The Michigan cheesemaker that turns heads with its larger-than-life statue of a milk cow at its shop entrance is making a big patriotic gesture. A storm toppled Williams Cheese Company’s sign and U.S. flag in 2012, so owner Mike H. Williams resolved to replace the 6-by-10-foot flag at the store.
The dairy sector has been hit with sagging prices and production costs squeezing profits to the extent that has driven many farmers to the brink of bankruptcy. The EU’s executive Commission has approved some support measures over the past year, but the farmers fear that releasing more milk powder on the market would further complicate their plight.
The combination of record-high milk prices and record-low feed costs are creating profits for some Wisconsin dairy farmers that are six times higher than previous good years, according to dairy experts.
Few places in Pennsylvania have seen a more dramatic decline than Erie County, where the number of dairy farms fell 57 percent between 2002 and 2012, sliding from 170 to just 73.
State officials say a section of Saginaw County, Mich. where a cow tested positive for bovine tuberculosis last year is now considered free of the disease.
California Democrats are taking further steps to advance the state’s ambitious climate-change agenda, agreeing to regulate methane emissions from landfills and dairy farms for the first time and approving $900 million in spending on environmental programs.
