Although you’re getting this magazine in your mailbox in early to mid-March, most of the writing, editing, design and production had to be done in early to mid-February.
For the print version of the ...
In this column, Progressive Dairy summarizes issues in the news and attempts to describe how they might affect dairy farmers. Look for more extensive background and details at Progressive Dairy.
Items ...
The farmer-funded National Dairy Council participates in every public process around the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), providing science-based evidence on dairy’s role in healthy dietary patterns. ...
A Progressive Dairy reader recently asked: “Would vaccinating cows at dry-off for clostridium give passive immunity to calves to help them for the first week or so until they are vaccinated?” The simple ...
John was ready to start his succession plan. He was 63 and wanted to get the process done quickly. He had a plan. During our first meeting, we discussed history, core values and culture.
John’s response: ...
Vierra Dairy is a multigeneration dairy operation owned by the Vierra family, milking more than 5,000 cows across three sites in California’s Central Valley.
Their unique blend of commercial dairying ...
As a dietitian, the concept of consuming a balanced diet for better health is at my core. We understand different food groups provide unique nutrients, tastes and textures, and that there is plenty of ...
The crossroads experienced over the last 12 months undoubtedly tested each and every person’s mindset, decision-making and leadership skills. All parts of dairy operations were impacted, especially the ...
Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs) were created in the mid-1930s to bring order to milk marketed in the U.S. At the time, milk was primarily consumed in fluid form, which is classified in FMMOs as Class ...
Driven by the change in at-home versus away-from-home eating habits, dairy sales through grocery stores and other retail outlets showed significant volume and value growth in 2020.
With more breakfasts, ...
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) cites three noteworthy achievements in 2020:
Export volume (on a milk solids equivalent basis) hit a record high of 2.1 million metric tons (MT).
$6.6 ...
Numbers contained in several USDA reports reflect some changing on-farm management practices and decisions.
1. The number of cows in the U.S. dairy herd has been growing.
According to the USDA’s ...
Restaurants, an important food service outlet for dairy product sales, were hit hard during the pandemic and have a long climb back to pre-coronavirus business and employment levels.
According to the ...
With prices falling drastically since the start of the year, Idaho dairy producers are apprehensive entering February 2021, according to Rick Naerebout, chief executive officer of the Idaho Dairymen’s ...
One thing too often overlooked in a discussion of the “state of dairy” is that dairy farmers are, first and foremost, people and family members.
And while uncertainty in dairy markets is nothing new, ...
Uncertainty is becoming the predominant mood among dairy producers in Texas, a state where optimism and tremendous growth have prevailed for a number of years.
Outside forces, including the market ...
The Midwest’s natural resources, infrastructure and culture are pillars of strength for dairy in the region. That foundation was shaken in 2020.
As the general manager of a Wisconsin-based cooperative ...
The latest update from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) indicates about 80% of established milk production history is enrolled in the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program for 2021.
Based on the ...
“Probably what I hear most from our producers is that they are cautiously optimistic about the year ahead, especially with the vast majority of our producers experiencing the very large negative PPDs [producer ...
While uncertainty is the overriding mood, Buckeye State dairy producers enter 2021 with a mix of emotions, depending on their size and stage of career, according to members of the Ohio State University ...
An eternal optimist, Kansas dairy producer Lynda Foster is finding it harder to hold that feeling entering 2021. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic and a political shift in Washington, D.C., has added caution ...
“The I-29 Dairy Corridor continues to work on growing not only milk cow numbers and producers, but also securing additional milk processing capacity in the region,” said Tracey Erickson, South Dakota State ...
Even though it ranks just outside the list of “major” dairy states, North Carolina’s dairy producers and industry aren’t immune to the same forces affecting other states, noted Brittany Whitmire, North ...
The dairy producer mood emanating out of the Southeast is one of concern, a downturn from recent history.
“Whereas each of the last two years have begun with cautious optimism, many dairy farmers in ...
The lingering effects of the coronavirus pandemic have dairy producers in the Northeast cautious heading into 2021. Concerns not only center on dairy markets and prices but also on operation management ...
Almost immediately after Progressive Dairy put together its State of Dairy editorial package in February 2020 (and probably even before the magazine made it to your mailbox in March of last year), the ...
Healthy calves and a successful group of youngstock teammates (employees) can set the tone for morale across the entire dairy. When the calves are happy, the owners are happy. Happy, healthy calves tend ...
