WASHINGTON (AP) -- An outbreak of bacterial infections on the East
Coast illustrates the popularity of raw, unpasteurized milk despite
strong warnings from public health officials about the potential danger.
Even presidential candidate Ron Paul has joined the cause of
consumers looking to buy ...
Friday, February 03, 2012 1:17 PM
Bureaucrats in Washington may be thinking they know better than you regarding your children. Child labor laws were examined Wednesday by the Small Business Committee in the House, according to National Milk Producers Federation's Chris Galen in Thursday's DairyLine.
Last fall the Department of La ...
Friday, February 03, 2012 10:17 AM
PASCO, Wash. -- While the two-year labor battle at a Washington state dairy remains on hold pending the union's legal appeals, the farmer vows to see that justice is served.
Dick Bengen, who owns the Ruby Ridge Dairy with his wife, Ruby, said his workers have rallied behind him. He has approximat ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 10:00 AM
BOISE -- A new study has found that reducing Idaho's foreign-born labor supply would have a significant negative economic impact.
The University of Idaho study, funded by the state's dairy industry, found that if the estimated supply of 107,000 foreign workers was decreased by 25 percent, the sta ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 11:00 AM
Dairy groups are pleased USDA's new standards for school meals left flavored milk on the menu.
Chocolate is the "big kahuna" when it comes to children's milk-flavor preference, said Chris Galen, senior vice president of communications at National Milk Producers Federation.
"We knew it would be ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 2:00 PM
The high cost of feed and hay availability issues will continue to challenge dairy producers in 2012, an ag economist says.
Dairymen can expect more of what they saw in 2011, said Wilson Gray, livestock extension economist with University of Idaho at Twin Falls.
"Cost of production is going to s ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 2:00 PM
Potato growers who use manure on sandy soils should be cognizant of copper levels in their fields, a University of Idaho researcher advises.
Amber Moore, a UI Extension soils specialist, has researched manure on crops for the past four years. Growers' concerns led her to investigate effects of co ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 2:00 PM
SALEM -- A committee has moved a bill to the House floor that gives the Oregon Department of Agriculture authority to raise food safety license fees as much as 3 percent a year.
The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee passed House Bill 4003 on Feb. 1 after hearing supporting testimony ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 3:00 PM
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A bill that would end future state subsidies for corn-based ethanol is in the California Senate after sailing through the Assembly.
The bill by Assemblyman David Valadao, R-Hanford, would bar any funding from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 12:00 PM
BOISE -- A bill introduced in the Idaho Legislature seeks to make Idaho's commercial feed law less cumbersome and intrusive and ensure farmers and ranchers get the quality of animal feed they pay for.
The legislation, which was sent to print by the Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee and will b ...
Thursday, February 02, 2012 1:00 PM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- The number of people in Pennsylvania and Maryland stricken with illness after consuming raw milk from the same farm has risen to 23, health officials in the two states said Wednesday.
Maryland health officials also said laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of the b ...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 3:45 PM
BROOKINGS, S.D. (AP) -- The South Dakota city of Brookings is getting a cheese plant.
Chicago-based Bel Brands USA plans to begin construction this summer on its third cheese plant in the U.S.
Bel Brands says it will invest about $100 million in the plant. It will employ 200 people initially a ...
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 11:31 AM
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- A Vermont utility is looking for more farms that want to participate in its project that uses farm waste to help generate electricity and more customers willing to pay extra to use the power.
The Central Vermont Public Service Corp. says it recently brought its 10th &quo ...
Monday, January 30, 2012 7:59 AM
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Health officials now say 12 people in Pennsylvania and Maryland who consumed raw milk from the same farm have been stricken with illnesses that suggest the product may contain harmful bacteria.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health said Monday it had confirmed six more c ...
Monday, January 30, 2012 7:59 AM
Most Americans are collecting information to fill out federal and state tax forms and they'll be comparing their 2011 income to the year before. Dairy Profit Weekly's Dave Natzke discussed how much income the nation's 9 million dairy cows made last year in Friday's DairyLine.
"Every year about th ...
Friday, January 27, 2012 10:47 AM
The shortage of large animal veterinarians has been well documented in recent years, but the number of veterinarians specializing in organic or holistic practices is quite lean.
The small number of organic veterinarians is reflective of the relatively small amount of organic production and the di ...
Thursday, January 26, 2012 10:00 AM
Efforts by Dairy Management Inc. are changing physicians' attitudes and their recommendations when it comes to treating patients with lactose intolerance.
When the program began in 2008, most physicians' first line of recommendation when it came to gastrointestinal complaints was to tell patients ...
Thursday, January 26, 2012 12:00 PM
BROOMFIELD, Colo. (AP) -- Horizon Organic plans to boost what it pays its roughly 600 farmers as demand for organic milk and feed costs rise.
Customers' prices for Horizon products will vary by retailer.
Broomfield, Colo.-based Horizon says starting Feb. 1, it will pay farms an extra $2 pe ...
Monday, January 23, 2012 5:33 PM
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- Virginia has embarked on a new frontier in its ever-expanding agricultural export program, sending the first direct export of Holstein bulls to Russia.
Gov. Bob McDonnell said Monday the bulls from a suburban Richmond farm have been shipped to a Russian port city. Financia ...
Monday, January 23, 2012 1:52 PM
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The state Board of Livestock is opting to wait until at least March before deciding whether to scrap a rule requiring milk be sold within 12 days of being pasteurized.
Lee Newspapers of Montana reports the board made the decision on Wednesday.
A 21-day sell-by date is ...
Sunday, January 22, 2012 5:11 PM
SOUTH EDMESTON, New York (AP) -- Chobani is making Greek yogurt as fast as Americans are eating it.
Its plant here in upstate New York farm country already pumps out 1.5 million cases of the thick yogurt every week, and pallets are stacked four stories high in the chilled warehouse.
But li ...
Sunday, January 22, 2012 5:21 PM
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Environmental samples collected from a Central California raw milk dairy's calf area tested positive for the strain of E. coli that infected five children last year, according to a letter from California health officials made public Friday.
In the letter to Organic Pastures ...
Sunday, January 22, 2012 5:21 PM
Whey is the bright spot in the domestic and global dairy market, according to FC Stone dairy economist Bill Brooks.
Speaking in the Jan. 17 DairyLine radio program, Brooks said there was positive news on the grains side of things for dairy producers as corn and soybean meal futures prices are dow ...
Friday, January 20, 2012 11:40 AM
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- Officials with the cheese manufacturer Glanbia Foods announced Friday that it is spending up to $15 million to build a corporate headquarters and innovation center in Twin Falls.
The expansion is expected to add 100 jobs when the facility opens in March 2013, with plans ...
Friday, January 20, 2012 11:00 AM
Kristen Kaste of Tillamook County is the 2012 Oregon dairy princess-ambassador.
She was presented the crown Jan. 14 in Salem by 2011 Oregon Dairy Princess-Ambassador Jessica Budge of Sherwood.
Kaste, 20, is a graduate of Tillamook High School and is studying agriculture at Oregon State Universit ...
Thursday, January 19, 2012 9:00 AM
A milk sampling program to test milk for drug residues from 900 dairies that had tissue residue violations in cull cows is now under way.
The Food and Drug Administration's sampling program originally was set to go into effect a year ago, but was met with industry concern over market disruption. ...
Thursday, January 19, 2012 11:00 AM