Whether they go on to their own dairy farms or to manage large herds for others – or to work as consultants, nutritionists, veterinarians and other allied industry careers – the ribbons and awards of those youthful days in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, each September are not what stick with the youth who found educational opportunities at the annual All-American Dairy Show over the past 51 years.

As we close the harvest season, hopefully we have gathered our crops without a serious injury or emergency situation arising. Sadly, farming isn’t like a ball game; there are no timeouts to stave off a bad situation. They happen quickly and with no warning whatsoever.

Merck Animal Health (known as MSD Animal Health outside the U.S. and Canada) today announced the launch of Creating Connections, a new program designed to help producers better understand cattle behavior and use that knowledge to employ strategies that can reduce stress, improve reproduction and foster stronger immune responses.

My son is a senior in high school. Through 27 years of raising kids, I’ve discovered the path through the teenage years is fraught with peril for both parent and child. One of the latest perils we’ve faced is a book report for his honors English class on Charles Dickens’ classic tale, Great Expectations.

Joseph Gallo Farms conserves more than 2.9 billion gallons of water per year, earning it the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award for Outstanding Dairy Processing and Manufacturing Sustainability and a spot in the limelight in U.S. Dairy's video series about the award.

Vets Plus Inc. has awarded Hawk High Dairy in Norwalk, Wisconsin, a $500 prize toward milking services. The global animal health company selected Hawk High Dairy as the winner of a drawing held for booth visitors at World Dairy Expo in October.

Registration is now open for the National Mastitis Council (NMC) 54th Annual Meeting. The meeting, which draws milk quality professionals from around the world, will be held Feb. 1-3, 2015, at the historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennesse.

Janie Sustaita Sales and Marketing Manager ImmuCell Tulare, California

Feedlot veterinarian and animal-handling consultant Dr. Tom Noffsinger demonstrates practices that enable voluntary movement of cattle at the 2014 International Cattle Welfare Symposium. Check out Part 2 of this video series.