Latest News From Karen Bohnert

An Ode to the Grain Cart Driver
An Ode to the Grain Cart Driver

God bless grain cart drivers. They are great mind readers, understanding all those hand signals that are hard to interpret and hard to see, and the person who generally takes all the blame.

Three Famous Athletes Join the Famous Butter Cow at the Iowa State Fair
Three Famous Athletes Join the Famous Butter Cow at the Iowa State Fair

A few things you can count on if you make your way to Des Moines, Iowa for the Iowa State Fair—corn dogs, livestock shows and the iconic Iowa State Fair butter cow. 

prison at joilet
California Man Sentenced: An Unbelievable Multimillion-Dollar Cow Manure Scheme

According to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office, a California man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison due to his involvement in a nearly $9 million cow manure Ponzi scheme.

Midwest Dairy Producers Forced to Dump Milk
Midwest Dairy Producers Forced to Dump Milk

With much of the Upper Midwest processing capacity maxed out in terms of milk production, finding a new home for milk is not an easy task. This is causing dairy farms to dump milk due to the oversupply. 

Indiana Dairy Farmers Excited to Be Part of the Indy 500 Winner Circle
Indiana Dairy Farmers Excited to Be Part of the Indy 500 Winner Circle

A winning tradition unfolds in the midsection of the country each Memorial Day weekend for the biggest motorsports event in the world. The Indy 500 is a tradition that Indiana dairy farmers get to help orchestrate.

Wood Milk—Calling Attention to What People Are Drinking
Wood Milk—Calling Attention to What People Are Drinking

The “Wood Milk” ad— funded through MilkPEP —goal is to make people pause and question what they are consuming and the nutritional value of their choices.

U.S. Milk Production and Cow Numbers Both Rise
U.S. Milk Production and Cow Numbers Both Rise

The February 2023 USDA Milk Production report showed an 0.8% increase in year-over-year milk production with a total of 17.7 billion lbs. of milk. Also following suit, U.S. cow numbers also documented growth.

Bomb Cyclone: Not Helpful in Ending California's Drought
Bomb Cyclone: Not Helpful in Ending California's Drought

The bomb cyclone has sucker punched California. While farmers have prayed for rain to end the drought plaguing the state, a leading expert says that the bomb cyclone will not end California’s persistent drought.

Major Flooding: Bomb Cyclone Storm Causing Havoc to California Dairy Farmers
Major Flooding: Bomb Cyclone Storm Causing Havoc to California Dairy Farmers

While normally any moisture to the Golden State would be welcomed, the massive “Bomb Cyclone” storm hitting California is far from normal. High winds, heavy rain and power outages have impacted California farmers.

Recession or Not: The Consumer Has Reached Their Breaking Point
Recession or Not: The Consumer Has Reached Their Breaking Point

The consumer no longer can absorb higher costs. Tanner Ehmke with CoBank says that lighter foot traffic is seen in some grocery stores, while discount retailers have seen a significant increase in foot traffic.

One Year Later: New Jersey’s Largest Dairy Rebuilds After Being Leveled by Hurricane Ida
One Year Later: New Jersey’s Largest Dairy Rebuilds After Being Leveled by Hurricane Ida

One year ago, a tornado completely devasted Wellacrest Farms, New Jersey's largest dairy farm. Community support outpoured from a group of Amish to a GoFundMe account that helped with the rebuild.

Hurricane Ian's Deadly Punch to One Florida Dairy
Hurricane Ian's Deadly Punch to One Florida Dairy

Despite experiencing Hurricane Ian firsthand, Dakin Dairy Farms in Myakka City, Fla., is committed to not only making sure their cows are still well cared for, but they’re also becoming a local helping hub.

These Farm Kids Had the Best School Absent Note Excuse
These Farm Kids Had the Best School Absent Note Excuse

When Julie ten Hoeve called her son’s high school to report Ian being absent to help chop corn on the family's 650-cow dairy farm, she worried about what the school would say. The school’s response eased her mind.

Premium Alfalfa Hay Delivered by Amazon Prime
Premium Alfalfa Hay Delivered by Amazon Prime

California dairy farmer, Steve Maddox found a newfound love for Amazon Prime, who hauled premium alfalfa dairy hay from his Logan, Utah hay ranch to his Riverdale, Calif. dairy farm.

Record Breaking Butter Display Unveiled at Ohio State Fair
Record Breaking Butter Display Unveiled at Ohio State Fair

The Ohio State Fair in Columbus debuted more than 2,500 lbs. of butter that features 10 life-size sculptures of kids and animals, including the iconic butter cow, a goat and a pig.

South Dakota Farmers Impacted by a Double Punch of Storms in May
South Dakota Farmers Impacted by a Double Punch of Storms in May

Over Memorial Day, a series of severe storms that brought strong winds, heavy rain, hail and multiple tornado warnings, impacted South Dakota. Victory Farms shares how the double punch storms impacted their farm.

Water Shortage Pushes Central Oregon Dairy Farmer to Sell 40% of His Herd
Water Shortage Pushes Central Oregon Dairy Farmer to Sell 40% of His Herd

This ongoing Oregon water issue has become a headache for many farmers, like Jos Poland. Less water doesn’t only mean fewer aces for his cows to graze on. It has forced Poland to sell 40% of his herd earlier this year.

AgSource Gains Agronomy Lab and Brand Update
AgSource Gains Agronomy Lab and Brand Update

Just announced, a broad-based agricultural service cooperative specializing in laboratory testing, AgSource Cooperative Services, acquired Dairyland Laboratories, Inc. Agronomy Services Division in Stratford, Wisconsin.

Fighting Food Insecurity with Football: Here’s What Joe Burrow and Farmers Have in Common
Fighting Food Insecurity with Football: Here’s What Joe Burrow and Farmers Have in Common

Joe Burrow might be best known for his strong arm that is leading his team to the Super Bowl. However, the NFL quarterback is also taking advantage of the spotlight to help draw much needed attention to food insecurity.