Forty-three young adults from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Italy were the latest class to graduate from the Holstein Foundation’s cornerstone program, Young Dairy Leaders Institute (YDLI). The group completed the final phase of the three-phase leadership and communication skills development program with a conference March 1-3 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Progressive Cattleman launched its first online poll survey on Feb. 27, asking our readers about the Food and Drug Administration's latest effort against offlabel and subtherapeutic drugs. In January, the FDA announced that it prohibit the offlabel or unapproved use of cephalosporin in food-producing cattle, swine and poultry, to preserve the effectiveness of the antibiotic when used for human medications.

The Texas AgriLife Extension Service is beginning a statewide educational initiative focusing on rebuilding cattle herds within the state. “For the past two decades, we have seen a continual decline in cattle numbers within the state,” said Dr. Ron Gill, AgriLife Extension livestock specialist and associate department head for animal science at Texas A&M University in College Station. “The historic drought of 2011 dramatically accentuated that trend. The state’s cattle industry and affiliated trade and service companies are the second largest economic driver in the state, bringing in billions of dollars to the state economy. With the cowherd at such a critically low level, Texas will start to lose infrastructure if cow numbers do not increase soon.”