As dairy farmers, we make large and small investments nearly every day on the farm. One of the most important – but often overlooked – is the investment we make in ourselves and our team members.

After the Howelings stopped selling milk to a local processor, they turned to creating products made from raw milk such as lotions and soaps.

“I used to raise a lot of heifers just because it was cheap to raise them and if one didn’t work out, there were others to replace her,” Souza says. “That doesn’t work anymore. You have to be very intentional with the heifers you choose to raise.”

Progressive Dairy caught up with dairy producers who installed varying automated milking equipment on their farms in the second half of the 2010 era.

Though the HPAI outbreak of 2022-23 was devastating, an outbreak of FMD in the U.S. could be far worse, particularly for the dairy industry.

In the fall of 2023, six farms were selected as venues to host thousands of people in open fields to enjoy Luke Bryan’s music.

2022 was the first year Sydney Bullard was a dairy youth exhibitor at World Dairy Expo (WDE) and the experience ignited motivation within her to work more closely with the show animals and assist them in reaching their full potential.