In an effort to take better care of their cows, prevent antibiotic residues and ensure their rights to use various treatments, two dairy producers have taken on a more dynamic approach in working with their veterinarians.

With commodity prices pressuring cropland values lower in most parts of the country, rental rates will need to follow suit for crop production to remain economically viable, according to a new report from Rabobank.

Two USDA reports suggest dairy income margins should improve through the end of 2016. Days later, the Global Dairy Trade index jumped nearly 13 percent.

With the county fair now a memory, we’ve set our sights on the first day of school. Well, Mama has a countdown on the calendar; Tucker is in denial; and Cassidy, who starts 3-year-old preschool two days a week, is cautiously excited.

“Training employees to properly handle cows and heifers in labor is not only important, it is imperative,” says Jenn Bentley, Iowa State University dairy specialist.

As America’s dairy farmers endure the lowest milk prices since the Great Recession of 2009, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) today asked the USDA to provide a measure of relief by purchasing at least $100 million worth of cheese products for donation to the needy – a measure that would help both farmers and food insecure Americans who patronize food banks.

USDA’s June 2016 monthly milk cost of production report showed higher feed prices offset a small increase in milk prices, but that situation improved somewhat in July. Find these and other numbers impacting dairy.

U.S. dairy product exporters shipped 161,882 tons of milk powders, cheese, butterfat, whey and lactose in June, up 5 percent from a year ago and the highest volume since May 2015, according to Alan Levitt of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. Gains were led by record shipments of whey protein concentrate (WPC), offsetting declines in all the other major categories.

With a turnover rate of about one-third of the U.S. dairy herd annually, dairy records can help identify reasons why cows leave the milking herd. The Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) provides one such snapshot of why cows leave Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) herds.

Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa dairy producers will receive about half the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) indemnity money paid out for the May-June period, according to a state-by-state list released by USDA.