I really love cows, but where does this passion come from? Growing up on the farm, you just assume your love of animals comes from spending time with them. But then I found it in my DNA.

Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) introduces Dairy AdvanCE, a new online, one-stop professional development shop for the dairy industry.

“Start early and communicate often with your family about how you are thinking about transferring the farm business and land,” Teresa Opheim said, who works on farm transition issues for Practical Farmers of Iowa and Renewing the Countryside.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report raised the 2017 milk production forecast, citing expectations the U.S. dairy herd will grow during the year. Projected milk output per cow was reduced slightly from last month’s forecast.

“Angels don’t always come in white robes with wings; angels also can come as little Brown Swiss heifers.” —Anita van der Laan

Nothing beats the life of a farm kid. By the time our kids hit 3-year-old preschool (which is a thing in Iowa, a wonderful, wonderful thing), they know how to care for animals, they have a great sense of responsibility and, in the Moore house, they can make their own sandwich.

Times are tough for farmers across the nation, who are suffering through everything from low milk prices to severe labor shortages. Now, more than ever, dairy producers of all sizes – and the allied businesses that support them – are seeing how federal policy, such as immigration executive actions, EPA overregulation and more, directly impact the future viability of our businesses.

In February, I participated in the 2017 Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge contest in Madison, Wisconsin. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a contest where one sits at a table and chugs a gallon of milk faster than the next person without throwing up. Although something of the sort would have been epic, I am thankful I was not asked to do so.

Too many of the nation’s dairy farmers are facing an ongoing, daunting challenge: finding enough American workers to fill jobs on their farms, even when they provide wages higher than those paid by other local jobs.

Chrissy Meyer has roots on a small Wisconsin dairy farm, but her career has taken her overseas, where she has visited dairies in countries like the Netherlands, Italy and Wales. See how dairying in these places is not so different from the U.S. in these photos.