From the Editor

Proposed changes to U.S. tax law may affect only a few dairies, at least until milk prices rebound into profitable territory.

Dairy industry accountants mostly agree that the components of a bill that is currently being reconciled by Congress will be “tax neutral” as it relates to any dairy operation income. It’s also unlikely the current discussion about tax revisions, if signed into law, will provide any significant changes to current year (2017) tax filings.

This holiday season, I’m giving myself a very special gift: low expectations.

Last year was my first Christmas as a married woman, and I had big plans.

Everyone loves a superhero. Stories about seemingly ordinary people with superhuman powers are a crowd favorite, whether it’s Superman, Batman or, most recently, Wonder Woman – which, according to Forbes, is the “fifth biggest superhero movie ever.”

Editor’s note: The CEO Corner contains editors’ compilations of business insights and analysis of current news, which they have tailored for the dairy industry. This column inspires million-dollar dairy operations to think like CEOs in other industries do.

What if you could ask your smartphone to tell you which of your cows were lame? Or which cows were most likely to get sick in the next day or two? Or whether a switch from feeding last year’s silage to this year’s crop has impacted milk production? If you think that’s beyond the capabilities of Siri or Alexa, a Dutch-based company wants you to meet Ida.

For back-to-back years, the world champion team in baseball has contributed its success in part to a “glue guy.” I submit that to become elite, your dairy needs to find one too. Perhaps you already have one and don’t even know it. 

For the editors and marketing teams of Progressive Dairyman, it’s always heartening to attend events like World Dairy Expo.