The most talked-about food at World Dairy Expo is Badger Dairy Club’s grilled cheese sandwiches. The club’s 139 members are students at the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a passion for dairy. Each member is required to put in at least five hours in the grilled cheesestand during the show, while some will put in more than 60 hours during the week. Proceeds from sales at the stand go towards scholarships for club members, club trips, cash flow for the bi-annual Badger Invitational Sale and community projects such as the showmanship contest at the Holstein Spring Show and donations to other dairy organizations. Learn more about the club at www.badgerdairyclub.com

The use of antibiotics in food animal production and its possible tie to antibiotic resistance in humans has been in the news recently. Congress received testimony about the issue, and several new laws or regulations are proposed to address it. Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley discusses how close the national debate comes to the everyday use of antibiotics on dairies with AABP Executive Vice President Gatz Riddell. Q. What is the national debate on the use of antibiotics in food animal production really about? GATZ: At face value, the main debate is about the fear of microbial resistance. And that’s a valid concern because in human medicine it has become a significant issue.

Have you been at the end of your rope when dealing with a respiratory outbreak, a nutritional meltdown or a series of fatal calf scours, and then, as a last resort, decide to run some diagnostic tests? If you answered yes to any part of this question, have the results been too late, too costly or provided the wrong information? If so, there may be newer technologies and better strategies to help with this dilemma. When the need for diagnostic testing arises, dairy producers have a variety of tests available, some of which are outlined here.

Contact: Randy Clark, Founder www.rciengineering.com Specializing in hay and forage equipment, RCI Engineering LLC is looking forward to showing World Dairy Expo visitors its latest windrow merger that reduces stones and dirt in the merged row. Small to mid-sized farmers to commercial hay growers can find RCI in the outdoor trade mall at booth TM 699. Q. What does your company specialize in? CLARK: Hay mergers, attachments for John Deere hay and forage equipment, and specialized agricultural equipment.

Pennsylvania dairy farmers making difficult business decisions after nearly two years of low milk prices and negative margins can benefit from a contribution by the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association to support the Dairy Decisions Consultant program.

Recently, Semex and Micro hosted a three-day advanced reproductive and ai24 training to a group of seven Semex district sales representatives from across the U.S. in Battle Creek, Michigan.