While it's not June, it's always in season to promote dairy. The Young Dairy Leaders Institute began in 1994 with its first class of young leaders. Some class participants were dairy producers, while others...
The National Dairy Shrine announces the winners of its scholarships for 2011. The scholarships will be presented at the Awards Banquet at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., on October 6. For more...
The Foundation for the Future (FFTF) is the most researched and, hence, most debated dairy policy plan being proposed to reform the nation's dairy policy. While other ideas and proposals exist, FFTF has...
It may be an essential nutrient for growing crops, but phosphorus (P) can wreak havoc when it flows to noncropping areas like streams, rivers, and lakes. Once in waterways, it can lead to algal blooms....
Our well-respected dairy products got special recognition when the USDA released its new, MyPlate nutrition education tool. The MyPlate program replaces the Food Pyramid which had been the government's...
Will the 2012 Farm Bill actually be written and passed in 2012? What will it look like? That was the focus of the discussion at the opening session of the National Dairy Producers Conference in Omaha,...
We are all familiar with the daily routine on our own farms and maybe how dairy producers in other regions of the country operate their facilities, but a select few have ventured internationally to learn...
Last week's Cooperative Network Dairy Directors and Leadership Conference slides are now posted. We did mention the Minneapolis Federal Reserve bank's economic outlook last week
If the large and attentive crowd that turned out in Visalia, Calif., on Tuesday to discuss the "Foundation for the Future" (FFTF) dairy policy proposal by National Milk Producers Federation reflected anything,...
Talking about the federal budget for FY (fiscal year) 2012, which runs from next October to September 2012, seems a little like getting the cart before the horse. After all, Congress still is trying to...
We are quite familiar with the phase, "We all learn from our mistakes." Nothing smacks you in the face as a poor decision, but, once that mistake is made, it is rarely repeated by the same person. We need...
Meeting in Arlington, Va., near the nation's capital, the 50th Annual Meeting of the National Mastitis Council was both festive and productive. There was plenty of fun and reminiscing sprinkled amid the...
Three reports came available recently. So, instead of focusing on one topic, today we will touch on three. Last week, the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee (DIAC) met in Washington and reviewed a final...
As 2010 comes to a close, we reflect on the past year and plan for a positive 2011. When I look ahead, I think about the future through a young person's eyes – full of hope and the belief that positive...
Chinese milk production will reach 67 billion pounds in 2011, up 5 percent from 2010. This is among the forecasts of a USDA Foreign Ag Service GAIN report (Global Agricultural Information Network). China's...
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just a week away? I almost did until of course, I spent a good hour of my evening going back and forth with family about what time the big "to-do" should be. One of...
This title is an often-heard phase. It tells us to select the best person to accomplish a given task. It makes sense. If you are good with numbers, work with finance. Good with your hands, choose tasks...
National Milk Producers Federation announced last week it will seek a reduction in the maximum allowable somatic cell count for raw milk under the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance at the next meeting of the...
This week, October 3 through 9, marks National 4-H Week - a week to celebrate what 4-H contributes to our family, our community, our country, and our world. At first thought, 4-H may have seemed like a...
The Class III roller-coaster cycle we've come to hate will eventually swing back to $20. Count on it. Every down has been followed by an up, so it's important to plan for the inevitable recovery that's...
