When the coronavirus outbreak hit earlier this year, along with restaurant closings and stay-at-home orders, consumers were relying more on grocery stores for their food needs. For a while, many stores struggled to keep up with the increased in-store demand for basic products, including milk.

Gene Wiseman says the Missouri State Milk Board was positioned to help make sure the milk was getting where it was needed.

CRESCO, Iowa — There’s no denying it’s been challenging to be a dairy farmer the last five years.

“2014 was one of the best years a farmer could have asked for,” said Cresco dairy farmer Tim Huhe. “No matter what you did, there was money to be made. That changed in an ugly form the last five years.”

CARLYLE, Ill. — Jason Diekemper has been around dairy all his life, and plans to remain a dairy producer. But he recently expanded his operation, not with more cows, but with pigs.

The family recently built a 2,480-head wean-to-finish pig barn on their Clinton County farm. But the dairy isn’t going anywhere.

There are several pieces to the puzzle when it comes to culling dairy cows.

Fred Hall, Iowa State University Extension dairy specialist in Orange City, says the first factor is production.

The consumption of dairy products has moved well past the traditional glass of milk.

The dairy industry continues to evolve along with consumers, says Alyson Fendrick, manager of marketing and communications for Midwest Dairy.

Chris Galen is the senior vice president of member services and strategic initiatives for the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) in Arlington, Va.

In his role, Galen is responsible for ensuring that NMPF’s members derive value from their involvement with the association, and that NMPF is effective in its engagement with other dairy, agricultural and food organizations. This includes overseeing the delivery of a range of member services, while also creating and strengthening relationships in Washington and across the country between the organization and other stakeholders.