By a slight margin, most Progressive Dairyman readers believe that Canada’s government should ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Domestic commercial disappearance of all manufactured dairy products was up in 2015. Even though fluid milk sales continued their downward trend, sales of whole milk were actually higher in 2015 compared to the previous year.

A California plan to reduce greenhouse (GHG) emissions within its borders is drawing sharp criticism from dairy producer organizations in the state.

A few months ago, farmers across the state of Wisconsin witnessed much of their Latino workforce walk off their farms to participate in a protest in the state capitol to raise awareness of immigration policy reform. Farmers faced the reality of a future without the immigrant workforce, which currently composes over half of the dairy industry’s labor force.

Milk prices were lower in March, but quarterly replacement cow prices were steady. The first half of the next Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) pay period shows income margins grew slimmer. This and other U.S. dairy economic news can be found here.

If you want to keep your milking system operating at peak performance, cutting maintenance costs is not the way to go. Regular, scheduled maintenance can prevent emergency repairs and costly parlor downtime.

Implementing cow cooling has been shown to provide clear economic benefits in the hot, dry climates of the American Southwest as well as parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

Editor’s note: This is the second part of a three-part series. To read the first part of this three-part series, go to (Corn silage, feeding management, cash-flow effects) Cropping management and corn hybrid selection for silage can be major factors affecting the animal performance needed to maintain a sustainable profit margin.

Learn how to reduce lameness in your herd from hoof trimming expert Vic Daniel, owner of Vic’s Custom Clips in Arva, Ontario, and president of the Hoof Trimmers Association.