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Scarred from the volatility that has trampled the world dairy markets in the last three-and-a-half years, traders have grabbed onto Fonterra’s monthly commodity auction as a new global benchmark.

In Florida, the old joke is that farmers measure corn silage yields in tons per acre and forage sorghum yields in board feet. But new, highly digestible brown midrib (BMR) varieties of forage sorghum change all that.

Since Elanco acquired Posilac from Monsanto in 2008, it has made re-education about the dairy production technology a priority. The Indiana-based company has reached out to the entire dairy food chain to promote Posilac’s safety and its role in affordability and sustainability, says Dennis Erpelding, director of corporate affairs for Elanco’s international business division.

After months of depressed milk prices and high feed costs, most dairies have cut costs beyond what they ever thought was possible. Going forward, however, it may be time to re-evaluate some of these changes, or even consider adding some components back to the inputs to improve efficiency.

The dairy industry was addressing global warming long before that was cool. We’re producing 59% more milk with 64% fewer cows than in 1944. We use 77% less feed, 65% less water, 90% less land, produce 76% less manure and have a 63% smaller carbon footprint per gallon of milk produced than we did 66 years ago.

After months of planning, Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), has finally started to detail his organization’s proposal to revitalize U.S. dairy policy for the 21st century.

The NMPF plan takes the leap: letting the market set prices, eliminating dairy price supports and make allowances, offering a limited safety net of margin insurance.

Milk prices will be better in 2010, but how high will we go, and will it be enough?

Key finding: Increasing population is key to increasing tonnage. In addition, narrow-row silage production increased tonnage without compromising quality as measured in milk tons per acre.

With tightening margins, higher feed cost and more attention to environmental consequences, there are opportunities to refocus on just how much or how little protein is needed to sustain high production and returns to the herd.