Digest Highlights

• Wisconsin dairy herds slip below 8,500; task force members named

• National Dairy Board appointees named

• June global dairy price index weakens

• Whole milk buffers May fluid milk sales decline

• FDA to enforce dairy labeling regulations

• ADC urges FDA action on ‘milk’ labels

• State Farm Bureaus press imitation dairy labeling issue

• ‘Choose PA dairy’ promotional materials available

• ADC seeking support for another dairy labor bill

• CMPB launches kid-based milk promotion campaign

The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has processed about $155.3 million in year-to-date indemnity payments issued under the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy). One group of dairy farmers, those who enrolled in a separate Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy (LGM-Dairy), won’t see any of those payments, even though MPP-Dairy program changes may have been made after they made other risk management decisions.

The USDA’s July World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report substantially reduced milk price outlooks for 2018 and 2019, while also cutting milk production estimates for both years. Although tempered by lower expected feed costs, lower milk prices will likely weaken producer margins, resulting in lower cow numbers and slower growth in milk per cow, according to the report.

Due to greater reproductive efficiency, gendered semen and improvements in heifer rearing, heifers make up a larger proportion of our milking herds today. As a result, the milking herd could see better performance if its heifers are well grown and “ready to get to work” when they freshen.

What do heat stress, low-quality colostrum and lower-than-average daily gains during the pre-weaning period all have in common? Each of these can impact the expression of a dairy heifer’s genetic potential, translating into lifetime effects such as lower milk production, lower reproductive efficiency and decreased longevity.

A list of risk factors for the most common infectious foot lesion, digital dermatitis (DD, also known as hairy heel warts, Mortellaro’s disease), includes multiple aspects related to the cow, the farm’s management and environment.