Digest Highlights: California producers approve quota plan. NMPF targets "almond milk yogurt" as doubly deceptive. Holstein Association USA had a record year. December margins weaken as milk class prices decline. Find a summary of this and other news here.

A cold front hangs over the country both in terms of temperatures and the near-term outlook for dairy markets. Meanwhile, the USDA updated milk prices, feed costs and income margins from November.

Digest Highlights: National Dairy Board gets new appointees. Pennsylvania cuts over-order premium. California dairy digester deadline nears. Find a summary of this and other news here.

The dairy industry is volatile and unpredictable, and that isn’t likely to change. Dairy managers must embrace and adapt to that mentality to be successful, Michael Swanson, ag economist with Wells Fargo, told dairy producers attending the 2017 Vita Plus Dairy Summit, Dec. 6-7, in Madison, Wisconsin.

The optimism associated with entering a new year is always tempered by the reality of leaving the previous one. Such is the case for those aboard dairy’s train as it moves down the track from 2017 into 2018.

Holstein breeders making sire selection and breeding strategy decisions will have genetic information directly related to herd health beginning in April 2018.

Five dairy producers discussed if and how new genetic evaluations for health traits might be incorporated into their herd management during the Council for Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) annual meeting, held Oct. 3 in conjunction with World Dairy Expo.

Through technology and other tools, the amount of information available to make dairy management decisions continues to grow. That includes reproduction and genetics, where official evaluations will feature six new health traits beginning in April 2018.

November 2017 U.S. milk production grew just 1 percent compared to the same month a year earlier, with weak growth in milk output per cow applying most of the brakes. Nationally, cow numbers remained at a six-month low.

Digest Highlights: Dairy co-op deduction added to tax reform bill. Cooper stepping down as GM at FarmFirst. Dairy exporting will be competitive. Find a summary of these and other news here.