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California’s improved snowpack and runoff forecasts led Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to announce Friday that farmers on the west side of California’s Central Valley could receive up to 30% of their federally contracted water supplies this year.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its final decision Friday to limit the unfair pricing exemption enjoyed by large, vertically-integrated farmer-owned bottling plants

USDA reported in last week’s January milk production report that licensed dairy farm numbers dropped from an average of 57,127 in 2008 to 54,942 in 2009, a 3.8% decline.

People may avoid milk and other dairy products due to concerns about lactose intolerance, but eliminating these nutrient-rich foods may not only be unnecessary to manage the condition – it could impact diet and health, concludes a panel of experts assembled by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

USDA released its January Livestock Slaughter Report this morning, showing 49,000 fewer dairy cows were sent to slaughter this January compared to a year ago. Keep in mind, however, that the last Cooperatives Working Together Round of the 2008 culling program was still being wrapped in January 2009. It likely accounted for many of those extra cull cows last year.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) applauded yesterday’s introduction of a House bill that would allow for open travel for all Americans to Cuba and further facilitate U.S. agricultural exports to that nation.

The U.S. ethanol industry exported 5.64 million metric tons (mmt) of distillers grains worth nearly $1 billion in 2009, shattering the previous record set in 2008, the Renewable Fuels Association reported recently.

Provimi North America announces a new line of milk replacer products under the brand name Nurture calf formula.

Slide show from World Dairy Expo 2009

USDA reported this afternoon that U.S. milk production declined 0.6% compared to a year ago. USDA is also reporting 9.085 million cows were on U.S. dairies in January, down 227,000 head from a year ago.