Proposed changes to U.S. tax law may affect only a few dairies, at least until milk prices rebound into profitable territory. Dairy industry accountants mostly agree that the components of a bill that is currently being reconciled by Congress will be “tax neutral” as it relates to any dairy operation income. It’s also unlikely the current discussion about tax revisions, if signed into law, will provide any significant changes to current year (2017) tax filings.

1. “A lovely thing about Christmas is that it’s compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.” – Songs of Exile, Garrison Keillor Winter is a struggle for me, as for most farmers, I expect. The time spent unthawing frozen pipes and hoses and waterers, moving snow, putting down extra bedding, feeding cows in the barn … it seems to consume every available hour. Add a few Christmas parties, a couple of 5:30 dinners in town, a quick trip out of town, gifts and Christmas concerts, and it gets overwhelming in a hurry.

This holiday season, I’m giving myself a very special gift: low expectations. Last year was my first Christmas as a married woman, and I had big plans.

As the tinsel and the garlands begin to grace the trees and the glitter of Christmas fills the stores, I remember Christmases past when the children were home. It was never the perfect Hallmark Christmas where smells of cinnamon and spice permeate a spotless kitchen, and the pies and decorative breads line the counters.

Even though it happened many years ago, lots of Americans remember Dec. 7, 1941, as Pearl Harbor Day. It was the day Japan attacked the U.S., without a declaration of war, and killed thousands of Americans and destroyed so much of our naval force and air force at Pearl Harbor.

In an age of alternative facts, spin doctors and stilted media outlets, it is up to the individual to question the information he or she is given. It is no longer enough to be told something or to see it on the television.

I used to be organized. I was the Type A person who carried their Franklin Covey planner around like a baby. Then I married a dairy farmer, started farming with him, had kids, started homeschooling and ran a business out of our home. Things got crazy and unorganized fast.

On the first day of Christmas, my milk check was sent to me. That’s all it was. An official check – with no commas.

No matter how hard I try to think of topics that are strictly farm related, I always sit down and seemingly pour my heart out to the blank page about something that comes out sounding more like a Sunday sermon than a dairy farmer’s blog post.

Winter is a tough time of year regardless of how you milk your cows. Things freeze. Snow, ice and cold are here. Things take longer than they should. Winter was tough when we milked in our parlor, but making the switch to robots meant completely relearning winter.