It doesn’t make much difference how fast a horse can run if the jockey doesn’t cross the finish line with him. Annie is a jockey and horse trainer of good reputation. She passed along this story about a horse we’ll call Tango Sed.

This year “blockchain” moved from a little-known buzzword to a commonly used phrase in agriculture. If you missed it, blockchain is a distributed ledger accounting tool that promises better record keeping and reduced transaction costs.

After 25 years in business, Ag Oasis of Liberal, Kansas, has learned a lot about how to do things right. Part of that has been teaching – and learning from – summer interns as well as their full-time employees.

Calving season is rapidly approaching, so it is time to assess cow body condition and nutrient status and make adjustments if necessary before the onset of lactation.

For the second consecutive month, November 2018 U.S. milk production increased less than 1 percent from the same month a year earlier, as cow numbers continued to decline. With November’s estimate, U.S. milk production growth has now been under 1 percent in five of 11 months in 2018, according to USDA’s monthly Milk Production report, released Dec. 19.

Digest Highlights October fluid sales steady USDA-procured milk delivered to food banks Schumer critical of Defense milk procurement proposal Global Dairy Trade prices up again Tractor, combine sales resilient STATES: DFA to acquire Agropur facility in Minnesota Six dairy biomethane clusters approved in California Wisconsin farm groups to receive watershed grants Dairy Council of California revises nutrition education program Pennsylvania: CAFO reports due Jan. 1 Farm Credit East provides ‘grant’ resources POLICY: USDA Risk Management Agency offers multicounty crop insurance flexibility USDA offers rural broadband financial support

U.S. dairy farmers will receive a second payment to partially offset losses as a result of the negative impacts of retaliatory tariffs on exports.

Dairy farmers aren’t the only business owners struggling to find and retain a labor force. According to Kurt Bauer, president and CEO of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), 80 percent of his group’s members are having trouble hiring people right now too.

Annual goals, whether outlined at a company’s annual meeting or a personal New Year’s resolution, all have the same challenges. With a full year allotted to accomplish them, the sense of urgency is diminished, and those involved become complacent.