Wisconsin dairy producers and industry members came in from the bitter cold to hear about hot topics at the fourth annual Dairy Strong conference, held at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, Jan. 17-18.

Digest Highlights: Proposed Indiana dairy doesn’t violate religious rights. Agency to decide California milk price hike hearing request. Midwest co-op gets a new general manager. Find a summary of this and other news here.

Recently, the AG Act – a guest worker visa program that could provide much-needed labor relief for our industry – was added to the Securing America’s Future Act (SAFA). Thanks to the voices of farmers across the nation, Capitol Hill is beginning to understand that the dairy industry needs a viable work force. However, more support is needed to ensure the AG Act remains included in SAFA.

Wisconsin dairy producers and industry members came in from the bitter cold to hear about hot topics at the fourth annual Dairy Strong conference, held at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, Jan. 17-18.

The Jan. 1, 2018, inventory of cattle in feedlots was 11.49 million head, 108.3 percent of year-earlier levels. This is an increase of 884,000 head compared with Jan. 1, 2017, and is the largest January on-feed total since 2012. For the 12 months of 2017, feedlot placements totaled 23.5 million head, up 1.91 million head (an 8.8 percent increase) from 2016. Total 2017 marketings increased 1.03 million head year over year, up 4.9 percent.

Average daily gain (ADG) is a widely used benchmark in the beef industry. A high weight at weaning is the sum of about 200 days of growth, with a high rate of growth each day.

“Trust no one.” “Always trust your instinct.” “Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart.” There are people who have betrayed us who we can’t trust, and there are others whom we would give our PIN number. As we look at our farms, how much trust do you have with your family, business partners, employees and even your advisory team?

In November, America’s trade deficit surged to over $50 billion, ensuring that the 2017 U.S. trade deficit is over $500 billion. In fact, the U.S. has not shown a trade surplus for more than 25 years.

December 2017 U.S. milk production turned in another modest increase, up just 1.1 percent compared to the same month a year earlier. Troubling, however, is that the number of milk cows increased and is now at the highest level since August.