The federal government isn’t doing enough to protect people and animals from mad cow disease, according to McDonald’s Corp. and others.

The group, comprised of seven researchers, experts and pharmaceutical supplier Serologicals Corp., said in written comments to the FDA that stronger measures are needed to keep mad cow from entering the food chain for cattle.

Source: The Times-News/ Associated Press/ Libby Quaid, Jan. 5, 2006
Source URL: http://www.magicvalley.com/articles/2006/01/05/news
_business/business.1.txt

In other words, reward the market with your beans, if the market is rewarding you with premium prices. Currently, the market is ignoring the fundamentals that you watch, and daily supply and demand relationships have little importance to the folks whose money is driving market prices. Technical traders using speculative commodity fund money are currently moving the market up or down regardless of what the fundamentals indicate. Sometime soon, they will have made their money, and the premium will evaporate.

Are you watching your corn?

Source: Farmgate/ Stu Ellis/ University of Illinois, Jan. 6, 2006
Source URL: http://www.farmgate.uiuc.edu/archive/2006/01/extension_updat_10.html

Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry Bob Odom is expressing outrage and disgust over the USDA’s decision to award Florida agriculture producers $200 million in disaster assistance following the 2005 hurricane season.

“The single-most devastating series of natural disasters affected the entire Gulf Coast last fall and the USDA singled out one state for assistance – I just don’t get it,” Odom said. “How do you hand Florida $200 million and turn your back on Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas? It’s a slap in the face to agriculture producers.”

Louisiana’s combined agriculture losses from both hurricanes Katrina and Rita are expected to total more than $2 billion.

Source: Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry/ News Release, Jan. 6, 2006
Source URL: http://www.ldaf.state.la.us/aboutldaf/presscenter/pressreleases/pressrelease.asp?id=532

The beginning of a new year is an excellent time for dairy producers to reevaluate their farm businesses. They should take this time to form realistic expectations regarding 2006 milk prices and make plans for improving margins or at least protecting them. Milk prices are expected to weaken in the months ahead, so better planning now could help avoid financial problems later.

Source: Penn State University/ Ken Bailey, Dec. 6, 2006
Source URL: http://dairyoutlook.aers.psu.edu/Weekly/2006/Weekly
DairyMarketOutlook010606.htm

One word presented more often in the media today is “ethics.” We read about ethics in politics, in medicine, in sports, and when the media is discussing the media. So it seems only natural that consumers are paying attention to the ethics of where their food comes from.

Factors such as how companies get their materials, the impact firms have on the environment, and how they treat workers are impacting where consumers spend their money.

Source: Food Navigator/ Anthony Fletcher, Jan. 5, 2006
Source URL: http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?
n=64868&m=1FNE105&c=kiliywpuldsefex

Milk production continues to edge lower seasonally in both Australia and New Zealand. Adverse weather patterns in both countries might push overall milk volumes lower on a steady basis. New Zealand producers continue to struggle with wet conditions. Early on in the production year, conditions were favorable, but adverse weather conditions quickly curtailed good growth. At this point of the season, now past the peak, unofficial reports indicate that milk output is trailing last season by about 2%. In Australia, milk production is running about 1% ahead of last year on a cumulative basis. Producers and handlers remain optimistic that this positive level will continue, but in recent days extreme temperature levels have been reported which could slow second half growth.

Source: USDA, Jan. 5, 2006

Milk production in many of the EU-15 countries is starting to show signs of seasonal increases. Milk handlers feel that more producers, than in years past, will need to monitor their milk marketings as milk volumes increase to stay within quota levels. Although it is still very early in the new production season, producers and handlers state that early indicators are pointing to a strong season. Winter weather conditions are typical for many regions of Western Europe, but milder in instances. Most trading activity continues to center around an internal market.

Source: USDA, Jan. 5, 2006

The alpha/beta interferon (IFN-/ß) system is the first line of defense against viral infection and a critical link between the innate and adaptive immune responses. IFN-/ß secretion is the hallmark of cellular responses to acute RNA virus infections. As part of their survival strategy, many viruses have evolved mechanisms to counteract the host IFN-/ß response. Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) (genus Pestivirus) was reported to trigger interferon production in infected cultured cells under certain circumstances or to suppress it under others.

Source: The Amino-Terminal Domain of Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus Npro Protein Is Necessary for Alpha/Beta Interferon Antagonism. Journal of Virology, January 2006, p. 900-911, Vol. 80, No. 2. Laura H. V. G. Gil, Israrul H. Ansari, Ventzislav Vassilev, Delin Liang, et al.

Mother told me that I started going to the barn when I was a month old, back in 1940, bundled up and set in a bed of straw while she helped dad with the chores. Since she claims I was very observant from that point on, I’m going to claim nearly 65 years of closely observing the Minnesota dairy scene.

There have been many changes over that time; decreased numbers of dairy farms, increased herd size, increased production per cow, application of nutrition science to feeding, better forage quality, increased fertility followed by declining fertility. But we don’t always note the changes that have taken place in housing. That is probably because many dairy farms continue to get good service from tie-stall barns and intend to complete their dairy career in those facilities.

Source: University of Minnesota/ Dennis Johnson, Dec. 24, 2005
Source URL: http://www.extension.umn.edu/dairy/dairystar/12-24-
05-Johnson.htm

Below is a summary listing of Career notices and awards in the industry. Detailed information about each listing is available by clicking the “Click to read more” link. If you have an announcement you would like us to include here, please send it to Patt Ligman, pattligman@metafarms.com or Metafarms, 2980 Commers Drive, Suite 400, Eagan, MN 55121. The next CareerTrak is scheduled for January 23, 2005.

Job Listings This Week:
1. Government of Tasmania Seeks Dairy Officer

Awards & Accolades:
1. Dexcel’s Woolford Receives McMeekan Award
2. IL Producers, Breeders Honored by IL-PDCA

Faces In New Places:
1. DFA Shakes Up Management Structure
2. DFA CFO Bos Retires
3. Ireland’s IFA Names Kennedy as Leader
4. Wintersteen to Lead ISU’s College of Agriculture
5. UI’s Campion Named Officer for CECEPS