The Klussendorf Memorial Association is pleased to announce the Wolfe family of Ovaltop Holsteins in Richfield Springs, New York, has been selected as the recipient of the 2018 Robert “Whitey” McKown Master Breeder Award.

A three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court ruling that Arla Foods can no longer continue its advertising campaign implying its cheeses are safer than their competitors’ because its milk is sourced from cows not supplemented with recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), according to Courthouse News Service.

Editor's note: Market commentary from Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and Bob Cropp, dairy economics professor emeritus, has been added.

May 2018 U.S. milk production posted another small year-over-year increase, but cow numbers reversed course, moving higher again, according to the USDA’s monthly Milk Production report, released June 19. At 19.1 billion pounds, May U.S. milk production was up just 0.8 percent from a year earlier. USDA also revised April 2018 production downward slightly. The April revision represented a decrease of 18 million pounds, or 0.1 percent from last month's preliminary production estimate.

At Michael and Peter McMahon’s E-Z Acres in Homer, New York, herd growth has always occurred alongside an intensive focus on environmental stewardship, cow comfort and community outreach. The brothers, who purchased the farm from their parents in the mid-1980s, have grown their family’s original eight cows and 150 acres into the 2,500-acre farm, milking 800 head of registered Holsteins in a closed herd.

“When you’re a farm family, you become family with every other farm family.” These emotional words were spoken by Melissa Briel, just two short months after the tragic passing of her husband, Dan, and 14-year-old son, David, in a silo accident at their farm in Wisconsin. Despite the heartbreaking circumstances, Melissa is quick to mention the blessing of having their farming community to support them in their time of need.

When it comes to robotic milking systems, the more complex your barn design, the more complex the accompanying manure system can be. You have to consider how your manure system fits with cow flow, robot placement, resting spaces, feedbunks and more.