Trade has been a hot topic in the news for the last several months, with discussions surrounding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), border tariffs and most recently the Brazilian beef scandal.

Forty-four Wisconsin dairy farms producing about 500,000 pounds of milk per day are still hunting for a market home for their milk, with their current market access closing on May 1, according to Ben Brancel, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

Editor's note: CEO Corners are editors' compilations of business news from top publications, which they have tailored for the dairy industry. Given current dairy labor shortages, many producers are looking to automation to decrease their labor needs. But the dairy industry isn’t the only industry that finds automation attractive. McKinsey & Company, a global research and consulting firm, just released its top 10 list of the most popular business articles for the first quarter of 2017. Guess what topped the list? Automation.

Everyone is looking forward to spring and summer rains and a good season for rangelands and pastures. But who knows with certainty what will actually occur? Uncertainty of the amount and timeliness of rainfall is the reason monitoring rainfall, growing conditions and forage accumulation, and planning for contingencies are necessary.

Behind feed cost, reproductive efficiency is the second-biggest driver of profitability in the cow herd. Because of this, the importance of proper breeding season preparations cannot be overstated.

Breeding season is here, and several factors contribute to the success of an A.I. breeding program. Open cows impact profitability, so producers need to identify low-cost ways to maximize their A.I. pregnancy rates. Improving conception rates usually involves attention to detail, and thus requires some preparation.

I hope the grass and calves are growing strong at your operation this spring. Marketing is top priority for most producers right now, it seems. Guarding against market lows with value-added management can improve the bottom line. Pre-conditioned calf crops are in high demand.

We’ve been surveying readers lately – both in print and in person. One of the most intriguing things I’ve learned is: You don’t have much time to read, if you have any time for it at all.

Like their counterparts in conventional dairy farming, organic dairy farmers currently face an excess supply environment. However, rising demand points to a bright future for the U.S. organic milk industry, according to a new report from CoBank. Organic milk generates the highest sales of any certified organic commodity, and steady demand growth will lift organic fluid milk market share and further stimulate product innovation.

See A Need “I don’t want to be a dairy farmer.” These are not the words dairy farmers want to hear from their children. “We have spent a lifetime building our dairy business, and now we do not know who we will pass it on to.” These sentiments ripple across the dairy community.