Dairy

The Jersey cows are lined up waiting their turn for the afternoon milking as Ken Ropp and Brett Yoder readied the parlor equipment.

The 51st annual Fastest Rookie Luncheon was held to celebrate the top-performing rookies ahead of the 109th Indianapolis 500.

Delegates wrote history at the 97th Illinois FFA State Convention with the vote to add a sentinel to the FFA officer team that now includes six members.

When you’re 8 or 9 years old, you don’t see the world as you will as a 50- or 60-year-old. Much of what seems perfectly ordinary to a child often becomes quite extraordinary with the passing of time.

America’s certified organic acreage fell almost 11% between 2019 and 2021. Many farmers have been asking: Is organic farming just a word?

Illinois FFA state proficiency winners are selected based on FFA members’ outstanding skills in recordkeeping, leadership and scholastic achievement.

Jason Baldes drove down a dusty, sagebrush highway, pulling 11 young buffalo in a trailer from Colorado to the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming.

Pato O’Ward learned that it behooves Indianapolis 500 drivers to take part in the rookie tradition of milking a cow if they ever want to drink the stuff in victory lane upon winning “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

Farmer Dan Glessing isn’t ready to get too upset over President Donald Trump’s trade wars.

America Dairy Association Indiana gave out 10,000 pints of chocolate milk to mini-marathon and 5K runners.

Jim and I traveled back home to join family and friends for the funeral services for my husband’s uncle.

There are good days and bad days — and Wednesday was the latter at Ropp Jersey Cheese.

Mental fitness is a personal understanding that individuals have the ability to build a happier and more productive life.

More than a dozen years after higher-fat milk was stripped from school meals to slow obesity in American kids and boost their health, momentum is growing to put it back.

The theme of the 2025 Indiana State Fair is “The Soundtrack of Summer” presented by Get Prepared Indiana.

Cow comfort and herd health are nonnegotiables for achieving higher milk quality and production. Bedding plays a critical role in both, which is why many dairy farms have long relied on sand as their go-to bedding.

As the 58th World Dairy Expo approaches, the event is searching for college students passionate about the dairy industry to be part of the 2025 media team.

Heat stress not only impacts lactating dairy cows, it also affects dry cows, as well as first-gestation heifers.

Students at Grant Park learned how to “bend don’t break” during a project developed by the Grant Park FFA Chapter that focused on mental health.

The International Dairy Foods Association pledged to eliminate artificial colors for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.

With over 90% of the business wholesale, nearly every day is delivery day for Ken Ropp. “I spend a majority of the time on the road,” said the Ropp Jersey Cheese proprietor.

The Annual Report highlights how Midwest Dairy grew trust, increased sales, invested in research and developed leaders in 2024.

Animal monitoring systems are a trusted solution for accurate heat detection, but their impact extends beyond that.

March went in — and out — like a lion. Several state contests take place in spring, such as the recent dairy cattle and food science career development events, with many more on the calendar.

The rural version of the Golden Rule is this: Do unto your neighbors’ farms that you’d have your neighbors to do unto yours.

Agricultural economic conditions remained relatively weak across the Corn Belt, driven by concerns over drought conditions, trade, balance sheets and the lack of farm bill clarity.

There have been 985 confirmed cases of avian influenza in dairy cattle across 17 states since first confirmed in March 2024.

When Ken Ropp returned to the family farm in 2000, milk prices were at a then-all-time high and the prospect of him joining in the family dairy business was bright. Six months later, milk prices were at record lows.

Indiana’s agriculture organizations teamed up to bring the farm to Indianapolis on National Agriculture Day.

More than 2,400 students attended a virtual field trip to a dairy farm during National School Breakfast Week.

We continue to have lamb customers since March is Ramadan and they come out before, during and after that holiday, and they all want eggs, too, but our supply was limited until just this week when I was able to get some hens from a fellow emptying his barn.

Save the date for Ag Day at the St. Joseph County 4-H Fairgrounds, in the Commercial Building, April 4-6.

Applications are being accepted for college scholarships that are awarded by America’s dairy farmers and importers through the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board.

Students at Westlake Elementary School kicked off National School Breakfast Week with a fun program hosted by American Dairy Association Indiana.

District 3 Director John Rettler, of Neosho, was reelected president of the FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative’s board of directors following the cooperative’s 13th annual meeting.

It is a new day for agriculture, said Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The dairy checkoff is returning to Natural Products Expo West to highlight the innovation and nutritional benefits of dairy to more than 65,000 industry professionals, investors and leaders from consumer-packaged goods and retail companies.

The National Institute for Animal Agriculture will host its 2025 annual conference “Securing Our Future: Don’t Just Talk … Act!” in Kansas City. The agenda focuses on maintaining trust across animal agriculture’s value chain.

Lawmakers and farmers mingled at the Indiana Statehouse to enjoy a bacon brunch and discuss farm policies.

Dairy Farmers of America President and CEO Dennis Rodenbaugh was elected chair of the board of directors at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy during the checkoff-founded organization’s first meeting of 2025.

Dairy cattle in Nevada have been infected with a new type of bird flu that’s different from the version that has spread in U.S. herds since last year, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials said.

After a four-year run of substantial gains, agricultural land values in the Seventh Federal Reserve District saw a 1% annual decrease.

Over his 30-year career, Tim Harris has never strayed far from his multigenerational family farm southeast of Princeton, but his volunteer work for various organizations and his impact expands far beyond Bureau County.

Prairie Farms and Hiland Dairy have introduced ProPack Snack, a high-protein cottage cheese designed for busy, health-conscious consumers.

The Purdue Animal Sciences Department is celebrating its 125th anniversary during the 2024-2025 school year.

Bird flu is forcing farmers to slaughter millions of chickens a month, pushing U.S. egg prices to more than double their cost in the summer of 2023. And it appears there may be no relief in sight, given the surge in demand as Easter approaches.

Illinois Milk Producers Association and University of Illinois Extension are partnering for the 15th annual Illinois Dairy Summit to highlight how dairy farmers can sustain the industry through research and innovation.

The Make America Healthy Again, or MAHA, platform is generating a lot of interest in how our food is produced. Farmers and ranchers welcome a healthy discussion — we always have.

With a new Congress and administration sworn in, it’s time to get back to work in Washington. Just like there’s never a shortage of work to be done on the farm, there’s a full list of issues that our lawmakers need to tackle.

My father began retiring long before the sale of our farm’s dairy cows in 1989. Began is the appropriate word because his exit from dairy farming was “slower than molasses in January,” as he liked to say. Years slow, in fact.