Since the late 1800s, South Dakota State University (SDSU) has played a pivotal role in the advancement of dairy farming, and it would be remiss not to mention the thousands of undergraduate students who have gone on to develop a career as dairy producers or industry allies along the I-29 Corridor and across the nation.

During a week that will be remembered for its frigid below-zero temperatures and added weather complications on the farm, more than 450 farmers and allied industry professionals traveled to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for the Dairy Strong Conference, held Jan. 16-18, 2024.

Progressive Dairy visited with Jim Mulhern on the Progressive Dairy Podcast shortly before he retired in December from his role as president and CEO of National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).

Nearly 750 dairy producers and industry representatives gathered in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 24-26 to learn the latest updates about dairy policy, exports, dairy checkoff, economics and more at the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA) and National Dairy Board (NDB) annual meeting.

The dairy checkoff continues to partner with YouTube sensation Jimmy Donaldson – aka “MrBeast” – who challenged a group of gamers in a custom Minecraft gaming competition featuring a dairy-dedicated level with a chance to win cash.

We’ve heard in songs and sayings that “it only takes a spark” to light a fire, but sometimes it also takes several sparks a few different times to really get things going. At least, that was the case for our family farming business when it came to digging deep into the numbers and financials of our dairy and crop operation.