In the Dairy Cattle Biology and Management Lab at Cornell University, rumination and activity monitors were implemented by Matias Stangaferro, DVM, M.S. and Ph.D. student, and Julio Giordano, DVM, M.S., Ph.D., to study and identify health disorders in dairy cows.

Our annual “State of the dairy industry” issue is where we take stock of where the industry has been in recent years, what the present picture looks like and what the future holds.

St. Albans Cooperative Creamery is the first dairy cooperative in the nation to provide new information to dairy producer members regarding the fatty acids making up the milkfat in their cows’ milk. The information will enable producers to improve the way they feed and manage their cows, and potentially earn higher milkfat and protein component premiums.

Ready access to an affordable food supply is no longer enough to satisfy the American appetite. Increasingly, consumers are seeking greater context for the food they eat, particularly as it relates to health and the environment.

As we head into spring, here are a few simple and practical ideas to help graziers through the transition of seasons (as shared by attendees of the GrassWorks Conference held annually in Wisconsin):

At April Ridge Genetics Center, the view can’t be beat. “I love seeing the best of the breeding program right here,” Ed Peck says, looking out over his livestock from a loft viewing window at his genetics facility near Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.

When the U.S. departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services released the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) in January, it was clear: Dairy remains an important part of the dietary recommendations.

Local dairy checkoff staffs are taking a proactive, comprehensive, integrated approach to sharing results, highlighting the dairy recommendations with health and wellness partners, industry leaders and other marketplace partners. Here are some examples:

The 2016 Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference attracted more than 450 dairy industry enthusiasts to Mount Pleasant, Michigan, on Feb. 4-6 to hear about the global dairy market and learn from other dairy producers on various topics vital to production and profitability.

Editor’s note: This is the last of four articles explaining producer payment systems for milk in the U.S. California produces a little more than 20 percent of U.S. milk and has its own unique payment system for paying producers for it. As mentioned in previous articles in this series, the three Federal Milk Marketing Order payment systems in the U.S. are very similar: