Dairy - General

A Place to Work and a Place to Live: How One Dairy Provides Housing for Nearly All of Its Employees

Fri, 15 May 2026 16:50:55 GMT

On dairy farms across the country, the labor challenge no longer stops at hiring. Producers are working to build operations where employees want to stay long term, raise families and create a life in rural communities.

But in some areas, one of the biggest obstacles has become housing. Affordable rentals are scarce and employees willing to work on farms often struggle to find a place to live nearby.

At Brey Cycle Farm in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., employee housing has become part of the long-term business strategy. What started with one farmhouse has grown into a network of homes, apartments and rentals that now house nearly the farm’s entire workforce.

“Providing housing has become a huge part of what we do,” says Moriah Brey, one of the farm’s four owners. “At the end of the day, farming is about people too. If I can help someone build a better life and give their family a safe place to call home, that’s incredibly rewarding for me.”

For the Breys, employee housing has become another part of running the dairy. Alongside managing cows, crops and employees, the family now manages a growing network of homes tied closely to the farm’s workforce.

(Brey Cycle Farm)

More Than a Place to Live

Brey and her family milk 1,500 cows, raise their own youngstock and operate a direct-to-consumer beef business. Along the way, they’ve also built an employee housing program that has become a central part of how the farm operates day to day and supports the people behind it.

“We have about 25 employees and we house 23 of them,” Brey explains. “Thirteen of them live with their families, and then 10 live as individual guys.”

To make that work, the farm owns 11 houses and rents another five. That’s 16 homes to manage alongside everything else the dairy requires.

“We joke that we’ve become a property management company,” Brey says with a laugh. “Honestly, we probably do need to hire someone for it. Managing all the houses and properties has become a big part of what we do.”

But behind the joke is a serious reality. Housing has become a big part of how they support and retain their workforce.

Why They Stepped into Housing

Brey Cycle Farm has had employee housing in some form for nearly two decades. But things really took off when the family began using the TN visa program to bring in workers from Mexico.

“As we started using the TN visa program, one of the requirements is that you provide housing,” Brey says. “That really got things going. We’ve always had one house on the farm that an employee has lived in. But as the farm has grown, the housing has grown with it.”

(Brey Cycle Farm)

Today, many of their employees came through that program, and most arrived alone at first.

“At first, when people come here through the TN visa program, they’re usually arriving on their own,” Brey explains. “In those first few weeks, they typically live in housing near the farm. Once their families join them, each family moves into their own house.”

Brey emphasizes the housing they provide is designed for privacy and stability, not shared living.

“We make sure the housing fits their situation,” she says. “Everyone has their own room, and when families arrive, we move them into a home of their own, whether that’s a house we own or one we rent.”

In Door County, where the farm sits, tourism drives up demand for rentals, and vacancy rates are low, leaving few affordable options close to work.

“Up here, it can be really difficult to find a place to stay,” Brey says. “We’re not close to an urban area, and Door County has about a 1.5% apartment vacancy rate. It’s extremely low, so finding housing is a real challenge and it’s part of why this has become so necessary.”

From Farmhouses to New Housing Options

Over time, the Breys have built a patchwork of housing. One recent addition came together in Sturgeon Bay, where they added a four-plex with four apartments and a shared outdoor space that has quickly become a gathering spot for employee families.

“It’s got four two-bedroom apartments in this really cute building with a big backyard where we’re going to put a swing set,” Brey says. “The group of employees who moved there were just so grateful. There are a few places where people naturally hang out, and this has become one of them. It really feels like a little family there.”

Brey Cycle Farm

(Brey Cycle Farm)

At another property, one employee now lives close enough that his children ride the same school bus as the Brey children.

“We moved this gentleman to a mobile home down the road from us,” Brey says. “So now his kids are on the same bus as my kids, and it’s just so cool.”

For the Breys, each home is more than just a property. It’s tied to the people who help run the farm and the relationships they’ve built over time.

Rent, Utilities and Expectations

Housing on the Brey farm is not free, but it comes at a reduced cost. The goal, Brey says, is to keep housing affordable while still asking employees to take care of where they live.

“We do charge rent, but it’s heavily subsidized,” Brey explains. “If you live as a family, you pay a little more. If you live as an individual, you pay a little less. But it’s still well below what a house would normally cost.”

The farm also covers many of the utilities in most homes, including heat, propane and internet. With that setup, expectations around upkeep become part of the day-to-day conversation. Small things like thermostats, trash and general housekeeping can add up quickly if they are not addressed early.

“Just assuming everyone is going to do things the way you would is not how it works,” Brey says. “Sometimes we go into a house and find the heat turned way up or a smoke detector unplugged.”

To stay ahead of those issues, the farm relies on frequent communication and simple reminders shared with employees to reinforce expectations around upkeep and utilities.

“We started putting reminders in their paychecks to keep things top of mind,” she explains.

(Brey Cycle Farm)

More recently, the farm has also adjusted how they handle some utility costs, including charging employees for a portion of electricity use tied to each home.

“We started charging for a portion of electricity use because it’s something we can track by house,” she says. “Other utilities are harder to separate out, so we still cover those.”

Even with those adjustments, Brey says the goal is not to police employees, but to create a system that is practical and easy to manage for everyone involved.

“These people are very capable,” Brey says. “It’s really just about making the system simple and workable for everyone.”

Spreadsheets, Clipboards and Managing the Homes

Managing 16 homes has added an entirely new layer to the dairy’s operation. Between utilities, maintenance, repairs and communication with employees, housing now requires regular organization and oversight.

“We have this huge spreadsheet,” Brey says. “Every house is different. One has forced air, another has a boiler and another has electric heat. We’re tracking things like smoke detectors, furnace filters, propane deliveries, utility bills and maintenance schedules. When you’re managing that many houses, there’s just a lot to keep organized and stay on top of.”

Much of the coordination happens through the farm office, where employees can report maintenance issues or ask questions about utilities and housing needs. The farm’s leadership team also meets regularly to review housing concerns and stay ahead of repairs and upkeep.

(Lori Hays)

“We meet at least once a month and go through everything,” Brey says. “We try to make sure something is always moving forward with the houses.”

Twice a year, the farm also does more formal walk throughs of the properties to check things like filters, smoke detectors and general maintenance.

“We try to go through every house a couple times a year and double check everything,” she says. “But honestly, we’re involved all the time because people call us whenever something comes up.”

Even with systems in place, Brey admits housing management is still a work in progress.

“I don’t know how we manage it sometimes, to be honest with you,” Brey laughs. “At some point, we’ll probably need someone dedicated to property management. So far, it’s worked, but we’re still figuring out the best way to organize everything.”

Culture, Not Just Housing

Ask Brey why employee turnover is so low, and she talks about relationships and the culture they have built on the farm.

“Culture is our game,” she says. “We try to be really responsive to what people need. They’re like our friends, truly.”

That mindset shapes everything from housing decisions to the way employees settle into life around the farm. Brey says many employees take pride in making the houses feel like home, whether that means planting a garden or raising chickens in the backyard.

“We call it their house, and they call it their house,” Brey says. “When people can really settle in and make it feel like home, that’s important to us.”

Employee Housing

(Lori Hays)

The housing program has also grown alongside the farm’s relationships through the TN visa program. Many employees arrived in the U.S. with agricultural degrees and strong experience working with livestock.

“They all have four-year degrees in an agricultural field,” Brey says. “We have veterinarians by trade working here. They really care about the animals and they care about the farm.”

Over time, many employees have taken on more responsibility throughout the operation, building careers and deeper connections to the dairy along the way. Stories like those are part of why housing feels bigger than just another employee benefit for the Breys.

“A lot of them have stories that most of us could never imagine,” Brey says. “It’s rewarding to know they have a safe place to live and that their families are doing well here.”

Advice for Other Producers

(Brey Cycle Farm)

Not every dairy will be able to provide employee housing on this scale. But as labor remains tight and affordable rural housing stays difficult to find, more farms are starting to think differently about what it takes to support and retain employees long term.

Brey says farms considering employee housing need to understand that it takes time, communication and a willingness to stay involved. Her advice centers on three things:

• Go in knowing it will take time and effort. “There’s pros and cons for sure,” Brey says. “It takes a lot of time, but it’s also a rewarding part of what you do. You can’t expect it to be maintenance free.”

• Treat employees like neighbors, not just workers. “The biggest thing is really getting to know people and their families,” she says. “We know the employees, we know their kids and we know what works best for each family. When you take the time to understand people and what they need, it changes the whole relationship.”

• Communicate expectations early and often. “Just assuming everyone is going to do things the way you would is not how it works,” Brey says. “Having conversations, sending reminders and putting expectations in writing is really important.”

For Brey, the housing program ultimately comes back to relationships and creating stability for the people who help keep the dairy running.

“This whole farm was built on relationships,” Brey says. “Relationships with employees, relationships with the community and relationships with the people who help us every day. That’s what makes everything work.”

She says some of the most rewarding moments come from seeing employees and their families truly settle into life around the farm, whether that means children riding the school bus together, families gathering outside after work or employees taking pride in a place that feels like home.

“If we can keep providing people with a safe and secure place to live, that’s probably all I could ever ask for,” she says. “We’re thankful for the people who work here, and they’ve become a really important part of our lives.”

A Decade at the Helm: IDFA CEO Michael Dykes to Retire in 2026

Fri, 15 May 2026 16:59:13 GMT

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) is preparing for a major leadership transition after President and CEO Michael Dykes, D.V.M., announced plans to retire at the end of 2026, closing out a decade at the helm of the organization.

The announcement sets in motion a formal succession process, with IDFA’s Executive Council officer group forming a committee to oversee the selection of the association’s next president and CEO. Dykes will remain in his role through Dec. 31, 2026, ensuring continuity as the organization navigates the transition.

“Michael has been a transformational leader for IDFA and for the U.S. dairy industry,” says Daragh Maccabee, chair of the IDFA Executive Council. “Over the past decade, he has strengthened IDFA’s credibility, expanded its influence, and helped position the association and the dairy industry for long-term success. Under his leadership, IDFA has built one of the strongest advocacy teams in Washington, strengthened its financial position, expanded industry engagement across the supply chain, and helped deliver extraordinary momentum for dairy both domestically and globally. The organization is exceptionally well positioned for the future.”

Dykes joined International Dairy Foods Association in 2017, stepping into the role at a time when the industry was facing big questions around policy, trade and consumer perception. Since then, he’s helped steer the organization through a period of steady growth and some of its most visible policy wins in recent years.

“It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve America’s dairy industry and to lead this outstanding organization,” Dykes says. “Together, our members, board leaders, and talented team have strengthened dairy’s voice, expanded opportunities for our industry, and positioned dairy as an essential part of America’s future. I have never been more optimistic about the trajectory of the U.S. dairy industry or the strength of IDFA heading into the next decade.”

Under his leadership, IDFA expanded its membership and worked to better connect the full dairy supply chain under one umbrella, strengthening how the industry speaks on policy issues in Washington. That work helped elevate dairy’s role in nutrition policy, including recent federal dietary guidelines that reaffirmed dairy as a core food group and recognized dairy foods across fat levels as part of healthy dietary patterns.

The association also played a key role in advancing the bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which restored whole and reduced-fat milk options in schools and expanded choices for students and families.

On the trade side, Dykes pushed to strengthen U.S. dairy’s position in global markets, including through advisory roles with the Office of the United States Trade Representative and the Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee. Those efforts have been part of a broader push to keep U.S. dairy competitive internationally.

More recently, he helped launch the IDFA Foundation in 2022 and expanded nutrition incentive programs tied to SNAP, aimed at improving access to dairy as an affordable, nutrient-dense food.

His tenure also included leading through major disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, when dairy plants were deemed essential infrastructure to keep food moving, and during Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreaks, when the industry worked closely with government to maintain confidence in dairy safety and supply chains.

Dykes will stay on through the end of 2026 as the search for his successor moves forward.

Replacement Cow Prices Hit Records, Heifer and Beef-on-Dairy Calf Values Stay Strong

Thu, 14 May 2026 16:40:13 GMT

Replacement cattle prices continue running at historically strong levels as dairy producers continue paying premium prices cross the market. From replacement cows to springing heifers and beef-on-dairy calves, values remain well above year-ago levels across much of the country.

Replacement Milk Cow Prices Hit Records

Milk cow prices continued climbing in April 2026, according to the latest USDA estimates. The national average price for milk cows sold for dairy herd replacement reached $3,130 per head, up from $2,980 in January and $2,860 one year earlier.

Several major dairy states posted even stronger numbers. Michigan averaged $3,360 per head, Wisconsin reached $3,320 and Iowa climbed to $3,300. Minnesota, Colorado, Florida and Vermont all landed near $3,200 per head.

State	April 2025	January 2026	April 2026
Arizona	2,900	$,200	3,400
California	2,700	2,800	3,000
Colorado	2,700	3,000	3,200
Florida	2,900	3,100	3,200
Georgia	2,730	2,990	3,090
Idaho	2,850	2,900	3,150
Illinois	2,730	2,930	3,050
Indiana	2,880	3,040	3,080
Iowa	2,960	3,150	3,300
Kansas	2,550	2,900	3,040
Michigan	3,070	3,220	3,360
Minnesota	2,810	3,050	3,200
New Mexico	2,500	2,800	2,950
New York	3,050	3,080	3,130
Ohio	2,930	3,040	3,070
Oregon	2,900	2,900	3,100
Pennsylvania	2,860	2,980	3,040
South Dakota	2,600	2,840	3,000
Texas	2,800	2,850	3,000
Utah	2,600	2,700	3,000
Vermont	2,970	3,100	3,200
Virginia	2,760	2,950	3,090
Washington	2,900	2,750	2,950
Wisconsin	3,130	3,170	3,320
U.S.	2,860	2,860	3,130

The strong market reflects ongoing pressure on replacement supplies. As more dairy producers breed cows to beef genetics, fewer traditional dairy replacements are entering the pipeline, making quality milk cows harder to find.

Heifer Prices Remain Strong

Replacement dairy heifer prices continue to run at historically strong levels, although some markets are beginning to show signs of leveling after the rapid climb seen over the past year. Top quality Holstein springers are regularly bringing between $3,500 and $4,400 per head, with many sales topping the $4,000 mark.

Withee, Wis. - May 6, 2026

Heifer Category	Weight / Type	Price Range ($)
Top Quality Springing Heifers	—	3,500 – 4,400
Common Springing Heifers	—	3,475 and Down
Holstein Short Bred Heifers	—	2,250 – 3,500
Holstein Open Heifers	300# – 500#	1,250 – 2,200
Holstein Open Heifers	500# – 700#	1,500 – 2,375
Holstein Open Heifers	700# – 850#	1,750 – 2,500

Medium quality springers are commonly selling from around $3,000 to $3,500, while short bred heifers continue bringing strong prices depending on quality and stage of pregnancy.

