Before blogs and Facebook and build-your-own websites, listservs were one of the best ways to get the word out to a lot of online users at one time. Unlike most 20-year-old computer technology, however, these semi-automated email programs are still useful today. Within the dairy industry, Dairy-L is undoubtedly the most well-known listserv. Started in 1990, the list now has 1,800 subscribers in 47 countries. “It was definitely one of the first of its kind,” says one of the list’s current co-owners, Kiera Finucane, with the University of Maryland.

HubSpot, an online marketing software company, gave kudos to the California Milk Processor Board in its recent article “10 companies that totally nailed their taglines.” HubSpot called the “Got Milk?” campaign “one of the longest-lasting campaigns ever” and pointed out that few people remember that it was launched by CMPB.

The American Society of Animal Science believes that our society must remain a leading source of scientific information on animal well-being and the contributions of animals to human health. To achieve that goal, the ASAS has pinpointed a need to facilitate effective communication among academia, industry, government agencies, consumers and other stakeholders to reach consensus regarding science-based issues affecting animal production.

The Dairy Practices Council has recently published three new guidelines. The guidelines were distributed to the entire DPC membership and are also available on the DPC website. The guidelines are Selected Personnel in Milk Sanitation; Component Test Variations in Raw Milk; and Automatic Milking Systems – Questions Dairymen Need To Ask.

Click here to download a pdf of the latest Industry Watch List, provided by Dairy Management, Inc. PD

Click here to download the latest export watch, provided by the USDEC. PD

There is something new coming to World Dairy Expo this year that you won’t want to miss. Actually, at 26,000 square feet, the New Holland Trade Center will be just plain hard to miss. “I’m really excited about this,” exclaims John Rozum, World Dairy Expo sales manager. “It is the biggest new thing on the grounds since the Exhibition Hall was put up in 1995.” Over the past 17 years, demand for exhibit space at World Dairy Expo has risen steadily. “We’ve been working with a sell-out trade show and extensive wait list for a number of years,” Rozum says. “Plus, there are always existing exhibitors at the show looking to expand their space.”

Writing that volatility is "the new reality for dairy farmers," California Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross is calling for cooperation and strategic reform. Ross wrote on the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) website, "If we have learned one thing from this crisis, it is that the current regulatory and pricing system needs to change and all sectors of the industry need to collaborate and develop reforms that can bring new markets and new stability to the marketplace.