Cupids are flying in heart-covered windows again, and Valentine’s commercials sing over the airwaves advertising everything from cards and chocolates to footie pajamas and flowers to custom teddy bears. All this fanfare to delight our sweetheart and get a little something in return.

As I have been working on and finalizing our 2016 budget for the farm over the last month, I have been very pleased with our numbers. Despite that 2016 is going to be a tougher year cash flow wise due to low commodity prices, we are actually sitting in a pretty good place and are going to have the ability to do some debt reduction that will allow for us to be able to take advantage of opportunities as they present themselves over the next three to five years.

Syngenta’s price tag is somewhere north of $43 billion. After reports in 2015 of Syngenta rejecting multiple Monsanto offers to buy it, Syngenta accepted a purchase offer (and is recommending it to its shareholders) from ChemChina, the largest chemical corporation company in China, based in Beijing.

Most Progressive Dairyman readers believe the Canadian Dairy Commission should have better anticipated the demand for butter.

Robert LynchDairy Herd Health and Management SpecialistCornell University Pro-DairyIthaca, New York

The growing number of Americans opting for butter over margarine and other oils has given the U.S. dairy industry a much-needed boost.

Most Progressive Cattleman readers believe the Bundy standoff in Oregon made matters worse.

Take a look at the production practices that make Maggie Creek Ranch of Elko, Nevada, the winner of the 2016 Environmental Stewardship Award.

The volatility of cattle markets seen over the past 30 months was enough to cover both extremes of gains and losses, said CattleFax CEO Randy Blach at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) Cattle Industry Convention (CIC).

Maggie Creek Ranch and the Searle family of Elko, Nevada, were named national winners of the 2015 Environmental Stewardship Award. The award recognizes ranchers for their commitment to outstanding land management practices, which create healthy, balanced ecosystems.