Turlock, Calif. - May 8, 2026

Category	Price Range ($)
Top-Quality Holstein Springers	3,600 – 4,300
Medium-Quality Holstein Springers	2,950 – 3,500

Open Holstein heifers are also selling at levels well above historical averages. Larger heifers nearing breeding age have reached as much as $2,500 per head in recent sales. While some markets have started to level after the sharp run higher over the past year, demand for replacement heifers remains aggressive in many regions.

Pipestone, Minn. - April 16, 2026

Category	Price Range ($)
Top Springing Heifer	4,250
Top 10 Springers	4,250
Top 25 Springers	4,200 – 4,250
Top 50 Springers	4,135 – 4,250
Top 100 Springers	4,100 – 4,250
Top 150 Springers	3,975 – 4,250
Top 200 Springers	3,500 – 4,250

Beef-on-Dairy Calf Prices Continue to Climb

Beef-on-dairy calves continue to generate strong interest from calf growers and feeders, helping support high prices across multiple weight classes. Recent sales showed beef-cross calves bringing between $17 and more than $23 per pound on a liveweight basis.

Cherry Creek, N.Y. - April 22, 2026

Calves	Low Price per lb. ($)	High Price per lb. ($)
Heifer Calves	8.2	10
Grower: Over 92#	13	15.2
Grower: 80# to 92#	13	16.5
Beef-Type Calves	17	23.2

Prices for older beef-on-dairy feeder cattle also remain strong, with several weight groups of heifers and steers bringing solid values in recent sales.

Turlock, Calif. - May 8, 2026

Weight Range (lb.)	Heifers Price Range ($)	Steers Price Range ($)
300 - 399	NO TEST	NO TEST
400 - 499	360.00 - 400.00	375.00 - 400.00
500 - 599	345.00 - 385.00	350.00 - 375.00
600 - 699	NO TEST	NO TEST
700 - 799	NO TEST	NO TEST
800 - 899	235.00 - 297.50	NO TEST

Market Shows No Sign of Easing

Replacement cattle prices are holding at strong levels across milk cows, heifers and beef-on-dairy calves, and most producers are still having to pay up to secure the animals they want. Beef-on-dairy calves remain a bright spot for many dairies, but that same trend keeps pulling more animals out of the dairy replacement pipeline, which adds pressure on heifer availability. With supplies still tight and demand steady across all classes of cattle, there is little indication replacement costs will ease anytime soon.

How BoviSync and Integrated Tech are Creating a 'Digital Nervous System' for Modern Dairies

Thu, 14 May 2026 13:04:36 GMT

Across the American landscape, a silent revolution is rewiring the 250-year legacy of the dairy farm, transforming traditional barns and pastures into a high-precision digital nervous system. For operations like Abel Dairy in Wisconsin and Lincoln Dairy in New York, the manual grit of the past has met the cloud-based logic of the future, ensuring data flows as freely as milk and every decision is backed by real-time intelligence.

As the United States approaches its 250^th anniversary, the story of dairy is shifting from one of just getting by to one of mastering the margin. At the heart of this evolution is the death of the data silo and the birth of integrated, cloud-based management.

Steve, Allen and Nate Abel

(BoviSync)

The Wisconsin Blueprint: Wiring for Growth

For Steve Abel, a sixth-generation farmer at Abel Dairy, maintaining a legacy isn’t about looking backward — it’s about wiring the farm for a future his son Nate will one day lead. Three years ago, the Abels made a high-stakes move, expanding from a 2,000-cow operation to a 4,500-cow powerhouse. This wasn’t just about adding stalls or pouring concrete; it was a structural pivot toward precision.

At the center of the Abel expansion is an 80-cow GEA rotary parlor, but the true engine of the farm is BoviSync. By adopting this cloud-based central hub, the Abels eliminated the lag that has plagued dairy management for decades.

(BoviSync)

“We moved away from traditional data silos,” Abel explains. “For years, dairies struggled with double entry — the tedious process of recording data in one system only to manually type it into another. At Abel Dairy, that era is over.

“BoviSync networks with our sort gates, our feed software and even our hoof-trimming chute,” he says.

This connectivity transforms manual chores into automated workflows. The Abels no longer rely on traditional veterinarian pregnancy checks that require manual recording. Instead, they use blood samples and scanners. The results are uploaded to the cloud and downloaded directly into BoviSync. Because the software is linked to the farm’s sort gates, the cows are automatically identified and directed to the appropriate pens without a human ever having to check a clipboard.

Abel Dairy

(BoviSync)

The New York Perspective: Multi-Site Mastery

Thirteen hundred miles to the east, Bryant Stuttle, the herd manager for Lincoln Dairy in Auburn, N.Y., is navigating a similar digital frontier. Stuttle, a fourth-generation dairy professional, manages a complex multi-site operation for owners Dan and Nate Osborne. The system includes the home farm, Lincoln Dairy, and two satellite facilities, Ridgecrest and Gemini.

For Lincoln Dairy, the move to BoviSync two years ago was driven by a singular, ambitious goal: going 100% paperless.

“We operate as one herd across multiple farms,” Stuttle says. “The challenge with traditional software was how it handled multi-site data. We needed a system where events were tied to the facility, not just the cow. If a cow gets bred at one site and moved to another, we need to know exactly where that event happened to track technician performance and facility success. BoviSync made that seamless.”

Before the switch, the morning routine was often a source of frustration.

“I can’t tell you how many times we’d walk in on a busy herd-check day and the server hadn’t refreshed or a command line error meant the lists weren’t right,” Stuttle recalls. “You’d lose two hours of your day circling back to restart. Now, the guys grab their phones and go. There’s a level of confidence that the day is set up for success before we even start.”

The Human Element Removed from the Environment

(BoviSync)

The digital evolution isn’t limited to cow records; it has extended into the very air the animals breathe. In Wisconsin, the Abels installed the Agrimesh system to control ventilation and sprinklers in their tunnel-ventilated free stall barns.

“We wanted something that took the people out of the equation,” Abel says. “We don’t want an employee having to remember to open a curtain or speed up a fan because it warmed up at 10 a.m.”

The system calculates temperature, humidity and negative pressure in real time, adjusting tunnel fans and curtains automatically. It is a level of environmental consistency that ensures the cows remain cool in the summer and the barns don’t freeze in the winter, all without human intervention.

Similarly, at Lincoln Dairy, technology like SenseHub (formaly known as SCR collars) provides a constant heartbeat for the herd. These collars monitor rumination and activity across all three sites, feeding data back into the central hub. When combined with SenseHub sort gates, the system allows Stuttle’s team to identify and treat sick cows before they even show physical symptoms.

“Our reproduction is phenomenal — the highest it’s ever been,” Stuttle says. “Our cull and death rates are the lowest they’ve ever been. When you perform at that level, it all spells profit for the bottom line.”

The Power of Compliance and ROI

For both operations, the return on investment for these technologies isn’t just found in labor savings — it’s found in compliance.

“If you’re going to sell me a technology, it needs to make my employees more consistent,” Abel asserts. This focus on compliance ensures every vaccine is given correctly and every hoof is trimmed on schedule. At Abel Dairy, even the hoof-trimming chute is wired. A tablet mounted to the chute allows for instant data entry, eliminating the data lag of paper records.

At Lincoln Dairy, the technology allowed the farm to reposition two full-time labor units to other areas of the farm that needed more attention.

“It’s not just about doing the job with fewer people; it’s about doing the job better,” Stuttle explains. “The guys love it. I joke with them about going back to clipboards, and they just look at me and say, ‘Please, no.’”

The Heifer Pipeline

The digital nervous system also extends far beyond the home acres. Both Abel Dairy and Lincoln Dairy use Kansas Dairy Development (KDD) to raise their heifers. This creates a unique data challenge: How do you track an animal that is a thousand miles away?

“With KDD still being on DairyComp and us being on BoviSync, it was a challenge,” Stuttle admits. “But the BoviSync team figured out a way to translate that data daily. Now, I have my KDD file right in my system. It’s like they’re speaking two different languages, but the software acts as the translator. I have the same access to the data as the people on the ground in Kansas.”

This level of transparency allows both farms to right-size their herds. By using sexed semen, they can precisely determine how many replacements they need and breed the rest of the herd to beef. This beef-on-dairy pivot has become a vital revenue stream, providing a hedge against milk price volatility.

Advice for the Modern Producer: Avoid the Data Drown

With so much information available, the risk of data exhaustion is real. Stuttle’s advice to other producers is to focus on what actually moves the needle.

“Data management is the biggest opportunity in the industry right now,” he says. “But you can get drowned in it. Every salesperson will tell you their metric is the one that matters. You have to figure out what matters to you and look at it consistently, month in and month out.”

At Lincoln Dairy, that means focusing on hundredweight sold, transition cow success and pregnancy rates. By centralizing this data, the management team can stop worrying about whether the technology is working and start focusing on managing the people and the cows.

(BoviSync)

Legacy Powered by Data

As these two dairies demonstrate, the center of gravity for U.S. dairy is shifting. It is moving away from the localized, fragmented models of the past toward a high-precision, integrated future.

The 250^th anniversary of American agriculture is a celebration of resilience, but for the Abels and the Osbornes, it is also a launchpad. By integrating every gadget, sensor and software into a cohesive digital nervous system, they are ensuring their farm legacies will thrive for decades to come.

In Eden, Wis., and Auburn, N.Y., the lights in the barn are still on. But today, they are powered by data, driven by compliance and managed with a level of brilliance our ancestors could only have dreamed of. The U.S. dairy farmer has evolved from a milk man into a protein integrator, and the digital revolution is just getting started.

Fly Control Begins Before Summer Pressure Peaks

Wed, 13 May 2026 17:48:48 GMT

It usually starts with a few flies around the calf hutches or some extra tail switching in the freestall barn. Then, almost overnight, cows are bunching, calves are irritated and employees are swatting flies left and right.

By the time all of this becomes noticeable, fly populations have often already been building for weeks. Fly control experts say the best chance to stay ahead of pressure is to start managing breeding areas before summer heat and rapid population growth take over.

Small Problems Turn into Big Populations Fast

Flies reproduce quickly once temperatures rise. According to Roger Moon, professor of entomology at the University of Minnesota, flies can complete a generation every 40 to 60 days during spring weather and as fast as every two weeks during the hottest parts of summer.

That means the bedding pile or leftover feed that seems harmless early in the season can become a major source of fly pressure later in summer. Calf areas are especially vulnerable. Wet bedding, spilled milk replacer, manure and leftover feed create ideal conditions for flies to breed.

“Fibrous plant material enriched with manure, urine and moisture are basically the perfect environment for maggots,” Moon says.

Some of the most common breeding spots on dairies include:

Overwintered manure piles
Soiled calf hutch bedding
Bedded-pack barns that were not cleaned out over winter
Feed buildup around bale feeders
Wet feed refusals
The crusted edge around manure lagoons

Moon recommends scouting these areas every one to two weeks during the spring and early summer using something as simple as a garden trowel to look for maggots before populations explode.

Different Flies Create Different Problems

Not every fly on the farm behaves the same way, which is why identifying the type of fly matters before building a management plan.

According to Claire LaCanne, Extension educator in ag production systems, dairies most commonly deal with stable flies, house flies, face flies and horn flies.

“You’ll want to determine what’s pestering your animals to figure out the various methods for managing that particular fly problem,” LaCanne says. “Identifying the type of fly or flies that you are dealing with on the farm along with understanding their lifecycle is key to developing an effective fly management plan.”

Stable flies and house flies are considered “premise flies” because they reproduce in confined areas like barns, calf bedding and manure piles.

Stable flies are the bigger concern from a cattle comfort standpoint because they bite and feed on blood. They are commonly found on the legs and trigger behaviors like bunching, tail switching and foot stomping.

“Stable fly presence can result in reduced production,” LaCanne says.

House flies, meanwhile, do not bite. Instead, they feed on secretions around the eyes and nose and are generally more of a nuisance, although they can contribute to disease spread around the farm.

Flies Cost More Than Annoyance

It is easy to think of flies as just another irritation that comes with summer, but the impact goes much deeper than that.

Heavy fly pressure has been linked to reduced milk production, lower weight gains and weaker immune response. Flies also contribute to the spread of diseases like salmonella, E. coli and pinkeye.

Then there is bunching.

Anyone who has walked into a pen during heavy fly pressure has seen it. Cows crowd together tightly with heads in and tails out, stomping and constantly shifting positions.

Moon says bunching is one of the clearest signs that fly pressure has gotten out of hand.

“You’ll see them milling for position, stomping and switching their tails,” he says. “Bunched stock grow slower, lactate less and have lower immunity because of stress.”

Researchers have also found that bunching creates another set of problems. Airflow between cows decreases, heat builds faster, resting time drops and cows spend less time eating.

What starts as cows trying to get away from flies can quickly lead to lower intake, less resting time and reduced performance across the pen.

Sometimes the Damage Shows up Later

One of the more frustrating parts of fly pressure is that some consequences do not show up until months later.

Stable flies repeatedly biting cattle legs can contribute to hoof problems over time because cows spend more hours standing and shifting weight instead of lying down comfortably.

Moon says animals dealing with prolonged fly irritation may eventually develop sole ulcers or abscesses, issues that often become noticeable in the fall long after peak fly season has passed.

Sanitation Still Matters Most

Even with all the new fly-control products available, most experts still come back to the same basic message: cleanliness matters.

“Cleanliness and sanitation is the most important step in a fly management plan,” LaCanne says.

Removing breeding material interrupts the fly life cycle before adult flies ever emerge.

That means staying ahead of manure buildup, keeping bedding dry and cleaning out problem areas before temperatures really warm up.

“To manage stable flies and house flies, start with sanitation,” LaCanne says. “Doing your best to remove possible breeding sites like rotting hay or grain, spilled feed or TMR, manure piles and other decaying matter is the most effective way to manage stable flies and house flies.”

She recommends scraping, hauling, spreading or composting soiled bedding every other week during the summer if possible.

Several additional management steps can also help reduce pressure:

Move calf hutches and replace bedding after each calf
Use sand, sawdust or wood shavings during summer months
Mow grass and weeds around barns and lagoons
Compost manure properly so temperatures reach at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit
Place fly traps away from barns to draw flies away from cattle areas

Layering Strategies Works Best

Most farms that successfully control flies use multiple approaches together rather than depending on one product. LaCanne says scouting should become part of the routine.

“You should begin looking for signs of flies early in the season,” she says. “Dig or scrape around in areas with organic matter and search for larvae and pupae to figure out where your trouble areas are.”

Sticky traps can also help monitor population pressure and determine when additional controls may be needed.

When fly pressure builds despite sanitation efforts, additional tools can help.

Premise sprays may help suppress stable flies and house flies in enclosed areas, though LaCanne stresses they should be paired with sanitation rather than relied on alone.

Fly baits are most effective against house flies, while pasture fly traps can help reduce horn fly pressure on grazing cattle.

Biological controls are also gaining attention on dairies.

Some farms release parasitoid wasps, often sold as fly predators or fly parasites, to target fly pupae before adults emerge.

“Parasitoid wasps can provide effective management when used with other methods, especially diligent sanitation,” LaCanne says.

However, she cautions that insecticide use can interfere with beneficial insects, making it important to think carefully about where sprays are applied.

