Three Wisconsin dairies and one Minnesota dairy farm will be featured at this year’s World Dairy Expo, participating in the event’s virtual farm tours, which are presented daily to showcase a variety of farm aspects including genetics, technology, community engagement, environmental stewardship, cow comfort and multi-generations. ... Read more
MADISON — Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Brad Pfaff couldn’t help but smile as he addressed the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin board of directors last Wednesday, June 19. He recognized a lot of familiar faces and was reminded of the time when his own father served on the former Wisconsin Milk M…
The evening of May 11, 2019, will forever hold a special place in my heart. That night, in an auditorium filled with members of the Wisconsin agriculture community, I heard my name called to serve as our state’s 72nd Alice in Dairyland. As a farm girl since day one, agriculture has been my p…
The Agriculture Department lowered its 2019 milk production estimate for the seventh month in a row in the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, blaming slower-than-anticipated growth in milk per cow and lower expected cow numbers. The 2020 forecast was also reduced a…
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has certified the board of directors election results for the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, formerly known as the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
The Agriculture Department’s monthly benchmark milk price has reached the highest level in more than a year and a half. The May Federal order Class III price was announced at $16.38 per hundredweight, up 42 cents from April, $1.20 above May 2018, and the highest Class III price since November 2017.
With fewer family dairy farms scattered throughout the countryside, the job of the milk tester has utterly changed as well.
INDEPENDENCE — When George Gierok has to track down a stray member of his dairy herd, he just has get to the top of a hill and have a listen.
The Hoard Historical Museum and National Dairy Shrine in Fort Atkinson will be hosting the fifth annual Dairy Day at the MOOseum on Saturday, June 15, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event highlights the importance of dairy farming, past and present, and is free to attend.
PLATTEVILLE — Out of 51 recommendations brought forward by Dairy Task Force 2.0 earlier this year, one in particular has received a significant amount of attention from both members of the task force and allies in Wisconsin’s dairy industry.
Cash dairy prices were mixed in the shortened Memorial Day holiday week as the market was somewhat starved for information.
TAYLOR — Steve and Pat Kling were celebrating an anniversary during the May 16 Coulee Graziers Pasture Walk hosted by the couple.
The Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin marketing team took home a gold award for their Wisconsin Cheese brand activation at the 2019 Association of National Advertisers REGGIE Awards competition recently.
The May 17 announcement that the U.S. would lift steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada and Mexico drew praise from dairy producers and processors this week and raised hopes in the dairy industry. Mexico, in turn, lifted its retaliatory tariffs against U.S. cheese exports. The break in the log…
The talk of the week was China’s retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. on $60 billion of goods in response to President Donald Trump’s upping the ante by raising tariffs on imports from China.
Galen Emanuele will bring his encouraging message, “Create a ‘Yes’ Culture on Your Farm,” to the 2019 National Holstein Convention in Appleton. He will speak from noon to 1:20 p.m. Thursday, June 27.
PRAIRIE FARM — If not for the many twisted, broken trees, little evidence remains of the vicious tornado that ripped through the Cory and Janelle Picknell farm two years ago, tearing the roof off the barn as Cory, his sons and the family dog huddled, terrified, in the corner.
The Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association recently announced that Dave Buholzer of Klondike Cheese Company, Monroe, has been elected to serve as president of the board of directors, beginning July 1.
John Peterson has plenty on his mind these days with a wet spring pushing back the start of planting season.
The Wisconsin Holstein Association will host the 2019 National Holstein Convention, with a theme of “Making Legendairy Leaps,” on June 24-27 in Appleton.
Consumers have a lot of misconceptions about agriculture and the dairy industry, according to Dave Styer of Alfalawn Farm near Menomonie. Styer said his family’s farm allows them the opportunity to better educate the public.
UNITY — Leading up to a May 9 pasture walk on his dairy farm, Jimmy Bloome was a little concerned about the state of his pastures.
It had been 12 years since the Raethke family had hosted a dairy breakfast on their R Green Acres farm. So when they heard the Pepin County Dairy Promotion Council had host farms lined up for the next few years but were still looking for a host for the 2019 breakfast, the Raethkes decided to…
BROWNTOWN — The 40th edition of the Green County Breakfast on the Farm will be held on May 25 at the Minder Family Farm, a fourth-generation dairy farm that supplies the U.S’s only Limburger cheese plant in Monroe. The annual event runs from 6 to 10 a.m. and features breakfast, live musical …
Wisconsin dairy farmer Dean Strauss of Majestic Crossing Dairy was presented with a national award for Outstanding Dairy Farm Sustainability at the eighth annual U.S. Dairy Sustainability Award ceremony May 8 in Rosemont, Ill. The farm was one of three national winners in their category.
