Dairy farmers are digging out from the treacherous late winter storm that dumped nearly 3 feet of snow in parts of the Upper Midwest last weekend.

Editor’s note: On April 18, the House Agriculture Committee approved the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (aka the House version of the 2018 Farm Bill) on a straight party line vote. Twenty-six Republican ag committee members voted for the bill, with 20 Democrats voting against the proposal. It’s anything but a done deal, but the House version of the 2018 Farm Bill outlines congressional efforts to address federal programs affecting the dairy industry.

Tighter and likely negative margins on many dairy farms now and for much of 2018 make it even more critical for dairy producers to focus their management skills on making sure their herd management is “being all it can be.”

America’s dairy community is controlling its destiny by funding programs that address the ongoing needs of the next generation of dairy leaders. Farmers are nurturing dairy’s future by sharing their knowledge with technical college and university students.

“Dairying to Thrive” was the theme for the 26th annual Professional Dairy Producers 2018 Business Conference, held March 14-15 in Madison, Wisconsin.

Matt Utt has been leading research projects at Select Sires for the past several years. He was recently promoted to a newly created position to analyze data and find new, beneficial uses for it.

Dairies are constantly learning how to put the actionable data from animal monitoring systems to work in new and different ways to benefit their herds. Astute producers use this information to elevate animal productivity and management to new heights while improving cow comfort and health at the same time.

With a large dose of genetics and breeding strategy articles in this issue of Progressive Dairyman, we turned to our editorial advisory panel to get their insights on those topics.

Should dairy producers use conventional semen, sexed semen or beef semen when breeding their heifers and cows? The simple answer is: “It depends.”

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an aggressive reproductive tool, but how can it be practically applied to achieve goals like genetic progress and reproductive efficiency?