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Producers across the country are voicing questions about risk management at a series of workshops offered by commodity marketing consultant Stewart-Peterson. The seminar road tour has previously stopped in three states and will be stopping in four more in coming months. Here’s a snapshot of two producer questions from recent workshops and answers to them by the company’s advisers Mark Ludtke (top right) and Steve Schalla (bottom right).
Tail docking is still a common practice – the recent NAHMS survey of U.S. dairy farms shows that about 50 percent of dairy cows in the U.S. are docked. Of course this means that about 50 percent are not docked, and there is much debate about the practice.
To help foster discussion among dairy producers and document the most common reasons for why we should or should not be docking tails, we asked Progressive Dairyman readers to respond to an online survey. In this article we report back to you on the main results from this research.
A total of 192 people responded to the survey. Of these 30 percent were producers, 23 percent veterinarians, 15 percent students, 4 percent instructors and 3 percent other dairy professionals; 25 percent of participants said they had no experience with the dairy industry.
Hitting the headlines at World Dairy Expo last year was the launch of the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management. This voluntary, nationwide program, administered by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), aims to bring consistency and uniformity to animal care through education, on-farm evaluations and objective third-party verification.
At the 2009 press conference, it was publicized that on-farm evaluations would begin in 2010; third-party verification would follow in 2011. Now, 11 months later, the organization has formally announced that it is accepting enrollment in the Animal Care Program. This officially launches the second phase of the implementation process, which includes the start of on-farm evaluations for participating producers.
The following are comments from the Dairy Price Forum that took place Aug. 18 in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The event, sponsored by Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation and the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW), focused on addressing price volatility in a global dairy market, preparing for the 2012 Farm Bill and looking at the Foundation for the Future plan.
Miranda Leis
Dairy producer
Monroe County, Wisconsin
“The other option of a quota program is really a non-option for our farm and so too I feel for the future of the American dairy industry. I feel that a quota program would stifle expansion and would severely impede our ability to establish our position as a premier supplier on the world dairy market … When I look into the eyes of my children I am not content to let this current system, which does not serve farmers, continue to exist unchanged. If we do not at least attempt to enact change I can’t say with any certainty there will be a place in the market for my children.”
Every year World Dairy Expo serves as the meeting ground for more than 65,000 producers, exhibitors and industry representatives. And if you're proud to be one of those 65,000, we want to get to know you.
Stop by the Progressive Dairyman booth, located in the Arena Building (AR 441-442). Our 8-foot by 10-foot Proud to Dairy map will be hard to miss. Stop and tell us about your dairy.
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
Each year World Dairy Expo invites companies to display their best and newest products in its trade show. Many of the 750 companies exhibit year after year, while some new ones join the pack each year.
This fall Paumco Products will present its wares for the first time to the show’s 65,000 anticipated attendees in the outdoor trade mall. Its products can also be seen at work by the Expo grounds crew throughout the week.
The company builds skid loader attachments designed to reduce skid loader working hours by increasing productivity of the machine. The Maple Lake, Minnesota-based company was started by the Pauman family nine years ago to build specialty equipment.
Progressive Publishing is excited to announce it is taking its flagship publication, Progressive Dairyman, to the Great White North beginning in 2011.
We felt there was no better place to make this announcement than at World Dairy Expo, where a significant Canadian contingency meets the U.S. dairy industry as the foundation of the international show.
While it is hard to place a figure on the number of World Dairy Expo attendees from Canada, it is estimated they are the second-largest country represented at the show, behind the U.S.
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.
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