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Current Progressive Dairy digital edition

1. Market Watch: Cattle: (Organizations); Click a link below to see updates on Cattle from a specific issue of Progressive Dairyman. 2020 Issue 2, 2020: January 19, 2020 Issue 1, 2020: January 1, 2020 2019 Issue 20, 2019: December 12, ...; Created on 16 October 2019
2. How to recover when you’re overcommitted: (From the Editor); A mantra on the office door of our production manager has stuck with me since he posted it a few years ago. It reads: “You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.” I think those nine words resonate ...; Created on 07 February 2017
3. Checkoff Watch: Social media and communication training: A must for farmers and consumer confidence: (Organizations); Why did Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) invest in social media and communication training for America’s dairy farmers when there are other pressing needs? The simple answer is: to build consumer confidence. ...; Created on 07 February 2017
4. Correcting bad habits: Possible and often necessary for success: (Management); Our habits are important in establishing how we behave and how others perceive us. I worked with a supervisor who was habitually discrediting employees with negative body language and derogatory comments. ...; Created on 07 February 2017
5. Clock still ticking on California federal order: (Industry News); California has regulated the marketing of milk produced within its borders since 1935, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled portions of a federal law covering milk marketing areas was nconstitutional. Now, ...; Created on 07 February 2017
6. How safe is your dairy data?: (Management); In my role, I have the opportunity to work with a wide assortment of dairy producers, utilizing varying degrees of technology on their operations. Whether herds use the most technologically advanced ...; Created on 07 February 2017
7. Why dairy producers should get to know delta: (Management); Today, many dairy operations find they need the flexibility of exchange-traded options, which allow you to not only protect attractive margins, but also capture future incremental improvements. If ...; Created on 07 February 2017
8. Revenue over feed: Managing risk after the MPP deadline: (Management); It’s not too late to manage your risk for 2017. While the deadline to participate in the Margin Protection Program (MPP) has passed, producers still have the opportunity to plan and implement a risk management ...; Created on 07 February 2017
9. The hidden opportunities to increase profits: Land rent and labor: (Management); Ask a dairyman what keeps him or her up at night, and chances are it will be one of these issues: How will I afford to keep renting land at sky-high rates? Who is going to milk my cows? These ...; Created on 07 February 2017
10. From the desert to the tropics: Idaho man owns dairy in Hawaii: (People); Owning one of only two commercial dairies in the state of Hawaii, Steve Whitesides could be considered the “big kahuna” of Hawaii’s dairy industry. However, the Idaho dairyman doesn’t spend his frequent ...; Created on 07 February 2017
11. Beer sons come back to father’s dairy operation after farm expands a third time: (People); Right after college, the Beer brothers, Jeff and Regg, did not come back home to take over the family dairy in Milford, Indiana. However, as their father continued to expand the herd and operation, each ...; Created on 07 February 2017
12. Five years of robotic milking in the West: (People); When we started down the milking robot road five years ago, there were plenty of people who considered this the end of our four-generation run at dairy farming. But instead of failure, we have emerged ...; Created on 07 February 2017
13. McCartys, Dannon take non-traditional approach to non-GMO business model: (Industry News); Some things don’t change. Yogurt starts with milk, and that requires dairy farmers, cows and feed. However, creating a non-GMO dairy supply chain requires changing some long-held business arrangements. ...; Created on 07 February 2017
14. Country Dairy transitions to non-GMO supply chain: (Industry News); Meet Country Dairy, located near New Era, Michigan. While much of the attention on a non-GMO dairy supply chain has been on the East and West coasts and in small niche markets, Country Dairy is trying ...; Created on 07 February 2017
15. 3 open minutes with Marcus Benedetti: (People); Clover Stornetta Farms is a third-generation family-owned-and-operated dairy processor and co-op in Sonoma County, California. In 2016, the brand announced it would begin transitioning all its 28 member ...; Created on 07 February 2017
