It is well known that dairy producers face a variety of risks. These include biological factors, adverse weather, unusually large variations in both output and input prices, competition from foreign producers, as well as general fluctuations in national and world economic conditions.

Billboards posted around the country by a national restaurant chain boldly proclaim: “Get antibiotics from your doctor, not your beef.” The words are emotional, and the rhetoric is not likely to go away any time soon.

World Dairy Expo and World Ag Expo are like the Mall of America for dairy producers and dairy farmers. They are one-stop shops for all the needs of today’s dairy producer. Even smaller, regional trade shows give producers more options than a Super Wal-Mart. In addition to visiting your neighborhood dealer, who may have some of the things you need, make an effort to visit a trade show. These shows feature more products and more experts than you can find locally.

Last month Brandon Covey interviewed Randy Carpenter with the Holstein Association to get his view on the future of registered cattle. In this issue, we talk with Jason Goff, a producer with Goff Dairy in Hobbs, New Mexico, to get another perspective.

With more than 1,700 exhibitors and 100,000 attendees from 67 countries all on 2.6 million square feet of showgrounds, World Ag Expo is the largest ag expo of its kind worldwide. During this year’s show February 12-14, the grounds will expand again with the addition of the Dairy Technology Center (DTC) and surrounding outdoor dairy exhibit space.

There’s more room at World Ag Expo this year. A new venue, named the Dairy Technology Center, will house an extra 130 dairy exhibits under an indoor canvas tent on the southern side of the International AgriCenter showgrounds.

How can someone who milks water buffalo win a contest sponsored by a magazine for dairymen with traditional milk cows? The answer for Kent Underwood is simple: Milking water buffalo isn’t much different from milking a Holstein.

Live dairy cattle will be on display during this year’s World Ag Expo for the first time in show history. The exhibit, part of Semex’s “Walk of Fame,” will allow dairy producers to see and touch nine lactating dairy cattle, featuring Holstein and Jersey breeds.

Taller is better when Lawson Spicer formulates a close-up ration for Skyward Dairy.“We want a pretty bulky ration,” says Spicer, a nutritionist based in Claremont, California.

Simply putting cows out to pasture during their dry period is a thing of the past. Today’s dairy needs a dry cow management program to ensure healthy cows and consequently, healthy calves.