Start Before the Flies Force You to

One of the biggest mistakes farms make is waiting until fly pressure becomes obvious before taking action.By the time cows are bunching and calves are restless, fly populations are already well established.

According to Moon and LaCanne, the farms that manage flies best are not necessarily the ones reaching for more sprays in July. They are the ones that dealt with breeding areas early, before populations had a chance to build.

Why a Stable, Legal Workforce is Our Only Path Forward

Wed, 13 May 2026 13:48:21 GMT

As I’ve traveled across the country this past year, visiting producers from the High Plains to the Northwest, one conversation consistently rises above the rest. It isn’t just about milk prices or component levels — it’s about people. My conclusion is firm: A stable, legal workforce is the only way we keep the “Made in the USA” label on the milk carton.

Food security is national security, and that security starts with the hands that harvest the milk. If our industry cannot secure a permanent, legal solution for our workforce, the domestic supply chain American families rely on is at risk of fracturing.

The 365-Day Harvest Paradox

Federal policy remains stubbornly stuck in a seasonal mindset. Programs like H-2A were built for crops planted in the spring and picked in the fall. However, dairy is in a state of continuous harvest. Cows don’t take a season off and neither can our workers.

A year-round guest worker program is no longer just a lobbyist’s wishlist item; it is a survival requirement. Without a legal framework that recognizes the 24/7 reality of dairy, producers remain in a legal limbo that threatens the foundation of our “Made in the USA” promise.

Fill the Void, Not Just the Tank

Automation is often viewed as a replacement for the human element, but in reality, it is a essential supplement. Technologies like cow-side health sensors, automated gate systems and smart feed pushers are surging because human hands are simply unavailable in many corners of rural America.

We are seeing a fundamental shift in the dairy job description: moving from a world of milkers to a world of managers. Our teams are becoming data analysts and technicians who happen to work in a barn. These systems allow us to keep the lights on, but they still require a skilled, stable and legal team to oversee them.

Culture as a Competitive Advantage

In 2026, a paycheck is no longer enough to win the talent war. Recruitment is expensive, but retention is profitable. The most successful dairies treat labor management with the same scientific rigor they apply to a TMR or a breeding value. If your farm culture is broken, your bottom line will eventually follow. We must move from finding help to building elite teams.

Ultimately, the “Made in the USA” label is a promise of quality and domestic origin. We cannot fulfill that promise without a workforce that is legal, stable and respected. The heartbeat of the dairy isn’t just the cows in the stalls — it’s the people in the parlor. The dairies that will thrive in 2026 and beyond are those that realize our most valuable asset has two legs, not four. It’s time our national policy reflected that reality.

The Best Ordinary Tuesday: Finding Glimmers in the Grind

Tue, 12 May 2026 13:16:37 GMT

We are the people of the next. On a farm, the clock and the calendar are our masters, but they are also our greatest distractions. We wait all day for the end of the day so we can finally pull off our boots. We wait all year for the next year to come, hoping for better margins, better weather or a better balance of the markets. We spend entire lifetimes working for the prize 2-year-old, the record milk production or the bin-busting crop that finally justifies the sweat.

But if we are honest, when those records finally arrive, they often feel like a destination we reached while we were looking out the window at something else. Because the truth of the farm life — the goodness we praise God for — isn’t found in the record books; it’s found on an ordinary Tuesday.

The Success of the Seconds

Success on our 750-cow dairy is usually measured in pounds, percentages and bushels harvested. We track data points with precision, seeking logic in the chaos, but the real successes of a farming life don’t always happen in the margins. Sometimes they are the glimmering moments that we too often take for granted because they don’t come with a trophy or a line on a balance sheet.

Think about the last time you worked cattle together as a family. It’s a task that can easily descend into shouted directions and frayed nerves. But then, there’s that moment where it all just works. No one has to say a word; you move in a silent, practiced choreography passed down through generations. Your father knows exactly where you’re going to move the gate; your children anticipate the next cow in the chute. In that fleeting minute, the legacy isn’t a legal document or a transition plan — it’s a heartbeat.

It’s the five-minute window in between filling the planter when a football appears from the back of the truck. The dust is still settling, the sun is high and, for 60 seconds, you aren’t a manager or an operator; you’re a dad. You’re a kid again yourself. Those spirals thrown over the tongue of the planter are the things we actually long for, yet we often treat them as interruptions to the “real work.”

Community Covered in Plastic

We saw it last fall during the long stretch of chopping. The silage pile was growing, the weather was turning and the exhaustion was setting in. Then, the high school varsity football team showed up — a dozen young men with more energy than sense, ready to help pull the plastic and toss the tires.

In the grand scheme of the year’s production, that couple of hours of help was a small fraction of the labor. But in the grand scheme of life, it was everything. It was the community showing up when the always-on nature of the dairy felt like too much to carry alone. It was the realization that the farm doesn’t just produce milk; it produces the character of the town. If you didn’t stop to see the goodness in those dusty, laughing teenagers, you might have thought it was just another chore finished. But it was the best Tuesday of the month.

The Prize of the Return

Then there is the greatest glimmer of all: the conversation you didn’t dare to script. It happens in the cab of the truck or while walking back from the parlor. Your oldest son, the one you’ve watched grow up in the shadow of this barn, looks at the horizon and says he wants to do what Dad does for a living. After graduating from college this spring, he is planning to come back to the family farm.

In that moment, the low margin and crummy weather lose their power. The audacity and faith required to keep a 750-cow and 1,800-acre operation running are suddenly rewarded. Not with a record milk check, but with the knowledge that the soil you’ve tended and the cows you’ve bred have a future beyond your own hands.

Searching for the Glimmer

The thing about these moments is that they don’t happen for 24 consecutive hours. They don’t last for weeks or months. They are seconds. They are glimmers of hope that we have to actively search for.

If we aren’t careful, we can finish the day thinking it was just another grind — another ordinary Tuesday where the equipment broke or the labor was short. But if we adjust our sails and shift our gaze, we realize that the days we’ve been longing for are happening right in front of our eyes.

The prize isn’t the 2-year-old in the show ring; it’s the 2-year-old grandchild sitting on your lap in the tractor. The record crop isn’t just the bushels per acre; it’s the harvest of memories with family by your side being made while the work was being done.

Praise God for the goodness that being a farmer is — not because it is easy and not because it is always profitable, but because it gives us the eyes to see that an ordinary Tuesday can be the best day we have ever asked for. We just have to be brave enough to stop waiting for the “next” long enough to see the “now.”

Cheese Exports Hit All-Time High in March as Global Appetite Grows

Tue, 12 May 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Records were broken with over 63,435 MT exported in the month of March of cheese alone, an all-time high for single month exports, jumping over 29% from March of 2025. Butterfat and AMF exports also set a single month record at 17,074 MT shipped, 109.9% higher than March of 2025.

The world wants U.S. cheese with a shift in desire for western-style foods, more restaurant and food service demand at a competitive price not found in other countries due to our abundance of supply available her in the United States. Cheese exports are trending higher, with the first quarter of 2026 totaling an increase of 23.2% higher year over year.

Meanwhile, butter production was up 1.2% in March while butter exports year-to-date are up nearly 93.2% from the same quarter last year. Which raises the question if the U.S. can keep up with the export demand despite the increasing production. Churns are running seven days a week with growing milk and cream supply and spring flush is here with outstanding weather for cow comfort.

(USDA)

While cheese and butterfat are the stars of the show, milk powders are the most vulnerable in the export category. Nonfat dry milk (NFDM) and skim milk powder (SMP) broke their four-month year over year growth streak with a decline of 8% lower volume in the month of March 2026 when compared to the extremely high volume traded in March of 2026. All is not lost though, March 2026 was still the highest export volume we’ve seen in five months, it’s comparison to March 2025, being the highest export volume of the whole year, makes the year over year data look poorer than it is.

(USDA)

When looking at the dairy export data, the volume is certainly impressive, however the economic impact is outstanding. The value of dairy products exported reached the high dollar amount of $892.4 million in March, the highest monthly value seen in nearly four years. This is an increase of 6% more value year over year as reported from the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

The biggest markets for U.S. exports of dairy products in total value during the first quarter of the year were Mexico at $675.4 million, up 10% YoY, Canada who declined 19% YoY still came in second with total dollars purchased coming in at $295.4 million, Japan at $156.4 million, up 8%; South Korea at $145.5 million, up 19%; and China dropping 24% in 2026 with ongoing trade negotiations coming in at $123.9 million. All other major customers were under $100 million with anywhere from Colombia up 77% YoY to Philippines down 10% with most showing big increases YoY.

So, while the market wants to focus on the massive amount of production the United States is producing, the export program continues to be a bright light. World demand is continuing to increase, and we have the supply to feed it.

Sarah Jungman is a commodity broker with AgMarket.Net and AgDairy, the dairy division of John Stewart & Associates Inc. (JSA). JSA is a full-service commodity brokerage firm based out of St. Joseph, MO. Sarah’s office is located in Winterset, Iowa and she may be reached at 515-272-5799 or through the website www.agmarket.net .

The thoughts expressed and the basic data from which they are drawn are believed to be reliable but cannot be guaranteed. Any opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice. Hypothetical or simulated performance results have certain inherent limitations. Simulated results do not represent actual trading. Simulated trading programs are subject to the benefit of hindsight. No representation is being made that any account will or is likely to achieve profits or losses similar to those shown. There is risk of loss in trading commodity futures and options on futures. It may not be suitable for everyone. This material has been prepared by an employee or agent of JSA and is in the nature of a solicitation. By accepting this communication, you acknowledge and agree that you are not, and will not rely solely on this communication for making trading decisions.

Teens Trust Dairy More than Any Other Generation, New Survey Finds

Mon, 11 May 2026 21:51:01 GMT

Consumers continue to rank dairy as one of the most trusted food categories, and new data suggests that confidence is strengthening most among younger consumers at the same time federal policy is expanding access to whole milk in schools.

According to the latest Consumer Perceptions Tracker from Dairy Management Inc., 36% of consumers gave dairy one of the top two trust ratings on a seven-point scale in 2025, a slight increase from the previous year.

(National Milk Producers Federation)

But the most notable shift is happening with teenagers.

The report found teens recorded the highest trust levels of any age group, with 47% rating dairy a six or seven on the seven-point scale. That figure has steadily climbed from 33% in 2023 to 41% in 2024 and now 47% in 2025.

The trend reflects a generational change in how younger consumers view dairy products, at a time when nutrition conversations have increasingly centered on protein, whole foods and minimally processed diets.

(National Milk Producers Federation)

Whole Milk Returns to School Menus

Federal policy is aligning with these priorities through updated school nutrition standards that restore broader access to whole and reduced-fat milk options.

The USDA recently issued a final rule implementing the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, restoring whole and reduced-fat milk options in federal Child Nutrition Programs for children and adults ages 2 and older.

The law, signed by Donald Trump in January 2026, reverses previous restrictions that limited schools largely to low-fat and fat-free milk options.

(Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS.)

“President Trump promised to Make America Healthy Again, and restoring whole milk to schools is a major step toward delivering on that promise,” says U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins.

Rollins framed the rule as both a policy correction and a step toward expanding milk options in school nutrition programs.

“For years, outdated federal rules kept nutritious whole milk off school menus, despite growing evidence showing the importance of healthy fats and nutrient-dense foods for child development,” Rollins says. “USDA is proud to implement the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act and give schools the flexibility to serve real, wholesome milk options that help children grow, learn, and thrive.”

Industry groups have praised the move, saying it brings federal policy more in line with current nutrition guidance and student preferences.

Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, called the rule “a major victory for children’s nutrition and common-sense school meal policy,” adding that USDA acted quickly to give schools and processors “the certainty they need to offer students the nutritious milk options that best meet their nutrition needs.”

“For too long, federal regulations limited schools’ ability to offer the milk options students prefer,” Dykes says. “This rule restores flexibility while aligning policy with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recognize dairy across all fat levels as part of healthy dietary patterns. Importantly, it allows flavored and unflavored milk across all fat levels, helping schools better meet student preferences while improving access to the 13 essential nutrients milk provides in every serving.”

Long-Term Demand Trends

Full fat dairy products such as whole milk, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are seeing renewed interest among younger consumers. Much of that interest appears tied to higher protein eating patterns and growing attention to minimally processed foods in online spaces.

Teen trust in dairy rising alongside schools bringing back more milk options points to how consumer preferences and nutrition guidance are lining up. Eating habits formed during the teenage years tend to carry into adulthood. Choices made around everyday foods and beverages during that stage often become familiar patterns later in life, even as diets and preferences continue to evolve. When trust builds early, it can carry forward and show up in long-term consumption patterns.

Beef-on-Dairy Calves May Scour Less than Holsteins, New Research Shows

Mon, 11 May 2026 18:44:36 GMT

Beef-on-dairy calves have long been a solid income stream on many dairies, turning into a steady payout when they leave the farm and move into beef systems. More recently, farmers have also started to notice these calves often require fewer individual health treatments than their purebred counterparts, adding to their overall profitability.

Researchers like Melinda Kovacs, a master’s student at the University of Guelph, have started to take a closer look at how these calves perform early in life, when most health challenges tend to show up. One pattern that keeps surfacing is that crossbred calves tend to have fewer digestive issues than Holsteins, especially scours.

In her work, Kovacs found beef-on-dairy crossbred calves have lower diarrhea rates, fewer days with scours and fewer repeat treatments than Holsteins during the rearing phase.

“Producers were finding that the health of these crossbred calves was improved,” Kovacs explained during a recent “The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast” episode. “They were finding less health challenges, or these animals were able to recover from disease a little bit better than the purebred calves.”

Fewer Scours Cases Stand Out

The study followed approximately 640 calves housed at a single calf-rearing facility over about 18 months. Kovacs analyzed records from 446 Holstein calves and 194 beef-on-dairy crossbred calves.

Using twice-daily health scoring, Kovacs and her team monitored diarrhea and respiratory disease while also collecting weekly body weights, milk intake and starter feed intake data.

When she compared the two groups at the conclusion of the study, one health challenge stood out immediately.

“We found that the Holstein calves had a higher incidence of diarrhea compared to the crossbred calves,” Kovacs says. “We also found that translated to fewer days with diarrhea.”

Beef-on-dairy calves_Suanne Blackwell

(Suanne Blackwell)

The same trend appeared when she evaluated severe diarrhea cases.

“This is what we were expecting based on kind of our communication with producers,” Kovacs says. “That the crossbred calves would have less diarrhea in the preweaning or the rearing phase.”

For dairy farmers and calf raisers, fewer scours cases can influence nearly every part of calf performance. Diarrhea remains one of the most expensive calfhood diseases on dairies due to treatment costs, lost growth, labor demands and long-term health setbacks.

Crossbred Calves Needed Fewer Repeat Treatments

Kovacs also examined therapeutic interventions and found another difference between the groups.

“We did find that the Holstein calves had a higher hazard of being treated multiple times for both diarrhea and respiratory disease,” she says.