Dairy Pricing Association, a Capper-Volstead cooperative in Taylor, has completed its first purchase of whole milk powder for distribution to humanitarian causes overseas while simultaneously removing milk from a saturated market to boost farmgate milk prices.
With the number of dairy farms in Wisconsin in decline, many counties are struggling to find hosts for their dairy breakfasts or have moved their events off the farm.
BANGOR — For a couple of days at the end of March, the future didn’t look promising for the La Crosse County Dairy Breakfast.
The dairy industry’s continued woes were the subject of the first hearing this year for the U.S. House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture. The hearing was held April 30 in Washington, D.C.
Dairy farmers got a bit of welcomed relief with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s May Day announcement of the new class and component prices for April, as the Class III milk price rose almost $1, to $15.96 per hundredweight.
JEFFERSON — The Kutz family welcomed nearly 700 students, 35 teachers and 151 adult chaperones from 21 different Jefferson County schools to their dairy farm on May 1 for the 26th Annual Fourth Grade Farm Tour. The free field trip is sponsored by the Jefferson County Farm Bureau and the Jeff…
MADISON — In urban hubs across China, young people are lining up by the hundreds to try a new product: cheese tea. Promoted by a tea store called HEYTEA, the specialty tea is made with a layer of cream cheese whipped topping floating on top, with HEYTEA representatives claiming the salty che…
U.S. dairy officials on April 26 lauded the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office for denouncing Europe’s anti-trade agenda against common-name food products and pursuing avenues to preserve U.S. export access rights.
MADISON — According to K.J. Burrington of the Center for Dairy Research, farmers and others in the industry have been asking about how dairy-based and plant-based products compare for a while now, making it a timely topic for the recent Dairy Exchange, a dairy-centered forum held four times …
The Leader has confirmed that the former F&A Dairy plant and facility in Dresser will be closed in less than six weeks, according to information relayed to employees and Dresser village officials from the new owners, Canadian-based Saputo Cheese.
Menomonie veterinarian Robert (Bob) Dean Cleary died peacefully at home on April 2 with family by his side.
MADISON — Those interested in custom heifer raising were in the right place at the right time on April 10 as three men involved in this specialized business shared insights as part of a panel discussion at the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association’s conference.
MADISON — Members of the Governor’s Dairy Task Force 2.0 met via teleconference last week to review results of a priority survey and discuss the next steps as they prepare to present a document to Gov. Tony Evers detailing their recommendations.
MADISON — Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at UW-Madison, sees thousands of samples come through his lab each year. Many of the samples come from farmers with concerns about calf scours who are looking to the lab to provide answers.
For the better part of 50 years, milkfat has gotten a bad rap with consumers. Meanwhile, the U.S. dairy industry has continued to fight a seemingly uphill battle touting the health benefits of whole milk.
Select Sires shared news recently that 7HO9264 Lirr Drew Dempsey has passed away. Ryan, Randy and Robert Nigh of Viroqua were the bull’s breeders.
RIVER FALLS — Don’t look at an on-farm creamery as a way to save the dairy farm.
The Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin has announced its 2019-20 board of directors and Executive Committee, re-electing incumbents Jay Heeg as president, Katy Schultz as vice president and Dan Scheider as secretary, and naming Janet Clark as new treasurer.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is offering a new grant program to help Minnesota dairy producers move from Grade B status to Grade A status and help Grade A producers maintain their status.
Jill Stahl Tyler and Karen Nielsen have quite a bit in common. They both grew up on farms in the Midwest — Jill on a dairy farm in northern Illinois and Karen on a beef operation in northern Wisconsin. They also share a love for dairy, but most importantly, they share a passion to help educa…
PHLOX — Esquirrou, a sheep’s milk cheese from France, captured the grand prize at the last World Championship Cheese Contest.
Allen Merrill, a dairy farmer from Parker, S.D., has been re-elected chairman of Midwest Dairy.
Cooperatives Working Together member cooperatives have announced that, effective April 1, it will accept bids for consideration for pasteurized process cheese, cream cheese and anhydrous milkfat.
There’s no denying the importance of milk quality and mastitis management. Mastitis management is considered to be most important in lactating cows, but many dairy producers may not have considered how to manage for mastitis in heifers and dry cows.