The April federal order Class I milk price will move lower for the third consecutive month. The Agriculture Department announced the base price at $13.22 per hundredweight, down $1.12 from March, but still $2.86 above April 2009. It has averaged $14.36 in the first four months of 2010, up from ...
Friday, March 19, 2010 10:46 AM
A bill moving through Idaho's House of Representatives could effectively end the debate over raw milk sales in the state.
House Bill 675 would amend Idaho law to provide for acquisition of raw milk and raw milk products by owners and establishes terms for cow shares, sheep shares and goat share ...
Friday, March 19, 2010 3:49 PM
Rancher Wade King is worried about the bottleneck in the beef industry.
Only a handful of meat companies stand between ranchers and consumers, giving beef packers undue command over the market, he said.
"The cattle producer's share of the retail dollar continues to shrink," said King ...
Saturday, March 20, 2010 10:09 AM
BAKERSFIELD, Vt. (AP) -- A Vermont dairy farmer who was among those targeted in a federal crackdown on undocumented workers says he thought three illegal workers had proper documentation.
Clement Gervais believes his family's farm has been cleared following the November inspection by immi ...
Saturday, March 20, 2010 9:08 AM
Though U.S. dairy exports felt the effects of a crash in global markets, it wasn't as bad as industry insiders expected.
"A year ago at this time, USDEC's economic analysis suggested overall volumes would drop 27 to 41 percent in 2009. But U.S. exporters retained more of their sales than ...
Saturday, March 20, 2010 8:08 AM
The optimism of milk producers, fueled by mid-November through Mid- December cheese prices, is in the doldrums as cheese prices in the first quarter of 2010 fell to levels not seen since September 2008.
"I think (markets) overshot when they ran up in November and December. It wasn't reall ...
Saturday, March 20, 2010 9:08 AM
A coalition of California dairy groups has launched the first statewide program to promote and verify responsible animal care on the state's 1,750 family dairy farms.
The initiative joins California dairymen with National Milk Producers Foundation-led National Dairy FARM Program -- Farmer ...
Friday, March 19, 2010 1:09 AM
Manure power zoning approved
JEROME, Idaho (AP) -- Commissioners in Jerome County have voted to amend the zoning ordinance to allow power generation from cow manure.
Commissioners on March 8 approved the change to allow the non-conventional energy production without a special use permit.
...
Friday, March 19, 2010 1:09 AM
CORVALLIS, Mont. (AP) -- The past year was tough everywhere, but with the price of milk hitting historic lows you could make a case that the dairy industry was hit as hard as any.
For folks at Huls Dairy in Corvallis, home of the state's only methane digester, that grim backdrop only make ...
Friday, March 19, 2010 3:49 PM
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) -- Lawmakers agree with Alaska's small dairy farmers and hobbyists who say new cheese regulations written by a state agency are too stringent.
The Legislature's regulation review committee is asking the Department of Environmental Conservation to negotiate with stakeholde ...
Friday, March 19, 2010 7:38 AM
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer says Justice Department officials will meet later this month with upstate New York farmers and consumers over claims anticompetitive practices are driving down prices paid to dairies at the same time retail milk prices soar.
The meeting with Sch ...
Thursday, March 18, 2010 10:49 AM
Cheese prices continued to bleed the second week of March but may have hit bottom.
Dairy Profit Weekly's recent headline that 2010 optimism may have been premature may be hauntingly true.
Cash block closed March 12 at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange at $1.2675 per pound, down 3 cen ...
Sunday, March 14, 2010 10:29 AM
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, ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 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 ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 10:09 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 ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 11:08 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 ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 11:08 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 ...
Saturday, March 13, 2010 11:08 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 ...
Friday, March 12, 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