Respiratory disease rates themselves were similar between breeds, but the need for repeated treatment was higher in Holsteins. That finding could become more important as dairy and calf-rearing operations focus on reducing antibiotic use while still keeping calves healthy and performing well.

“Perhaps there’s a greater ability of these crossbred calves to recover from diseases compared to Holstein calves,” Kovacs adds.

Why Are Beef-on-Dairy Calves More Resilient?

(Farm Journal)

The study wasn’t designed to pin down exactly why the differences are showing up, but Kovacs thinks genetics likely play a role.

“In the dairy industry, we see a lot of inbreeding depression with the Holstein animals,” she says. “And I think perhaps we have some heterosis or hybrid vigor in these crossbred animals.”

Selection pressure may also contribute to the performance gap. Dairy genetics have focused on milk production traits, while beef genetics have emphasized growth and muscling.

“In the dairy industry, we’ve been genetically selecting for obviously higher milk production, whereas in the beef industry, we’ve been selecting for more growth traits,” Kovacs says. “So perhaps these crossbred calves are benefiting from the growth traits compared to the Holstein calves.”

She also found crossbred calves gained weight faster during the rearing phase.

“The crossbred calves did have higher growth rates, so higher average daily gains,” Kovacs says. “They were about [15 lb.] heavier than the Holstein calves when they were finished this rearing phase.”

Differences Continued Through Harvest

Kovacs and her team later expanded the project to follow some calves from birth through harvest at approximately 13 months of age. She wanted to better understand how calfhood health and management influence later feedlot and carcass performance.

Beef_carcasses

“Right now, there’s kind of a big disconnect between all of the different components of the industry, between the dairy farm of origin, the rearing, the feedlot and the abattoir,” Kovacs says.

The performance differences continued beyond the early rearing phase.

“The crossbred calves, I believe, were about [120 to 124 lb.] more in body weight compared to the Holsteins,” Kovacs says. “Which does have significant implications in terms of the cost benefit of these animals.”

She also identified differences in ribeye area and carcass composition, suggesting the advantages weren’t limited to early growth but carried through to how the animals finished at harvest.

More Research Still Needed

Even with the encouraging results, Kovacs says dairy producers should not assume crossbred calves require less attention or lower-quality care.

“With my findings, we see that they’re maybe more resilient or robust,” she says. “But I think those producers still need to be offering the best care to those calves to ensure their success.”

Kovacs adds that much of the existing calf research has historically focused on purebred Holsteins, leaving major knowledge gaps around nutrition and management requirements for beef-on-dairy calves.

“A lot of research that’s been done in the past has focused on purebred Holstein calves,” Kovacs says. “So, we don’t really know if the requirements of these crossbred calves for both maintenance and growth are the same as for a purebred Holstein calf.”

As beef-on-dairy programs continue to expand across the dairy industry, producers are paying closer attention to which calves stay healthier and perform better from start to finish. This research suggests fewer scours cases early in life may be part of the advantage, adding to the overall profitability of beef-on-dairy calves.

For more on beef-on-dairy, read:

How a Downsized Dairy Turned to AI to Make the Numbers Work

Thu, 07 May 2026 18:31:16 GMT

On a 60-cow registered Holstein dairy outside Baldwin, Wis., artificial intelligence has become part of the management toolbox.

Mary Holle and her husband, Joe, milk in a refurbished 94-cow tie-stall barn at Holle-Oaks Dairy, a family operation that has seen major change in recent years. After taking over the farm from Joe’s parents in 2017, the Holles made a hard pivot in 2024, downsizing from 120 cows to 60.

With her father-in-law ready to step back from daily chores and labor costs continuing to climb, Holle could see the pressure building. The farm had reached a point where something had to change to keep things sustainable for everyone involved. Thus, downsizing the herd became the path forward.

Part of that downsizing process involved bringing in a tool still new to many dairy farmers — artificial intelligence, or AI. It wasn’t an obvious fit, but Holle saw it as a way to work through her farm’s numbers and run different scenarios without adding more layers to an already full system.

A Numbers Mindset Meets a New Tool

Holle, who also serves as the program manager for the Farm and Industry Short Course at UW-River Falls, didn’t come to AI without experience. She’s long leaned into data, building her own systems to track and understand how her farm is performing.

“I’ve been using Excel since I was, like, 10 years old,” Holle says. “I started doing my dad’s dairy herd records, because we didn’t milk test.”

That early passion for data turned into formal training in dairy science and ag business, along with several years of building detailed spreadsheets for her own operation. Today, those workbooks track just about everything on the farm, from feed costs and veterinary expenses to crop yields, soil tests and labor.

“I’ve been building complex equations within Excel for like a decade,” Holle says. “My biggest workbook is 17 pages long.”

Even with all of that in place, she eventually hit a point where spreadsheets alone weren’t enough to work through the number of what-if scenarios she was running. She wasn’t trying to replace the system she already had, but she needed a faster way to test ideas and see how different decisions might actually play out.

That’s when Holle began to use AI. She started experimenting with it by feeding in her own farm numbers, then asking it to run different scenarios and compare outcomes she would normally have to build out by hand. Over time, she used it to work through decisions faster and feel more confident in what the numbers were pointing to.

Running the Numbers

The 2024 transition pushed Holle to take a closer look at her cost structure. With fewer cows, fewer employees and new financial obligations, she needed to figure out what her cost per cow and break-even milk price needed to be for the smaller herd to stay profitable.

“I needed to run a series of scenarios to find the linchpins in the business,” Holle says. “We had to drop our cost per cow and get our break-even down to around $17.80 per cwt. for the smaller herd to work.”

She pulled data from her workbooks, including fixed costs, five-year averages for feed and vet expenses, labor hours, wages and loan balances with payment schedules. From there, she used AI to organize the information and get a better read on what was driving cost per cow.

“I asked ChatGPT, ‘What are the trends, what’s going on, can you put this into context?’” she says.

Working in short windows between chores, Holle ran different scenarios around debt, labor and herd costs to see which changes would have the biggest impact. It didn’t hand her one answer, but it helped narrow the decisions down.

“It told me what needed paid off first and where I’d see the most return,” she says. “I took the results to our banker and he said, ‘That’s ingenious.’”

In the end, the Holles were still the ones giving the final say, but AI helped them sort through information quicker and feel better about the direction they were headed.

Taking AI to the Field

After using AI to work through the financial side of the operation and guide the downsizing decision, Holle started looking at where else it could fit. Crop management was the next place she turned, and it’s something she’s still working through this year.

The farm currently includes about 500 acres in rotation with corn, soybeans, alfalfa and wheat. Similar to her herd management Excel work, Holle had built up soil tests, yield maps and field histories over time, but the information wasn’t connected in a way that made it easy to use. This year, she started using AI to organize it by field and year, then layer in crop history and yield data so it could be compared more directly.

“I didn’t have everything tied together in one place,” she says. “I had the information, it just wasn’t organized in a way I could actually use.”

With a new structure in place, Holle began asking AI more targeted questions around nutrient management and input efficiency. One focus centered around nitrogen — how much was already available in the field and where she might be able to cut back on applications without hurting yield.

“I wanted to know what was already out there before just putting more on,” she says. “If there was a place to save a little money without giving up yield, I wanted to find it.”

She’s also started looking at whether past decisions, like planting BMR corn, may have longer-term effects on nutrient availability. Using AI helped Holle spot patterns and show up to conversations with her agronomists better prepared.

This spring, she and her agronomists used that analysis as a starting point to fine-tune fertilizer and spray programs by field, paying closer attention to residual nutrients and timing. The new plan cut back on total fertilizer and chemical use compared to the previous year. By her estimate, this adjustment will trim roughly $40,000 from her fertilizer and spray bill in 2026.

Keeping Perspective in Place

While Holle sees value in AI, she’s careful about how she uses it. Sensitive information stays out, including personal identifiers, financial accounts and tax data.

“There’s always a step between sensitive information and it,” she says. “Anything personal or financial doesn’t go straight in. It always gets filtered or kept separate first.”

That caution carries into how she uses the tool in day-to-day decisions. Even when AI is helping her work through parts of the farm’s data, it hasn’t taken over decision-making. Holle still relies on her own judgment when something doesn’t line up with what she’s seeing on the farm, especially when context doesn’t show up in the numbers.

“Yes, I think it’s made me a better farmer,” she says. “But it’s a tool for the areas where I don’t know enough. There’s always context it’s going to miss. You can read a person or a situation in ways it can’t.”

For other producers thinking about trying AI, Holle recommends starting small and treating it like any other tool on the farm. Don’t start with big decisions or sensitive financial work. Start with something simple, learn how it responds and build from there.

“Start with emails or documents,” she says. “Something low risk where you can see how it responds and get comfortable with how it handles your information before moving into anything bigger or more complex.”

From her experience, it has less to do with the technology itself and more to do with how organized the farm’s information is going in. If the inputs are messy or incomplete, the results will be, too.

“Garbage information in leads to garbage answers out,” Holle says. “If you don’t know what you’re asking for, you won’t get what you need.”

That also means knowing where the farm stands before expecting any tool to improve it. Clear records, numbers and a good handle on what’s working and what isn’t all matter just as much as the software being used.

“You need to understand your strengths and weaknesses first,” she says. “Know what you’re comfortable handling on your own and where you could use a little more support, so you’re not leaning on the tool for things you already do well or expecting it to fix gaps you haven’t identified yet.”

Faster Decisions, Tighter Management

On her 60-cow dairy, AI hasn’t replaced hands-on management or day-to-day decision-making. Instead, it’s helped her sort through financial choices, tighten input decisions and show up to conversations with advisers with more clarity around the numbers.

For Holle, it’s become a fast, free tool she can pull up anytime to work through questions and run scenarios. And it’s helped her move through decisions faster and keep the operation running a little tighter, without adding more layers to the process.

The Empty Stanchion: The Structural Labor Crisis Threatening U.S. Dairy

Mon, 11 May 2026 13:22:48 GMT

In the rolling plains of the Texas Panhandle and the volcanic soils of Idaho’s Magic Valley, a silent crisis is brewing. It isn’t a disease outbreak, a drought or a sudden crash in milk prices. Instead, it is the steady, quiet disappearance of the human hands required to keep the nation’s dairy industry running.

As the U.S. dairy sector has modernized and expanded, it has hit a paradoxical wall: The more technologically advanced the farms become, the more they find themselves tethered to a labor market that is increasingly broken.

For states like Texas and Idaho — two titans of U.S. milk production — the labor shortage is no longer a seasonal inconvenience; it is a structural deficiency that threatens the long-term viability of the industry and the economic health of the rural communities that depend on it.

The Texas Powerhouse Under Pressure

Texas has rapidly ascended the ranks to become a top-tier dairy state. By 2025, the Lone Star State produced a staggering 18 billion pounds of milk from approximately 705,000 cows. This isn’t just about milk in the grocery store; it’s an economic engine that contributes tens of billions of dollars to the state economy and supports over 250,000 direct and indirect jobs.

However, Texas Association of Dairymen Executive Director Darren Turley warns that this engine is running on a dangerously thin workforce.

“The Texas dairy industry has a persistent and growing need for labor because today’s large, modern dairies are labor-intensive businesses that operate every day of the year,” Turley shares in the association’s latest blog.

In the vast rural stretches of Texas, the labor market is exceptionally tight. Recruiting for long-term farm work has become a monumental task. The jobs are physically demanding, and the always-on nature of a dairy — as cows must be milked 365 days a year — clashes with a domestic workforce that increasingly seeks flexibility and climate-controlled environments.

More Than Just Milking

A common misconception is that dairy labor starts and ends in the milking parlor. In reality, the modern dairy is a complex ecosystem of specialized roles. Beyond the milkers, farms require staff for animal care, feeding, manure management, calf rearing and the operation of increasingly sophisticated machinery.

While robotics and automation are often touted as the solution, Turley notes that technology is a tool, not a total replacement.

“While technology, including a growing number of robotic dairies, may help reduce some labor pressure, there always will be a need for human workers,” he says.

When labor is short, the entire system slows down. Cows aren’t fed as precisely, maintenance is deferred and expansion plans are shelved. For a state like Texas, which is built on the premise of growth, a lack of labor acts as a hard ceiling on potential.

The Idaho Alarm: A Math Problem

Further north in Idaho, the situation is perhaps even more acute. Idaho Dairymen’s Association CEO Rick Naerebout paints a stark picture of the math facing the state’s producers.

“The state has 84 Idahoans for every 100 jobs available,” Naerebout says.

The struggle to find domestic workers is best illustrated by a sobering statistic from last year: Out of 7,500 H-2A agricultural jobs advertised in Idaho, only five were taken by Idahoans. The H-2A program requires farmers to advertise to domestic workers first, but the reality is that the local population is either unable or unwilling to fill these roles.

“Ag jobs are tougher to fill because they are physically demanding and often outdoors,” Naerebout notes.

This leaves dairy farmers in a precarious legal and operational position. Because the H-2A visa program is strictly for seasonal work, the dairy industry — which requires year-round, consistent labor — is effectively locked out of a legal pathway to hire the foreign workers they so desperately need.

The Policy Trap and the Economic Cliff

The crux of the issue lies in the disconnect between federal immigration policy and the biological reality of a cow. A dairy cow does not stop producing milk when the season ends. Yet, the only major agricultural visa program available (H-2A) is built on a seasonal model.

Naerebout points to two primary friction points: the lack of a year-round visa and the political volatility surrounding immigration. In Idaho, attempts to implement worker verification systems at the state level failed, but the fear remains. Meanwhile, federal crackdowns on immigration create an environment of uncertainty that discourages workers from entering the sector.

The consequences of failing to fix this immigration issue are not just confined to the farm gate. Naerebout warns of a massive economic multiplier effect.

“If we remove 50% of the workforce, it would induce a recession the size of the 2007 to 2009 recession,” he says.

In Idaho, removing 27,000 workers who are currently without legal status would trigger the loss of an additional 25,000 jobs held by American-born citizens in sectors like construction, hospitality and retail.

Seeking a Federal Fix

The solutions proposed by industry leaders like Naerebout and Turley are pragmatic, yet politically difficult to achieve. There are two primary avenues for relief:

Visa expansion — This involves transitioning the H-2A program or creating a new visa category that accounts for year-round industries like dairy and fresh-pack produce. This would provide a legal, transparent pathway for foreign workers to fill vacancies that domestic workers have rejected.
Legalization of the existing workforce — This involves acknowledging that the current dairy workforce is already largely comprised of immigrant workers who are trained and essential. “Have them go through a background check and pay a penalty, but let them stay,” Naerebout suggests.

The Stakes for the Consumer

Ultimately, the labor crisis on the dairy is a consumer crisis. When labor shortages raise costs and limit production, the price of milk, cheese and butter inevitably climbs. In Texas, where the population is booming, the demand for dairy is higher than ever. If the state’s dairies cannot run at full capacity, the supply chain becomes fragile.

As Turley puts it: The labor need is a structural issue, not a short-term inconvenience.

“Unless labor supply improves through policy changes, better recruitment, automation or all of the above, Texas dairies will continue facing pressure to protect productivity and profitability,” he says.

