Dairy producers make decisions on cows every day. And some of those decisions are based upon milk production. Normally, this might be a monthly DHI test or data coming off an electronic metering system. But how do you really know what that cow means to your bottom line?

My daughter received a book when she was born titled Click, Clack, Moo. Maybe some of you are familiar with it. In the book the cows have developed a most clever form of communication in which they send typewritten notes to “Farmer Brown,” demanding certain amenities such as heated blankets. When they don’t receive the items requested, they lock themselves in the barn and go on strike. I wonder what the cows on our farm would request if they could type? What would yours want?

USDA’s monthly report estimated that March 2017 U.S. milk production was up 1.8 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, the smallest year-over-year increase since August 2016. But despite the slowdown, increasing cow numbers in most major dairy states would indicate dairy farmers started spring with both feet on the accelerator. It was winter weather-related problems in the West that reduced the overall speed of growth.

A popular thought in the ag world is that we need to be concerned about how to increase production in order to feed the projected 9 billion people on the earth by 2050. Much research has been put into how to increase production, which has yielded spectacular results in many different commodities.

Clinical mastitis is an ongoing problem on almost every dairy. We know what causes it, but prevention is another story, according to Dr. Nigel Cook, a professor at the University of Wisconsin. In his experience, around 15 percent of cows on dairies have clinical mastitis, but Cook sees opportunities to reduce that incidence with proper barn design and management.

Forty-four Wisconsin dairy farms producing about 500,000 pounds of milk per day are still hunting for a market home for their milk, with their current market access closing on May 1, according to Ben Brancel, secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

Editor's note: CEO Corners are editors' compilations of business news from top publications, which they have tailored for the dairy industry. Given current dairy labor shortages, many producers are looking to automation to decrease their labor needs. But the dairy industry isn’t the only industry that finds automation attractive. McKinsey & Company, a global research and consulting firm, just released its top 10 list of the most popular business articles for the first quarter of 2017. Guess what topped the list? Automation.

We’ve been surveying readers lately – both in print and in person. One of the most intriguing things I’ve learned is: You don’t have much time to read, if you have any time for it at all.

Like their counterparts in conventional dairy farming, organic dairy farmers currently face an excess supply environment. However, rising demand points to a bright future for the U.S. organic milk industry, according to a new report from CoBank. Organic milk generates the highest sales of any certified organic commodity, and steady demand growth will lift organic fluid milk market share and further stimulate product innovation.

See A Need “I don’t want to be a dairy farmer.” These are not the words dairy farmers want to hear from their children. “We have spent a lifetime building our dairy business, and now we do not know who we will pass it on to.” These sentiments ripple across the dairy community.