-By Rick McNary The milk cows on Meier’s Dairy are unusual; they decide when to be milked rather than being forced to adapt to a schedule. Since robotic milking machines were installed, some cows now choose to be milked five or six times a day. “We used to milk three times a day because cows produce more if they are milked every eight hours,” Duane Meier explained. “But … [Read more...]
Milking It
The Kansas dairy industry is growing, and it’s a win-win for producers and local economies. -By Sara Gugelmeyer, Published in the Kansas Stockman Driving through western Kansas, one can’t help but notice dairy-type cattle – whether it is cows at a dairy, steers or heifers in a feedyard or baby calves in hutches – they’re everywhere. The dairy industry in Kansas, especially … [Read more...]
Southwest Kansas dairy farmers gather in Dodge City
- By Jennifer M. Latzke The Kansas Department of Agriculture hosted the inaugural Dairy Industry and Technology Conference, May 19, at the Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Dodge City, Kansas. The meeting brought together the dairy industry leaders in the region to look at business development issues facing them, as well as hear updates on projects in the area. Farmers heard … [Read more...]
June is Kansas Dairy Month
Kansas is one of the fastest growing dairy regions in the United States, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture is pleased to celebrate our hard-working dairy farmers during the month of June as the Governor has proclaimed it Kansas Dairy Month. The Kansas dairy and milk production industry grew in 2015, with 143,000 dairy cows producing 3.1 billion pounds of milk … [Read more...]
Kansas Heifer Developer Becomes Industry Leader
By Peggy Coffeen, Progressive Dairyman When T.J. McClure joined a start-up dairy heifer operation in the heart of beef cattle country during the devastating dairy down cycle of 2009, people thought he had lost his mind. “We started with the bottom of the dairy market, when grain prices were at record highs and dairy markets at record lows,” McClure, general manager of … [Read more...]