Agriculture is caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place when it comes to illegal immigration.

In one row are those producers and agricultural company owners who say they couldn’t make a profit without the cheap labor offered by illegal immigrants. In another row are those who are upset at having to pick up the tab for hospital costs or other charges illegal immigrants incur.

Officials in one Idaho county are trying something new: The all-Republican Canyon County commission has filed a racketeering lawsuit against four area businesses—a meatpacker, a cheese-making operation and two local seed companies—charging them with deliberately hiring illegal workers.

Source: KTLA/ Los Angeles Times/ Nicole Gaouette, March 7, 2006
Source URL: http://ktla.trb.com/news/la-na-rico7mar07,0,1376947.story?coll=ktla-news-1

The members of Cooperatives Working Together voted this week to double the program's current five-cent per hundredweight assessment, in order to accumulate the additional financial resources necessary to address the surge in U.S. milk production that is beginning to depress farm-level prices. The higher assessment will begin on July 1st, 2006, and run through 2007.

Source: National Milk Producers Federation/ News Release, March 8, 2006
Source URL: http://www.nmpf.org/newsFlash/index.cfm?sectionsCode=PR&nfID=280

A state of Washington bill to give state inspectors the authority to confiscate raw milk from unlicensed dairies now goes to Gov. Chris Gregoire for her signature. The state Senate agreed with the House on the legislation that follows an outbreak of E. coli in December.

About 18 people in Washington and Oregon became ill after drinking raw milk from a dairy; some became critically ill.

While the legislation got its start as an intent to crack down on unlicensed dairies, it also became an effort to keep microdairies from being regulated out of existence.

Source: The Daily News/ Don Jenkins, March 7, 2006
Source URL: http://www.tdn.com/articles/2006/03/07/area_news/news04.txt

Authorities investigating the death of a California dairy worker and his 8-year-old son believe that footsteps near the edge of the 10-foot-deep pit seem to suggest one of them fell in while walking in the dark, said Kings County Sheriff Allan McClain.

It seemed the father was trying to do what he could to reach his son, he said.

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer/ Associated Press/ Juliana Barbassa, March 7, 2006
Source URL: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Manure_Deaths.html

Make cheese, will travel. Will teach cheese-making at your farm. All you provide is a large parking space, a desire to learn, and milk—lots of milk.

Dairy producers in New York interested in learning how to make cheese, yogurt and other products to help raise their bottom line might be interested in responding to such an ad. Now, they can, thanks to the CheeseMobile.

Source: New York Times/ Kara Newman, March 8, 2006
Source URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/08/dining/08truck.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

The Union of Concerned Scientists today released the first comprehensive study that confirms that beef and milk from animals raised entirely on pasture have higher levels than conventionally raised beef and dairy cattle of beneficial fats that may prevent heart disease and strengthen the immune system. The study also shows that grass-fed meat is often leaner than most supermarket beef, and raising cattle on grass can reduce water pollution and the risk of antibiotic-resistant diseases.

Greener Pastures: How Grass-fed Beef and Milk Contribute to Healthy Eating is the first study to synthesize the findings of virtually every English-language study (25 were chosen for analysis) comparing the amounts of total fats, saturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) in both pasture-raised and conventionally raised beef and dairy cattle.  The report also combines analyses on the nutrition, environmental, and public health benefits of grass-based farming techniques.

Source: Union of Concerned Scientists/ News Release, March 7, 2006
Source URL: http://www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/Grass-fed-Beef-and-Dairy-Study.html

A believer in one of the world’s food giants is questioning if a breakup of the company would improve it—a bellwether of just how far Kraft Foods’ has tumbled in the investment world.

Credit Suisse First Boston’s top food-industry analyst, David Nelson, issued a note this week suggesting that the company might be better off if it broke up. Nelson said the company has been a disappointment since going public in June 2001.

Source: Chicago Business/ Crain’s/ Julie Jargon, March 7, 2006
Source URL: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=19763

China's total grains output rose in MY05/06 over the previous year as a result of good weather and increased acreage. Increased acreage was in response to higher market prices since the fall of 2003 and from government support programs (e.g., price supports, export incentives, direct payment and tax incentives). Corn production for MY05/06 is estimated at 134 million metric tons (mmt), up 3 percent from the previous year. Corn production in MY06/07 is forecast at 132 mmt and China is forecast to import 1 mmt in MY06/07, driven by growth in the livestock sector and expanded ethanol production. Wheat production in MY05/06 is estimated to be 97 mmt, up 5 percent, and rice output for MY05/06 is estimated at 182 mmt, up 1.5 percent.

Source: USDA/ FAS/ Kevin Latner and Jiang Junyang, March 1, 2006
Source URL: http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200603/146176993.pdf

The objective was to compare pregnancy rates to resynchronization and timed AI (TAI) protocols in lactating dairy cows that received GnRH at 23 d and were diagnosed not pregnant at 30 d after the pre-enrollment AI.

The CIDR insert increased pregnancy rate in cows with ovarian cysts but reduced pregnancy rate for cows in proestrus.

Source: Resynchronization of ovulation and timed insemination in lactating dairy cows III. Administration of GnRH 23 days post AI and ultrasonography for nonpregnancy diagnosis on day 30. Theriogenology 63 (6): 1643-1658, 2005. Bartolome, J.A.; Sozzi, A.; McHale, J.; Swift, K.; et al.

Without question, livestock manure is an important source of nutrients essential for crop production. This is especially true for nitrogen and phosphorus. It's no secret that there are many challenges when manure management is considered. In addition to the challenge of measuring the amount applied per acre, there are questions about the availability of the nutrients applied. It would be nice to have an analytical procedure that would predict the availability of nitrogen, for example. Then, soil samples could be collected and analyzed and there would be a more accurate estimate of what is available to the crop that follows application.

Several research efforts have focused on developing an analytical procedure that would predict the amount of N released from organic matter. One procedure, called the Phosphate / Borate method, showed some promise in laboratory studies. It seemed reasonable to think that this method might be appropriate to evaluate as a predictor of nitrogen released from liquid swine manure.

Source: University of Minnesota/ George Rehm, March 7, 2006
Source URL: http://www.extension.umn.edu/cropenews/2006/06MNCN12.htm