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.

Just as the old phrase states, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” We handle our cows much in the same way, “Here’s the water, and there’s plenty of it, so drink.” However, dairy cow hydration isn’t just about drinking enough water. The full benefits come with proper absorption.

On May 13, 2018, 57 students from 14 different states assembled at the Kings Inn in Clovis, New Mexico, and slowly began mingling, introducing themselves to many and reconnecting with a few.

When Brett Beavers’ dad, Bob, was still in high school, the family farm in Carleton, Nebraska, transitioned from stanchions to a single-five herringbone parlor for the family’s 90 cows.