This Dairy Regional Recap includes information on an award-winning California Holstein, a historic Texas dairy barn, the northeast’s FarmStart program for beginning farmers and more. This and other U.S. region-by-region dairy news can be found here.

The American Farm Bureau says labor visa backlogs could threaten 2016 crops. The U.S. dairy industry wants continued defense of common cheese names in trade agreements. International Dairy Foods Association is urging flexibility for dairy in federal ‘gluten-free’ rules. This and other U.S. dairy policy news can be found here.

Any dairy farm girl will tell you that there isn’t much she can’t fix with a piece of baler twine, but Kristi Jarek took that mantra to a new level when she fashioned a gown from baler twine, feed sacks and old 4-H ribbons.

Three universities received USDA grants to research cattle and forage production under changing climate conditions.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to start an investigation into last year’s sudden collapse of cattle prices and a review of the market’s competitive structure. The request comes months after the Judiciary Committee was asked by R-CALF USA to probe the “dramatic, unprecedented collapse” of cattle prices in late 2015.

Attention dairy producers and veterinarians: A start-up biotech company is conducting research on bovine mastitis. They are administering a survey to understand the needs and wants of dairy producers and dairy veterinarians.

Wade Hill is a forage producer in Danville, Alabama. His main hay marketing focus is for the horse industry, although he also sells hay to cattle producers on a limited basis. In addition to off-farm sales, Hill produces forages for his own livestock – horses, cattle and swine.

Most Progressive Cattleman readers do not have a drought plan in place.

It has been brought to my attention that dating among farmers has taken a new approach. There are now websites just for single farmers to meet other single farmers. Long gone are the days of being introduced to a potential suitor by a family member.

Last year, I found myself in a frustrating situation at my off-farm job as a structural engineer. I had multiple projects with overlapping schedules and similar scopes, and I could barely keep them straight. OK, sometimes I couldn’t keep them straight.