A board of agriculture industry leaders recently launched the AgChat Foundation, an organization centered around helping farmers use social media to tell their story. Michele Payn-Knoper, a professional ag speaker who founded the #agchat community on Twitter, and Kathy Swift, a dairy veterinarian from Florida on the Board of Directors, discussed the goals of the foundation with Web Editor Emily Caldwell.

Combining a passion for travel and the dairy industry, Ken Natzke arranges trips for dairymen to see what farming is like in other parts of the country and world.

Achieving peak milk in the lactation curve has been a topic of discussion for a long time in dairy nutrition, and a benchmark used by dairymen as an indicator of early lactation and transition cow nutrition. Most cows achieve peak milk 45 to 90 days in milk (DIM) and slowly lose production over time until dry-off. It is commonly cited that each pound of additional peak milk forecasts 200 to 250 pounds of milk for the entire lactation. This rule has great significance on the revenue capability of the dairy.

I’m often approached by dairy producers and nutritionists who feel like their herds have hit a production wall. They ask what nutrition solutions can help their herds break free from the plateau, resulting in higher peaks with maintained health and fertility.

As debate ramps up on dairy provisions for the 2012 Farm Bill, a group of dairy policy specialists from Missouri and Wisconsin have produced a pair of reports, one an overview, the other in-depth, on the benefits and unintended consequences of past dairy policies. “These reports are like the slip of paper that comes with a prescription drug,” says Scott Brown, a dairy economist at the University of Missouri. “We list some of the side effects.”

Tell us what you’re doing, DFA Editor’s note: The following letter was sent to Progressive Dairyman as a carbon copy of a letter sent to DFA management by Gary Genske on behalf of California DFA members. As your executives and field representatives have met with many producers recently, we are sure that much negative feedback has made it back to those of you involved in upper management of our marketing co-op.

As promised in our last issue, this magazine contains a review of the most prominent plans for dairy reform being promoted today. A review of more plans will follow in upcoming issues. Also, don’t forget to send us your vote online, by fax or by mail for which plan you support for dairy industry reform.

The road to better marketing continues for Dave Geiser and Deb Reinhart of Gold Star Farms. After choosing a marketing consultant in November 2009, Dave and Deb began their journey. The destination: Better control of their business through better marketing. Travel log entry: April 2010 “We’re really celebrating here. Our March contracts were worth $6,000 more than what we would have gotten from the milk plant without a contract. That is a biweekly payroll. Or a load of protein. Or a week at our favorite all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen.”

A panel of dairy economists shared the outlook they perceive for the global dairy market at the American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) Annual Conference held last month in Chicago, Illinois.

Apple cider is about to become New Hampshire's state drink. The state Senate on Wednesday approved by a voice vote a proposal to designate apple cider as New Hampshire's drink after it won out over milk in the House. A lawmaker introduced the bill after Jaffrey Grade School students contacted her. Later, Gilford Elementary School students lobbied for milk. Milk fans pointed out it is important to the state too. A number of Jaffrey students were in the gallery when the vote took place. Now the bill is headed to Gov. John Lynch for his signature. Source: http://www.wmur.com/news/23529249/detail.html