As a kid, I would see pictures of big, new, shiny tractors in the magazines and remember thinking, “One day, I’ll have one of those.” Now, 40-plus years later, I have the willpower to breeze right over those advertisements – because I could never afford one.

Measuring dairy margins is a sport unto itself. It’s not creating a windfall, but the 2016 outlook brightened somewhat, and dairy export volumes hit an 11-month high. This and other U.S. dairy economic news can be found here.

Researchers are looking into the presence of ‘sporeformers,’ on-farm bacteria capable of surviving the pasteurization process and negatively affecting dairy product quality. French-based multinational food company Danone is purchasing WhiteWave Foods. Darigold workers vote to strike. This and other U.S. dairy industry news can be found here.

The House approved the bill to establish a national labeling system for foods produced using biotechnology. The International Dairy Foods Association posted a new taxpayer watchdog’s report calling for elimination of federal milk marketing orders. USDA announced regulatory changes for the handling and inspection of downed veal calves delivered to slaughter plants. This and other U.S. dairy policy news can be found here.

I’ve started this editorial four times. The problem is: I keep changing positions. Are farm simulations useful or detrimental?

Years after the milk mustache, fluid milk sales can now wear a smile. May 2016 packaged fluid milk sales totaled 4.05 billion pounds, up 0.2 percent from May 2015. Tom Gallagher, chief executive officer of Dairy Management Inc., said the numbers reflect innovation and promotion efforts to revitalize the fluid milk category.