A proposed milk marketing rule intended to protect small farms could end up putting some of them out of business if it is finalized.

The new federal regulation would require “producer-handler” dairies that each month process more than about 350,000 gallons of raw milk on-the-farm to sell their raw milk to a regional pool and then buy it back—at more than the selling price—to process in their own plant.

Source: King County Journal/ Bruce Rommel, Jan. 16, 2006
Source URL: http://www.kingcountyjournal.com/sited/story/html/227730

Satellite images are being used to crack down on farmers involved in crop insurance fraud as well as to monitor compliance with other agriculture programs. USDA’s Risk Management Agency uses satellite images to ensnare farmers involved with crop insurance fraud, while the Farm Service Agency uses satellite imaging to monitor compliance.

Crops aren’t the only things being watched by satellites.

Source: Aberdeen News/ Associated Press/ Roxanna Hegeman, Jan. 13, 2006
Source URL: http://www.aberdeennews.com/mld/aberdeennews/news/13616965.htm

Push might be coming to shove as environmentalists, city dwellers and anglers challenge farmers and ranchers for control over an increasingly scarce resource: water.

Rivers and snowmelt supply most of the water to the West. A prolonged drought and urban development are helping demand outstrip supplies of water. Longstanding federal and state policies have traditionally given agriculture claim to about 80 percent of water resources at low prices.

Today, other users say the traditional system is unfair, uneconomical, and threatening to many ecosystems in the West and elsewhere.

Source: Washington Post/ Juliet Eilperin, Jan. 15, 2006
Source URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2006/01/14/AR2006011400820.html?
referrer=email

Over three billion bushels of US beans need a home. More than that will come from South America in a couple months, which will also need a home. And as you know the economic conditions for the “homeless” are rather dismal. Although an aberration in the market has recently allowed producers to enjoy $6 prices, those numbers are fading in the wake of market fundamentals the US Department of Agriculture reports are realities.

Source: Farmgate/ Stu Ellis/ University of Illinois, Jan. 16, 2006
Source URL: http://www.farmgate.uiuc.edu/archive/2006/01/we_need_to_find.html

Organic milk producers might want to think about adding a few extra cows to their herd. Demand for the organic version has spiked and led to intermittent shortages and supermarkets to post signs warning of tight supplies.

In response to the shortage, one yogurt maker has changed its product mix, while other companies are offering subsidies to farmers to go organic.

Source: Billings Gazette/ Knight Ridder, Jan. 15, 2006
Source URL: http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?
id=1&display=rednews/2006/01/15/build/business/55-
moojuice.inc

Dairy Farmers of Ontario (DFO) reported marketings of 2.5 billion litres of milk for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2005. The figure was released with the presentation of DFO's Annual Report at its 40th Annual Meeting in Toronto on January 11 and represented a slight decrease from the previous year.

The $1.57 billion balance was paid to the 4,971 licenced dairy farms in Ontario, which support about 9,000 families.

Source: CCNMatthews/ Dairy Farmers of Ontario/ News Release, Jan. 13, 2006
Source URL: http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?
action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=575379

A practical protocol to study udder immune status in field conditions was planned with the aim to assess different non-specific immune parameters in milk samples from dairy heifers during the periparturient period.

These data suggest that udder immune response could be influenced both by the cow immune status and by external factors such as pathogens and management. Therefore, the reduction in immune defences, particularly in heifers, is not unavoidable and methods to boost PMN activity should be explored.

Source: Comparison of blood and milk non-specific immune parameters in heifers after calving in relation to udder health. Veterinary Research 36 (6-May): 747-757, 2005. Piccinini, R.; Binda, E.; Belotti, M.; Casirani, G.; et al.

Using a system based on a thin pressure measurement film (Matscan, Tekscan, Inc., South Boston, Mass.) developed forpressure distribution analysis of human feet, the pressures under the hooves of a population sample of 32 cows divided into trimmed and untrimmed groups were measured under dynamic conditions (stance phase) and compared to evaluate the effects of trimming in correcting the imbalance caused by overgrowth of hoof tissues.

It was concluded that trimming results in slightly higher pressures towards the medial sole. This may help improve gait stability by removing some of the peak pressures at the heel bulb and lateral sole (weight-bearing border). However, the higher peak pressures at the medial sole may cause an increase in stresses on that region and favor the incidence of lesions, particularly sole ulcers.

Source: Effects of trimming on dairy cattle hoof weight bearing and pressure distributions during the stance phase. Transactions of the ASAE 48 (4): 1653-1659, 2005. Carvalho, V.R.C.; Bucklin, R.A.; Shearer, J.K.; Shearer, L.

Cornell University researchers have improved a technique called association mapping that identifies the genetic origins of complex traits, from disease to crop yields to milk yields, controlled by multiple genes.

Geneticists can now more accurately determine which genes control these complex traits by eliminating false positives (significant results produced by chance) that result when individuals are related (from familial to population levels) and share genetic variations.

Source: Cornell University/ Chronicle Online/ Krishna Ramanujan, Jan. 16, 2006
Source URL: http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/Jan06/Buckler.kr.html

After being fed a health dose of farm business management over the past few days, let’s reward ourselves with some fun stuff and take a look at the latest information on how to control cornfield terrorism from rootworms. These 6-legged insurgents have managed to escape some of our best efforts at reducing their numbers. If you’ve done the proper scouting, and found that you’ve suffered from yield loss, corn rootworms may be on your priority list. You’ve probably seen all of the farm magazine ads for products, and wondered if they have really performed that well in University and Extension research field trials. This is the place for answers.

Source: Farmgate/ Stu Ellis/ University of Illinois, Jan. 10, 2006
Source URL: http://www.farmgate.uiuc.edu/archive/2006/01/post_5.html