I first taught about mission statements almost 40 years ago when we developed the Pro-Dairy program in New York state. Over time, my thinking has continued to evolve and, hopefully, improve by including vision and values.

We’ve been watching new technologies, especially digital ones, arrive – but things are about to get interesting. Robots are the obvious technology with the potential to disrupt the dairy industry as we know it, but there are many other technologies ready to adopt right now you probably never noticed.

I was on a farm in Wisconsin in January; it was a father and daughter team. They were far from a team when I first met them. The daughter had just come home to farm and was working her way into the business, but she and her dad bickered over every decision.

Editor’s note: The author, an Indiana dairy producer and freelance writer, is exploring resources and methods to help dairy farmers deal with farm stress. Visit Farm Stress: Sources and Resources to find a comprehensive list of programs, helplines, websites, videos and factsheets and other materials.

It’s easy to get off course in the volatile and ever-changing dynamics existing in today’s dairy industry. The 2019 Pennsylvania Dairy Summit program will offer encouragement and guidance to help dairy producers and industry leaders who attend this year’s conference, themed “Follow your compass.”

Three of World Ag Expo’s top 10 new products in 2019 have direct application in the dairy industry. Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley interviewed the companies behind these new technologies. The article introduces each of the award winners and discusses how they might help dairy producers be more efficient and profitable.

Several factors can affect teat skin condition. These include weather, housing conditions, teat disinfectant chemistry, milking system settings and micro-organisms. Adverse weather conditions (cold, wind, humidity, direct sun, etc.) can negatively affect teat-end and skin integrity.

As the pressure to use fewer antibiotics continues to grow, animal agriculture needs to be inventive and find different solutions to treat animals or keep livestock healthy from the start.

Many principles when managing organic pastures are the same as when managing conventional pastures, albeit with some special considerations.

We live in an increasingly noisy world. We are bombarded with honking horns, telephone jangles, cars pumping along with the drumbeat blaring from inside the cab, people yelling at the top of their lungs at someone who stepped wrongfully into his or her space. Parents yelling at children.