Anna-Lisa Laca

When she’s not helping on the dairy, accomplished agriculture journalist Anna-Lisa Laca reports about all things agriculture—online, in social media and in print as the Online and Business Editor for Dairy Today and Top Producer. Laca, who served as Social Media Editor for Farm Journal early in her career, owns and runs a dairy with her husband, Scott, and grew up on a West Coast cow-calf operation. Follow @AnnaLaca1 Friend Anna-Lisa Laca

Latest Stories
“On behalf of the entire State Fair Park Board of Directors, please know that the decision to cancel the 2020 Wisconsin State Fair was not taken lightly," said Wisconsin State Fair Park Board Chairman John Yingling.
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Largest U.S. Junior Dairy Show, the Wisconsin State Fair, Cancelled
The Wisconsin State Fair announced Thursday that for the first time in 75 years they’d be cancelling the 2020 state fair.
November 19, 2020 09:06 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
“This payment comes at a critical time for many dairy producers,” said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. “It is the first triggered DMC payment for 2020, and the first payment to dairy producers in seven months.”
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March Margin Triggers First DMC Payment of 2020
Current projections indicate that a DMC payment is likely to trigger every month for the remainder of 2020.
November 19, 2020 09:06 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
“The market is giving us the opportunities that we need to learn from our mistakes of this spring,” she says. “The market is giving us a second chance on protecting milk.”
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Take Advantage of Current Markets, Lock in DRP Coverage
Don’t let this opportunity to enroll in Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) pass you by, warns Jenny Wackershauser.
November 19, 2020 09:06 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
USDA will only pay out 80% of the maximum direct payment initially, reserving the remaining 20% in case funding for the program runs out.  
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Dairy Producers to Receive $6.20 Per CWT in Aid Payments
Program sign-ups will begin May 26. USDA plans to begin issuing payments the first week of June.
November 19, 2020 09:06 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
“You can walk into a large commercial facility like a block cheese or milk powder plant and aside from the guard at the door, you’d have trouble finding someone,” he says. 
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Why Dairy Plants Are Unlikely to House Large COVID-19 Outbreaks
There are two main reasons dairy plants are unlikely to house large COVID-19 outbreaks.
November 19, 2020 09:06 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
“We get a lot of requests about reopening the dairy margin coverage program,” Perdue said. “It is essentially an insurance program and the principle of insurance is you have to have it before you need it.” 
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Perdue Says USDA Will Not Reopen the Dairy Margin Coverage Program
Perdue says DMC is intended to function as an insurance program.
November 19, 2020 09:06 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
“While no plan can wholly remedy the losses that are occurring, dairy is responding with a united plan that can help mitigate the damage caused to it by the COVID-19 pandemic. After extensive discussions across the industry, we have developed this comprehensive action plan to address many of the key marketplace challenges created by the pandemic and are presenting it to USDA,” says NMPF CEO Jim Mulhern.
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Dairy Crisis Proposal Includes Voluntary Supply Management Program
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) submitted to USDA a joint plan to confront the COVID-19 dairy crisis.
November 19, 2020 09:06 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
DFA will acquire the assets, rights, interests, and properties relating to 44 of Dean Foods fluid and frozen facilities for $433 million. 
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Dean Foods Accepts DFA’s $433 Million Offer for Majority of Assets
DFA will acquire the assets, rights, interests, and properties relating to 44 of Dean Foods fluid and frozen facilities for $433 million.
November 19, 2020 09:06 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
“It’s kind of surreal. It's weird watching these markets implode on such limited data,” says Tom Bailey a senior dairy economist with RaboAgriFinance. “We are shifting our projections to what can effectively be described as a recession.”
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COVID-19 Recession Likely to Cause Milk Prices to Reflect 2008
All in all, analysts agree milk prices could fall a staggering 20%, which would put us in the neighborhood of 2008 prices.
November 19, 2020 09:05 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
"Misinformation during times of a health crisis can spread paranoia, fear and stigmatization," she said. "It can also result in people being left unprotected or more vulnerable to the virus."
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Despite COVID-19, Don’t Skip the Ice Cream
A viral document with fake information describing how people can avoid the virus by not consuming ice cream made it’s way around the internet.
November 19, 2020 09:05 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
“I still think on a global basis coronavirus knocks something like 6%, maybe 7% off the dairy prices over the next 12 months,” says Nate Donnay, director of dairy intelligence at INTL FCStone.
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Coronavirus Could Drop Milk Prices 6%
Over the past few days commodity markets, including dairy, have felt the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
November 19, 2020 09:05 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
Ohio’s MVP Dairy takes an innovate approach to business.
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Families Join Forces and Form MVP Dairy
Ohio’s MVP Dairy takes an innovate approach to business.
November 19, 2020 09:05 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
We have no evidence, but we’d like to think she’s powered by milk.
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Dairy Farm Kid Smashes American Indoor Mile Record
Elle Purrier, a Vermont dairy farmer’s daughter, smashed the American record for the indoor mile over the weekend at the 113th Millrose Games with a time of 4 minutes 16.85 seconds.
November 19, 2020 09:05 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
Although just a small change month to month, researchers say producers expressed less confidence than a month earlier about the present economic conditions with the index of current conditions dropping 12 points. 
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Ag Barometer Reveals Optimism, Financial Stress
A trade deal with China continues to weigh on the minds of producers in the new ag barometer from Purdue University and CME Group.
November 19, 2020 09:05 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
Even though livestock producers have come a long way in terms of animal care, there is still room for improvement.
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3 Tips To Improve Animal Care On Your Farm
Emily Yeiser-Stepp, senior director with the National Dairy National Farmers Advocating for Responsible Management (FARM) Program, offers three steps toward continuous improvement.
November 19, 2020 09:04 PM
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Anna-Lisa Laca
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