Consider Deep Pack Barns for Cow Comfort and Manure Management

By A. Fay Benson Small dairy farm operators may soon be faced with the prohibition of winter spreading of manure. Any farmer considering updating their barns should consider a style of barn that would provide manure storage plus animal comfort, and may be eligible for government assistance. That style of barn is a deep bedded … Read More

Value Added Dairy: Making Cheese

by Corey Hayes and Peggy Murray Have you ever heard the old saying “Go big or go home”? Usually it is referencing taking on a new challenge in someone’s life or a business adventure, implying that someone should take a leap of faith and see where it takes them. The dairy industry is no strangers to … Read More

Achieving Low Costs of Producing a Cwt. of Milk

by John J. Hanchar INTRODUCTION Economic efficiency is the ability to realize a favorable relationship between input use and output based upon economic measures such as the value of production, costs of inputs, and others. Production is economically efficient when goods are produced at minimum cost. Various costs of producing a hundredweight (Cwt.) of milk … Read More

Custom Hay Harvest for the Small Dairy

by Mariane Kiraly This Farm decided that the upfront cost was less than the return of high quality forages and lower labor needed to complete the harvest. Streamview Dairy has been in business around 30 years.  The last five years have brought about some thoughtful changes to the operation to reduce labor, lower feed costs … Read More

Springside Farm’s Many Baskets

by Larkin Kimmerer When Ed and Paulie Drexler started dairy farming together right out of college, they received a piece of advice from a professor at Cornell University: if you are going to put all your eggs in one basket, you’d better make sure it has a strong handle. Thirty-seven years and a few broken … Read More

Raw Milk, “Moo-n Shine”, and Risk Management

By Jason Foscolo When planning to profit from an agricultural activity like selling raw milk, farmers often fail to take seriously the risks of regulatory non-compliance.  Meteorological or market risks figure far more prominently in the minds of farmers everywhere. Yet the business of food production, and dairy in particular, is one of the most … Read More

Howland Dairy Benefits from Whole Farm Analysis Project

By Lisa Fields The Whole Farm Nutrient Analysis Program (WFA) came along at the right time for Rob Howland of Candor, NY. Howland’s 74 cow dairy is one of eleven farms in the WFA project, an initiative of Cornell’s Nutrient Management Spear Program (NMSP). The WFA identifies opportunities for change in nutrient inputs or allocations … Read More

Consider Deep Pack Barns for Cow Comfort and Manure Management

By A. Fay Benson Small dairy farm operators may soon be confronted by the prohibition of winter spreading of manure. Any farmer looking to update their barns should consider a design that can accommodate a deep bedded pack (DBP) system. Pros of a Deep Bedded Pack System • Comfortable environment reduces lameness and provides for … Read More

New York Cheese Wrapped Up

By Patricia Brhel Cheese unexpectedly became controversial at farmers markets across New York State in the summer of 2011. One duty of the New York State Department of Agriculture is inspecting and enforcing New York state law regarding safe distribution of farm products. In late June, they  stepped into New York City’s Green Market and … Read More

Whole Farm Nutrient Analysis: The Casey Farm

By Lisa Fields Bill and Joanne Casey of Apulia Station, NY own a 60 cow organic, grass based dairy farm. Management intensive grazing is essential to feeding the herd. Pastures, which are both grazed and mechanically harvested as baleage, only receive manure deposited by the cows. The Caseys also compost manure and spread it in … Read More

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