Magazine

Our foodservice partnerships are a longstanding part of the dairy checkoff story. Over the years, they have helped bring more dairy to restaurant menus, inspired new product innovation and created meaningful growth in dairy sales. [Read More …]

Dietary crude protein: how low can we go thanks to the amino acid balancing concept in dairy cows?

Evonik was first to introduce the amino acid balancing concept in the animal nutrition market. It consists of matching livestock feed to exact physiological needs by precisely supplementing amino acids rather than overfeeding crude protein. [Read More …]

Why Herd Immunity Matters to Your Dairy

When it comes to preventing diseases on your dairy, vaccination is not a “set it and forget it” task. While vaccination is a key component of disease prevention, it’s important to distinguish vaccination from immunization. [Read More …]

What If You Could?

Recently, I was thinking about a Client with whom I have worked for several years and, as I reviewed their financial results, I was thankful for the positive progress they had made. When I first [Read More …]

Cover Crops After Corn Silage

Cover crops are important after any crop, but never as important as after corn silage. Plan to drill the cover crop immediately after harvest to maximize its benefits. Cover crops are essential for sustainable annual [Read More …]

Tennessee Celebrates Local Dairy Farm Families with New Statewide Campaign

Launches “From Our Farm to Your Family,” honoring the people and communities making an impact on local dairy industry. The Dairy Alliance, a nonprofit organization funded by dairy farm families in the Southeast, in partnership [Read More …]

Cost of Production: The Most Important Number on Your Farm

What does it cost you to produce a bushel of corn, a hundred pounds of milk, or a pound of mushrooms? It may sound like a simple question, but the answer is one of the [Read More …]

Capturing the Feedlot Value of Beef-on-Dairy Cattle

Key Takeaways With a historically small traditional beef herd and tight feeder cattle supplies, beef-on-dairy cattle, or dairy cows bred with beef cattle genetics, have become an increasingly important source of fed beef. Kansas State [Read More …]

Fall Weed Control in Pastures, Hay, and Other Forages

Weed Management in Forages We are approaching an excellent time of year to manage biennial and perennial weeds, especially in grass pastures and hayfields. Biennials such as common burdock, wild carrot, and thistles (bull, musk, [Read More …]

Featured Farm Sosnovske Family Farm Gleason, WI by Foremost Farms

On her family’s dairy farm near Gleason, WI, Mary Sosnovske doesn’t romanticize the work. She talks about it in the way that she lives it: steady, attentive and grounded in animal care. “Working with the animals [Read More …]

Farmer Focus of Natural Milk LLC in Stanwood, WA by NMPF

Change has shaped Jeremy Visser’s life from the beginning – and it’s often opened the door to something better. “There are opportunities if you are willing to change and willing to adapt,” he said. Visser [Read More …]

Checkoff’s Protein Strategy Built on Decades of Research

Protein is having a moment. Consumers are looking for protein in nearly every aisle of the grocery store. They’re choosing foods and beverages that support muscle health, healthy aging and overall wellness. The rapid growth [Read More …]

Building Confidence Through Support

Katie England understands the challenges dairy producers face because she has lived them herself. Growing up on her family’s dairy farm in Iowa and later spending eight years as a herdsman and on-farm supervisor, Katie [Read More …]

What is Causing Financial Volatility in the Dairy Industry? Digging Deeper – Part II

Part I of this analysis covered the extreme volatility in producer milk prices. The volatility of income on dairy farms makes for difficult financial issues. Managing the extreme financial issues detracts from the implementation best [Read More …]

Rethinking Protein Quality: Why Canola Meal Stands Out for High-Producing Dairy Cows

For decades, soybean meal has been the benchmark protein source in dairy rations. Its consistent supply, high crude protein content and ready availability have made it a default choice in formulation software and on-farm feeding [Read More …]

Do You Care Enough to Fix It?

Previously, I discussed the steps needed to continually move to higher levels of achievement. I understand that we are often surrounded by negative news, but we cannot let that impact our levels of achievement. Often, [Read More …]

Dairy farming in Ireland: Adapting to a changing climate

In Ireland, climate change is creating more variable farming conditions, with warmer temperatures, wetter winters and drier summers influencing grass growth, shifting grazing windows and threatening animal health and productivity. This article outlines strategies to [Read More …]

Recent Wholesale Dairy Product Prices

Most wholesale dairy product prices reported in the USDA National Dairy Products Sales Report (NDPSR) declined from the week ending June 6 to July 4. The prices per pound of Cheddar cheese (40‑pound blocks), [Read More …]

New Funding Opportunity for Planting Cover Crops in Pennsylvania

Farmers for Soil Health is a new incentive program providing financial assistance to Pennsylvania producers for planting cover crops and improving soil health. Interested in planting cover crops this fall or expanding your current cover [Read More …]

When is a Good Time to Control Perennial Weeds in Grass Forages?

Milkweed, hemp dogbane, Canada thistle, and others are very aggressive perennials that can be difficult to control in grass hay or pasture systems. Some management considerations are below. One of the most common weed management [Read More …]

When can a power company take your land for data center infrastructure?

The artificial intelligence boom in the United States is being matched by a data center building boom. There are more than 3,000 data centers in the U.S. and another 1,500 in development, according to a Pew [Read More …]

Tips to Stay Safe from Major Weather Events

The weather is something that people working in agriculture are used to dealing with. Planning for potential major weather events and quick action during the storm can make the difference between life and death for [Read More …]

Magazine

Expanding Dairy’s Place in Consumers’ Lives

For nearly a decade, the checkoff’s Undeniably Dairy brand has helped strengthen consumer trust and deepen the connection between consumers and the farm families who produce milk. This work has helped make a difference. Consumers [Read More …]

Leadership as an Act of Service

Asha Miles has spent her career helping connect science, data, and innovation to practical outcomes for dairy producers. With experience spanning genetics, genomics, epidemiology, and dairy research, she has worked with universities, federal research programs, [Read More …]

Where are the Exports Going?

Exports have surged as covered in the prior post. Where are they going? This post will cover where the 2026 exports of cheese and butter are going. Are the exports sustainable? Tables I and III [Read More …]

What Ongoing Support Looks Like in Real Herds

Herd management software isn’t static. Workflows shift. Reports need refining. Features that could save time aren’t always fully used. Across Vermont and Pennsylvania, joint on-farm visits between Lancaster DHIA and DRMS support focus on one [Read More …]

What Do We Do Now?

Previously, I discussed being willing to pay the price for success and what it will take if you want to consistently move to higher levels of achievement. At the start of each of my Management [Read More …]

Gonna Need Milk Partners with Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Studios’ Supergirl

Spotlight Dairy Milk as Real-World “Hero Fuel Summer-long campaign highlights dairy milk’s science-backed benefits for strength, resilience and focus through national retail, co-branded packaging, creator content and fan experiences inspired by Supergirl. Gonna Need Milk today [Read More …]

Water – The Hidden Ingredient

In dairy processing plants, water plays a number of important roles. “You use it to clean your vats, to make salt brines, to rinse off curds and much more—it’s a forgotten ingredient,” said Alex O’Brien, [Read More …]

Small Grain Harvest Aids