Spokane's Family Farm owners Mike and Trish Vieira hold up members of their family Ñ sons Noah, 3, and Kohl, 23 months Ñ in their operating facility in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 2.
Customers who buy Mike and Trish Vieira's milk get more than a refreshing drink.
"When people come here, they don't come here just to buy milk," Mike Vieira said. "They come here to get hands-on. They want to see the baby calves, how the cows are milked, where the milk goes into the jug, ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:29 AM
TWIN FALLS, Idaho -- University dairy students came from all over western North America to Twin Falls to put their studies to the test last week.
The 2010 Western Regional North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge gave 45 dairy science students an opportunity for real-world applicat ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:05 AM
Idaho's dairy exports declined drastically in 2009, but fourth-quarter numbers showed signs the steep dive may be leveling out.
The state's exports of cheese, milk, cream, butter and whey were down nearly 47 percent in 2009 but only posted declines of about 15 percent in the fourth quarte ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:28 AM
EPHRATA, Pa. -- National Farm Family Coalition Dairy Subcommittee members last week shared how the past year's losses have impacted their farms.
Because of the continued stresses on many farms, they called on the Congress and USDA to take action or risk losing family dairy farms.
The ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:28 AM
California State University-Chico University Farm will host the the annual Western Regional Grazing Conference March 17-18 at the University Farm Pavilion.
The two-day seminar features a variety of speakers who will be discussing improved grazing practices within the western region.
There ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 11:28 AM
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) -- Hundreds of people packed a legislative hearing in Eau Claire Wednesday on legalizing the sale of unpasteurized milk.
The proposed legislation would allow consumers to buy raw milk directly from a farm and give dairy farmers immunity from liability if someone got sic ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 11:08 AM
WESTMORELAND, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities say a barn fire that killed more than two dozen cows at a central New York dairy farm doesn't appear to be suspicious.
Firefighters and farm workers managed to rescue dozens of other cows after the blaze broke out Monday morning at the B&KFedor Dair ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 7:59 AM
MONTESANO, Wash. (AP) -- The Estrella Family Creamery of Montesano, Wash., has recalled a production of Old Apple Tree Tomme cheese. The company says the cheese may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The organism can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young ch ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 5:29 PM
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- Proposed regulations geared for the industrial-scale dairies are burdensome to small producers, and they will seek exemptions when state lawmakers hold a hearing Monday.
The regulations are in place to minimize food safety risks, but small dairies say the are too cu ...
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 7:39 AM
The February Federal order Class III milk price was announced by the Agriculture Department March 5 at $14.28 per hundredweight, down 22 cents from January, but $4.97 above February 2009, and $1.33 above the comparable California 4b price. Class III futures portend a couple more months of loss ...
Thursday, March 11, 2010 12:16 AM
PLAIN CITY, Ohio -- Every dairy farmer's dream is playing out at the Gruenbaum family farm.
The cows milk themselves.
The farm in this community outside Columbus is the first in Ohio to install robotic milking machines that allow cows to be milked whenever they want without a human h ...
Thursday, March 04, 2010 10:35 AM
National Milk Producers Federation is welcoming USDA's final decision to limit the pricing exemption enjoyed by large farmer-owned bottling operations, saying it will close an unintended loophole for the largest "producer-handler" milk bottlers.
Under rule changes, to be published this w ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 11:09 AM
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin C. Peterson, D-Minn., has introduced legislation to expand U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba.
HR4645, the Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act, would reduce bureaucratic red tape required for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba to f ...
Saturday, March 06, 2010 11:09 AM
The Idaho Legislature has shot down new raw milk rules negotiated by the state's Department of Agriculture.
The proposed rule would have updated quality standards for raw milk and exempted operations with three cows or fewer from meeting Grade A facility standards, which is the current ...
Thursday, March 04, 2010 10:42 AM
SHANGHAI (AP) -- Three Shanghai dairy executives have been sentenced to jail after milk products their company made were found to be tainted with an industrial chemical at the center of China's milk safety scandal.
Shanghai Panda Dairy Co. was forced to close last year when unaccept ...
Friday, March 05, 2010 7:39 AM
WARREN, Conn. (AP) -- A winter breeze rustles through the brittle and dormant vines twisting along the hills of Bill Hopkins' vineyard, the latest transformation of a Connecticut farm that since 1786 has been keeping up with changing agriculture, markets and consumer tastes.
The 100-acre ...
Friday, March 05, 2010 7:49 AM
January milk production in the top 23 states hit 14.8 billion pounds, up slightly from December, but down 0.6 percent from January 2009, according to preliminary data in USDA'S latest Milk Production report.
Revisions added 18 million pounds to the December estimate, putting the total at ...
Monday, March 01, 2010 3:22 PM
The downturn in global and domestic milk markets has driven dairymen from profit to peril.
"This is the most devastating year we've ever had; it's affected everyone's equity positions," said Adrian Boer, who operates one dairy in Jerome County, Idaho, and two in Gooding County.
Boer ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 9:09 AM
Most dairymen have been hemorrhaging equity and accumulating debt over the last year as milk prices fell to unprofitable levels.
It will be a long and steep climb out of the financial hole and industry representatives say the next several months hold specific threats to dairymen's viabil ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 9:09 AM
BURLEY, Idaho -- Hay growers were advised to make deals with signed contracts and upfront payments -- not handshakes -- at the Idaho Hay and Forage Association conference Feb. 16 in Burley.
"The fundamental question is what do you know about the broker or buyer," said Dawn Justice, presi ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 9:09 AM
Ag lenders say they are sticking by their dairy customers to keep them in business, but it's getting tougher to do.
"Six months ago, we all thought this would be over by now," said John Gibson, vice president and branch manager for Farmers National Bank in Twin Falls, Idaho.
"We're ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 9:09 AM
Growers were told they should take precautions to protect themselves by a panel of experts at the Idaho Hay and Forage Association conference in Burley last week.
Jay Kiiha, attorney with Boise-based Capitol Law Group, recommended that growers should first check the Secretary of State's Web sit ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 9:09 AM
BOISE -- A bill introduced by Senate Ag Affairs Chairman Tim Corder would overhaul Idaho's animal cruelty law and help protect livestock production from animal activist groups.
The legislation adds definitions for neglect and torture to the animal welfare statutes, expands the definition ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 11:09 AM
PORTLAND, Maine -- Dairy farmers hope their new organic milk, called MOOMilk, becomes as popular among natural-food buffs as Maine lobster is among seafood lovers.
Ten dairy farmers formed Maine's Own Organic Milk Co., MOOMilk for short, last year after their contracts weren't renewed by ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 12:09 PM
While dairy operators have looked for ways to save money during the recent economic downturn, they didn't skimp on forage for their herds, a new survey shows.
University of Idaho Extension personnel conducted the mail-in survey to find out how the economic crisis affected practices on dai ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 12:09 PM
Industrial cheese workshop set
Idaho's industrial cheese processors -- including plant operators, cheese makers and quality assurance and operations personnel -- will take part in a University of Idaho Extension and TechHelp workshop, "Principles of Industrial Cheese Making," on March 9-10 in T ...
Saturday, February 27, 2010 12:09 PM