The American dairy farmer has proven to be incredibly resilient, surviving market crashes and environmental challenges. But you cannot milk a cow with a vacancy. Without a federal resolution to the workforce shortage, the great rebalancing of the dairy industry may not be a matter of prices or protein; it may be a matter of who is left to do the work.

Danone to Close New Jersey Plant-Based Beverage Facility

Fri, 08 May 2026 17:19:40 GMT

Danone is planning to close a dairy-alternatives manufacturing facility in Bridgeton, New Jersey, later this summer. The facility currently manufactures beverages sold under the Silk and So Delicious Dairy Free brands.

According to the company, production from the Bridgeton plant will be redistributed to facilities in Mt. Crawford, Virginia; Dallas, Texas; and Jacksonville, Florida. The French food company confirmed the site will close Aug. 4.

“This change is part of a broader effort to transform our network and enables our investment in critical capabilities across our core U.S. footprint for the long term,” Danone said in a statement to Just Food.

The closure comes as the company works through challenges in its North American plant-based segment. During Danone’s 2025 earnings discussion in February, CFO Juergen Esser described the company’s North American plant-based performance as “unsatisfactory” in 2024.

Market data suggests growth in the dairy-alternative category has slowed. According to a report from the Good Food Institute, plant-based dairy-alternatives remained the largest plant-based food category in the U.S. in 2025, generating $2.7 billion in sales and accounting for 13% of total retail milk sales.

However, overall plant-based dairy alternative sales declined 2% year-over-year.

Expanding Dairy Capacity

The Bridgeton closure contrasts with several recent investments Danone has announced across its broader dairy network.

Last month, the company unveiled plans to invest approximately $23.5 million to expand skyr production in France. In November, Danone also announced a major investment at its Boucherville, Canada, facility that will increase yogurt production capacity by 40% and raw milk processing capacity by 20%.

The company also shared plans in August 2025 to expand its yogurt manufacturing facility in Minster, Ohio, which produces brands including Oikos, Activia, Dannon and Danimals.

How McCarty Family Farms Hedges Fuel Costs to Protect Dairy Margins

Fri, 08 May 2026 13:17:13 GMT

The great rebalancing of 2026 has taught dairy producers a vital lesson: You cannot control the wind, but you can certainly adjust your sails. While much of the industry’s focus remains on milk checks and component values, a silent predator often lurks in the shadows of the balance sheet — the fuel pump.

For an operation like McCarty Family Farms in Rexford, Kan., the 2025 Milk Business Leader in Technology Award winner, which milks thousands of cows across multiple states, the scale of production is matched only by the scale of its energy requirements. With feed trucks, tractors and skid steers running 24/7, fuel is not just a line item; it is the lifeblood of the operation. And in an era of global energy volatility, leaving that lifeblood to the whims of the spot market is a risk Ken McCarty, co-owner and manager, is unwilling to take.

The Math of the Spike

To understand the McCarty strategy, one must first understand the stakes. On a modern, large dairy, the equipment never stops. The sheer volume of TMR moved and the constant management of manure requires a fleet that consumes thousands of gallons of diesel every week.

For large herds, like McCarty’s, a 50¢ spike in diesel can derail a quarterly budget. In reality, that half-dollar move isn’t just an inconvenience; it represents a massive shift in capital that could have been reinvested in herd health, technology or labor. By locking in fuel prices, McCarty isn’t just buying diesel; he is buying the psychological and financial stability required to manage a complex organization.

The 18-Month Horizon: A Layered Approach

The McCarty strategy is defined by its proactivity. While many producers wait for a good day at the local co-op, McCarty and his team are looking 12 to 18 months into the future. They don’t view fuel procurement as a single transaction but rather as a continuous process of layering.

The process begins with a deep dive into data. Working closely with their fuel seller, they evaluate historical usage patterns. They don’t just look at what they used last year; they account for upcoming changes, whether that’s an expansion in acreage, a shift in equipment efficiency or a change in the beef-on-dairy program that might increase hauling requirements.

Once the known demand is established, the layering begins. As forward months become available on the market, the McCarty team begins to book physical gallons. The goal is to reach approximately 90% coverage by the start of the budget year on Jan. 1.

Mitigation, Not Speculation

Perhaps the most important takeaway for other producers is the McCarty philosophy on winning. In a world of high-frequency trading and market gurus, it is easy to fall into the trap of trying to time the bottom of the market. Ken McCarty is quick to dispel that notion.

“We have never viewed this as a money-making strategy,” he says. “Instead, it is purely a risk mitigation strategy.”

For McCarty, the goal isn’t to hit the absolute lowest price of the year — a feat that is more about luck than skill. Instead, the benchmark is historical consistency. If the farm can land in the bottom third or bottom half of the 5- to 10-year historical average or even just maintain consistency year-over-year, the strategy is a success. This consistent-cost model allows the farm to set its milk margins with confidence, knowing that this large input on the farm is already settled.

The Hidden Exposures

Even with 90% of their consumed fuel locked in, McCarty acknowledges the limits of the hedge. The farm remains exposed to indirect fuel costs — the market effects on purchased goods and, perhaps most significantly, milk freight increases.

This distinction is crucial for producers to understand. Locking in the diesel for your own tractors doesn’t protect you from the fuel surcharges applied by the third-party haulers moving your milk or the trucks delivering your distillers grains. This reality reinforces why being aggressive on the fuel you can control is so important; it narrows the window of vulnerability on the variables you cannot control.

Beyond the Contract: Efficiency as a Hedge

While forward contracting provides financial protection, McCarty is also focused on the physical side of the equation: consuming less. Every gallon of diesel not burned is a gallon that doesn’t need to be hedged.

The farm is constantly searching for ways to reduce its energy footprint. This includes everything from optimizing feed routes to reduce idling time to investing in newer, more fuel-efficient equipment. In this view, energy efficiency is the ultimate long-term hedge. It is a permanent reduction in exposure that pays dividends regardless of what happens in the energy markets.

“We have lived through times like this in the past and have no desire to repeat it, so ultimately, if we can be in the bottom third or bottom half of the 5- to 10-year historical average, or at least consistent year-over-year, then we are satisfied,” McCarty shares. “Of course, we are constantly searching for ways to consume less fuel and energy in general as an additional method of reducing our exposure to energy markets.”

Lessons for the 500-Cow Producer

While the McCarty scale is vast, the principles are entirely scalable for a modern 500-cow operation. Whether you are milking 40,000 or 500, the great rebalancing of the market means that margins are found in the details.

Compeer Financial ag economist Megan Roberts concurs with McCarty and says hedging isn’t about hitting the top or the bottom of the market; it’s about avoiding the economic risk of doing nothing.

“Risk management strategies, including hedging, are less about predicting the market and more about carefully managing exposure, using consistent, incremental decisions to smooth volatility in a way that fits the needs of your dairy operation,” she says. “Every farm is different, but in today’s environment, having a clear plan in place and following it with discipline is a wise strategy.”

In the end, the McCarty’s approach to fuel is a reflection of its approach to dairy farming as a whole: disciplined, data-driven and focused on the long game. By taking the volatility of the energy market off the table, it allows McCarty’s to focus on what truly drives the farm’s success: the health of the cows and the quality of the milk.

In a year where milk prices are shifting and trade policies are in flux, the lesson from McCarty Family Farms is clear: Protect what you can, manage what you must and never leave your margin to chance.

The Unified Front: Dairy’s Generational Evolution and the Path to 2026

Thu, 07 May 2026 13:28:46 GMT

The atmosphere in Oak Brook, Ill., at the 2026 Dairy Sustainability Alliance Spring Meeting was one of focused optimism. When Dennis Rodenbaugh, president and CEO of Dairy Farmers of America and chair of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, took the podium, he told the crowd they weren’t just listeners — they were the people redesigning the future of American farming. His message was clear: The U.S. dairy industry has moved past the era of defense and has firmly planted its flag in the territory of proactive leadership.

For years, the dairy industry found itself reacting to external pressures, often operating from a defensive posture. Rodenbaugh reflected on a time when the sector felt it was on its back heels, responding to narratives shaped by those outside the farm gate. However, the 2026 meeting marked a definitive departure from that stance. The current leadership, he argued, is no longer content to follow prevailing narratives. Instead, they are prioritizing the celebration of dairy’s intrinsic value — nutrition, stewardship and community impact.

Sustainability: A Legacy, Not a Label

One of the most compelling segments of Rodenbaugh’s address was his reframing of sustainability. To the modern ear, the word often sounds like a product of 21^st-century corporate mandates or NGO pressure. Rodenbaugh dismantled this notion, asserting sustainability in dairy did not begin with the invention of Scope 3 emissions reporting or government regulations.

“U.S. dairy farmers have been practicing sustainability decade after decade,” he reminds. For the farmer, sustainability is synonymous with stewardship. It is the practice of protecting natural resources not for a quarterly earnings report, but for the next generation. This generational thinking is the ultimate form of innovation. The goals of soil health, water conservation and animal care were not imported into the industry; they were born in the soil and passed down through lineages of farm families.

The Power of Alignment and Shared Responsibility

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy exists to solve a problem that no individual actor can tackle alone: scale. Rodenbaugh emphasizes real progress only happens when responsibility is shared and execution is aligned across the entire supply chain — from the cooperative to the processor to the retail partner.

In an increasingly fragmented world, the dairy industry has found strength in a coordinated roadmap. This alignment ensures food remains accessible, affordable and nutrient-dense. Rodenbaugh warns without this collective effort, individual farms or customer segments risk becoming isolated and vulnerable. By working through the alliance, the industry protects its license to operate and ensures the billions of people relying on dairy for nutrition are not let down.

By the Numbers: The Efficiency Miracle

To ground his vision in reality, Rodenbaugh points to the staggering efficiency gains the industry has achieved since the mid-20^th century. The modern U.S. dairy cow is a marvel of biological and technological innovation. Compared to her mid-century predecessors, today’s cow:

Produces five times more nutrition.
Uses 65% less water.
Requires 90% less land.
Maintains a 77% lower carbon footprint.

These figures aren’t just statistics; they are proof of a journey of improvement. However, Rodenbaugh cautions against defining sustainability too narrowly. While greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration are vital components, they are only pieces of a much larger puzzle.

The Social Fabric of Dairy

Rodenbaugh proposes a holistic definition of sustainability that connects the environment to the economy and social stability, outlining a virtuous cycle: Farmers produce nutrition; that nutrition drives human health; healthy people build stable communities; stable communities support innovation; and innovation, in turn, drives further sustainability.

This circularity of health positions the dairy farmer as the cornerstone of community stability. When the dairy industry thrives, the environment thrives and the people fed by that industry are empowered to innovate. This is the narrative Rodenbaugh urges the alliance to champion — one where the cow is a solution to global nutritional and environmental challenges, not a contributor to them.

Inclusion: From 100 to 10,000

Perhaps the most critical challenge addressed was the participation gap. As sustainability standards and expectations are developed — sometimes by entities outside the U.S. or outside the industry — there is a risk of leaving certain producers behind.

Rodenbaugh is adamant that for sustainability to be successful, it must be inclusive.

“The 10,000-cow dairy and the 100-cow dairy need to be recognized as both being essential to our future,” he says.

The dairy industry must create pathways where farmers of all sizes can participate in environmental markets and adopt new technologies. New value must be generated to support the necessary investments on the farm. If the bar is set so high that only the largest operations can clear it, the industry loses its diversity and its soul.

The Frontier: AI and Sound Science

Looking toward the future, Rodenbaugh expresses excitement about the role of artificial intelligence in energizing and coordinating these efforts. AI offers the potential to better track measurements, meet the reality of on-farm practice and accelerate the trend of efficiency.

However, he tempered this technological optimism with a call for humility. The planetary systems the industry interacts with are enormously complex. Therefore, the industry’s strategies must remain grounded in sound science and guiding principles.

Confidence must be earned through research and a commitment to on-farm viability. The goal is not to meet a fleeting trend, but to build a permanent, pragmatic framework that works for the land and the checkbook.

As he closed his remarks, Rodenbaugh looked out at the record-breaking attendance of the spring meeting. The high turnout was, to him, evidence the industry sees the value in coordination. While other sectors may have struggled to find their footing in the sustainability conversation, dairy has emerged as a leader — not just within agriculture, but across the global corporate landscape.

The 2026 meeting served as a reminder the alliance is more than just a name; it is the room where the future of food is secured. By aligning on facts, embracing their history as stewards and ensuring every farmer has a seat at the table, the U.S. dairy industry is not just surviving the sustainability movement — it is defining it.

Turn Repro into Cashflow with These Three Fixes

Wed, 06 May 2026 15:25:58 GMT

There is a hidden cashflow lever that a lot of dairies can pull today to increase income in the next 12 months, and it is buried in your repro program.

With the value of a calf right now, we want cows getting pregnant as quickly as possible and turning as many calves over as possible. Those calves are an immediate source of income as soon as they hit the ground. That makes pregnancy rate (PR) the “North Star” of the breeding program. The target I want to get dairies to hit is 40% pregnancy rate (PR), and if a dairy isn’t there, here are the three areas I focus on to get more cows pregnant sooner:

Training: You may have a skilled breeder inseminating cows, but even a good breeder can benefit from a refresher course to gain PR points. It’s not uncommon for me to spend time along side the breeder and find that protocols have drifted and become costly habits. For example, on a recent farm visit, we found that semen was being deposited in the uterine horn. One simple retraining and repro improved within a couple of months.
Timing: Shot compliance is paramount. While some people may start out in the appropriate time range, by the time they are done giving shots, the timing is way off. Not only is the timing of shots key, but it’s also important to train employees to do some heat detection and catch good standing heats. These cows are the low-hanging fruit for getting additional pregnancies before a cycle passes by.
Technique: Cow handling technique is the other area where errors occur, compliance wanes and efficiency can be lost. I see a lot of people walking the pens and trying to give shots while the cows are moving. You might get the shot in the cow, but not the full injection. Not to mention, the additional stress you are creating for that cow and the entire pen. If you are trying to catch cows coming out of the parlor, try locking up the first group and releasing them to open up lockups for the last cows coming back to the pen, which are the ones most likely to get missed.

Focusing on these three key areas can pull the lever on pregnancy rate and thus, give you more calves on the ground that can turn into cash quickly.

A Late First Cutting Can Cost You All Season

Tue, 05 May 2026 22:04:11 GMT

With spring fieldwork underway, farmers are juggling a long list of jobs. Planters are rolling, fields are getting prepped and every good weather window is maximized.

At the same time, alfalfa fields continue to grow and are inching closer to first cutting. This timing tends to line up with some of the busiest stretches, and when alfalfa reaches the right stage, it becomes the priority, causing other fieldwork to get set aside. And the challenge with planning first cutting is working within a short window where crop conditions can change in a hurry.

First Cutting Sets the Tone for the Year

According to Kimberly Cassida, a Michigan State University forage specialist, the first cutting often represents a third or more of total seasonal forage production. And in shorter growing season regions, it can approach half of a farm’s total yield. Because of that, timing has a strong impact on feed supplies and ration flexibility throughout the year.

