Cows take the main stage as characters in many children’s stories, but not all books accurately depict life on a modern dairy farm. Whether the audience is a fourth-grade classroom or your own children, check out these recommended reads that deliver educational messages and even a few laughs.

There is no better time than National Dairy Month to celebrate and promote the dairy industry, and dairy groups are finding creative and festive ways to reach consumers in person and online.

It is routine for Mark Berning to ask all of his teenage employees to consider running for a dairy ambassador or dairy princess title.

Thousands of people, as well as a few cows and goats, will gather for the second annual Kickin’ It With the Cows Run/Walk in De Pere, Wisconsin, on July 7. The event, organized by the Dairy Cares of Wisconsin group, benefits critically ill children in the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

I dance and sing on a daily basis in the calf barn. From a young age, I’ve always loved to do both and found dancing helps relieve stress for me. Everyone deals with stress and, if you’re a dairy farmer, you’re dealing with a ton more stress than the average person right now.

Practice, practice, practice makes perfect, and it is what separates the blue-ribbon winners from the rest in a dairy showmanship competition.

A 2017 Penn State Extension survey revealed four primary motivators for starting a value-added enterprise – maintaining a small family operation, improving profitability, having an interest or passion for processed dairy products, or providing a business opportunity for current and future generations.

Is your farm right for value-added dairy? In most cases, the question asked is: “Is value-added dairy right for your farm?” but maybe it is worth considering the reverse of that question when deciding whether to pursue a value-added dairy operation.

The final piece of the puzzle was finding the right pasteurizer. New Jersey dairy farmer Peter Southway and his family were seeking one that could gently pasteurize their herd’s milk without degrading its integrity and do so with as little time and labor as possible.