I was driving through the Midwest during August. Corn, corn and more corn. I turned on the radio, and there was an actual show on called Stalk Talk. What? Nothing makes driving 250 miles through corn more exciting than listening to a talk show about corn.

In a new video series for Progressive Dairyman, comedian Tim the Dairy Farmer answers questions from his adoring – or not so adoring – fans. View below to watch Tim answer a question about trick-or-treating in the country.

These are tough times in the dairy industry, and tough times force us to do things that sometimes won’t happen when times are good. We all have comfort zones, and even if we don’t realize it, we do things to stay within those comfort zones. Sometimes the fruit is at the end of the branch or outside the border of our comfort zone. I would like to propose two questions to get us to wander outside of that comfort zone, and maybe find some fruit that we didn’t even know was there.

Southeast U.S. dairy producers and processors continue recovery efforts following Hurricane Michael, while damage assessment and a return to normalcy are ongoing following Hurricane Florence.

Most dairy farmers are still kicking the tires, but some are already buying coverage under the new Dairy Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) insurance program.

Digest Highlights Second dairy biogas project begins operations in Indiana August fluid sales slip Global Dairy Trade prices mixed Environmental groups suing EPA over air emission exemption Stand-alone California QIP effective Nov. 1 Sanders’ bill prioritizes dairy federal emergency payments FarmFirst Dairy urges FDA to use existing dietary guidelines to define ‘healthy’ Law paves way for California Cattle Council referendum DFA employees aided ‘Hunger Month’ efforts

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of Dairy Financial Driver Profitability Quick Tips. Information is based on work by Zoetis and Compeer Financial to analyze 11 years of herd data from 489 year-end financial and production record summaries to identify key drivers of net farm income. Quicker pregnancies are essential to keep milk flowing and the next generation of herd replacements growing.

Hear from Dr. Dave Van Metre from Colorado State University on bovine foot rot and digital dermatitis. He covers some anatomy and explains why foot rot and digital dermatitis develop, as well as discusses ways to prevent and treat both conditions.

Frozen teats? Ouch. Elevated somatic cell counts and clinical mastitis? No, thank you. It’s time to prepare your milk quality program for winter.

Florida and Georgia dairy leaders continue to assess the damage from Hurricane Michael, but it appears Georgia suffered the most severe damage.