Each year as the bottom drops out of the thermometer and winter storms begin to blow through, farmers come up with all kinds of creative ways to stay warm. Some of these strategies have the potential of exposing them, their families and employees to excessive levels of carbon monoxide (CO). In some cases, this exposure can prove to be deadly.

Dairy regulators recently launched a new pilot program to watch for tetracycline traces in milk on July 1. The new monitoring program will test milk for tetracycline antibiotics such as oxytetracycline, tetracycline and chlortetracycline.

Bosscher Dairy in McBain, Michigan, earned the top spot in Northstar Cooperative’s Performance Summary report, achieving an average somatic cell count of 55,000.

Travel north on U.S. 131 through Michigan’s mitten. In the rear-view mirror lie fertile fields and expansive farms. Ahead lie timber, hunters’ paradise and Michigan’s playground of forests, lakes and outdoor sports.

Ten days after the announcement of a merger between two of the top dairy cattle genetics companies, representatives say that some things will be changing, while others will stay the same, at least for now.

Shades, misters and fans are all in place and running, but it’s still a hot summer day. You know the cows are starting to feel the effects of the heat because they aren’t eating as much. What else can you do? Protect them by changing their diet.

Three of the five largest dairy states saw May 2017 milk production decline from May 2016, but overall U.S. production was up 1.8 percent, according to the USDA’s monthly Milk Production report. Output was down in California, Idaho and Wisconsin, mostly attributed to less milk per cow.

Digest Highlights: An injunction halts Arla’s ad campaign involving rbST. Facility audit agreement gives more access to dairy markets in China. April fluid milk sales faltered. You can be a National Dairy Board director. Find a summary of these and other dairy news here.

Precision agriculture innovation continues to provide farmers with improved technologies that are becoming more affordable. Precision dairy management provides a way to gather data that enables farmers to make immediate decisions based on real-time herd statistics.

Lawsuits regarding use of dairy terms to market non-dairy products had different results in the U.S. and European Union (EU).