Foreign dairy farmers who invest at least $500,000 to establish a U.S. dairy operation can qualify for permanent residence based on their investment. Many Dutch and Canadian dairy farmers have sold their farms and milk quotas during the last two decades to invest significant amounts of capital into the U.S. rural economy in order to build large dairy operations in this country. They typically enter the U.S. as temporary investors after buying underutilized rural property, building new infrastructure and hiring U.S. workers.

to access that content and to see comments already received on this topic. Yes: Eastleigh Farm is one of the last remaining dairies within city limits in Massachusetts. If not for our sales of fresh raw milk to consumers, this beautiful farm would have been lost to the pressures of development, just as has happened to so many other farms all over the country.

Per-capita fluid milk consumption in the U.S. has been in decline for a number of years. Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley recently asked Dairy Management, Inc. CEO Tom Gallagher why fluid milk consumption is in decline and what can be done to reverse the trend. Q. Why is fluid milk consumption declining? A. GALLAGHER: It’s a fact that for all but one of the last 25-plus years, per-capita milk consumption has declined. There are a lot of people who operate under the myth that the fluid market is a mature market and it’s just not capable of growing. That’s just not true.

Not many organizations, or couples for that matter, get to celebrate a 75th or “diamond” anniversary. But in Thornton, Colorado, this June, appropriately during “Dairy Month,” the Western Dairy Association (WDA) will celebrate 75 years of regional dairy farmer-directed promotion, research and nutrition education. 

Breakfast on the farm (BOTF) events in Michigan are connecting the public with modern agriculture and food production. BOTF events appear to be attracting the desired audience, with 46 percent of respondents to our exit survey indicating they have not been on a dairy farm before and 25 percent indicating they have been on a dairy farm only one to five times. In addition, 45 percent live in an urban area, 42 percent live in a rural area and only 14 percent live on a farm. To determine the key educational aspects of farm visits by the public, we surveyed BOTF participants. The focus of this article is on BOTF participants’ impressions about modern dairy farms and farmers. Do BOTF events change impressions and attitudes about modern dairy farms?

There are few if any diseases in dairy cattle that impact the performance, profitability and welfare of animals more than lameness. Indeed, it justifies a conscious effort on the part of every dairy to invest whatever time or effort is needed to optimize foot health. Effects on performance Lame cows are less competitive at the feedbunk, when choosing a stall or when involved in aggressive interactions with other cows. Add to this studies that suggest pain alone is sufficient to decrease feed intake, and it’s not hard to see why milk yield is reduced by lameness.