Lawmakers are expected to vote March 2 on legislation that would override all state food safety regulations that are tougher than federal standards.

The bill, co-sponsored by 226 House members, would mandate uniformity on warning labels and affect a variety of state regulations. Among those that would roll back to federal standards is a California law requiring food and drink makers to disclose any cancer- or birth-defect-causing substance in their products.

Source: New York Times/ Marian Burros, March 1, 2006
Source URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/01/politics/01food.html

A U.S. dairy company plans to use an international treaty to sue Canada. GL Farms of Delaware alleges its milk export business is being unfairly curbed.

GL Farms exports milk from Ontario to the U.S. The company claims the Canadian government aids supply management bodies, such as the Dairy Farmers of Ontario, to hinder its ability to export milk. The effect has been devastating, and if not changed or stopped, will result in an indirect expropriation, said the company in its notice of intent.

Source: The Globe and Mail/ Steven Chase, Feb. 28, 2006
Source URL: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060228.RNAFTA28/TPStory/Business

Mexico will extend its 30 percent import tariff on U.S. milk to protect its domestic producers.

Mexico’s Economy Department did not specify when the tariff was set to end or how long it will continue. The government also will limit import quotas of U.S. milk for the private sector while an excess of domestic production continues.

Source: Yahoo! Finance/ Associated Press, Feb. 28, 2006
Source URL: http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060228/mexico_us_milk_tariffs.html?.v=1

An Arizona legislator is backing down from his original proposed amendment to the state’s Constitution that would have barred new agricultural laws.

Sen. Jake Flake, a cattle rancher, had proposed a constitutional amendment to “limit or restrict the production of agriculture.” Now he has sent a memo to his fellow state senators this week in which he promises to amend his proposal to delete the sentence barring any law or regulation, and change the date so it was not effective until Election Day if it won approval from voters.

Source: Arizona Republic/ Amanda J. Crawford, March 1, 2006
Source URL: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0301agamendment0301.html

Not long after terms of a settlement between the city of Waco, Texas, and area dairy producers was made public, results of a four-year study show that the quality Lake Waco’s water depends in large part on upstream farmers.

The $1.9-million study, commissioned by the city of Waco and carried out by ENSR scientific research firm and scientists from Baylor University, was presented to the public yesterday. The study determined that at least 30 percent to 40 percent of the phosphorus in the lake, which causes blue-green algae blooms, is from dairy cows.

Many have criticized the terms of the settlement, and the results of the study did nothing to assuage them.

Source: Waco Tribune-Herald/ J.B. Smith, March 1, 2006
Source URL: http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/03/01/20060301waclakewacostudy.html

A national “tsunami” of milk might swamp prices paid to farmers, but there’s a glass-half-empty forecast in the Northeast region, according to some regional experts.

Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Steve Kerr told members of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery late last week that the state needs more milk, and that it “bugs” him to think it might come from California.

Source: Barton Chronicle/ Bethany M. Dunbar, March 1, 2006
Source URL: http://www.bartonchronicle.com/html/st_albans.HTM

Sterling's value against the Euro in February remained at similar levels to those in January and the IMPE was consequently unchanged at about 16.2ppl. Market prices for butter fell during February but SMP market prices rose and the AMPE rose slightly to about 17.3ppl for the month. The premium for the AMPE over the IMPE rose slightly, to about 1.1ppl.

Source: MDC Datum, Feb. 24, 2006
Source URL: http://www.mdcdatum.org.uk/milkprices/ampe.htm

Bids for feed stock shipments on Tuesday fell 3¢/bu to 4¢/bu. Signs that feed demand in Europe will decrease because of bird flu induced reductions in flocks and lower poultry consumption. Sweden became the latest country to report presence of the flu after hitting France last week. Expectations are not good for the outlook on flocks in other European states. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization expected the crisis would shrink demand for poultry depressing prices. Additionally, global consumption of poultry was expected to fall by 3 million to 81.8 million tonnes this year. This wide range says that estimators really don’t know but are thinking a wide range of consequences looms just ahead.

Source: Virginia Cooperative Extension/ Mike Roberts, Feb. 28, 2006
Source URL: http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/purcell/2006wp/08.html

The objectives of this study were to: 1) evaluate how stocking density at the feed bunk affects feeding and social behavior of dairy cows; and 2) determine if this effect is further influenced by the type of feed barrier used.

Therefore, we recommend avoiding overstocking at the feed bunk to increase feeding activity and reduce competition. Use of a barrier that provides some physical separation between adjacent cows, such as a headlock feed barrier, can be used to further reduce competition at the feed bunk.

Source: Stocking density and feed barrier design affect the feeding and social behavior of dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 89 (1): 126-133, 2006. Huzzey, J.M.; DeVries, T.J.; Valois, P.; vonKeyserlingk, M.A.G.

Method of Study: In Holstein-cloned and normal cows, the fluctuation of granulocytes, monocytes, B cells and T cells, and further T cell subsets (CD4(+), CD8(+), gamma delta, CD8(+)gamma delta and WC1(+)gamma delta T cell) in peripheral blood were analyzed in early lactation stage (ELS) and mid to late lactation stage (MLS) by flow cytometry using specific monoclonal antibodies for cell surface markers.

Conclusions: The population of granulocytes, monocytes, B cells and T cells, and T cell subsets except for gamma delta and WC1(+)gamma delta T cells in cloned cows fluctuated in a manner similar to those of normal cows during lactation. In ELS, the proportions of gamma delta and WC1(+)gamma delta T cells temporarily declined in cloned cows, suggesting that cloned cows may fall into an immunosuppressive state in ELS.

Source: Comparison of T cell subsets between somatic cloned and normal cow. American Journal of Reproductive Immunology 55 (1): 28-35, 2006. Tanaka, S.; Miyazawa, K.; Watanabe, K.; Ohwada, S.; et al.