Magazine

If you had told me 15 years ago that I’d be crisscrossing the globe on behalf of U.S. dairy farmers, I might have pointed you back to the milking parlor. But here I am – [Read More …]

From research to reality: mastitis management

Practical mastitis approaches guided by today’s research Studies on mastitis management over the past decades could fill hundreds of volumes of research journals. Through research and on-farm data, the industry has made tremendous strides to [Read More …]

New Milking Speed Trait

The CDCB team is advancing with the new Milking Speed (MSPD) for Holsteins – for release as early as August 2025. After the approval of new data flow by the CDCB Board in April, the [Read More …]

Dairy Producers Continue to Increase Components

Increasing components is the best way to increase producer revenue and producers throughout the U.S. are accomplishing this with a continuing increase in component levels. The most recent data published June 24, 2025, shows continuing [Read More …]

What Is Fear?

I’ve often heard that fear is simply an acronym for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” I’m not sure who to credit for that explanation, but I believe this is often quite accurate. Do we have reason [Read More …]

Texas Takes No. 3 in Dairy

Competition drives innovation in better products, services and efficiencies. In dairy, Texas has grown 6% annually over eight years, outpacing Idaho’s 2% growth, making Texas the third-largest dairy producing state. While this growth supports a [Read More …]

Arizona Dairy Farmer Provides Ag Labor Perspective

The dairy industry has historically relied on skilled immigrants to make up for labor shortages in rural America. Getting milk to market and caring for the daily needs and health and wellbeing of our cows [Read More …]

Nedap ignites the era of AI-powered vision technology with SmartSight

Locomotion monitoring innovation marks the first step in unlocking the transformative possibilities of vision in dairy tech, advancing the world’s most trusted cow monitoring platform. Nedap, a global leader in dairy technology, announces the launch [Read More …]

Advanced manure treatment, where do we stand?

Jason Oliver Manure is the linchpin of biocircularity in dairy production systems. Nutrients in cow manure are recycled back to the land to produce crops, which are used as animal feed. As herds grow, farmers [Read More …]

Stop PI Calves Before They Start: Two Key Tips

Preventing PI calves starts with strong biosecurity and smart vaccination. At first glance, a persistently infected (PI) calf may look just like any other in the herd. But beneath the surface, these calves are silent [Read More …]

The Klaver family, owners of Dutch farm dairy Novelle Kaas, that protect their raw milk cheese using UV-technology raslysation.

Now raw milk cheese can be protected against unwanted bacteria while preserving its unique flavor. The Dutch farm dairy Novelle Kaas safeguards its raw milk cheese using raslysation, an energy- and water-saving technology developed by [Read More …]

Should We Test Commercial Magnesium Sources Used for Dairy Cows?

Magnesium (Mg) is an essential mineral and plays a critical role in bone development, muscle contractions, and nerve function. Unlike calcium or phosphorus, Mg stored in bone cannot be easily mobilized during periods of deficiency, [Read More …]

Do Dairy Cows Have A Sweet Tooth

Balancing the supply of rumen fermentable NDF, starch, and sugar sources may be key to optimizing milk component production. Feeding high quality, highly digestible forage NDF is a great opportunity to optimize the rumen and [Read More …]

Why Farmers Like Me Have Seat at Sustainability Table

I didn’t grow up on a traditional dairy farm – but I was raised on a dairy beef farm, buying bull calves from local dairies and raising them. My early career was spent as a [Read More …]

National Dairy Shrine Names 2025 Pioneer Award Honorees

The National Dairy Shrine announces the 2025 recipients of its prestigious Pioneer Award: Dr. Joseph Lineweaver, the professional photographers of Agri-Graphics, the late Dr. David Selner, and the groundbreaking geneticists Dr. Paul VanRaden and Dr. [Read More …]

Is It Time to Reset?

I recently finished reading a new book by Dan Heath entitled Reset. It is an excellent book, and I would highly recommend it. The book contains a tremendous amount of change management and outlines methods [Read More …]

Indy 500 Milk Tradition

“Winners Drink Milk” is considered one of the most beloved phrases and traditions in Indiana and all of sports. The tradition started at the Indianapolis 500® by driver Louis Meyer simply requesting buttermilk to quench [Read More …]

Retail Dairy Prices are Increasing Annually by More Than 2% in 2025 = Inflation

In 2021 and 2022, the price of most everything skyrocketed. Overall, consumer prices have increased by 22% between the start of 2021 through April 2025 (Chart I). Food products increased by 24% (Chart III). Although [Read More …]

Reduce Mastitis Costs and Antibiotic Use with Short-Duration Treatment

Short-duration antibiotic treatment eliminates infections efficiently to get cows back in the milking string sooner. On U.S. dairy operations, mastitis remains the costliest disease, driven by expenses for antibiotic treatments and losses in saleable milk.1 Fortunately, [Read More …]

Scout for Black Cutworm Damage and Cereal Leaf Beetle

In southeastern PA, there is a heightened risk of damage from black cutworm, so now is the time to begin scouting for their cutting damage in corn fields. Across PA, folks should scout for cereal [Read More …]

Former On-Farm Intern Finds Career in Dairy Nutrition

Beckie Burns may not have grown up on a dairy farm, but thanks to an on-farm internship she completed on a Pennsylvania dairy farm and the welcoming community of dairy professionals she met along the way, she [Read More …]

Where are Producer Milk Prices Going?

Producer milk prices are falling. This primarily reflects the decreasing wholesale prices of butter and cheese. Class III milk makes up more than 50% of U.S. produced milk and butterfat and milk protein are [Read More …]

First-Cut Forage Considerations

Starting in May, most of Pennsylvania’s producers are at the time to consider removing their first forage harvest of the year. Here are some items to consider after harvesting. For most areas, this means grass [Read More …]

Feeding cows seaweed reduces methane emissions, but does it make economic sense?

As they digest grass and hay, cows produce significant amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas. In the quest to identify an alternative livestock feed, seaweed has emerged as a promising contender. John Lai “There [Read More …]

Mining the Liquid Gold: Strategies to Supercharge Colostrum Production