Early in the season the crop changes quickly and the decision to cut comes down to balancing higher yield against declining forage quality.

“For any kind of a forage crop, we always have to deal with a trade-off between yield and quality,” Cassida says. “As our forage crop is increasing in yield over time, it’s becoming more mature, and when it’s more mature, that means it has more fiber, more lignin, more cell wall and more stem compared to leaves.”

(Farm Journal)

Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) increases as the crop matures, while digestibility declines faster in first growth than in later cuttings. Crude protein also declines with maturity, which reduces both energy and protein value when harvest is delayed.

“We like to keep NDF around 40% for dairy-quality hay,” Cassida says. “And that level can change by nearly one percentage point per day.”

What to Look for in the Field

Once you understand how fast quality can change, the focus shifts to determining when the stand is ready to cut. Instead of waiting for a certain date, fields can be walked to assess plant stage, height and how development is progressing.

Plant cues and simple measurements do most of the work in narrowing timing. A few field indicators include:

Stage of growth: “For highest quality, we would like to be harvesting alfalfa at late bud and no later than one‑tenth bloom,” Cassida says. “Once you see purple flowers across the field, you’re past that mark.”
Plant height: First‑cut alfalfa for high‑quality feed is often in the harvest window when bud‑stage plants are about 28 to 32 inches tall. Cassida notes that many growers aim for a point where “bud‑stage alfalfa is about 26 inches tall” as a dairy‑quality target.
Bud development: Look for visible buds with little to no purple bloom showing. A few scattered flowers are acceptable; widespread purple signals you are moving out of the dairy window.
Field variability: Check multiple areas of the field. High spots, low spots, and traffic lanes can all mature at different speeds.
Rapid change in warm weather: In first cutting, quality can slip fast. RFQ can drop four to five points per day, which Cassida linked to “about $10 per day in value per ton” when hay is headed for premium markets.

Together, these help identify when the crop is entering the harvest window where yield and quality are still in balance.

Regrowth Starts the Clock

The first cutting doesn’t just affect one harvest. It ends up setting the timing for the rest of the season and how the remaining cuttings fall into place.

“This date also determines your second, third, fourth and potentially fifth cutting windows,” Cassida says.

(PDPW)

Once the first cutting is made, regrowth starts the clock for the rest of the season. When harvest is delayed, later cuttings can become compressed, reducing flexibility and making it harder to hit optimal timing later in the year.

Delays can also affect plant recovery and overall productivity.

“If you are forced to delay the first cutting due to environmental conditions, this could have negative consequences with a slower regrowth and perhaps a reduction in future yield production,” Cassida says.

Working Within the Window

First cutting carries more weight than any other harvest in the system. It represents a large share of total forage yield, sets the pace for the rest of the season and changes quickly once the crop reaches the bud stage. Weather variability, stand differences and rapid spring growth all influence timing. But combining plant stage, height and regular scouting helps narrow the window.

For most farms, the goal is not just getting it done, but getting it done in a window where yield and quality are still aligned.

Every Generation Has to Figure it Out

Tue, 05 May 2026 15:15:56 GMT

The dairy industry is changing fast. Some would argue dairy is changing faster than any other part of agriculture. Either way, the pattern is the same: the farms that win tomorrow will do it with a different skill set than the farms that won yesterday.

I’m not trying to predict the future. I’m simply pointing out what history keeps teaching us: every generation has to figure out what matters most, then build the skills to match.

Before my Granddad passed away, I asked him how he survived and even thrived when he got started farming. You see, he started his farming career on poor, sandy soil on the wrong side of the tracks... in the Thirties. Yet he made it through. He said everyone was poor, and everyone struggled, but he was a very good mechanic, and he could drive straighter than most. Because he could drive straight and plant straight, cultivation was better, and his yields were higher. This wasn’t a huge advantage, but it was enough.

Before my dad passed, I asked him the same question. He said that Granddad was a great mechanic, but he found that he made more money in the office with a pencil and understanding of his finances than with a wrench. He sharpened his pencil and figured out a way to place the second irrigator in Minnesota on our poor sandy soil. It didn’t take long for that poor soil to become valuable.

Today, my brother has a mechanic, an agronomist, and an accountant. What is his role today? His main role is organizing others who do the work and finding talent. Sure, he has to have a working knowledge of many areas, but in many cases, there are managers on his team with more expertise in their specific areas.

Our business model believes every farm needs a Ready Next Generation. Ready to take on the challenges of the future, not the past. Without foreseeing the future, we can safely predict that a Ready Next Generation will need a different skill set than what their fathers and grandfathers can teach them. There is no singular solution. Every farm will have to discover the relevant skills of the next generation and what the dairy will need. Then find a way to prepare them.

We are blessed to observe and work with many great family farms. One trait that sets farms apart is a hunger for knowledge. Getting off the farm when necessary to stretch mental muscles. Take an online course. Talk to business owners from other parts of agriculture, parts of the country, other countries, or other industries. You never know who has the answer.

So no, I don’t know the future. But I believe change will come as in past generations. It will take a ready and willing Next Generation with new skills, to make sense of it all and thrive. Just like our fathers and grandfathers did before us.

The Corn Silage Factors that Show Up in Milk Production

Mon, 04 May 2026 18:14:55 GMT

For most dairies, feed remains the largest expense, and corn silage continues to form the foundation of the ration. That makes it worth taking a closer look at what shapes silage performance and where management decisions can improve return.

On a recent Dairy Signal episode, John Goeser, dairy nutrition and management consultant at Progressive Dairy Solutions Inc., and Luiz Ferraretto, assistant professor and Extension specialist in dairy nutrition at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, , walked through how corn silage management is evolving. Their discussion covered feed hygiene, chop height, and other management decisions in the field and at feedout, and how those choices connect back to cow performance and milk production.

Their focus stayed on understanding how agronomics, harvest decisions, and feeding management show up in the bunk and ultimately in the tank. Rather than chasing trends, the goal is to evaluate what works within each farm’s system.

Back to Basics: Fiber and Starch

Many producers are taking a closer look at what defines good corn silage. Ferraretto brings the focus back to the fundamentals that drive performance in the ration.

“From a corn silage perspective, I think there are two main things we need to focus on,” he says. “First is fiber and the other is starch.”

Fiber and starch together often make up close to half the plant. But total nutrients alone do not tell the full story. What matters is how much of those nutrients the cow can actually use.

“If we talk about fiber, we need to understand digestibility,” Ferraretto says. “And if we talk about starch, we need to understand digestibility, because having a nutrient there but not being available does not help us either.”

(North Dakota State University Extension)

Goeser says it’s easy to focus too narrowly when evaluating forage quality.

“We are enamored with discussing fiber digestibility,” he says. “But it is only one component. There are really four components that drive forage quality with corn silage and equate to the milk per ton we’re ultimately going to look for.”

Those include fiber content, fiber digestibility, starch content and starch digestibility. Looking at all four together provides a clearer picture of how a crop will perform in a ration.

He also encourages producers to think beyond forage quality alone and consider total return.

“We need to take into account the agronomic costs and considerations, the acres needed to feed the herd, as well as the intake and milk production in our economic scenarios,” Goeser says.

Feed Hygiene: An Overlooked Limiter

Even high-quality silage can fall short if feed hygiene isn’t managed well. Spoilage yeasts, molds, mycotoxins and other unwanted organisms can be introduced at harvest or develop during storage and feedout.

“Feed hygiene i ncludes all the anti-nutritional components that can show up in forages or in the ration when it’s fed to cows,” Goeser says. “Even when forage quality is good, spoilage organisms can still be present. Those microbes can disrupt rumen energy use and reduce performance, almost like water in diesel fuel.”

Ferraretto points to yeast as a common concern in corn silage systems.

“If there’s a lot of yeast contamination for whatever reason, you should expect lower milk production,” he says. “That can be tied to lower intake, reduced palatability and also impacts on fiber digestibility.”

(Trey Cambern)

One of the challenges is that spoilage is not always obvious.

“These are not things we can see,” Goeser says. “We need laboratory testing. Infrared cameras can also be very helpful, because when we’re talking about yeast, we’re really talking about spoilage yeast.”

He notes that yeast counts can range widely across farms, sometimes reaching tens of millions of colony-forming units per gram.

“If we have 10,000 or even 30 million CFU per gram, that means there can be millions of yeast organisms in just a small amount of feed,” Goeser says. “Now think about how much of that feed a cow eats every day, and how quickly that adds up.”

Ferraretto adds that controlling contamination starts with basics in harvest and storage. Clean surfaces, good packing, and consistent feedout all help reduce spoilage risk. Soil, dust and manure contamination can add to the problem.

“A lot of different avenues could act and compromise some of the hard work that you put into preparing that silage,” Ferraretto says.

Managing Stability at Feedout

To help limit spoilage, both Ferraaretto and Goeser point to inoculants and organic acids as tools that can support stability under the right conditions.

For corn silage, Ferraretto highlights Lactobacillus buchneri–based inoculants.

“The Buchneri type inoculant shift fermentation towards acetic acid at a certain point,” he says. “Acetic acid actually delays the proliferation of these molds when we are feeding cows after opening the silo.”

Better stability can show up as reduced heating at the bunk and more consistent intake.

Jerseys

(Trey Cambern)

“If you’ve ever been to a feed bunk, put your hand in the TMR, and you saw that the TMR is very warm and the cows don’t want to eat, that’s what we’re talking about,” Ferraretto says.

Goeser adds that the benefit can extend beyond the bunker and into the TMR.

“Silage has a longer shelf life,” he says. “It can really be valuable… so much so that it can carry into the total mix ration and actually increase the shelf life of the total TMR to a measurable amount.”

For wetter forages, inoculants alone may not fully control spoilage. Organic acids may be part of the solution.

“I usually think about propionic acid as the potential savior when you have all that silage warming up,” Ferraretto says. “You can kind of stabilize that for palatability a little bit.”

Application rate matters if you want to see a real response. Too little product won’t move the needle on stability or spoilage control, even if the ingredient itself works.

“One or two pounds per ton isn’t going to make a difference,” Goeser says. “Fifteen to twenty pounds per ton would be equivalent to what a fermentation would create.”

Chop Height: A Measurable Tradeoff

Chop height is one of the most direct ways to influence fiber digestibility, but it comes with a clear yield tradeoff. Ferraretto shares results from a meta-analysis that breaks down the impact in numbers.

“For every 10 inches of increase, you have about 2.5 percentage units increase in NDF digestibility, about the same amount increase in starch, but then you have a half ton decrease per acre in dry matter yield,” he says.

On an as-fed basis, that equates to roughly 1.5 tons per acre lost for every 10-inch increase in cut height.

Goeser says that tradeoff deserves attention.

“To me, that’s something that we should be looking at each year,” he says.

Harvesting corn silage.

(Farm Journal, Inc.)

Response depends heavily on crop conditions. More mature corn tends to benefit more from higher chop height, while immature corn shows less response. Drought-stressed fields are generally less suitable.

“Drier plants benefit more than immature plants when you are increasing chop height,” Ferraretto says.

Field conditions also play a role. In fields with disease pressure or significant lower canopy dieback, leaving more of that material in the field can improve forage quality going into the silo.

“If we had a diseased field, it may be beneficial to raise that cutter head up just to limit some of that less digestible material,” Goeser says.

Connecting the System

Corn silage performance comes back to how the whole system works together. Hybrid selection, plant health, soil fertility, harvest timing, and feed management all influence what ends up in the bunk and in milk production. Ferraretto and Goeser emphasize that no single decision drives results on its own.

For dairy producers, the opportunity is in seeing how these pieces fit together across the season and not treating any one of them in isolation. Small improvements in multiple areas can add up over time, and measuring how those changes show up in intake, milk production, and overall feed efficiency helps fine-tune decisions year after year.

The Year of the Woman Farmer: Becky Nyman’s Global Impact and Local Roots

Mon, 04 May 2026 12:51:01 GMT

In the quiet, early morning hours in Hilmar, Calif., the air is thick with the familiar scent of a working dairy. For Becky Nyman, a fourth-generation dairy farmer, this is the center of her universe: a multi-site, family Jersey dairy operation. And, while her boots are firmly planted in the California soil, her vision is fixed on a horizon that spans continents.

Nyman is a woman of two worlds. In one, she manages the complex regulatory and employee landscape of a high-performing dairy operation alongside her brother, Brad. In the other, she sits at the head of the table as the first female chair of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), representing the interests of U.S. producers in high-stakes trade discussions from Paris to Beijing.

Her journey is more than a personal success story; it is a blueprint for the modern dairy leader — one who successfully bridges the gap between the family farm and the global marketplace.

The Road Back to the Farm

Like many farm kids, Nyman’s path wasn’t a straight line back to the barn. After graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and earning a master’s degree in agribusiness from Texas A&M, she spent nine years in the corporate world. By her late 20s, she was living in San Francisco, commuting to a downtown office and building a career far removed from the farm landscape of her youth.

“I didn’t realize being on the farm was really an option until I was 30,” Nyman recalls. “My dad was talking to me and said, ‘You know, there’s a place for you on the dairy if you want to come back.’”

It took time to process the shift, but in 2011, Nyman traded the city skyline for the family corrals. She joined Brad, who had moved straight into operations after college. Their partnership is a study in complementary strengths: Brad handles the daily operations, while Nyman leans into the regulatory and employee side of the business.

“I tell people I try my best to be a lawyer and an accountant,” she says with a laugh. “And I still need help from real lawyers and accountants, but that’s the role I fill on our family farm.”

(Photo by Becky Nyman)

A Culture of Perseverance

To understand Nyman’s leadership style, you have to understand Hilmar. It is a dairy-centric community where the spirit of cooperation is woven into the history of the land. It is where Hilmar Cheese was born from the shared vision of Jersey dairy farmers who saw the value in their milk’s unique components.

“Hilmar is special,” Nyman says, nodding that is where her family ships their milk. “My 90-year-old uncle recently told me that, growing up, his dad would make him go milk cows for the neighbor after her milked his own cows because they needed the help. That’s what community does — you use your strengths for the overall good.”

That sense of community is anchored by a single word that has echoed through four generations of Nymans: perseverance.

“It’s the first word that comes to mind,” she explains. “My grandfather was an immigrant who made his way to California. Every family gathering, we heard stories of perseverance. In international trade, that translates easily. You win some, you lose some, and the path is hard, but you keep going for the betterment of the industry.”

The Farmer’s Voice at the Global Table

When Nyman sits down with USDEC, she often finds herself in a unique position. In rooms filled with policy experts and corporate executives, she is often the only active dairy farmer — or one of a very few.

“Having that perspective of being on the ground is my strength in the room,” she says. “People want to hear the reality of it. They want to hear what it’s like from the source of the food. In theory, certain trade ideas look good on paper, but I can speak to the practical challenges facing the American dairy producer.”

One of her “aha” moments came during a high-level trip to China. While meeting with the Ministry of Commerce, Nyman chose to speak not just of logistics, but of community.

