The dairy industry is no stranger to fluctuating milk prices, and at least the first half of 2015 is setting up to be just that. In her presentation at World Ag Expo 2015, Sara Dorland explained to seminar attendees why 2014 happened like it did, what to expect in 2015 and what variables to watch for.

Producers are facing more and more difficult conversations about GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, and their place in the industry and in the marketplace. This year at the World Ag Expo, Progressive Dairyman hosted a seminar featuring presenter Alison Van Eenennaam, Ph.D., of the University of California – Davis, who came to help attendees understand more about GMOs, some of the common misconceptions and how to convey important information to opponents, fellow producers and consumers.

The program for the 2015 Precision Dairy Conference and Expo is a partnership between University of Minnesota and University of Kentucky, along with key industry sponsors. The event will be held at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota, June 24 and 25.

Time is money. According to Dr. Rick Grant of W.H. Miner Research Institute in Chazy, New York, this holds true even for the modern dairy cow.

Progressive Dairyman editors Walt Cooley and Jenna Hurty, as well as staff writer Melissa Miller, attended World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, Feb. 10-12, 2015. In addition to hosting a video farm tour and other seminars, staff members walked around the show looking for something new or for interesting ideas that might be useful to dairy producers. Below are their thoughts and comments about what they saw.

The Holstein Foundation staff is preparing for the kick-off of Young Dairy Leaders Institute (YDLI) class nine, which meets for phase one Feb. 25-28 in Phoenix, Arizona.