Q&A: What is Fair Trade Dairy?

Progressive Dairy Editor Dave Natzke

In early May, Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) and Chobani LLC announced the launch of a Fair Trade dairy certification program. The program is an outgrowth of a previous pilot program involving the two organizations, conducted in New York and Idaho, to determine if Fair Trade’s Agricultural Production Standard (APS) could be applied to the dairy industry.

The Fair Trade model connects producers and businesses in the supply chain to support sustainable livelihoods and practices, especially as they relate to farm labor and working conditions. Products they produce are certified and are eligible to carry the Fair Trade seal, making it easy for consumers to make purchase decisions, including paying a premium, for those that align with their own social, economic and environmental values. In turn, the program provides financial premiums to producers and processors meeting those certified for meeting those standards.

Learn more about the program and its adaptation into the U.S. dairy industry.

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Stay in the ‘black’: How to maintain a premium for dairy-beef cross calves

Larry Corah for Progressive Dairy

The use of beef semen in dairy cows over the past three years has simply been amazing. A recent National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB) report on semen usage indicated that nearly 7 million units of beef semen were used with dairy cows in 2020.

Since it takes three to four units of semen to create a pregnancy in dairy females, this would imply that starting in late 2020 and the first nine months of 2021, we should see between 1.7 to 2 million beef-on-dairy cross calves born. That number could easily exceed 3 million in the next two years.

3 important traits to consider when selecting beef genetics

Make your social event go viral: What we learned from #MilkFlipCup

Remember the ALS ice bucket challenge? How about dairy dance off? The milk chug challenge? If you’re on social media, you probably remember they went viral. Some even made national news. Ever wondered how they made that happen?

Learn more.

The benefits of supplementing your calf with colostrum – supplement or replacer?

Elizabeth Racine for Progressive Dairy

When it comes to ensuring the future success of a dairy operation, raising good replacement animals is essential. One of the most crucial steps in this process is colostrum management.

Failure of passive transfer not only increases morbidity and mortality of calves – with significant economic impacts for the producer – but it can also have negative impacts on feed efficiency, fertility and production later in life. In one study, supplementing calves with an additional 2 liters of maternal colostrum in the first hour after birth, later resulted in a significant increase in milk production during the first two lactations. Several other studies have also demonstrated improved rates of weight gain, decreased use of antibiotics and reduced age at first calving in calves achieving adequate passive transfer of immunity. Thus, producers must carefully evaluate their colostrum handling and administration to ensure that every calf is receiving an adequate volume of high-quality colostrum. One strategy to achieve this goal is to incorporate commercial colostrum products into your colostrum management plan.

Supplements and replacers: A useful tool for colostrum management