Progressive Dairy

Idaho governor's trade trip results in BioTracking deal with Chinese dairy

May 16, 2012

Idaho Governor Butch Otter has landed a deal for Moscow, Idaho-based BioTracking to sell pregnancy tests to China’s third-largest dairy. BioTracking, the developer of BioPRYN cattle pregnancy tests, signed a sales agreement April 16 with Shanghai Bright Dairy Co. Otter made the original pitch on behalf of BioTracking during a 2010 trade mission that included a meeting with Shanghai Bright officials. The officials invited Garth Sasser, a founder of BioTracking, to its meeting of dairy producers later that year.

New Hire Tom Whitten

May 15, 2012

Tom Whitten, DVM Glenwood City, Wisconsin Technical Field Support Vets Plus, Inc.

New Hire Skip French

May 15, 2012

Skip French Valdese, North Carolina Southeast Territory Sales Manager Van Beek Natural Science

Dairy groups provide milk for thousands at Destination Imagination Global Finals

May 15, 2012

Destination Imagination (DI), a non-profit, after school program where students work as teams to solve open-ended challenges, is having Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) provide milk daily for the 8,000 youth participants in DI's Global Finals. The event takes place on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville, May 23-26. In addition to DFA, milk sponsors include Dairy MAX, Southeast United Dairy Industries Association, Inc., and Western Dairy Association.

Enrollment in agriculture programs shows growing interest in farming

May 15, 2012

Judging by the enrollment numbers of numerous agricultural programs for students, youth are showing an increasing interest in farming, reported South Carolina's Independent Mail. More than 10,000 students are enrolled in agricultural programs in South Carolina's secondary schools, said John W. Parris, director of the South Carolina Agri-News Service in Columbia.

April milk-feed price ratio lowest since early 1990s

May 15, 2012

The April 2012 milk-feed price ratio could be the lowest dating back almost two decades. The index is based on the current milk price in relationship to feed prices for a ration of 51 percent corn, 8 percent soybeans and 41 percent alfalfa hay.

Kids raised around cows may have fewer allergies

May 15, 2012

Reuters recently reported on a new European study that found kids who grow up on farms and have contact with cows and cow milk are less likely to have allergies and asthma than kids raised nearby but not on a farm. Reuters mentioned that previous research has shown kids raised on European farms have lower rates of asthma and allergies than other children. However, these new findings help identify what specifically may protect some farm-raised youngsters against developing asthma or allergies.

Bunker silo, drive-over pile safety precautions can save lives

May 15, 2012

Keith Bolsen

In today’s complex and highly mechanized silage programs, consistently protecting employees, equipment and property throughout harvesting, filling and feeding does not occur without thought, preparation and training. It is better to take steps in advance to eliminate hazards than to rely upon yourself or others to make the correct decision when a hazard is encountered. As Dennis Murphy, extension safety specialist at Penn State University, points out, “We have nothing to lose by practicing safety, but we have everything to lose by not practicing it.”

I belong to... Dairy MAX: Steve Hanson

May 14, 2012

Age: 54 Location: Clovis, New Mexico My dairy’s history: We originally rented two dairies in California and then relocated to a rented dairy in Stephenville, Texas, for five years. We moved to Clovis about 16 years ago and built our current dairy, El Dorado Dairy, 11 years ago. Currently, we are milking about 3,200 head, raising all of our heifers and farming about 3,000 acres. My three sons do a lot of the management of the dairy.

New sustainability resources from Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy

May 14, 2012

Since the launch of the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Commitment in 2008, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy -- established under the leadership of America’s dairy producers -- has united the dairy value chain in a collective effort to measure and improve the environmental, social and economic sustainability of U.S. dairy. Using a research-based approach, the Innovation Center is establishing benchmark measures of industry-level dairy sustainability, while putting tools in the hands of decision-makers to drive innovation at individual businesses.