Katelyn Allen

After decades of phenotypic decline in fertility traits as dairy farmers bred cows to make more milk instead, the industry has more recently seen

Judge Chris Lahmers of Marysville, Ohio, and his associate, Mike Maier of Stitzer, Wis., evaluated 262 animals in the International Milking Shorthorn Show this year, and Gin-Val Logic Lauretta-EXP was the last cow standing when the dust settled on Tuesday afternoon. Both the Open and Junior Shows were significantly larger than last year’s Milking Shorthorn Shows.

The dairy industry celebrated a “Golden Age” all throughout World Dairy Expo week with cutting-edge technology, insightful educational sessions, competitive youth contests, valuable connections, and of course, a remarkable cattle show. The event’s final order of business was to name its Supreme Champion cows, and on Friday afternoon, the winning Junior and Open Jerseys took home those titles in their respective division.

The author is the senior editor for Hoard’s Dairyman. Managing livestock is complex. A dairy farmer is constantly trying to move the seesaw of health and disease in favor of animal health.

People enjoy traditions, but today’s consumers also want and need more from their food products.

Taking a page out of Colorado’s book, USDA will start testing bulk raw milk around the country for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). The department said last week that testing would begin in early November.

After the August triannual genetic evaluations included multiple updates and brought new leaders to many of the Holstein and Jersey lists, the results of this month’s evaluations were largely stable.

USDA announced on Friday that it will begin the national milk testing program for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that it first announced at the end of October.

Every five years, USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services undergo the process of updating the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Last year, 96% of all farms across the U.S. were family-owned. Those businesses produced 83% of our country’s agricultural output.