Tom Quaife
Vt. driver's license debate touches on plight of migrant workers
On Tuesday, members of the Vermont House Transportation Committee heard testimony from a farm worker who couldn’t get a ride to the emergency room after being kicked by a bull. His co-workers didn’t have Vermont driver’s licenses and he was afraid to call an ambulance. He ended up waiting for 24 hours after the accident ― until his employer could arrange a ride.
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$75K in penalties for dairy’s role in fish-kill incident
A dairy in Michigan’s “thumb” region has reportedly agreed to pay $75,000 in penalties for its role in one of the worst fish kills in state history.
The Detroit News reports that Noll Dairy Farm, of Croswell, Mich., will pay for an incident that occurred in August 2009.
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‘Terribly offensive’ provisions of child-labor proposal cited
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) has been trying to get a face-to-face meeting with U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis on proposed regulations governing child labor on farms. But she has declined, leaving it up to her staff.
He even invited her to come to Kansas and meet with farm families.
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Under the circumstances, some will take $17.89 per cwt.
Last week, the nation's largest dairy cooperative came out with an estimate that the all-milk price will average $17.89 per hundredweight this year, compared to $20.14 last year.
A few years ago, if you told farmers they would get $17.89, they would say “OK,” noted DFA President and CEO Rick Smith. “But it’s a different world (today),” he added. High feed costs have eroded profit margins, even at relatively high milk prices.
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Meet the new stars of the dairy universe
On March 7, in a special ceremony in Washington, D.C., four farms and two processors were recognized for sustainable dairy practices.
Now, they are the stars of a new Got Milk? ad.
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At least PETA kept it G-rated outside an elementary school
A person dressed up as a carrot appeared outside of Browne Elementary School in Spokane, Wash., Tuesday afternoon just as students were about to be dismissed for the day.
The pro-vegan carrot mascot held a sign saying, "Eat Your Veggies, Not Your Friends."
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Milk production takes a huge LEAP
The headline, “February milk production up 8.3 percent” is shocking, since monthly reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture rarely show an increase of more than 3 percent on a year-over-year basis.
Then, the USDA noted that February was a leap year month, so an adjustment was made from 8.3 percent to 4.6 percent so an equal number of days were compared.
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Hutjens sees opportunities
Forty to 60 percent of the cost of producing milk will be in feed, so any efficiences gained in this area will pay huge dividends.
Mike Hutjens, professor emeritus of dairy science at the University of Illinois, outlined some of the opportunities at the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin business conference this week.
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Farmers face greater volatility
Price volatility has become a fact of life in agriculture, and how well a farmer is able to handle that volatility could well determine whether he stays in business.
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Wisconsin Gov. determined to hit 30 billion pounds of milk
On Tuesday, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker unveiled an ambitious plan to grow the state's dairy industry.
The goal: 30 billion pounds of annual milk production by the year 2020. That is a 15 percent increase from last year’s 26.1 billion pounds.
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Top 10 nutrition trends that affect your products
Each year, the Dairy Council of California staff identifies what it considers to be the top 10 health and nutrition issues that may impact the dairy industry, either positively or negatively.
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- Vilsack: Taking time to remember the fallen
- Ag markets diverge just before the long holiday weekend
- Study suggests dairy herd water quality linked to milk production
- Wis. lawmakers question challenges to large wells
- Traders evening up positions ahead of the weekend Friday
- Bio-Vet and Keller break ground on new facility
- Seven jobs more dangerous than farming
- White House urges Senate to cut crop insurance in farm bill
- Class III futures close out quietly last week
- 4 rules for growing a business or industry
- Drop in U.S. underground water levels has accelerated
- Ongoing wave of Calif. metal theft prompts further legislation
