carcass data, TI, API, and Stay have become important measurements to each of you in planning your successful programs. We offer them all knowing these can make a major difference to your decision on which bull is right for you. Read the rest of this entry »
Grazing Management
Grazing is very much at the heart of everything we do on the farm. Grazing management is given top-priority. Many people call what we do “Extended Grazing” as our grazing season is considerably longer than that of many “conventional” farms. However this is a term that I no longer prefer to use as it suggests a bolt on approach. Whereas the reality is that grass and its efficient utilization by grazing is very much at the centre of everything we do and all other decisions revolve around this. Read the rest of this entry »
The Cannons – Dairy Farm
My name is Jason Rankin and I would like to extend to you a very warm “virtual” welcome to our farm which I farm in partnership with my father.The farm is situated near the top of the Ards Peninsula in County Down, Northern Ireland. Being surrounded by water on three sides (to the north Belfast Lough, to the west Strangford Lough and to the east the Irish Sea) the farm has very temperate climate moderated by the gulf stream. Being about as far east as ou can get on the Island of Ireland it is also relatively dry with an annualrainfall of only 32 inches (low for Ireland). Read the rest of this entry »
Promotes Cow Bonding
Blanketed calves have been proven to stay closer to their mothers during storms. These grey, wool blankets are designed to minimize any wool smell and the open-ended cover guarantees that cows will nurture their blanketed calves day and night. Read the rest of this entry »
Quality of Life
Buffalo County offers a quality of life that is unsurpassed by any region. The county offers affordable housing, small communities, little crime, an excellent public education system, close access to universities, abundant outdoor recreational opportunities and numerous cultural experiences. Read the rest of this entry »
Dairy Business Support
Agriculture remains the single largest industry in Buffalo County with revenues exceeding $90 million dollars. Dairy leads the way with $70 million of dairy related receipts. Supporting industries for dairy are excellent.
Buffalo County supports an excellent transportation system with 148 miles of state highway, 318 miles of blacktop county roads and 350 miles of blacktop town roads. The Burlington Northern Railroad runs along the western edge of the county and barge traffic on the Mississippi River is available. Read the rest of this entry »
Milk Marketing in Buffalo County
Buffalo County is the 65th largest dairy county in the nation. There are 5 different manufacturing companies that make cheese and 7 milk plants that purchase milk within a 30 mile radius of the county borders.
Transportation costs average about 35 cents per hundredweight with all dairies subsidizing that cost. It is not unusual for a large dairy farm to pay 1 cent/hundredweight for milk transportation. Read the rest of this entry »
New idol to make cheese with passion and jersey milk
Cheese lovers may soon be able to enjoy Australian specialty cheese made with pure jersey milk and the boundless passion of the Australian cheesemaker idol announced in Melbourne on Monday night February 6. Erica Dibden, a dairy farmer from Tilba Tilba on the far South Coast of NSW, was awarded the 2006 Dairy Australia Cheesemaker Scholarship.She was chosen from a field of 77 people across the nation. Other entrants included a diverse range of people, such as dairy farmers, a sports dietician, a police officer, chefs, teachers, and food retailers. Read the rest of this entry »
Farmers asked to have their say
A national survey of Australian dairy farmers will give them an opportunity to provide vital input into an industry “health report” and influence policies for the future.Dairy Australia will seek the views of more than 1300 farmers between now and March 24 for inclusion in the industry’s annual planning cycle.The phone-based survey was first conducted in 2004 when industry leaders identified the need to develop a clear and realistic picture of the industry’s condition and future challenges. Read the rest of this entry »