The recent addition of an 80-stall rotary parlor will bring a Wisconsin dairy up to over 5,000 cows between two milking sites. “Efficiency is always the goal,” Chris Matsche says.

A documentary recently released by Portland State University professor Jan Haaken is offering a deeper look into the growing, changing dairy industry from both a small- and large-scale farm angle.

Farmers may be at the start of the supply chain, but they’re frequently squeezed in the middle when it comes to production and label claim demands from activists, consumers and food companies.

This summer’s modest dairy price recovery had many believing global dairy markets had pulled out of a tailspin. After stalling this fall, a brighter outlook is again surfacing among dairy economists, but milk producers should use available risk management tools to protect against another downturn, according to Alan Zepp, risk management program manager at Pennsylvania's Center for Dairy Excellence (CDE).

Lameness can be the most costly disease on dairies, even more so than mastitis. This is due to the high incidence of lameness on dairies. It is not uncommon to find 30 percent yearly incidence or higher on dairies. Yet lameness is one of the least entered and tracked disease.

“I met my husband, Foy, at the 1977 Colorado State Fair in Pueblo, Colorado,” explains Cindy Chapin. “I was the city girl. He was the country boy showing dairy cattle.”

Two hundred is the number to remember. The White family milks 950 Holsteins at Kinnamon Ridge Dairy near Reedsburg, Wisconsin. In 2015, Jerry White planted a newly released, reduced-lignin alfalfa (non-genetically engineered variety). Always looking for ways to improve forage quality, he experimented on 5 acres to see how the new product would perform.

Over the three-month period from June-August, global milk supply and demand began the slow process of rebalancing. Milk production for the top five dairy suppliers (Argentina, Australia, the European Union, New Zealand and the U.S.) fell 1.3 percent. Export volume from those same suppliers grew 6.5 percent over the same period.

Interest in reduced-lignin alfalfa has producers wondering, “Should I grow it?” and dairymen wondering, “Will it give me more milk? And how should I feed it?” David Weakley, director of forage nutrition research for Forage Genetics International, discussed reduced-lignin alfalfa at a World Dairy Expo 2016 seminar.

The Farmers Union says U.S. dairy farm profits averaged about 3 cents per gallon between 2009-14. October margins started flat, but August fluid sales improved. Find those articles and other dairy economic news updates here.