Progressive Dairy

Dairy Margin Coverage margin drops to $10.94 in July

Stumbling feed costs weigh down the margin above feed cost for a DMC program margin of $10.94 per cwt.

September 2, 2025

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its Agricultural Prices report Aug. 29, which includes feed costs and milk prices used to calculate the July Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program margins and indemnity payments.

Annie G's Dairy: First-of-its-kind milk vending machine debuts in the U.S.

Annie G’s Dairy in Michigan installed a vending machine that allows customers to fill glass bottles with their choice of several milk flavors.

September 2, 2025

Bev Berens

The final piece of their 10-year goal was to sell milk from their farm in a value-added format. Cheese, ice cream, fluid milk – each was researched and on the table. A 2021 trip to Ireland introduced Dave and Kat Mageean to the European design of milk vending machine that they are now using, where customers fill and cap glass bottles themselves using the same concept as a convenience store fountain drink dispenser.

Nontraditional transitions in dairy farming

Mentorship, leasing and partnership are some of the ways to transition the farm to a trusted individual that is not part of the family.

September 2, 2025

Bill Oppreicht

Transitioning a dairy operation through lease, sale or partnership involves more complexity than many other farm enterprises. This article discusses some key areas that require careful attention.

Genomic tools help us manage genetic defects

Genetic defects result from errors in biology that we can’t control; however, new tools that help us identify these defects and genomics are a key in managing them.

September 1, 2025

John Cole

There is perhaps nothing more discouraging on the farm than visiting the maternity pen and finding a calf that displays an abnormality. Developmental defects like this can be caused by something in the environment. Other times, they’re caused by changes in an animal’s DNA that can be passed on from parent to offspring.

A safer farm makes a stronger farm: Virginia dairy wife creates emergency kits

Katie Hammock created emergency kits and sells them to farmers. This way, farmers can feel more at ease doing their day-to-day work.

September 1, 2025

Frances Pierce

Katie Hammock has been passionate about the medical field for a long time and wanted to bridge that passion with her deep-rooted background in dairy farming. Hammock made this possible when she created emergency farm kits to sell to farmers. Her mission grew to educate, equip and empower farm families.

Improve reproduction and heat stress management, one data point at a time

Harness monitoring technology not just to combat heat stress but to identify and breed cows naturally equipped to thrive in warmer temperatures to ensure a more resilient herd for the future.

August 29, 2025

Tera Baker

Dairies using activity monitoring technology to measure the effects of heat stress on their cows can unlock a valuable opportunity: integrating this data into breeding decisions as part of a comprehensive, data-driven herd management strategy.

Striking a balance: Genetic superiority vs. age

New genetics do not always equal higher profitability. Take a look at your herd and see where you stand to improve.

August 29, 2025

Jeff Ziegler

The days of just making dairy replacement females as fast and furious as possible have taken a back seat to making just enough of the “right” replacement heifers to minimize rising raising costs and maintaining the proper heifer inventories for replacing milking cows that leave the herd.

Weekly Digest: CoBank reports dairy heifer inventories expected to shrink further over next two years

August 28, 2025

Karen Lee

In dairy-related news at the end of August 2025: a CoBank report shows dairy heifer inventories to shrink further before rebounding in 2027, checkoff launches an innovation contest for students, World Dairy Expo announces new trade show booth awards, and Dairy MAX names a new CEO.

Considerations for balancing a fat budget

Understanding the digestibility of fatty acids can help fine-tune our ration costs and identify where we can find nutritional and economic opportunities.

August 28, 2025

Katie Raver

While there is still opportunity to further fine-tune the fat budget in our rations as research is devoted in this area, current tools give greater insight as to what strategies are working and which need further adjustments. Who knows, maybe someday balancing our rations with fat will be as easy as balancing that checkbook.

[Podcast] The Future of Milk: Innovation and Consumer Trends Reshaping Consumption

August 28, 2025

DMI’s Anne Marie Splitstone, EVP for Growth Platforms and Partnerships, and Silvia Robles, VP for Growth Platforms and Partnerships, speak with DMI’s Scott Wallin about the evolution of fluid milk innovation since 2015, emphasizing consumer insights and industry partnerships.