U.S. dairy exports reached record-high levels in 2018 but volumes slumped in the final months of the year, according to a monthly summary from the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC). Exports were down 11 percent in the fourth quarter after posting a 16 percent increase in the first three quarters.

For the first time since 2013-14, the size of the U.S. dairy herd started a new year with fewer cows and heifers than the year before. The downturn is due to heavy cull cow slaughter and a small decline in replacement heifers.

Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy checkoff, works with globally recognized partners to help grow demand and new opportunities for U.S. dairy. One partner, Pizza Hut, is finding new destinations for cheese not only here but in international markets.

Digest Highlights

• USDA amends Class I skim milk price formula
• Nominees sought for National Dairy Promotion and Research Board
• USDA, FDA to jointly regulate cell-cultured livestock food products
• IRS waives estimated tax penalty for farmers who file returns and pay tax by April 15
• Wisconsin proposal creates driver’s license for noncitizens
• New England dairy farmers enhance school breakfast programs
• New York overtime bill would be costly to dairy farmers
• Wisconsin dairy groups endorse nutrient trading system bill

Entering a fifth year of lower milk prices, never have so many diverse regional voices been in such harmony around the economic condition of U.S. dairy farmers – at least in my lifetime.

Last summer, I read an article in Inc. magazine titled “You’ll never train in vain” by Leigh Buchanan, and it made me wonder if dairies agreed with that premise. With a tight dairy labor market, I wondered if owners perceive training as a way to bolster their labor force.

You’re busy – milking cows, managing employees and getting ready for spring. With that in mind, Progressive Dairyman looks at issues in the news impacting you and your dairy business.

The 2018 Farm Bill or its official legislative name, Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump on Dec. 20, 2018. This $867 billion legislation is the 18th farm bill.

Editor’s note: At Progressive Dairyman’s press deadline, more than 1,830 dairy cows in Washington’s Yakima Valley reportedly perished as a winter storm hit the county, dumping up to 2 feet of snow and carrying 30- to 80-mile-per-hour winds.

A recent newsletter from the Federal Reserve district of Chicago, summarizing survey responses from commercial ag bankers in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin, said the region’s dairy sector was under the most stress of any in agriculture. Nonetheless, like spring, some optimism is emerging.