Following a record-breaking March performance, exports of U.S. beef and pork continued to build momentum in April, according to data released by the USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

“Nothing in life is free; you always pay in the end.” That old quote rings true, even when what is said to be “free” is the influx of funds into dairy farmers’ bank accounts, courtesy of the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

My partner and I spent the first few months of the pandemic at my family’s farm in upstate New York. As far as places to wait out the apocalypse, it served us well.

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.

With the COVID-19 pandemic weighing heavily on the world economy and agriculture markets, David Kohl, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at Virginia Tech, recently shared how pandemic economics are impacting the U.S. dairy industry.

They say hindsight is 20/20, but the year 2020 contained anything but hindsight. Blindsided by what we now know as COVID-19, governments were forced to intervene in the form of financial and medical assistance.

Remember the horror movies where the pack of kids try escaping some macabre phenomenon, only to end up back in the same corner of the woods?

In a recent online poll, Progressive Cattle asked readers to weigh in on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their livestock buying decisions.

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.

It’s been one year since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the way in which we live and work each day. Like many other moments in history, the “where were you when” will be forever engrained in my memory. I, and several hundred other people, was at the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar in Red Deer, Alberta.