The following are comments from the Dairy Price Forum that took place Aug. 18 in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The event, sponsored by Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW), focused on addressing price volatility in a global dairy market, preparing for the 2012 Farm Bill and looking at the Foundation for the Future plan. Miranda Leis Dairy producer Monroe County, Wisconsin “The other option of a quota program is really a non-option for our farm and so too I feel for the future of the American dairy industry. I feel that a quota program would stifle expansion and would severely impede our ability to establish our position as a premier supplier on the world dairy market … When I look into the eyes of my children I am not content to let this current system, which does not serve farmers, continue to exist unchanged. If we do not at least attempt to enact change I can’t say with any certainty there will be a place in the market for my children.”

Hitting the headlines at World Dairy Expo last year was the launch of the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management. This voluntary, nationwide program, administered by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), aims to bring consistency and uniformity to animal care through education, on-farm evaluations and objective third-party verification. At the 2009 press conference, it was publicized that on-farm evaluations would begin in 2010; third-party verification would follow in 2011. Now, 11 months later, the organization has formally announced that it is accepting enrollment in the Animal Care Program. This officially launches the second phase of the implementation process, which includes the start of on-farm evaluations for participating producers.

Tail docking is still a common practice – the recent NAHMS survey of U.S. dairy farms shows that about 50 percent of dairy cows in the U.S. are docked. Of course this means that about 50 percent are not docked, and there is much debate about the practice. To help foster discussion among dairy producers and document the most common reasons for why we should or should not be docking tails, we asked Progressive Dairyman readers to respond to an online survey. In this article we report back to you on the main results from this research. A total of 192 people responded to the survey. Of these 30 percent were producers, 23 percent veterinarians, 15 percent students, 4 percent instructors and 3 percent other dairy professionals; 25 percent of participants said they had no experience with the dairy industry.

Is your dairy gearing for success, or does it look like an episode of Jersey Shore – a TV show that has been poked fun at by everyone from Jay Leno to Fox News because its cast of characters collectively have an IQ of 100? Hopefully your dairy has been planning well for the future. Do you know what steps to take to build a new reality? Let’s see how this might work in two different practical dairy applications. Dry-off “Why has cow #2882 not been dried off yet?!?!” This exclamation came to me as I once talked with my herdsman. My consternation? We have a regular “plan” as to when we dry our cows off weekly (every Tuesday). Our target date was 50 days dry and here this cow was already 40 days before calving. The herdsman’s explanation was, “She’s still making 65 pounds a day.”

As a dairy veterinarian and nutritionist that has been training dairy employees for more than 12 years, I have been interested in identifying what makes a group of dairy employees better than another. I also often find myself observing how employees work in other businesses as well. Since it seems that at most businesses “everything happens through people,” when I am at a hardware store, bank or simply getting a cheeseburger, I make an effort to recognize what key factors make a particular employee group excellent.

It’s just another harsh reality of life: We’re all replaceable. Sooner or later, someone or something comes along and ends your reign at the top. Okay, maybe you’re not at the top quite yet. Nonetheless, you’re still working hard to keep moving onward and upward to get there. Or maybe it’s true that you may have already been on top and now you’re trying to work your way back to where you belong. Either way, it seems no person or company stays on top forever. Remember when Blockbuster Video, Brittany Spears, Krispy Kreme and the San Francisco 49ers seemed unstoppable? And then, somehow they were replaced.

Thanks to all those who continue to share their opinions about what you believe is necessary to create true dairy reform. Although our summer-long poll about support for front-running plans has closed, we will continue to follow developments surrounding dairy reform. This magazine features three pages of updates, including news about the Specter-Casey Bill, Foundation for the Future program and the Dairy Price Stabilization Act. For sure, more updates will be forthcoming. Whether you’ve decided that an existing plan has your vote of confidence for reform or are still undecided, please vote in our current poll. We’re asking: “Have you decided what plan you support as the best option for dairy reform?”