Without getting into specifics, U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue said the USDA’s “principles” for the 2018 Farm Bill will include a stronger safety net for farmers “to weather times of economic stress without distorting markets or increasing shallow loss payments.”

Digest Highlights: Two California dairy producers groups asked the state ag department for a public hearing to plea for an emergency hike in milk prices. U.S. Jersey breeders are funding research into A2 milk. New York court dismisses lawsuit seeking collective bargaining rights for farm workers. Find a summary of this and other news here.

I usually tend to reflect on the various changes we made on the farm at the end of the year; weighing the pros and cons of our adjustments. This year though, I realized the biggest transformation on the farm was me.

With milk production growth expected to continue, the U.S. dairy industry must build up domestic markets while developing a greater international market presence, a panel of dairy leaders told participants at the 2018 Dairy Strong, held Jan. 17-18, in Madison, Wisconsin.

Relationships throughout the dairy supply chain – from the farm to the table – are changing. One touchpoint feeling the biggest impact regards dairy farmers and their supply contracts with milk buyers.

Early in 2017, milk market security weighed heavily on our minds. While our market is safe and our creamery has not dropped any patrons, we were looking for ways to be more profitable and secure a future market for our milk. Now, just a year later, I’m selling my very own Moore Family Farms cheese.

Since the introduction of the Babcock butterfat tester almost 130 years ago, dairy producers and milk processors have been analyzing the content of milk to improve quality and profitability. More recently, tools have been developed to monitor pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs), beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and milk urea nitrogen (MUN) to better manage the health status and nutrition of dairy cows.

Successful business people and achievers in all fields set goals. Setting goals gives us long-term vision and short-term motivation. The short-term goals we set for ourselves allow us to stay on track toward achieving our long-term dreams and visions.

There is no bigger football game each year than the Super Bowl. It’s a time for fans to gather for parties where food is almost as much of a focus as the game is. And dairy has a key place on the gameday menu.

Scours is the primary cause of calf death before weaning. It can be a devastating disease infecting many animals, resulting in expensive treatments and negatively impacting the animal’s long-term health and performance.