There’s a danger that lurks in the Irish countryside. A hazard waiting latent under the gray skies as one passes the seemingly quiet stone houses, covert with peril. Something that has victimized all those who live there. Something few are spared from.

Dairy farmer Caleb Watson did the ag world proud when he competed in the American Ninja Warrior competition (Atlanta qualifying round) on June 8.

I think we all have that handful of Facebook friends who share everything that has ever been posted about dairy. Health benefits of milk? Share! New research on the positives of GMOs? Share! Cute cow photo? Share! Well I will let you in on a little secret – I am that friend. Yes, that is right. Take a look at my social media pages.

As a kid, I would see pictures of big, new, shiny tractors in the magazines and remember thinking, “One day, I’ll have one of those.” Now, 40-plus years later, I have the willpower to breeze right over those advertisements – because I could never afford one.

Measuring dairy margins is a sport unto itself. It’s not creating a windfall, but the 2016 outlook brightened somewhat, and dairy export volumes hit an 11-month high. This and other U.S. dairy economic news can be found here.

Researchers are looking into the presence of ‘sporeformers,’ on-farm bacteria capable of surviving the pasteurization process and negatively affecting dairy product quality. French-based multinational food company Danone is purchasing WhiteWave Foods. Darigold workers vote to strike. This and other U.S. dairy industry news can be found here.

The House approved the bill to establish a national labeling system for foods produced using biotechnology. The International Dairy Foods Association posted a new taxpayer watchdog’s report calling for elimination of federal milk marketing orders. USDA announced regulatory changes for the handling and inspection of downed veal calves delivered to slaughter plants. This and other U.S. dairy policy news can be found here.

Years after the milk mustache, fluid milk sales can now wear a smile. May 2016 packaged fluid milk sales totaled 4.05 billion pounds, up 0.2 percent from May 2015. Tom Gallagher, chief executive officer of Dairy Management Inc., said the numbers reflect innovation and promotion efforts to revitalize the fluid milk category.

This Dairy Regional Recap compares California Jersey and Holstein income over feed costs and analyzes the state’s quarterly milk production costs; summarizes a New Mexico workers' compensation ruling; looks at Pacific Northwest land values; discovers a new dairy in Arkansas; and rides along with Nebraska’s covered farm vehicle designation. This and other U.S. region-by-region dairy news can be found here.

Every milking parlor is unique in its configuration (i.e., herringbone, parallel, rotary or other variations), staffing levels, milking routine, shift duration, milking equipment and tools (i.e., cluster design, dip cup or spray, etc.), and other characteristics.