Foundation for the Future magazine published,website updates unveiled NMPF recently published the Foundation for the Future magazine, a 20-page publication that provides an explanation of the proposed dairy policy reform programs from dairy producers’ perspectives, along with independent expert analyses. The magazine is available as a downloadable PDF on www.futurefordairy.com. In addition, NMPF updated the Foundation for the Future website to accommodate details about the Summer Grassroots Tour. Other updates include improved accessibility of program details, the addition of producer testimonials, and the option to sign up as an official supporter.

In the May 21, 2011 issue of Progressive Dairyman, we published an interview with Amber Driscoll, corporate liaison for PETA. The intent of the article was to create industry awareness of the new dairy care standards PETA developed. It was not meant in form to declare an endorsement by Progressive Dairyman, Progressive Publishing and its publishers and employees. Since publishing the article, we’ve been asked to clarify this statement made by Driscoll: “PETA developed these standards with input from animal welfare experts Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Mohan Raj, and incorporated recommendations made by the dairy industry itself, including the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP).”

AABP recently established a committee to review the supply of and demand for rural practicing veterinarians. Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley recently asked about the committee’s opinion paper and what it intends to clarify about media reports of a so-called shortage of veterinarians. Q. This opinion paper is not the first time AABP has gotten involved in this so-called ‘veterinary shortage.’ How have you addressed this issue in the past? A. NAVARRE: It was a follow-up opinion to a coalition study that AABP was involved with back in the early 2000s, which is where this whole “shortage issue” first started. Then we had a lot of practitioners who were saying they had jobs, but they didn’t have people applying for them. That study was a marketing study which showed, yes, there were some shortages of practitioners.

Meeting the protein requirements of high-producing dairy cattle has been a long-time goal of many nutritionists across North America. Lately this has been particularly important due to the pressure dairy producers are feeling from environmentalists, as ruminants are blamed for releasing high levels of nitrogen emissions such as ammonia and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Overfeeding of protein has also been associated with reproductive failure as well as increasing feed costs, making this an important issue for producers today as well as in the near future.

No matter the market conditions – from high-priced feed to low milk price – dairy producers make money by increasing income or lowering cost (or both). While we have become very focused on the cost side of the equation, the ultimate goal for the dairy operation should be to generate more profits. One way producers can more effectively do this is by utilizing marginal thinking in decision-making situations.

“I’ve got to get my cows to make more milk.” “I want to make as much milk as I can and as cheaply as I can.” “My grain bill’s too high and the milk check’s too low.” Most likely every dairy nutritional consultant has heard those words or words to that effect on just about every dairy farm he or she has been on. Or how about:

As a dairy nutritionist working with over 50,000 cows, I am constantly asking myself these questions: “What do I feed in my clients’ rations? Why am I feeding it? How should it be fed?” The answers to these questions are multifactorial and can change rapidly with the volatility of today’s markets and dairy economy. In 2011, I am responsible for over $100 million that will be spent on feed, and I must maximize each of those dollars.