We have gained tremendous momentum in dairy calf nutrition research, with publications tripling over the last 20 years. And rightfully so, since dairy calves are the future of the milking herd, and how ...
We take so many things for granted in agriculture we don’t even realize that, once upon a time, these things did not exist. Someone, somewhere, created or discovered each one – and over the years, we’ve ...
Jayden and Kennedy Kimball of Windham, Maine, are a force to be reckoned with on the softball field and in the show ring. These young dairy exhibitors are intense and dedicated with an incredible work ...
First off, I’d like to say a big thank you to those advertisers who have sponsored this space. These advertisers are truly pioneers at trying to do things differently during these disruptive times.
As ...
During the first part of the pandemic of 2020, I read a book called Atomic Habits by James Clear. It had such an impact on my thinking I read it twice. His books asserts that you do not change by setting ...
Situation No. 1
You are thinking about investing in another self-propelled sprayer for the farm. You do not want to buy a new one since this unit will only be used for foliar feeding and fungicide application. ...
There’s always plenty of speculation of who might fill the Cabinet as a new U.S. president takes office, followed by a lot of jockeying for those positions and usually a fight in the Senate to get some ...
There are many, many voices crying out in our world today, telling us which way we should go. These voices come from our schools, universities, governments and news sources, as well as many other places. ...
Imagine you were a livestock man in medieval England a thousand years ago. It’s early spring. Snow on the ground, mud in the cow lot. You walk the small pasture where the heavy heifers are kept. It’s hard ...
While the first 85ºF day is a blessed event for beachgoers and sunbathers, it is equally unwelcome in the dairy production sector. From parlors and pens to fields and farms, heat stress is a major challenge ...
Warmer weather is nearly here, and with it comes high temperatures, high humidity and increased chances of heat stress. According to a 2019 Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research study, the U.S. ...
Everyone knows that feed from haylage and corn silage bunkers will vary in composition from day to day. What is not so clear is the magnitude of this variation, and whether it might be worth it, economically ...
Carbon footprint, carbon neutral, net zero, greenhouse gases, methane emissions; what does it all mean? The phrase “carbon footprint” is a little misleading. The carbon footprint of a person, a farm, or ...
Double-cropping with both warm- and cool-season forages in New York can have many benefits, including providing a source of forage yield in the spring that potentially leads to greater total season yields ...
OPPORTUNITIES FOR FOOD WASTE ON DAIRY FARMS
Public policy is increasingly evolving to reduce or divert waste from limited landfill space. One way to accomplish this is by reducing the many tons of organic ...
Plants need nitrogen to grow and produce high-quality crops. How much will be required is difficult to predict with absolute certainty. What we do know is that the soil in crop fields can be a very important ...
In 2021, the level of corn rootworm (CRW) resistance to the current Bt-RW corn varieties will increase another significant level with associated yield losses.
Throughout the corn-growing regions of ...
When Rocky and Liz Gingg started in the dairy business west of Phoenix, Arizona, they weren’t sure if they wanted to build a house on the farm or in town.
Liz, a city girl from Tempe, Arizona, asked ...
As 2020 drew to a close, there was a confluence of things on the farm and in my life, combined with my off-the-farm work experience, that got me to thinking about some things I would have considered pretty ...
On any farm, sometimes it is more about having “enough” employees than it is about having the “right” employees. Seeking out and hiring that quality person who possesses the optimal skill set, positive ...
“Jerseys or Holsteins?” The message initially sparked the interest of third-generation Holstein farmer, Isaac Hammock, though he never thought it would lead to marriage with his now wife, Katie Hammock. ...
A newborn calf is the most vulnerable animal on a dairy. Born with an immature immune system, the calf can’t effectively handle pathogen challenges in the environment until 3 to 4 weeks old. In the meantime, ...
Extensive calf rumen development studies were done in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s at Iowa State University, at Cornell University and at the United Kingdom National Institute for Research in Dairying. R. ...
In the city of Garnett, Kansas, sits the registered Jersey cattle herd of Ratliff Jerseys, started over 20 years ago by Ron and Christy Ratliff, with the help of Christy’s brother Mike Kennedy. Together, ...
How would you like to have complete control over the seasons? How might our lives and our businesses change if we had the ability to decide when each season would begin and end and could change the length ...
Consumer awareness is top of mind for many people working in agriculture. Given the technology available, farmers are now in a unique position to connect directly with consumers and share their knowledge ...
Created on 17 September 2020
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