Following a trip to World Dairy Expo to view new ideas and to get recharged for the year ahead, I have been reflecting on the supply struggles that the industry is facing. The last two years have seen continued growth of production holding prices down. At first glance, this seems to be a simple supply and demand issue, but as I have done some closer looking, I am wondering if there are also some issues with product/market fit.

Most of us know using a pour-on product requires safety measures; obviously, we aren’t strapping on our backpack of pour-on, raising our arms in the air and liberally drenching everything around us.

Fighting to maintain low somatic cell count (SCC) is a battle in itself, but after the abnormally harsh winter of 2016-2017, Idaho dairyman John Wind is in a quality tug-of-war to return to his previous somatic cell count of under 100,000.

My inquisitive 11-year-old recently asked me if a newborn child belonging to a family we know was in the hospital because the baby didn’t get enough colostrum. Wow. I could tell by the look on his face it was going to be a long conversation when I told him human babies don’t need colostrum like calves do.

The USDA’s Sept. 1 grain stocks estimates provided smaller-than-expected inventories for both corn and soybeans, initially giving some price support for both crops.

See a need Rivers and streams are threatened across rural America. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, agriculture sources contribute over 70 percent of the nitrogen and phosphorus pollution to the Gulf of Mexico via the Mississippi Basin.

In Issue 16 of Progressive Dairyman (Oct. 1, 2017), we discussed ongoing legal battles involving Golden Sands Dairy LLC and a local government over the siting of a new dairy operation. (Land use law and zoning: Vested rights)

Immigration issues have seen heightened attention since last year’s presidential election. Concurrently, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) has expanded its efforts to identify undocumented immigrants. As a result, many dairies may have an employee or their family member face deportation.

Issue 16 of Progressive Dairyman (Oct. 10, 2017) highlighted the Rural Firefighters Delivering Agricultural Safety and Health (RFDASH) project from the National Farm Medicine Center.

Take a moment to think about your last cow to calve. Was it smooth sailing or were there complications? If a complication arose, has this issue occurred before?