Uber, Lyft, Google’s self-driving car, smartphones – each of these is the outgrowth of a rapidly evolving and disruptive trend often referred to by its acronym, “CASE.” No, we aren’t referring to the trusted brand of tractor or machine, but rather the four key dynamic forces coming together to reshape our world: connected, autonomous, shared, electric.

Every Sunday after church, we go to the grocery store as a family. When I’m on top of things, I have a meal plan and a comprehensive list organized by aisle. Most weeks, we wing it and try to buy all of the ingredients for our standby meals. We’ve been in this routine for quite a while, but prior to January, one aisle had never made our list.

Back in my mid-20s, I dated a German girl from a rich family. Her father was appalled she was with someone not wealthy. I eventually learned that he often said, in German, I looked like a homeless person. I told that to a friend over the phone, and the line went silent as he thought of a way to be kind.

I ran to the end of the road to catch the mailman. Well, it was more like a jog. Actually, it was a fast-paced walk. In all honesty, I strolled to the end of the road as if on a Sunday drive and yelled at the top of my lungs for the mailman to wait.

Making the move to a robotic milking system can have a big impact on the finances of a farm as well as the well-being and quality of life of the animals and people involved.

A question faced by many dairy farmers is whether or not they should grow their own forages. In most cases, dairy farms already own or have access to many acres on which they spread their manure. It makes sense they would utilize that same acreage to grow some portion of the forages needed to feed their herds.

Editor's note: CEO Corners are editors' compilations of business news from top publications, which they have tailored for the dairy industry. If you want to be a great leader on your dairy, the cover story from Harvard Business Review for May/June 2017 is a great place to start. The article, “What sets successful CEOs apart,” summarizes a research study that aimed to identify the common characteristics of great CEOs. More than 17,000 CEOs and their performance were reviewed. The research found great CEOs are decisive, engaged, adaptive and consistent.

Building the right calf barn may mean looking outside the dairy industry for inspiration. For Dave Endres, owner of Endres Jazzy Jerseys, a 900-cow Jersey dairy in Lodi, Wisconsin, this meant borrowing the all-in, all-out style commonly seen in hog operations.

Nearly all Wisconsin and Minnesota producers whose existing marketing contracts were terminated on May 1 have collectively breathed a sigh of relief: There’s a home for their milk, at least temporarily.

Midwestern U.S. milk marketing cooperative Family Dairies USA implemented a temporary “base” program, effective May 1, to help manage growing milk supplies.