The spring of 2011 will be recorded as a wet and cool one for central Michigan. I spent two weeks at home in Gratiot County and heard this statement from everyone. Our winter wheat, for instance, is at least three weeks behind its normal growth stage. As of the middle of May, most crop fields had not yet been planted. In any field potholes or depressional areas, water stands, making tillage difficult.

The feature story about demand for fluid milk on the cover of this year’s June Dairy Month issue has been in development for several months. Fluid milk represents a significant portion of U.S. domestic demand. And it’s in trouble again.

(Click here to listen to a podcast of this column.) The other day, my dad, who is nearly 90, was hooking up the horse trailer to haul some cows out on the range. He gripped the steering wheel of the truck and with much effort climbed down and let down the tailgate to let the gooseneck trailer slide into place. He sized up what needed to be done and with equal effort, he climbed back into the truck.

Editor’s note: Ryan Dennis is the son of a dairy farmer from western New York and a literary writer. One of his first published essays originally appeared in Progressive Dairyman in 2009 – “Tempting the Language of Farming.” That essay was nominated for the Pushcart Prize, the most prestigious creative essay awarded to a U.S. essay writer.

Editor, National Milk Producers Federation does not represent the nation’s dairy producers. They represent co-ops and processors. In their new FFTF policy, they want to eliminate the minimum pay price and have us buy gross margin insurance to protect our losses. You cannot buy enough to make yourself profitable.

During Christmas of 2010, I was assigned to Embassy Islamabad, Pakistan. I wrote four articles about the assignment there. One day about the end of December, I received a Christmas package from my wife, Sandy. In it was the book “Three Cups of Tea” written by Greg Mortenson.

Progressive Dairyman is excited to bring you a second year of the Ice Cream Flavor Face-Off. This year, 16 competitors battle it out for the title of champion flavor. Learn about Thrifty Chocolate Malted Crunch, represented by California dairy producer Ray Prock, Jr., and Blue Moon, represented by Progressive Dairyman Midwest Editor Karen Lee.

Progressive Dairyman is excited to bring you a second year of the Ice Cream Flavor Face-Off. This year, 16 competitors battle it out for the title of champion flavor. Learn about Blue Bell Southern Blackberry Cobbler, represented by Kentucky native and Progressive Dairyman Editorial Intern Ariel Waldeck, and Vanilla Bean, represented by Indiana dairy producer Leontien VandeLaar.

Progressive Dairyman is excited to bring you a second year of the Ice Cream Flavor Face-Off. This year, 16 competitors battle it out for the title of champion flavor. Learn about Chocolate Fudge Brownie, represented by Ohio dairy producer Brenda Hastings, and Blue Bunny Cookies 'n Cream, represented by Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley.

Two years ago we requested a few randomly selected U.S. producers in all regions of the country take a readership survey. Thankfully, many of them participated.