As expected, drought conditions continued to expand last week after rains two weeks ago resulted in a brief halt to worsening drought in Oklahoma. The latest Drought Monitor indicates that 34.8 percent of Oklahoma is in D3 (extreme) and D4 (exceptional) drought, including 10.7 million acres of D4 conditions in western Oklahoma and the panhandle.

The USDA’s May World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report reduced 2018 milk production projections and offered a slightly better price outlook for the year.

This year has already started out with a blaze as Oklahoma yet again battles flames and other fires crop up across the country.

Hay inventories stored on farms as of May 1 were the second-lowest total for that date in the past decade, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Crop Production report, released May 10. 

Pesticides and dung beetles couldn’t seem more different when it comes to making a fly management plan, but they definitely are connected in the big picture of pest control.

While corn, soybeans and alfalfa hay prices have garnered substantial attention as feed costs rise, prices of other ingredients in dairy rations are increasing too. One such ingredient is blood meal, which is adding to feeding costs as producers struggle with low milk prices and higher break-even levels.

Digest Highlights: Informational meetings on the Farm Bureau’s Dairy Revenue Protection program are planned in Idaho. Arla to cut ties with 11 Wisconsin dairy farms. Multiple component pricing may get a hearing in Southeastern FMMOs. Find these and other news summaries affecting dairy farmers here.

Sometimes, you don’t just need a plan, you need plan A, B and then even C, especially when it comes to water resources for your livestock. There is nothing quite like drought conditions to really drive that point home.

Ask dairy producers and nutritionists whether the source of dietary protein makes a difference in performance and the answer is a resounding “Yes!” But the answer may not be as emphatic when you ask about sources of supplemental dietary fat and fatty acids, even though the response should be the same. The source of dietary fat makes a difference in animal performance, just as it does for protein sources. It’s a question of digestibility, bioavailability and more.

U.S. dairy export total volumes set a new record high in March. Exports of milk powder, whey protein concentrate and lactose were each at all-time highs, helping push overall volumes above the previous high set in March 2014, according to a monthly summary from Alan Levitt, U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) vice president of communications and market analysis.