Many significant things have occurred in the dairy industry during my lifetime. High on top of my list is the phenomenal increase in U.S. cheese consumption. In 1950, per-capita cheese consumption was 7.7 pounds. In 2012, the most recent data available, per-capita consumption of cheese was about 33.5 pounds. A person today, compared to 62 years ago, is eating 25 pounds more cheese per year.

If I had a nickel for every question I get about shredlage, I’d be living the good life by now, lounging on the beach in San Luis Obispo. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t work this way. Shredlage is a hot topic in the forage industry, especially among dairy farmers. Driving this interest is the economics of being able to feed a higher percentage of corn silage in the ration and gain efficiency in the utilization of digestible fiber.

Stephen Weststeyn, a third-generation dairy farm owner in northern California who milks 4,000 cows; Brenda Hastings, an Ohio farmer with 400 head; and Ryan Bright, a fifth-generation dairy farmer, would all likely say “to hashtag.”

Working and living near Washington, D.C., my daily routine differs from that of most Progressive Dairyman readers. But from early morning until late at night, my typical day – like that of many of you – revolves around milk.

Editor’s note: The authors of this paper will be holding a webinar on how dairy producers can maximize the benefits of the new margin insurance program and protect against severe downturns on March 26, 2014. Visit the farmdoc webinars webpage to register for the webinar.

If you’ve ever seen the movie The Internship and are familiar with the World Wide Web, you probably were laughing at the scene where Vince Vaughn’s character kept saying “on the line” rather than “online.” It demonstrated the generational, technological gap that exists in today’s culture, albeit it can be argued that is changing. Many young dairy farmers are spending time online for a variety of reasons, using this large source of information to benefit their businesses and also to connect with colleagues.

Testing the Waters: Why every U.S. dairy should care about a court case affecting five families in Washington If you think things are tough now, just imagine what would happen if cow manure was regulated as solid waste. Dairy farms would have to operate much like sanitary landfills. It could happen.

Congress enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) in 1976 to protect people and the environment from solid and hazardous waste. The idea was to regulate sources of waste such as underground storage tanks and municipal landfills. It’s a good bet that lawmakers never meant the law to apply to livestock manure.