DAIRY
Leading the list is a four-year-old cow who was this year’s World Dairy Expo Reserve Supreme Champion.
“Right now, we are in a sweet spot where we have stronger global dairy prices and we have the milk supply to meet that demand.” Marc Beck, US Dairy Export Council
The town of Seymour, Iowa, has lost one-third of its population over the past three decades, and John Flood, who manages a local grain elevator, figures that one of the causes was a federal program that took large swaths of Wayne County cropland out of production. “You had all that land idled and no one doing anything with it,” he said.
Farm income will jump 28 percent this year to a record $100.9 billion because of higher crop and livestock prices, the government said.
The miniature donkeys that graze at the Mount Laurel homestead of U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan became political fodder as soon as the former Eagles tackle announced his candidacy in 2009. Under a New Jersey law designed to protect farmers from soaring property taxes, Runyan receives a 98 percent tax break on most of his land because he keeps donkeys and sells firewood. Democrats attacked Runyan, whose median net worth is estimated at $7 million, for taking advantage of a farm program to avoid paying the full tax rate on 20 of his 23 acres. Two years later, tax breaks for the wealthy are drawing even sharper criticism as Congress fights over how to spur the sluggish economy and manage the country’s debt.
The $7.5 million investment is projected to increase cheese production at two of its plants by 3.6 million pounds per year.
The Milk Import Tariff Equity Act would simply ensure that milk protein concentrates are regulated at the same level as other dairy products.
The shock waves from the collapse of commodities trading firm MF Global Inc. are hitting hard across rural America, where farmers, ranchers and agricultural business owners are nervously waiting to learn how much money they’ve lost.
President Obama last month quietly signed into law a spending bill that restores the American horse-slaughter industry, just a few months after a government investigation said the ban on slaughtering was backfiring.The domestic ban didn’t end horse slaughter but instead shifted the site of butchery to Mexico and Canada - which meant increased abuse or neglect as the horses were shipped out of the country and beyond the reach of U.S. law.The ban had been imposed in 2006 when Congress defunded the government’s ability to inspect plants that butchered horses for consumption. Without inspections, the meat couldn’t be sold, and the industry withered.
It’s the first time since the award’s inception in 1989 that a “non-advertising” campaign entry has won.
Select Sires MidAmerica, Inc. will begin conducting business on Jan. 1, 2012.
BRADFORD, Maine -- After 47 years running a farming and dairy operation in town, Adrian Pray was ready to retire. But first, he had to find a new owner for some of his 2,300 acres of farmland spread across Bradford, Hudson and Charleston.
Steve and Karen Sponem have been dairyfarmers most of their adult lives, so they learned a long time ago how to live through the radical ups and downs of milk prices. Earlier this year, and despite the struggling global economy, dairy industry experts were giddy when prices improved to almost $21. Steve Sponem said that was the highest he has ever seen.
A trip to the grocery store is going to cost more next year, according to a new report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
There is also evidence that increased reliance on exports increases price volatility within the domestic market.
This 5-minute video is a must-view, not only to see Enchanted Dairy’s clean operation but how the dairy industry must portray itself to the outside world.
Dairies’ soaring feed expenses put 2011 on a record-setting track.
South Woodstock -- Vermont FarmsteadCheese Co. started producing cheese only in January and didn’t begin distributing until June, but it’s already struggling to keep up with customers’ requests.
Limited Edition Cognac BellaVitano, from Wisconsin’s Sartori Foods, takes third place overall.
National Milk Producers Federation’s annual event was the first cheese competition that utilized grading standards to improve cheese quality.
Implementing Johne’s control measures must become a part of daily routine, and followed year after year.
While there’s a world of growing opportunity out there, the U.S. dairy industry seems content to let it slip away.
These high producing herds netted $1.35/cwt in October, based on a milk price of $19.96/cwt, corn at $6.28/bu, soybean meal at $280/ton and alfalfa at $190/ton.
The farm bill process could revert to “normal,” meaning it could require hearings from the Ag Committees and mark-up procedures that have been part of all farm bills.
House and Senate Agriculture Committee Leaders React to Super Committee’s Failure to Reach Agreement
Leaders will continue the process of reauthorizing the farm bill in the coming months,
The video also serves as a library of facts that dairy farmers can reference in talking to consumers about the dairy industry.
Safe Quality Food award recognizes DFA plant’s commitment to quality.
As the Washington Department of Ecology searches for ways to improve water quality in the Little Spokane River, state officials are looking for ways to engage private landowners. Landowners hold the key to reducing pollutants such as phosphorus and fecal coliform bacteria in the water.
Up to $18,000 in cash prizes will be awarded in 2012 World Ag Expo competition.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council expects the agreement to net $380 million per year in dairy exports in the first few years after implementation.