We are all feeling the pinch (or gut punch) of low milk prices these days, but the blow doesn’t have to be as bad as it seems. In fact, it is actually possible to make money right now at a Class III base price of $14 to $15 per hundredweight (cwt).

New Vision Farms is a unique partnership formed by three Ohio farmers, Rob Rettig, Rick Fruth and Mark Schwiebert, who together came up with a unique collaborative approach that has allowed them to continue a successful farming operation that produces popcorn; fresh market green beans; identity-preserved traited and non-GMO soybeans for seed, export and processing; identity-preserved soft red, hard red and hard white winter wheat for seed and milling; and yellow corn.

Digest Highlights

• 2018 dairy cow slaughter highest in three decades 
• Dean Foods considering business options
• Renewable Dairy Fuels expands at Fair Oaks Farms
• GI cheese name restrictions mean severe economic consequences to U.S. dairy
• February Class IV price improves
• Idaho company plans large aseptic milk facility
• Pennsylvania farm bill includes focus on dairy
• Minnesota program offers cash flow loans
• Dairy Forward Pricing Program reauthorized

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue laid out a tentative timeline for implementation of the new Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program before a recent House Ag Committee meeting. Dairy farmers enrolling in the program will likely see the first indemnity payments in early July.

Within the dairy and livestock industry, we spend the majority of our time focused on animal comfort and care. We know this is extremely important; we also know that it is vital to the success of our operations and is highly valued by consumers. But let me ask you this: How much emphasis are we placing on our employees and their comfort and care? Do consumers care? Is it something we should place at a higher level on our management radar?

Mastitis has a large economic impact on a dairy producer’s bottom line. Research indicates the direct and indirect costs, which include veterinary, discarded milk, extra labor, cow mortality, repeat cases and milk losses, amount to $1.7 - $2 billion per year.¹ Preventive protocols are the best option to curb 50-60% of all new cases that occur during the dry period.² Dry cow antibiotic therapy has been the most widely used method until recently. With the movement to reduce antibiotic use and regulations preventing organic dairy farms to use dry cow antibiotic therapy, teat sealants have been added to protocols or even used exclusively.

Dirty cows have a negative impact on milk quality, including greater chances of mastitis and a high somatic cell count (SCC). Dirty cows usually mean a dirty tail, and dirty tails can come from dirty stalls. Long tails are here to stay since the ban of tail docking. But thankfully, managing manure for cow hygiene is more automated than it’s ever been.

Tom Vilsack, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), updated dairy producers and industry representatives on dairy export efforts during the Western Dairy Management Conference on Feb. 26 in Reno, Nevada.

The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, the dairy industry’s on-farm quality assurance program, this week released proposed Animal Care Version 4.0 standards for input from industry stakeholders.

With agriculture and farming in his DNA, Rick Martens is operating a business from the farm that has been in his family for generations. Located 80 miles north of Minneapolis, Minnesota, the century-old dairy farm is no longer home to cows, but now serves as the home base for Martens Manurigation, a custom manure pumping business.