The dairy industry has a lot of catching up to do in the snack world. Dairy products accounted for less than 3 percent of the $93.5 billion dollars spent on snack foods in 2009. Snacking: Identifying a...
When there's producer and grower money at stake –quite a bit of it– there always are strong feelings about who should spend it and how it should be spent. That's why both the beef check-off...
If you have a newly-found love or fascination with yogurt and yogurt drinks, you are not alone. It seems as if your neighbor has picked up on it too, as did European yogurt giant Danone. Earlier this year,...
Away at college, working on a master's degree, many of my daughter's calls and e-mails now include personal insights into the financial "joy" of being a grown-up. "One day you'll appreciate the starving...
The annual meeting of the American Dairy Science Association is currently underway in Denver, Colo. The event is home to presentations on the very latest in dairy research - we've seen research presented...
Forecast milk production for 2010 and 2011 is raised slightly from last month in USDA Supply and Demand Estimates released late last week. Cow numbers have remained higher than expected, and milk per cow...
Efforts to rid the U.S. cow population of tuberculosis have been underway since 1917, when scientists developed the first accurate early detection test. After nearly a century of increasingly more diligent...
It was interesting to try to get a handle on the mood of those attending the Four State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference last week at Dubuque. The annual gathering has become popular for the nutritionists,...
Clover, which grew in abundance in Kentucky pastures this spring, isn't lucky anymore. Agricultural Commissioner Richie Farmer of Kentucky has asked Governor Steve Beshear to request a disaster declaration...
More herds will be retired this year - Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has just announced that it will be implementing another round of herd retirements after reviewing a number of economic benchmarks,...
Since Fisher-Place Mandingo first produced 1 million units of semen in 1994, 42 other Holstein bulls have been able to join him in this elite club. At the turn of the century, merely nine others had reached...
A growing A.I. trend is literally changing the look of the U.S. dairy industry: Herds are becoming more colorful. Black and white still dominates the landscape, but a gradual shift toward color is clearly...
Last week we reported the recent jump in sales for pizza giant Domino's after launching its new recipe for pizza which coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) included 50 percent more cheese. Jim Montel,...
Domino's is a friend of ours. Last year, the well-known delivery pizza chain launched and heavily promoted (with some help from the check-off) their American Legends pizza line which came with 30 percent...
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced last week that $2 million will be made available to dairy, beef, poultry, and swine producers for energy evaluations. The new agriculture energy conservation...
People in the California dairy industry were understandably upset when it was discovered that there was a large model cow wearing a gas mask in an exhibit at the Monterey Bay Acquarium. According to Western...
Anyone who milks cows wants demand for their milk, and the more the better. But as producers saw all too painfully in 2008-09, expanding to meet that demand comes with risk. Recent news from the U.S. Dairy...
All of us who make our living with livestock are strongly biased on the subject of animal welfare. Unfortunately, it's a bias that can be our own worst enemy when we debate the topic with someone we disagree...
Consumer demand for dairy products slid last year - commercial disappearance was down 1.2 percent. While this may be disappointing to hear, there is one product category that is making plans for serious...
Consumers have become all too familiar with E. coli 0157:H7, one of the most common culprits behind foodborne disease outbreaks in recent years. Blame for illness and media scrutiny fall first on tainted...