Disposition (temperament) has been defined as the usual attitude or mood of an animal or the tendency of an animal to act in a specific way.

Digest Highlights: Two California dairy producers groups asked the state ag department for a public hearing to plea for an emergency hike in milk prices. U.S. Jersey breeders are funding research into A2 milk. New York court dismisses lawsuit seeking collective bargaining rights for farm workers. Find a summary of this and other news here.

I usually tend to reflect on the various changes we made on the farm at the end of the year; weighing the pros and cons of our adjustments. This year though, I realized the biggest transformation on the farm was me.

With milk production growth expected to continue, the U.S. dairy industry must build up domestic markets while developing a greater international market presence, a panel of dairy leaders told participants at the 2018 Dairy Strong, held Jan. 17-18, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Relationships throughout the dairy supply chain – from the farm to the table – are changing. One touchpoint feeling the biggest impact regards dairy farmers and their supply contracts with milk buyers.

On Jan. 19, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue outlined USDA services available in the event of a government shutdown.

Early in 2017, milk market security weighed heavily on our minds. While our market is safe and our creamery has not dropped any patrons, we were looking for ways to be more profitable and secure a future market for our milk. Now, just a year later, I’m selling my very own Moore Family Farms cheese.

Most Progressive Cattleman readers do not use ultrasound to detect pregnancy.

Since the introduction of the Babcock butterfat tester almost 130 years ago, dairy producers and milk processors have been analyzing the content of milk to improve quality and profitability. More recently, tools have been developed to monitor pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and milk urea nitrogen (MUN) to better manage the health status and nutrition of dairy cows.