Heidi Carroll

INTRODUCTION Today’s dairy farms are changing dynamically, with increasing herd size and more hired employees. On larger U.S. farms, there is a reliance on non-family immigrant or contract laborers. Latinos have surpassed African-Americans as the nation’s largest minority group, constituting 17% of the U.S. total population in 2014 (1). This is reflected within the dairy industry, and ...

Profit margin forecasts for cow/calf producers and feeders have been positive and on the rise. These forecasts combined with the need to grow the national cow herd challenges all producers to make critical decisions about retaining cows or selling them to capture record high prices. Typical culling rates for beef herds can range from 10-20 percent depending on the manager’s production goals, ...