16. Will we see $8 corn again?: (Feed & Nutrition); According to the USDA, the national corn crop in 2016 was in the neighborhood of 15.2 billion bushels; prices are hovering somewhere around $3.50 per bushel, which is much less than those prices we saw ...; Created on 07 February 2017
17. The use and future of animal proteins in dairy cow diets: (Feed & Nutrition); Animal protein (animal byproduct meals) sources have been used in dairy cattle feeding programs for years. Products such as blood meal, fish meal, meat and bone have long been known for their ability to ...; Created on 07 February 2017
18. Amino acid supplementation for dry cows: (Feed & Nutrition); Bill asked if adding amino acids to dry cow rations would be a good idea. His question was interesting, as several factors and new research reports indicate responses to added rumen-protected amino acids ...; Created on 07 February 2017
19. The pickle of high-acetic acid silages: (Feed & Nutrition); The goal of ensiling a forage crop is to conserve as much as possible of the nutrient and dry matter (DM) content in the crop at the time of harvest. The ensiling process is quite simple: Chopped forage ...; Created on 07 February 2017
20. Moving beyond crude protein: (Feed & Nutrition); Nutritionists are moving beyond evaluating feed sources by crude protein or the quantity of protein. Protein is being evaluated based upon the quality of the protein. The amount and quality of protein ...; Created on 07 February 2017
21. What does feeding the 2016 silage crop look like?: (Feed & Nutrition); “Gas and brakes.” Have you ever imagined, as you are feeding forage to your dairy cattle, that you are pressing a “gas pedal” or a “brake pedal”? Kurt Cotanch, “the lab guy” at the Miner Institute in Chazy, ...; Created on 07 February 2017
22. Actionable rumination data: (Feed & Nutrition); For dairy nutritionists and dairy managers, it’s frustrating to learn that the ration delivered to cows is not always the ration that was formulated. A diet can’t do its job when it’s not correctly mixed, ...; Created on 07 February 2017
23. What we know about histidine and what we don’t: (Feed & Nutrition); Rumen-protected histidine is more of an attractive concept today than a commercial product. Yet experimental prototypes are showing potential. As these prototypes advance, factors related to their use ...; Created on 07 February 2017
24. Starch’s Jekyll-and-Hyde complex: (Feed & Nutrition); “Tis the season” – or rather, a month or so after the season – of holiday feasts, mounds of whipped potatoes, mouth-watering pastries. Of course, everyone in my house carefully monitored their caloric ...; Created on 07 February 2017
25. World-class production at Perkins Twin Creek Farm: (People); Dairy cows and athletes have more in common than one might expect. Legendary National Football League coach Vince Lombardi said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection, we catch excellence.” ...; Created on 07 February 2017
26. When bad things happen to good rations: (Feed & Nutrition); When cows just aren’t performing the way they need to be, the ration often takes the blame. Your nutritionist may need to make some adjustments, but before they do, it might be a good idea to take a look ...; Created on 07 February 2017
27. Canola meal: A better buy than you might think: (Feed & Nutrition); The canola plant was developed in the 1970s to capture the beneficial properties of rapeseed oil and meal – but also to remove the anti-nutritional factors that limited the use of rapeseed oil and meal ...; Created on 07 February 2017
28. Creating the dining experience: You’re the maître d’ of the barn: (Feed & Nutrition); We ensure that our cows receive a well-formulated, palatable ration – but how often do we think about the feeding environment and whether the dining experience enhances or hinders feed intake and production ...; Created on 06 February 2017
29. Jones maximizes dairy profits an acre at a time: (Feed & Nutrition); Dairy profitability demands optimizing resources every day. For Sean Jones, that goes double. Sometimes triple. Jones is the third generation involved in Lester C. Jones and Sons Inc., a multi-family ...; Created on 06 February 2017
30. Corn silage has mycotoxins, but it’s not alone: (Feed & Nutrition); The 2016 crop-growing season has resulted in some unique challenges when feeding lactating and growing dairy cattle. While much has been written in popular magazines about the 2016 corn grain crop ...; Created on 06 February 2017
