Memorial Day weekend is an important test of beef sales and beef demand. The success of the first big grilling holiday will be assessed over the coming days. There are indications that beef advertising features increased to support large volumes of beef purchased by retailers for the weekend.

The number of hired workers on U.S. farms rose in April, most worked a little longer and average hourly wages increased, according to a quarterly Farm Labor report from the USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service.

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a series profiling sources for an in-depth feature about the Chinese dairy industry, appearing in print later this summer. Calvin Willis, Ph.D., has made his home in Southern California for the past 35 years. Widely respected throughout the southwestern U.S. as a consulting dairy nutritionist, he also works internationally.

Alan Zepp, risk management program manager at Pennsylvania's Center for Dairy Excellence, provided a dairy market update and discussed risk management options during his monthly “Protecting Your Profits” conference call on May 25.

I love the fairs. Mostly because some of my best childhood memories were made in the cattle barns at the King County Fair and the Washington State Fair while showing my cows. A lot has changed since my 4-H days, but the fair is still a great place to connect with consumers about agriculture.

Most cattle producers know that by making small, but key investments in their herds, they can receive significant financial returns. Investments in what bulls are purchased, disease prevention methods employed or forage management programs implemented can help optimize returns.

As a young girl, I remember looking forward to this day for months. I could hardly sleep because I was afraid I wouldn’t hear him downstairs and miss him. Santa was not who I was anticipating; I am talking about my dad and those special days when we would take cows to the sale barn.