As we approach the spring and summer, producers tend to prepare for the hay production and grazing season of summer forage crops such as bermudagrass and bahiagrass. Due to the growing conditions in Mississippi, with average rainfall ranging from 50 to 60 inches annually, we do not pay much attention to water use by perennial summer forage crops.

In this political season, it is worth remembering that policies do matter. In the 2004 presidential campaign season, the most frequent discussion was about energy policy. In the years that have followed, the game has changed. A shift occurred in energy policies in the U.S. in several momentous ways, and because fertilizer prices are intimately linked to energy prices, this has had major impacts on fertilizer prices in the 12 years since.

A hearing is scheduled to consider California’s temporary Class 4b milk price whey factor, which expires this summer. Northeast dairy cooperative Agri-Mark will invest nearly $30 million to expand a New York cheese manufacturing facility. This and other U.S. dairy industry news can be found here.

Among all of the concerns that factor into purchasing replacement stock, managing stockers or feeding out fat cattle, parasite biosecurity is easily overlooked.

A settlement agreement in a six-year-old northeast U.S. milk marketing antitrust lawsuit is near – maybe.

Bob Barker, from Waverly, Iowa, says, “Leonard Rayhons told me way back when I was in high school, ‘Bob, make sure you marry a two-bucket girl.’ I looked at him puzzled and said, ‘What's a two bucket girl?’ Leonard, who was 80-plus years old, said, ‘A two-bucket girl is a girl that can do two or more things at once – helping on the farm, no matter what the job, wash your hog clothes without complaining, have lunches for the tractor, manage the house and be the glue of the family.’”

“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” I heard those words long ago, but they have taken on a new meaning recently as I have made the choice to slow down and remember what life is really all about. For me, that has meant stepping away from my off-farm job.

“Measure yield” is the number one thing growers can do to help themselves improve crop production, according to Dr. Quirine M. Ketterings, who spoke at the 2016 Northern New York Agricultural Development Program (NNYADP) annual meetings.

A lawsuit has been filed against the Whatcom County Dairy Women, Northwest Washington Fair Association and the Lynden School District over an E. coli outbreak that sickened children and others attending a Milk Makers Fest in April 2015. This and other U.S. region-by-region dairy news can be found here.