The Central Plains Dairy Expo at the South Dakota Convention Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is less than two weeks away. The Welcome Reception with a concert by Nashville signer and songwriter Phil Vassar will kick off the event on March 26. The trade show and seminars are March 27-28. Keynote speaker Michael Swanson, a Wells Fargo agricultural economist, will address “Economic Outlook and Opportunities: What’s the Market Telling You?”

Linda M. Chimenti Ames, Iowa Executive Vice President Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST)

In early February, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned that budget cuts mandated by the sequester would force the USDA to furlough meat inspectors. This would mean a meat industry shutdown, because federal law prohibits meat plants from operating without a federal inspector. Later in February, a spokesman for the CME Group said that the cuts could affect livestock and dairy contracts that depend on USDA grading and inspections, according to Reuters.

Agricultural Modeling and Training Systems, developer of ruminant nutrition modeling software, has announced the addition of a new software platform, AMTS.Cloud, and has updated the version of their nutrition software, AMTS.Cattle.Professional to version 3.4.4.

Fat Red Couch, a developer of family-friendly apps, has released a new interactive children's app about a dancing Ayrshire cow. The story, titled "Prancing, Dancing Lily," was inspired by author Marsha Diane Arnold’s childhood growing up on a dairy farm.

The outlook for a new farm bill, and a better safety net for dairy farmers, will be one of the key sessions at the upcoming National Dairy Producers Conference April 7-9 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The conference, open to dairy farmers from across the country, will provide an in-depth discussion of the issues facing the dairy industry, with educational discussions on topics ranging from farm policy to immigration reform to agricultural finance.

Minnie Ward Calf and Heifer Consultant – Animal Health Products Accelerated Genetics

Katy Starr Hazelton, Idaho Marketing Specialist AgSource Laboratories

A sale of Golden Guernsey Dairy could be coming soon, clearing the way for a reopening of the company that closed two months ago, according to Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel. A dairy products company that supplies Costco stores has offered $5.5 million for the Waukesha plant, a court filing shows.

As of March 1, Iowa agriculture officials are no longer requiring that milk received in the state be screened or tested for aflatoxin. The drought conditions of 2012 increased the likelihood that aflatoxins, a group of chemicals produced by certain mold fungi, could contaminate corn crops.