Have you seen the little NIR (near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy) device that fits in your pocket for instant dry matter sampling? I started looking into the SCiO device – commercially known as Reveal – as a replacement to drying every feed sample for an hour twice a week.

This summer, three standout social media campaigns from dairy organizations are aiming to provide food to the hungry. Each has its own special method, but all are utilizing various social media platforms to generate awareness, raise money and create a better future for both farmers and those in need.

Starting a dairy involves long hours, backbreaking work and cool-headedness in unexpected emergencies. And in a market with exceptionally low milk prices, building a dairy from the ground up is no easy feat – especially when you’re in your 20s.

Whether expanding, starting up a robotic dairy using first-lactation animals, or transitioning parlor or tiestall cows to a robot, many dairy farmers run into the same problem: There are some cows that struggle to adapt to the new system. 

Ninety-seven percent of dairy farms in the U.S. are owned by families, and Coronado Dairy in Wilcox, Arizona, fits into that statistic. But what makes Coronado different, is that collective ownership is offered to the many families that work on the dairy farm.

Dairy farmers are finally receiving payments stemming from a 9-year-old lawsuit involving milk marketing practices in the Northeast U.S.

The bad news: July 2018’s Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) margin calculations indicate dairy incomes fell to levels seen earlier in the year. The good news: Milk prices have likely bottomed out.

Efforts to address farm milk prices and the imbalance between milk supply and demand continued in the Midwest last week with a teleconference coordinated by the Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU).

Digest Highlights Farm Bureau calculates potential state-by-state dairy tariff mitigation payments Farm bill conference committee sets public meeting, Sept. 5 Following Iowa murder, bill would mandate use of E-Verify a2 Milk gets Walmart dairy aisle space California bill targets restaurant beverage offerings Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board sets listening session Canadian cow numbers up slightly

As the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Is it possible there are “weak links” in your fresh cow treatment protocols that could set your dairy up for vulnerabilities, either for antibiotic residues or lack of efficacy?