When I was an undergraduate student at Northern Arizona University, my friends and I went to a restaurant and ordered food. After we finished, we realized that we didn’t have money to leave a tip. We were poor and struggling students so we decided to write a note of appreciation instead. It was a simple note of thanks for the food and the service.

Stereotypes are bad. One of the sharpest ladies I know is a blonde. And she gets a good laugh at a good “blonde” joke. But the stereotype doesn’t fit her at all. So as I relate the next incident, bear in mind that this is not typical.

Chris Lehner Director of Commodities at Equity Cooperative Livestock Sales Assoc. in Baraboo, Wisconsin

Food, clothing and shelter, the basic essentials of life. From the earliest caveman to modern soccer mom, from the Palestinian refugee to the Katrina victim, from the Dali Lama to Dolly Parton, first on the list is something to eat, something to wear, and someplace to live.

Idaho dairymen and producers from throughout the Northwest convened in Boise during November looking for positive news about their industry. Many found what they were looking for.

Accounting! Just the mention of the word can elicit reactions ranging from boredom to fear in people. Accounting is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts of our society, yet it affects the lives of virtually every person on a daily basis.

TRENDING TOPIC ARTICLE: A.I. & BREEDING Originally published: Nov. 19, 2009 Since we began tracking trending topic articles, we’ve been surprised with the number of “older” articles that remain well-read. Case in point is this 2009 article from the Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC), which pointed out five areas dairy producers should consider when deciding whether to cull an animal for reproduction: long calving intervals, high somatic cell count, poor reproduction health postpartum, difficult calving and lower fertility. to jump to the article. Because this article has been so popular, we asked DCRC a follow-up question: Q. Which one of the five areas highlighted in the article for producers to consider when culling cattle most influenced dairymen in 2011? I believe the high cull price influenced some dairymen to cull cows that they may have held on to. But ultimately, lack of pregnancy, injury/other and mastitis usually are the three greatest causes for culling. Jeff Stevenson Vice President, Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council Professor, Kansas State University

All dairies may lose money in periods of extremely low milk prices. From my observations even the best-run dairies are experiencing losses.