Digest Highlights

• Two Texas ‘ports’ critical to U.S. dairy trade with Mexico
• USDA offers $1.5 million in dairy innovation grants
• Limits raised on farm loans available through the USDA
• Georgia dairy producers approve state promotion program
• Breakfast carts reaching 200 schools
• States suing the USDA over school nutrition program changes
• Global Dairy Trade index up again
• More cow culling expected to pressure prices
• AFBF’s Newton reviews U.S. dairy supply management efforts
• Petition seeks end to California QIP

The Dairy Revenue Protection (Dairy-RP) program is hitting a milestone date in its six-month existence: On April 22, the USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) will announce average prices used to calculate potential indemnity payments for milk revenue covered during the first quarter of 2019, according to Robin Schmahl with AgDairy LLC.

With the 2018 Farm Bill and midterm elections in play, dairy organizations spent about $7.4 million on lobbying efforts in 2018 and another $3.5 million in political contributions in the 2017-18 election cycle, according to latest estimates from the Center for Responsive Politics.

No two days in my life are the same. I work with a very diverse group of nutritionists and dairy producers so that no two days repeat themselves. Let me give you a grand overview.

If you already do a good job with feeding management and monitoring pre-fresh cows, then implementing a moderate negative dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) diet is just adding some minerals. Cows on a moderate DCAD diet are mildly metabolically acidified with a urine pH of 6 to 7, which gives you a little safety measure if DCAD drift occurs.

Have you chosen to put your breeding strategy in high gear? If so, that means beef semen may be a part of your genetic planning process.

It is well understood that the basis of any relationship is good communication. This applies to any relationship, friendship, business acquaintance, etc., in your life. As a dairy owner or manager, communicating with your employees is a key aspect of keeping things running smoothly.

Moisture management is critical to putting up high-quality hay. If baling is done when the hay is too wet, producers risk the possibility of mold, fungi and yeast growth, leading to excessive heating as well as the development of harmful mycotoxins. Conversely, as hay dries out, leaf loss increases, which reduces tonnage, nutrient levels and profits.

Farm security is not always top of mind for producers, but unfortunately, it’s necessary to protect the safety of your animals, people on your property and your livelihood. Animal rights activists will go to great lengths to portray animal agriculture negatively, ranging from getting hired to record misleading videos to trespassing to holding large-scale protests at farms.

Initially, smaller farms installed robotic milking systems because they wanted improved lifestyle and labor flexibility. It also allowed them to milk more cows without hiring labor. More recently, larger farms are considering robots because of the challenge of finding hired labor. We continue to get questions about actual labor savings, expected robot lifespan and repair costs. The true experts on these topics are the robot users.