Five dairy farm families represented California’s dairy history and future on the California Milk Advisory Board’s “Legacy of Generations” float in the 128th Rose Parade, Jan. 2.

Liquid manure can be costly to handle and haul long distances, causing dairy farms to consider alternative options to just storing everything in a lagoon.

With the objective to develop novel waste-to-resource technologies capable of converting organic wastes into value-added fuel and chemical products, Dr. Dana Kirk, Ph.D., P.E. in biosystems and agricultural engineering at Michigan State University, had his work cut out for him.

Along with the hope milk prices and income margins will increase in 2017, dairy farmers will likely encounter something else they haven’t seen in a while – rising interest rates.

Both the U.S. average milk price and margin over feed cost hit 12-month highs in November, marked improvements compared to earlier this summer, according to monthly summaries from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Have you ever wondered if those additives you put in the feed at such low inclusion rates actually make it to each cow?

The most valuable lesson that I learned growing up on a small dairy in Crawford County, Wisconsin, was the very lesson that I never actually learned. You see, my family forgot to teach me the difference between girl jobs and boy jobs. On our farm, the only body parts that mattered were strong arms and a good back.

As a new year rolls in, the big question is always, “What is your resolution?” Some people want to exercise more, eat less, spend less money, save more, spend more time with family and the list can go on.

Welcome to 2017, folks! It’s a new year with new resolutions ... lose weight, spend less, save more …. The list goes on.

The farmer leaders of the dairy checkoff had a vision in 2012 to construct a “newsroom” with the goal of protecting and building consumer trust in dairy.