America’s farmers and ranchers will soon have the opportunity to take part in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Conducted every five years by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), the census, to be mailed at the end of this year, is a complete count of all U.S. farms, ranches, and those who operate them.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) introduces Dairy AdvanCE, a new online, one-stop professional development shop for the dairy industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report raised the 2017 milk production forecast, citing expectations the U.S. dairy herd will grow during the year. Projected milk output per cow was reduced slightly from last month’s forecast.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council, primarily funded by dairy farmers through their dairy checkoff investment, helps enhance the global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. These efforts work. In fact, one in seven milk tankers leaving American farms reaches customers and consumers internationally through exported dairy products and ingredients.

Computer vision technology tested on California dairyPublished: Feb. 2, 2017 enewsletter and Feb. 25, 2017 print issue Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley featured Maddox Dairy in Riverdale, California, and their adoption of Cainthus computer vision technology.

Years ago, the farmer-funded dairy promotion checkoff moved from a generic advertising approach to a strategy of working with powerful partners with like values who would invest with us and help advance dairy farmers’ interests in doing good things for the world and doing good business for themselves.

The U.S. dairy herd has a head start on what is expected to be a growth year in 2017, based on the USDA’s semi-annual estimate of dairy cows and heifers. However, dairy replacement heifers numbers are down slightly, and more heifers will be exported in 2017.

Yahara Pride Farms held its annual watershed-wide conference on March 2 to share information and research on the different steps being taken to decrease the amount of phosphorus in the Yahara watershed in Wisconsin and to celebrate the group’s successes.

“When most people think of technology in Washington, they’re thinking Microsoft or Amazon, but I want them to start thinking about dairy,” says Michelle Schilter, third-generation dairy farmer from Chehalis, Washington.

The 13th biennial Western Dairy Management Conference was held Feb. 28 to March 2 in Reno, Nevada. Catch some insights and observations from Progressive Dairyman editors Dave Natzke and Walt Cooley, who attended the event. The interesting facts, lessons and observations they gleaned are highlighted below.