31. Make sure your pastures work for you: (Feed & Nutrition); Many dairy farmers across the U.S. continue to look to their pastures as a source of nutrition for their milking herds. Yet because grasses and legumes have their own biological life cycle, the nutrition ...; Created on 06 February 2017
32. A new era for New Zealand dairies: (Management); In late October and early November 2016, I led a group from the American Forage and Grassland Council on a tour of New Zealand. The goal for our trip was to foster more of a connection with our colleagues ...; Created on 06 February 2017
33. Formulating rations for optimal milk component yield: (Management); Producing milk to fit the demands of today’s consumers should be a central focus of the nutritionist, producer and milk processor alike. Advances in milk processing, such as ultrafiltration, have allowed ...; Created on 06 February 2017
34. Gifting equity to the next generation: (Management); It takes millions to get into farming. You either have to win the lottery or you depend on the hefty support of your family, which is sometimes like winning the lottery. Sure, there are stories of guys ...; Created on 03 February 2017
35. Just dropping by ... God’s family plan: (Yevet Tenney); For many in our world today, morals and family values have become a giant abstract painting where the paint is haphazardly slapped on the canvas without planning or purpose. Sexual intimacy is the guiding ...; Created on 03 February 2017
36. Mechanics Corner: How you use your equipment will impact forage quality: (Barns & Equipment); Forage quality doesn’t increase after harvest, so what methods will ensure haylage yields are of optimum use to animals? Experts have spent years researching what steps affect forage nutrition, and ...; Created on 03 February 2017
37. HERd Management: The struggle with ever-changing environmental regulations: (Guest Blog); While I have lived and farmed in New Mexico all my life, my family originally dairy farmed in California. In the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a “great migration” of dairies from California to New Mexico, ...; Created on 03 February 2017
38. Life on the family farm under an open heaven: Don’t forget your valentine: (Guest Blog); That special day is coming up soon again. That special day to tell your sweetheart you love them and they are very special. That day, of course, is Valentine’s Day. In our fast-paced world today, it ...; Created on 03 February 2017
39. The Milk House: Social farming: (Ryan Dennis); Of all the things a place can be known for – famous bands, art museums, sports teams – the small town of Geel, Belgium, is world-renowned for its mentally impaired residents. In the center of the village ...; Created on 03 February 2017
40. The Manure Spreader: Farm inventions: (Tim Moffett); Personally, I think the greatest invention of all time is the outhouse. Before that it was just corncobs and chaos. “Necessity is the mother of invention.” I’m not sure who originally made this statement, ...; Created on 03 February 2017
41. Producers tour SeaWorld and San Diego Zoo behind the scenes: (Event Coverage); More than 100 dairy producers and allied industry representatives from 15 states toured SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo in January. The group was part of Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin’s annual ...; Created on 31 January 2017
42. Flavored milk pilot program reducing waste, cutting budget deficit in Los Angeles schools: (Industry News); Bringing flavored milk back to Los Angeles schools is not only boosting student milk consumption, but also helping address a school district food service budget deficit, according to LA School Report, ...; Created on 14 January 2017
43. 2017 adding a new dairy variable: Rising interest rates: (Industry News); Along with the hope milk prices and income margins will increase in 2017, dairy farmers will likely encounter something else they haven’t seen in a while – rising interest rates. After raising the ...; Created on 06 January 2017
44. How we used M&M’s to determine if we were getting a uniform mix with our additives: (Guest Blog); Have you ever wondered if those additives you put in the feed at such low inclusion rates actually make it to each cow? According to a recent Dairyhack survey, one-third of all nutritionists from participating ...; Created on 03 January 2017
45. Dramatic changes threaten California’s dairy and co-op structure: (Industry News); Dramatic and fundamental changes over the past two years threaten California’s dairy industry and the dairy cooperative structure, according to Eric Erba, senior vice president and chief strategy officer ...; Created on 20 December 2016