Lameness can be the most costly disease on dairies, even more so than mastitis. This is due to the high incidence of lameness on dairies. It is not uncommon to find 30 percent yearly incidence or higher on dairies, yet lameness is one of the least entered and tracked diseases.

It was no ordinary spring in Wisconsin. Impressive growth by state dairy farmers, matched by strong gains in surrounding states, found milk production maxing out processing capacity. And when Canadian buyers of concentrated skim milk abruptly ended purchases from one large state processor, some Wisconsin farm families were asked to find new buyers in a state saturated with fresh milk.

Digest Highlights: Immigration patterns are changing U.S. workforce. FARM Program feedback deadline nears. California dairy farmers are sharing their stories. Find a summary of these and other news here.

Continued moderate growth in milk production, combined with good domestic sales of butter and cheese and higher dairy exports, should strengthen milk prices.

Editor's note: The CEO Corner contains editors' compilations of business news from top publications, which they have tailored for the dairy industry. You wouldn’t think of walking past your milkers in the parlor and unplugging the milk hoses attached to your milk line, spilling the hard work of your entire farm on the parlor floor. That would not only be expensive and silly, but extremely demotivating.

Digest Highlights: Dairy waste-to-energy projects gain equity commitment. June fluid milk sales were flat. WOTUS comment deadline near. Find a summary of these and other news here.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a guidance document on Aug. 11 announcing it will exercise discretion when enforcing the use and labeling of ultrafiltered (UF) milk. Additionally, the FDA will initiate the process to write final rules regulating UF milk used in the manufacture of all standardized cheeses and related cheese products covered by the federal standards of identity.

Summer doldrums characterized U.S. milk prices, but dairy replacement cow prices held fairly steady, and foreign demand for U.S. heifers is picking up steam heading into fall.

U.S. dairy farmers received a multiple dose of information to update milk income and feed cost forecasts. The USDA released its Crop Production report, which included the first survey-based projections for 2017 crop acreage and yields; along with its monthly World Ag Supply & Demand Estimates report, including 2017-2018 feed and dairy price estimates.

Digest Highlights: EPA petitions for farm emissions reporting delay. California takes another step in creating federal order. Texas adds CAFOs to drone protection statute. Find a summary of these and other news here.