“I talked about how dairy farmers and agriculture, in general, have more in common than we do different all around the world,” she recalls. “One of the ministers actually took my comments and folded them into his own. He used my words to find common ground. It was an eye-opening moment — he heard me, and he realized that our shared interests were stronger than our disagreements.”

(Photo provided by Becky Nyman)

The 2026 Export Landscape: Year of the Woman

And in 2026, the work of USDEC has never been more critical. The year started with a bang, showing year-over-year double-digit growth. U.S. milk solids equivalent volume increased 12% in January — the biggest January on record. This growth was driven by cheese, butterfat and a surprising surge in nonfat dry milk.

At the recent 2026 USDEC Annual Membership Meeting, Nyman felt a renewed sense of optimism.

“Trade creates opportunities for farmers to stay on the farm and for future generations to return to it,” she told members.

The meeting highlighted several key themes Nyman is bringing back to Hilmar:

Exports are Essential: With 96% of the global population living outside U.S. borders, exports are the key to price stability and long-term growth.
The Fat Boom: Rising butterfat levels are creating both complexity and opportunity for global competitiveness.
The Protein Craze: The world’s hunger for nutrient-dense, sustainable protein — from whey to high-quality milk proteins — is not slowing down.

Perhaps most meaningful to Nyman was the recognition of the International Year of the Woman Farmer. As the first woman to lead USDEC, she views the milestone through a lens of service rather than status.

“I’m humbled about being named the first female chair,” Nyman says. “I try not to think about the title as much as just trying to do as much good as I can for our producers.”

This mindset of action over accolades is what she hopes to pass on to others.

“For many young women, opportunity starts with seeing what’s possible — and seeing themselves in it,” she says.

Her advice to the next generation of women in Hilmar and beyond is simple but brave.

“Say yes when opportunities come your way, even if it’s uncomfortable or you don’t think you’re qualified. Lean forward and never stop learning,” Nyman says.

(Photo provided by Becky Nyman)

Sustainability and the Future

In Hilmar, Nyman is practicing what she preaches on the global stage. Her operation is part of a digester cluster, where neighboring dairies came together in 2024 to share resources and infrastructure for renewable energy.

“We do what makes sense for the business,” she says of her sustainability efforts. “We do what is feasible. When I’m on international trips, I share the framework of our FARM program. It helps the world understand that we have a structure of responsibility, but I also tell them we do these things because we want to be responsible, not because of a mandate.”

The Bottom Line: It’s All About People

Whether she is navigating a complex regulatory filing in California or a trade barrier in a foreign capital, Nyman believes the dairy industry is, at its core, a people business.

“The people involved are equally, if not more, important than the cattle,” she says. “Navigating how to provide a stable working environment and fulfilling careers for our employees translates directly to trade. We are providing ingredients for industries in other parts of the world to grow and create jobs there. We are a reliable source for what they need to feed their people.”

Nyman’s journey from the family corrals to the global stage is a testament to the power of a unified voice. She serves as a reminder that the resilience of the dairy industry is fueled by families who persevere, communities that collaborate and leaders who aren’t afraid to say “yes” to the daunting, yet rewarding, work of feeding a growing world.

As she moves forward in her role as USDEC chair, Nyman remains focused on the “why” behind the work: ensuring the next generation of Nymans — and the next generation of U.S. dairy farmers — have a clear and sustainable path back to the land.

Where Crossbreds Fit in Today’s Genetic Evaluations

Fri, 01 May 2026 18:26:15 GMT

When crossbreeding started picking up steam in U.S. dairy herds, the genetic toolbox wasn’t really built for the cows’ producers had in their barns.

Genetic evaluations worked well for purebreds, but for Holstein–Jersey crosses and other combinations, the system only went so far and accuracy dropped. That gap is what the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) set out to address.

In a recent episode of the CDCB Cow Cast, George Wiggans, longtime USDA research geneticist and current CDCB technical advisor, walked through how genomic evaluations and Breed Base Representation (BBR) have changed the way crossbred dairy cattle are evaluated.

Why Crossbreds Didn’t Quite Fit

For a long time, dairy genetic evaluations were built around purebred populations, which worked well when most herds were fairly uniform and selection stayed within a single breed.

Evaluations were done within each breed, so crossbred animals didn’t always line up as well in the system and their results were less accurate. As crossbreeding became more common in commercial herds, especially in Holstein–Jersey systems aimed at balancing production and components, those gaps became more noticeable. The system could still generate numbers, but they didn’t always reflect what was happening in mixed-breed cows.

Meanwhile, the industry’s data foundation was still developing. For decades, most genetic progress came from what Wiggans calls the basics.

“We still relied on traditional evaluations, which pulled together data from farms across the country and even around the world to figure out which animals perform best,” Wiggans says. “Then we would take all that information across the traits we measure and combine it into a profile or index that would help predict how profitable an animal would be.”

That system has long been used in dairy genetics, but it didn’t always handle animals with mixed-breed backgrounds as smoothly.

Genomics Opens the Door

Genomics changed how geneticists approach evaluations. Instead of relying only on performance records, the system now uses DNA to connect specific parts of the genome to trait outcomes.

Wiggans says this is done using what are called reference populations.

“The concept is that by having a large reference population, we can assign genetic values to these segments of the chromosome,” Wiggans says. “So, when we put it all together and add it all up, we can say, we think that this is going to be the cow’s productivity for each of the traits we analyze.”

He explains genomic evaluation as building a kind of genetic mosaic, where pieces of DNA get value based on data from large groups of known animals. This worked well for purebreds, but for crossbreds there was still a missing piece: a consistent way to describe breed makeup in a way national evaluations could use directly.

BBR Gives Crossbreds a Place

To address that gap, the industry developed Breed Base Representation, or BBR.

“Recognizing that we would like to extend the genomic evaluations to crossbreds, we needed some way of identifying what the breed background was of an animal,” Wiggans says.

BBR uses genomic data to estimate how much of each breed is in an animal.

“We used kind of an interesting approach here… Why don’t we use the same idea to estimate how much Holstein, Jersey, Guernsey, and other breeds are in an animal,” Wiggans says.

Purebred animals serve as the starting point because their genetics are clearly defined.

“We treat a purebred animal as fully belonging to its breed, like giving it a ‘1’ for that breed and a ‘0’ for all other breeds,” Wiggans says. “Then we use genetic markers, called SNPs, to estimate how much of each breed is in mixed animals.”

From there, each animal gets a breed breakdown.

“So, an animal could be 75% Holstein and 25% Jersey,” Wiggans says. “That’s what Breed Base Representation, or BBR, reports.”

BBR breaks an animal’s genetics into breed percentages, giving producers a clearer way to understand and compare crossbred animals. He adds that the approach is considered highly accurate because it’s based on large amounts of genetic data from many animals.

Putting Breed Mix into One Number

BBR describes what breeds are in an animal. The next step is turning that information into a usable evaluation.

“By having this BBR that we’ve discussed, we can say, well, let’s just do a weighted average,” Wiggans says. “We’ll multiply each evaluation by the percent of each breed that it is, add it all up, then that will be our evaluation of this animal.”

Each breed contributes to the final score based on how much of that breed is in the animal. A higher percentage of a breed means it has more influence on the outcome. The final result is one evaluation number for crossbred animals that reflects their actual genetic makeup, instead of forcing them into a single-breed category that doesn’t fully represent them.

Crossbreds are Now Part of the System

As genomic testing has expanded, crossbreds have become a bigger part of the national dataset.

“So, not surprisingly, Holstein numbers were over 9 million last year, with Jersey coming in second,” Wiggans says. “But what stands out is that crossbreds are now the third largest group. So, providing evaluations for crossbred met a real need in the industry.”

Today, crossbred animals are included in the evaluation system. Tools are now in place to better reflect how they are bred and managed on today’s dairies. As genetic evaluations continue to evolve, Wiggans expects crossbreds to remain part of the picture.

“We’re working on strategies to take this into account so that the evaluation simultaneously considers both the genetics and her traditional data,” he says. “We expect that we’ll still offer evaluations for these animals, so that the BBR will continue to have a role in the evaluations.”

The result is a system that better matches the cows’ producers are working with every day, bringing crossbreds fully into the genetic conversation.

The Great Rebalancing: Why 2026 Milk Prices are Defying the Supply Tsunami

Fri, 01 May 2026 12:48:04 GMT

As the calendar turned to 2026, the U.S. dairy industry found itself standing at a complex crossroads. For producers, the view out the tractor cab window was one of cautious optimism, tempered by the sobering reality of a global market that was, quite literally, overflowing. The story of the 2026 dairy market is not one of a simple boom or bust, but rather a great rebalancing — a period defined by record-breaking production, a revolution in protein demand and the looming shadow of international trade negotiations.

The Tsunami of Milk

The entry into 2026 was defined by a singular, staggering fact: There was a lot of milk. The industry was coming off a 2025 campaign that saw U.S. production grow at a pace rarely seen in recent history. For the full year of 2025, production had climbed 2.8% over the previous year. However, it was the second half of 2025 that truly signaled the coming tidal wave, with production up nearly 4% compared to the same period in 2024.

For example, in Idaho, the state has seen consistent growth rates of 5% to 8% per month year-over-year for the last 18 months. For 2025, Idaho is projected to be up 7.5% in total milk production.

“That 7.5% is on a very big base,” explains Rick Naerebout, chief executive officer of the Idaho Dairymen’s Association. “It equates to roughly 3.5 million lb. of milk a day more this year than we had last year. We’ve definitely turned on the milk production.”

This isn’t just an American phenomenon. Europe, too, saw a 4% surge in the latter half of 2025. By the time the industry reached January 2026, the momentum was undeniable. Production was up 3.4% year-over-year, fueled by a national herd that had expanded by 189,000 head.

As the spring flush approached — that annual period where cows reach peak production — the sheer volume of milk began to test the physical limits of the supply chain. In California, the nation’s dairy powerhouse, the system began to buckle. Reports of milk being dumped due to capacity constraints sent a chill through the industry. It was a stark reminder that even when prices are stable, the physical reality of moving and processing millions of pounds of a perishable product remains the industry’s greatest logistical hurdle.

The Protein Pivot: Why Prices Held Firm

In any other era, a global oversupply of this magnitude would have sent prices into a tailspin. Yet, as Ben Laine, senior dairy analyst with Terrain noted in his report, the market took a sharp turn higher, sooner than many experts expected. The savior of the 2026 balance sheet was not a shortage of milk, but a fundamental shift in what the world wanted from that milk.

“Consumers want more protein. There has been a convergence of GLP-1s, new Dietary Guidelines and marketing dollars aimed at developing new products that have accelerated the demand shift. And high-protein dairy products are well-positioned to meet that need,” he says.

The industry has indeed witnessed a protein boom. Consumer demand for high-protein yogurts, ultra-filtered milks and milk protein concentrates reached a fever pitch. This demand fundamentally altered the value of the milk components. Whey, once considered a humble byproduct, became a market leader, benefiting from a steady, multimonth climb in value.

This protein pivot created a fascinating ripple effect. As more milk solids were pulled into the production of high-protein consumer goods, there was less surplus skim left to be dried into nonfat dry milk. This scarcity in the skim market provided a sudden, unexpected lift to nonfat dry milk prices. By early 2026, the market was optimistic that Class III and Class IV prices could be supported despite the heavy supply. However, this strength was uneven. While whey and protein-heavy products soared, cheese and butter remained stubbornly low compared to 2025 levels, creating a disjointed market that signaled volatility ahead.

“The support for milk prices right now is being driven by high whey and nonfat dry milk values as opposed to cheese and butter. Since that’s a reversal from the norm, the market might spook easily at any unexpected signals from the data over the next couple of months,” Laine adds.

The Export Lifeline and USMCA Shadow

While domestic protein demand provided the floor, it was the export market that provided the ceiling. In 2025, exports played a critical role in driving demand. U.S. dairy exports grew by 3.8% on a total solids basis, coming just shy of the record set in 2022. The total value of these exports reached a staggering $9.51 billion.

“Over the last two years, the majority of the new cheese made in the U.S. has gone into the global market as international demand surged. The international demand is also helping pull U.S. milk overseas,” says William Loux, senior vice president of global economic affairs at USDEC.

However, as the second quarter of 2026 began, the industry’s eyes turned toward the borders. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was scheduled for a joint review in July. For the U.S. dairy farmer, the stakes could not be higher. More than 40% of the total value of U.S. dairy exports flows to our North American neighbors — $2.58 billion to Mexico and $1.31 billion to Canada.

Although, Loux doesn’t anticipate any disruption to trade with our dairy partners.

“2025 was unequivocally a successful year for exports. The U.S. continues to establish itself as an essential supplier to global consumers, helping meet the growing global demand for dairy products, in particular cheese, dairy proteins, and, surprisingly in 2025, butterfat,” Loux says. “Market access is vital to U.S. dairy exports. In order to continue supplying high-quality nutritious products to consumers around the world, the U.S. must continue to maintain and expand our trade agreements. Those agreements have not only proven to benefit U.S. dairy farmers and exporters but also have enhanced local supply and dairy product manufacturing in our partner markets.”

The Forecast: A Volatile Path to 2027

Looking at the numbers, Laine’s outlook for the remainder of 2026 suggests a more favorable environment than originally feared, but one that requires a steady hand on the wheel.

In Terrain’s most recent quarterly outlook, Laine forecast Class III milk prices to average $17.00/cwt, while Class IV is forecast to reach a robust $19.50/cwt. As we move into the second half of the year, the forecast remains resilient, with Class III averaging $16.75 and Class IV holding strong at $19.20.

However, the long-term horizon suggests a gradual cooling. By the first half of 2027, the forecast dips slightly to $16.60 for Class III and $17.80 for Class IV. These numbers reflect an industry that is successfully navigating a period of high supply but is also wary of the cracks appearing in the durability of the recent price moves.

“Markets continue to move and have surpassed those forecast levels, but with the risk of more volatility. I’d view that as an opportunity to take some risk off the table rather than banking on prices continuing to rise,” Laine says.

Strategy in the Face of Uncertainty

The lesson of early 2026 is clear: the market is rewarding those who are proactive. The jump in prices during the first quarter was not a guarantee of future riches, but rather a window of opportunity for risk management.

With volatility expected to ramp up as the spring flush peaks and trade negotiations intensify, the reliance on tools like Dairy Revenue Protection and other hedging strategies has never been more vital. The great rebalancing of 2026 means that while the outlook has improved, the margin for error has narrowed.

“Keep an eye on what consumers are looking for, both here and abroad, and work it into your marketing plan,” Laine says. “During major shifts like we’re seeing now, that might mean more active risk management, but it also means keeping an eye on where the demand for protein is showing up in revenue streams on the farm. At this point, that might not be protein prices on the milk check directly, but it could include ongoing opportunity for beef calf sales.”

Success in this environment isn’t just about producing more milk. It’s about understanding the global flow of protein, the geopolitical climate of North American trade and the discipline to take risk off the table when the market offers a favorable price. As the spring flush continues, the U.S. dairy farmer remains — as always — a resilient fixture in a world that is increasingly hungry for what they produce.

