The Bullvine

Life After BMR: The $103,000 Corn Silage Decision Behind 4 Pounds of Milk per Cow
If BMR disappeared tomorrow, would you lose 4 lb of milk per cow and $103,000 a year — or nothing at all? Your corn silage NDFD holds the answer. Exec […]
Iran War and Hormuz: How $4.16 Diesel Masks a $1.5M Fertilizer Hit on Your Dairy’s Bottom Line
If Iran keeps Hormuz choked, your 500‑cow dairy won’t lose $7K at the fuel tank — it’ll lose $146K in the feed lane. Executive Summary: The Iran– […]
Overton’s 85-Herd Beef-on-Dairy Study: Why a 79% Heifer Completion Rate Limits Beef to About One-Third of Your Pregnancies
Overton’s 85-herd study found a 79% heifer completion rate. That math says most herds can only afford about one-third of pregnancies as beef-on-dairy. […]
The $575,000 Dairy Exit Gap: How 5 Dairy Farmers Got Out While They Were Still Winning
Five dairy operations exited on their own terms. They all wish they'd done it sooner. The equity gap between a strategic dispersal and a forced one ca […]
The Great Milk Divorce: The $383,000 IOFC Gap Splitting 500‑Cow Midwest Herds Into Upstairs and Downstairs Milk
On a 500-cow Midwest dairy, FMMO and UPF rules can turn the same 425 cwt/day into either solid margins or a $383,000 IOFC hole. Executive Summary:&nbs […]

Zoetis–Neogen’s $160M Genomics Deal: The Hidden Cost of Letting One Company Own Your Pipeline When the same logo sits on your genomic test, your wellness index, and now the lab behind a big slice of the industry’s DNA cards, the number that matters isn’t…
Your Top Heifers All Trace to Three Cow Families. That’s a $ 93,300-A-Year Trap. Your top genomic heifers probably trace to three cow families. In a $3,110 heifer market, that concentration can be a $93,300‑a‑year mistake. Executive Summary: Replacement heifers averaged $3,110 per head in…
Sleegerholm’s 65-Cow Jersey Bet: How a Dual-Breed Barn Earned Canada’s Master Breeder Award Sleegerholm lost 37 head to fire. In their final Master Breeder year. They still won. Executive Summary: Barn fire. 37 dead calves. Final Jersey Canada Master Breeder year. Sleegerdale Farms kept…
Nicolas Demers (1983–2026): The Farmer Who Always Showed Up A snowmobile accident on a federation trail in Saint-Irène has taken one of La Matapédia's most beloved agricultural figures. Nicolas Demers was 43 years old. On the afternoon of March…
Holstein Inbreeding Hit 9.99%. Birkstead and North Florida Found Two Ways to Stop the $100-Per-Cow Leak. Holstein inbreeding hit 9.99%. Birkstead and North Florida took opposite paths to slash a $60–$ 100-per-cow leak without sacrificing genetic progress. Executive Summary: Holstein heifers born in 2024 now average 9.99%…

The 3‑Lactation Trap: Are $3,010 Heifers Pushing You Toward Beef Checks Instead of Five‑Lactation Cows?
You say you love five‑lactation cows. Your numbers say three. Is your beef‑on‑dairy program and pen crowding killing your “ol […]
5 Backup Bulls Nobody Wanted That Rewrote the Holstein Breed
Five “backup” bulls nobody wanted now shape most Holstein pedigrees. At 9.99% inbreeding, your next 15–20% sire choice will d […]
How the Juárez Blockades Froze $1.45 Billion – and Blindsided Your Milk Check
Mexico just proved it can park 38,000 trucks and almost run out of milk. Has your co‑op ever shown you that risk map? E507 Ho […]
Emily Miller-Cushon’s Physics-to-Dairy Pivot: Pair Housing’s 130g/Day Gain Edge and $3,300/Heifer Savings
She ditched physics for dairy calves. Emily Miller-Cushon's PECASE-winning research: pair housing saves $9,900/year in heifer […]
Calves for a Cause $170,000 and Counting: How One Dairy Family’s Crisis United an Industry Around a Little Boy
Inside Calves for a Cause—the Canadian Dairy XPO charity auction born in a NICU chair E505 Calves for a Cause $170,000 and Co […]

Walkway Chief Mark: The Backup Bull Behind Seven Percent of Every Holstein Cow Half a million lost calves. Thirty billion dollars in milk. One bull at the center of both: Walkway Chief Mark. E484 Walkway Chief Mark: The Backup Bull Behind Se |…
To-Mar Blackstar: The One-Embryo Holstein Sire Behind 15.8% of Today’s DNA – and the Genetic Debt in Your Herd One farm ET that barely penciled out. Four decades later, the bull from that flush shapes 60% of Select’s lineup — and your herd’s inbreeding curve. E502 To-Mar Blackstar: The…
Ed Bos Picked the Same Traits for 50 Years. A Million-Cow Study Just Proved He Was Right — by $2,678 Per Cow. Before your next semen order, read this: the traits adding $2,678 per cow aren't the ones on the show posters. E498 Ed Bos Picked the Same Traits for 50 Years.…
Jack Remsberg – The Man Behind Elevation: Three Shots, Forty Thousand Cows, and the Trust That Built a Legacy Before genomics, one photo could make or break a young sire. Jack Remsberg only needed three shots when the bull was Round Oak Rag Apple Elevation. E486 Jack Remsberg –…
From 1,810 Dairy Farms to 18: How North Dakota’s Processing Collapse Cornered the Holle Family – and Could Corner You You can’t breed your way to cheaper diesel.” North Dakota did the math, lost 1,792 dairies, and left one 1,000‑cow family asking what to do next. E488 From 1,810 Dairy…