Four-State Dairy Conference Slated for June 7-8

Annual dairy conference returns to Dubuque with a full line of industry speakers

The Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference will be held at the Grand River Center in Dubuque June 7-8, with a focus on the latest information about dairy nutrition and management.

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Northwest Iowa Dairy Fitting And Showmanship Workshop Set For June 10

Dairy youth in the I-29 corridor who are interested in sharpening their fitting and showing skills are invited a workshop on Saturday, June 10 from 9 am to 3 pm, which includes lunch plus a time for one-on-one time for questions and the opportunity to clip. The event will be held at the Dykshorn dairy located at 4149 Elmwood Ave, Ireton, IA 51027.

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Celebrate June Dairy Month with a Farm Tour, Food and Activities at Hickory Hill Farms on June 14

Hickory Hill Farms and Western Iowa Dairy Alliance Invite Public to Free, Family-Friendly Event

Dairy farmers across western Iowa are inviting the public to a family-friendly event at Hickory Hill Farms near Hospers, Iowa, to celebrate June Dairy Month. The annual event will include a dairy farm tour, free meal and activities from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 14. The farm is located at 4045 400th St, Hospers, Iowa. This June Dairy Month event is sponsored by Western Iowa Dairy Alliance.

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I-29 Moo University Presents Using Data To Make Decisions For Fly Management Around Your Dairy Cattle Webinar On May 18

The I-29 Moo University 2023 Dairy Webinar Series continues Thursday, May 18 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. CDT with a focus on using data to make decisions for fly management around your dairy cattle. The program will be presented by Dr. Trout Fryxell, a Medical and Veterinary Entomologist at the University of Tennessee.

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Monthly Dairy Webinar May 17 to Focus on Heifer Maturity And How It Affects Your Bottom Line

The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Dairy Team monthly webinar series continues on Wednesday, May 17 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. This program will focus on how heifer maturity affects the dairy’s finance bottom line.

The basic premise under-girding this presentation is that a mature heifer is an animal that has the phenotypic characteristics (e.g. weight and frame) that will allow the full expression of the animal’s genomic productive ability.

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Iowa March Milk Up 4 Percent YOY

Milk production in Iowa during March 2023 totaled 507 million pounds, up 4 percent from the previous March according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service — Milk Production report. The average number of milk cows during March, at 239,000 head, was 1,000 below last month but up 10,000 from March 2022. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,120 pounds, down 5 pounds from last March.

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Now is the time to Assess Alfalfa Stands

Leah Ten Napel, Iowa State Extension and Outreach Field Agronomist in NW IA Reminds us:

Assessing Alfalfa Stands- As we wait for our soils to warm here in NW Iowa, it’s a great time to be assessing our alfalfa stands for winter injury. I have been called out to several alfalfa fields already this spring. It appears that older stands may not have survived the winter as well.  Ideally, we want at least 55 stems per square foot. If crowns are healthy, might still accept down to 40 stems per square foot with somewhat reduced yield. For additional resources to utilize when assessing your stand, check out this blog on Scouting for Winter Injury in Alfalfa Fields.
                  
Pasture Weed Ma
nagement- Early spring is an excellent time to clean up biennials, winter annuals, and some perennials present in pastures. Pastures may thin due to natural aging of the stand, poor species by site selection, pest issues, poor fertility, overgrazing, or heavy traffic. Check out this article on how to Take Control of Your Weedy Pastures this Spring.

WASDE Projects Higher Milk Production

The April World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates milk production  higher on a larger expected cow inventory. Fat basis imports for 2023 are primarily raised on the strength of a number of dairy products during the first quarter. Imports of casein and milk protein concentrates are expected to remain firm, supporting higher skim-solids basis imports through the year. Expectations of increased competition in butter, cheese, nonfat dry milk, and whey markets are reflected in lower forecast exports on both a fat- and a skim-solids basis for 2023.

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Join Us At The 4-State Dairy Nutrition & Management Conference In June!

ORANGE CITY- Learn the latest information about dairy nutrition and management at the 2023 Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference on June 7 and 8 at the Grand River Center in Dubuque, Iowa. Join us in person for an unmatched experience with opportunities to be involved in lively panel discussions, a new feature with graduate student posters and presentations, for networking, socializing, and all the sessions. In person attendees will have access to all recorded plenary presentations after the conference.

An online option is great for scheduling flexibility, especially for our international audience. The online option will include only plenary sessions from the conference shared as video recordings shortly after the conference.

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Global Dairy Trade Event 330 concluded with the GDT Price Index up 3.2 Percent

Key Results

AMF index up 4.7%, average price US$4,981/MT
Butter index up 4.9%, average price US$4,821/MT
BMP index not available, average price not available
Ched index up 5.7%, average price US$4,411/MT
LAC index not available, average price not available
SMP index up 7.0%, average price US$2,776/MT
SWP not offered
WMP index up 1.0%, average price US$3,089/MT

Full results have been published on www.globaldairytrade.info.