Chocolate Reclaims the Top Spot as America’s Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 19:14:44 GMT

Chocolate is back on top as America’s favorite ice cream flavor, according to the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) National Ice Cream & Frozen Novelty Trends Survey. After briefly ceding the No. 1 spot to vanilla in 2024, chocolate has reclaimed the lead in 2026. Butter pecan also continues its climb, moving ahead of vanilla among U.S. consumers.

The biannual survey reflects responses from more than 2,200 U.S. adults and tracks how Americans choose ice cream and frozen novelties, from flavors and formats to toppings and traditions.

IDFA’s latest results point to a mix of nostalgia and indulgence shaping consumer preference. Classic flavors remain strong, while richer, more decadent options continue gaining traction.

Top 5 flavors among U.S. consumers:

Chocolate
Butter Pecan
Vanilla
Cookies and Cream/Oreo
Caramel/Salted Caramel

Compared with previous years, the rankings show continued movement toward richer, mix-in driven flavors, while traditional staples still anchor the category.

“Americans’ love for ice cream is as strong as ever,” says Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA. “From timeless favorites like chocolate and butter pecan to newer indulgent options, ice cream continues to bring people together and create moments of joy across the country. As we look ahead to National Ice Cream Month, it’s clear this remains a staple in American life.”

The Sweetest States: Where America Loves Ice Cream Most

Other findings from the survey show how consumers enjoy their ice cream:

Cone preference leads among formats, with 40% of Americans choosing cones, followed by sandwiches at 24% and mini cups at 14%.

(Source: 2026 IDFA National Ice Cream & Frozen Novelty Trends Survey)

Waffle cones or bowls remain the most popular vessel across generations, with Gen Z splitting more evenly between bowls and waffle bowls compared to older groups.

Hot fudge ranks as the top topping at 31%, followed by whipped cream at 27%, caramel sauce at 21%, and chocolate sauce at 18%. Flavor remains the primary purchase driver, with 70% of consumers saying it is very important, ahead of price and portion size.

When asked about iconic ice cream memories, respondents most often pointed to neighborhood ice cream trucks, followed by birthday ice cream cakes and visits to local scoop shops.

Separating Signal From Noise in a Data-Heavy Dairy

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 16:22:54 GMT

The beauty and curse of farming in the technological age comes in the form of 0’s and 1’s. There never seems to be an end to the measurables we collect and breakdown on a farm.

As our capabilities grow in terms of systems and software, this mound of data continues to grow.

But how do we know what is important?

Many seasoned herdsmen that I work with often bemoan just how hard it is to train the next generation of farm workers. “They just don’t have cow sense.” “They’re too deep in the numbers, and not the cows.” “Why can’t they just see it?”

What they are describing is a little-known skill they already possess known as Signal to Noise Positivity (SNP). Our seasoned herdsmen have developed an unconscious skill that allows them to differentiate between meaningful information (signal) and irrelevant information (noise). However, they had a significant advantage of developing this skillset during a time when the “noise” or extra irrelevant data was much less overwhelming.

Our farms are full of positive noise and signals that can be valuable in animal management. Feed intakes, milk production, lbs. of solids, rumination, SCC, milk deviation, etc. etc. all represent measures that indicate if things are headed in the right or wrong direction.

However, each of these factors is not important in each situation. Irrelevant noise from time to time causes new decision makers to make incorrect decisions based upon that noise rather than the more meaningful signals.

Taken together Signal and Noise Ratio (SNR) indicates whether positive noise is more or less likely to stick out. A higher SNR, or more meaningful noise vs irrelevant noise, means the decision maker is more likely to ID the important data whereas a low SNR means more confusion in the data.

But on today’s operations it is extremely difficult to learn how to increase a SNR and use it as our data pool, and subsequent noise grows.

For example, your herdsmen today may work a fresh pen and ID a sick cow with the following information; 7 DIM, rapid breathing, temp is 103 on the parlor meter, milk production is down 30 lbs., her ears are droopy, her rumination is down 40%, her eating time is 2%, and her activity is 50% what it was yesterday. These symptoms when taken together could be indicative of 5+ infectious diseases in a fresh cow and can rapidly confuse new workers.

However, an experienced herdsmen knows the most important part of all this noise is the 7 DIM signal which limits the likely diagnosis to only 2 or 3 possibilities. Their unique SNP ability filters the signal from the noise so no matter how much data we pile on top of the signal they can ignore the unimportant noise.

So how can we improve the SNP for new workers?

First, we need to eliminate multitasking. This only adds noise to the scenario and scatters attention. When working sick cows or doing other health tasks, new employees need to focus upon that singular task until deemed to have developed a sufficient SNP.

Second, we need to encourage monitoring of longer-term trends and react less to the hour to hour or day to day fluctuations. Certainly, there are cases that will change hour to hour but when training we need to help employees understand common cases and that cows generally will trend toward “healthy” or “sick” no matter how complex or simple our data collection system is.

Third, we need to expose these individuals to training from others who have advanced SNP skills. Many times, this involves an outside consultant such as your herd veterinarian who can use hands on training and also create SOP programs to help the individual navigate the noise.

Signals of disease are not always strong. However, by reducing noise for new team members we can increase the correct disease diagnosis while still implementing the latest in smart technology.

The Veterinarian Who Wants Everyone at the Table

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 20:57:12 GMT

The air in the farm office is thick with the scent of antiseptic and damp earth. Outside on a folding plastic table, slippery, pink reproductive tracts are laid out like a strange anatomy lesson.

This isn’t the sterile, hurried vet visit most expect. There is no rush to finish, no ticking clock. Instead, a crowd gathers. Workers, owners and managers lean in, drawn by a curiosity that usually gets buried under the weight of a daily chore list.

Michelle Schack doesn’t start by lecturing; she starts by inviting.

“We did a little in-the-office training where we talked about why what we were doing was important, and then we went outside. I had repro tracts and their AI guns, and they practiced,” Schack recalls. “I had three repro tracts, and I cut one open for us to look at. I explained to them the structure of the cervix.”

In moments like this, the hierarchy of the farm dissolves. Schack isn’t positioned as the untouchable expert at the center of the room. She is a facilitator, a guide and — crucially — a student.

“They were so excited to do this, and they had a lot of questions, really good questions,” Schack says. “We were all talking together. We were sharing things. I learned things. The breeders learned things. The owner learned things. We all were learning together.”

(Photos provided by Michelle Schack)

The Silicon Valley Roots of a Cow Vet

Schack’s journey to the dairy barn began in an unlikely place: the Bay Area of California. Growing up in the Silicon Valley, her world was surrounded by tech companies and not a lot of agriculture.

Her first connection to animals wasn’t through livestock but rather through a suburban 4-H group where she raised nine guide dog puppies for the blind. It was here, starting in the second grade, that she inadvertently began training for her future career — not just in animal care but also in the art of public advocacy.

When she reached the University of California, Davis, for her undergraduate degree, she assumed being a small animal vet was the only path. But after shadowing a practitioner, she realized she felt restricted by the 15-minute appointment model and the sterile walls of a clinic. She began to look for something that allowed for more space, more complexity and a deeper connection to the food system.

“I started exploring — asking, ‘Well, what else is there?’ I realized that there were all different kinds of vets, and I could do all different kinds of things,” she recalls. “I really just kept coming back to the cows. The cows were my favorite the whole time.”

By her third year of veterinary school, her choice was clear, though she was in the extreme minority. Out of her graduating class of 140, there were four students who tracked food animal medicine.

The High Cost of the Telephone Game

This instinct to pull people toward the table comes from seeing what happens when communication breaks down. In the dairy industry, the real problem is often a lack of communication — a high-stakes game of telephone that breaks down as the message gets passed further along the line.

“I think very often we speak to the farmers and then the farmers speak to their employees. But along the way, some of the messages are lost, especially as our farms get bigger,” Schack explains.

She doesn’t see this as a lack of effort but rather as a reality of the grueling environment.

“The employee on the farm has a very challenging job. Typically it’s very repetitive, very physical, in all weather, and it’s very common for them to just get stuck in a routine,” Schack says.

When employees are stuck in a routine without understanding the biological “why” behind their tasks , the animals are the ones who pay the price. Her response is simple: Change how the message is shared. It has become one of the most rewarding parts of her work.

“When I get to work with the people and the owner and the manager, and I can see them all connect, that’s a day that I’m very excited for. That’s my favorite part of my job,” Schack explains.

(Photos provided by Michelle Schack)

The Missed Piece: Collaborative Medicine

This experience shaped a simple belief: A veterinarian who only talks to cows is only doing half the job. In Schack’s view, the vet is just one piece of a massive, integrated team.

“It is common for cattle veterinarians to show up, check cows and go home. When you don’t make the time for the rest of the team, then you’re going to get left out of certain conversations,” she notes. “Producers are working with a whole team of people. When we all work together, we can do so much more.”

She defines that team broadly, including the nutritionist, the slaughterhouse, the semen sales rep and even the person who installed the fans and misters. This teamwork requires a specific kind of humility: the ability to recognize that the person delivering 40 calves a day might know more than the person with the medical degree.

“There are maternity workers that have been working in maternity for 40 years, and all they do all day is deliver calves. They are experts, and to pretend that they aren’t or to overpower them is not smart. They know a lot, and we should be listening to what they have to say,” Schack says.

Starting Earlier: Bridging the ‘Milk Gap’

Schack’s passion for education eventually led her to look even further back in the chain of understanding: to the children in her own community. After visiting her children’s kindergarten class to talk about her job, she was struck by a profound realization.

“None of them knew how milk gets from the cow to the grocery store. They don’t understand that there’s processing,” she says. “I think most people think cows come in to get milked, it goes in a bottle and then goes to the grocery store. But there are so many steps in between, and I don’t think it’s shared very well.”

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A post shared by Dairy Vet Dr. Michelle (@dairy.doc)

She saw the same disconnect reflected in posts and comments on her social media, where she shares about dairy farming as the “ Dairy Doc .” Concerned that others were filling that knowledge gap with information that may not reflect reality, Schack decided to take action.

“I wrote a children’s book,” Schack says. “Kids are sponges, and they want to know the right answer. So, I wrote a book that’s specifically geared at their level that explains milk processing in a simple way so they can actually see what happens.”

The book, “Milk From Cow to Carton,” is set to release in June. She hopes to get it into the hands of teachers so they have a factual, accessible resource for their classrooms.

(Photos provided by Michelle Schack)

Building Something That Scales

When training demands began to outpace her schedule, Schack and her partners at her veterinary practice looked for a way to scale and maintain that connection.

“We started creating videos for our clients, and they were so well received that pretty soon we had the whole co-op interested in using our training,” she says.

These training videos eventually grew into DairyKind , a national training platform that fills the gaps in on-farm education. The platform offers modules on everything from special needs cow care to calf weaning, ensuring that the “why” is never lost in the shuffle of farm growth.

This work has clarified her own identity. For years, Schack thought her value was her knowledge of the animal. Now, she realizes her value is her ability to connect the people who care for them.

“I thought that I was an animal person. Over the years I’ve learned that I’m not really an animal person, I’m a people person,” she reflects. “My nature is to work with other people and that makes me happy.”

At the end of the day, the work still looks like that first moment in the farm office: a group of people gathered around a table. Schack is there, not just to provide the answers but also to ensure that everyone — from the veteran maternity worker to the kindergarten student — is part of the conversation.

She knows that if you want to improve outcomes for cows, you have to start with the people.

Walmart Opens New $350 Million Milk Processing Plant in Texas

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:03:23 GMT

Walmart has opened a new $350 million milk processing plant in Robinson, Texas, expanding its push into direct dairy processing and adding capacity in a growing milk region.

The new plant covers more than 300,000 square feet and represents an investment of over $350 million. It’s expected to employ more than 400 people and will supply Walmart and Sam’s Club stores across the South Central U.S.

According to the company, the plant will source milk directly from local and regional dairies and process it into a range of fluid milk products, including gallon and half-gallon packages of whole, 2%, 1%, skim and chocolate milk. These products will be bottled under Walmart’s private label brands, including Great Value and Member’s Mark, and distributed to more than 650 stores in the region.

(Walmart)

“The opening of our new facility in Robinson, Texas, will help us deliver more of what customers want—fresh, affordable food and quality they can trust,” says John Laney, EVP of food for Walmart U.S. “It strengthens our supply chain, improves freshness, and reduces time from dairy farm to shelf.”

Walmart has taken a similar approach with its other milk processing facilities in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Valdosta, Georgia, which also supply stores within their respective regions. The Robinson plant is the third in that network and expands the company’s processing footprint into the South Central U.S.

(Walmart)

According to the company, the facility is part of a broader effort to streamline its dairy supply chain and support more consistent availability of fluid milk in its stores.

“This milestone reinforces Walmart’s commitment to building a more transparent and efficient supply chain for dairy products, helping Walmart meet customer demand for high-quality, affordable milk across the South Central U.S.,” the company said in its announcement.

The Robinson facility is part of Walmart’s broader investment in U.S. manufacturing and sourcing. The company has set a goal of investing $350 billion in products made, grown or assembled in the U.S. by 2031. In its most recent fiscal year, more than two-thirds of Walmart U.S. product spending went toward items produced domestically.

The Silent Strength of Cheese

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:34:00 GMT

Over the years, cheese demand has slowly crept its way up to one of the most utilized dairy products. Per capita, the United States consumes the highest amount of cheese at 19.3 kg (about 42.5 pounds) annually. In second place, Canada consumes 14.5 kg per capita while the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina trail shortly behind at 12.5-9.40 kg respectively.

While Cheese dominates consumer demand at record levels, it also dominates a big part of the milk supply. Cheese is the leading user of U.S. milkfat, at 65% of manufactured milk being utilized for cheese production. That is a huge help when we see record setting milk production month after month here in 2025 and 2026.

Earlier this month, the USDA forecasted the 2026 milk production to increase 1.5% from 2025, coming in at 235.3 billion pounds, more than 600 million pounds from a month earlier. Despite this increase in milk production, the USDA increased the projected cheese price due to recent strength in the cheese market.

The cheese price strength has been slowly creeping up from the January lows. While milk production increases, the Cold Storage Report shows available supply fading. Last week, the report showed total natural cheese stocks up 1% from the previous month but down 2% from the previous year. When you compile these facts on top of the knowledge that milk production is growing year-over-year, you can see the story building as to why cheese is the silent strength behind the dairy market. Should milk production decline, cheese will be a major factor in future price hikes.

In the short term, traders do not expect cheese to lead any major rallies. However, when looking at long term trends, with consumer demand more than doubling per capita in the last 45 years, it is hard to ignore the steady growth in the U.S. alone. Therefore, it may be the support that places a solid price floor for dairy products in the months to come.

Sarah Jungman is a commodity broker with AgMarket.Net and AgDairy, the dairy division of John Stewart & Associates Inc. (JSA). JSA is a full-service commodity brokerage firm based out of St. Joseph, MO. Sarah’s office is located in Winterset, Iowa and she may be reached at 515-272-5799 or through the website www.agmarket.net .

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