Digest Highlights: Proposed Indiana dairy doesn’t violate religious rights. Agency to decide California milk price hike hearing request. Midwest co-op gets a new general manager. Find a summary of this and other news here.

Recently, the AG Act – a guest worker visa program that could provide much-needed labor relief for our industry – was added to the Securing America’s Future Act (SAFA). Thanks to the voices of farmers across the nation, Capitol Hill is beginning to understand that the dairy industry needs a viable work force. However, more support is needed to ensure the AG Act remains included in SAFA.

Wisconsin dairy producers and industry members came in from the bitter cold to hear about hot topics at the fourth annual Dairy Strong conference, held at the Monona Terrace Community & Convention Center in Madison, Wisconsin, Jan. 17-18.

“Trust no one.” “Always trust your instinct.” “Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart.” There are people who have betrayed us who we can’t trust, and there are others whom we would give our PIN number. As we look at our farms, how much trust do you have with your family, business partners, employees and even your advisory team?

In November, America’s trade deficit surged to over $50 billion, ensuring that the 2017 U.S. trade deficit is over $500 billion. In fact, the U.S. has not shown a trade surplus for more than 25 years.

December 2017 U.S. milk production turned in another modest increase, up just 1.1 percent compared to the same month a year earlier. Troubling, however, is that the number of milk cows increased and is now at the highest level since August.

During the Fifth Annual Southeast Quality Milk Initiative Meeting held in Nashville, Tennessee, in November 2017, three representatives from two milk cooperatives sat down in an open panel to discuss current trends of the U.S. milk market.

Projected milk prices aren’t good, and insurable margins using various safety nets and marketing tools aren’t much better, according to Alan Zepp, risk management program manager at Pennsylvania's Center for Dairy Excellence (CDE).

Winter is upon us. Many areas of the dairy need extra attention during the winter months to prevent broken pipes, sick calves, frozen water and, of course, mastitis.

Milk quality is affected by numerous factors, many of which we can control through appropriate management. One major area that encompasses many intertwined factors influencing milk quality is cow comfort, which is the focus of this article.