Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley attended World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, Feb. 14-16, 2017. He walked the show looking for new products and industry trends. Below are his thoughts on what he found.

More than 100 dairy producers and allied industry representatives from 15 states toured SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo in January. The group was part of Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin’s annual Managers Academy. The three-day event was held in San Diego, California, this year.

As Old Man Winter blew into the upper Midwest in early December, a number of dairy producers flew in from the East Coast, western U.S. and Canada to take part in Lely’s Journey Tour.

More than 250 farmers, nutritionists and industry professionals gathered at Lambeau Field, home field of the Green Bay Packers, on Dec. 15 to discuss dairy metrics and determine “What’s Your Score” at the Alltech Wisconsin Dairy School.

Progressive dairy farm managers must monitor and address diverse challenges in the dairy industry to be successful. In today’s dairy market, human resources and leadership skills are equally as important to smooth operations as cow comfort and forage quality are to milk yield.

Five of World Ag Expo’s Top 10 new products have direct application in the dairy industry. Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley interviewed the companies and innovators behind these new technologies.

Five dairy farm families represented California’s dairy history and future on the California Milk Advisory Board’s “Legacy of Generations” float in the 128th Rose Parade, Jan. 2.

The farmer leaders of the dairy checkoff had a vision in 2012 to construct a “newsroom” with the goal of protecting and building consumer trust in dairy.

It’s not too late! Make plans to attend the third Dairy Strong conference, January 18-19, in Madison, Wisconsin. Find more information at Dairy Strong.

At the 2016 Vita Plus Dairy Summit, attendees heard straight talk from a panel of consumers on where and what they buy and what drives their food purchasing decisions, and they learned about building trust and operating with transparency from Charlie Arnot with the Center for Food Integrity and Andrea Bloom from Vita Plus.