Six of the world's biggest exporters have made little progress at talks in London aimed at agreeing on a deal to free up the global trade in agriculture.

The G-6 meeting of trade ministers from the United States, Europe, Brazil, India, Japan and Australia failed to make any substantial breakthrough.

Source: ABC Rural, March 13, 2006
Source URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/2006/s1590216.htm

Once again U.S. beef producers are in the unenviable position of trying to reassure Japan and other foreign customers that American beef is safe as USDA waits for the results of final tests on a suspected case of mad cow disease.

Results from additional tests at the Ames, Iowa, lab are expected in the next week on a suspect U.S. cow discovered through routine testing. While beef producers hold their collective breath, others are working to talk to trading partners and reassure them that U.S. beef is safe.

Source: Washington Post/ Associated Press/ Libby Quaid, March 12, 2006
Source URL: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/12/AR2006031200485.html

A misaligned bracket holding a float in a liquid manure tank was the cause of an estimated 160,000-gallon manure spill at a Wisconsin dairy.

The manure overflowed the tank and ran onto a field at Soaring Eagle Dairy, one of two farms in Manitowoc County that take part in the Discovery Farms Project Area program. The program researches the environmental impact of farming.

Source: Manitowoc Herald Times, March 1, 2006
Source URL: http://www.htrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060301/MAN0101/603010614/1358/MANnews

American Dairy, Inc., one of the leading producers and distributors of milk powder and soybean products in China, today announced that its common stock is now listed on the NYSE Arca stock exchange, effective immediately. In April 2005, the Company was listed on the Archipelago Exchange (ArcaEx), the equity trading facility of the Pacific Exchange (PCX). As a result of the merger between Archipelago Holdings, Inc. and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), PCX and ArcaEx have been renamed NYSE Arca.

Source: Business Wire/ American Dairy/ News Release, March 13, 2006
Source URL: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060313005117&newsLang=en

U.S. agricultural exports grew by $80 million from December to January, while imports rose by about $200 million. The monthly trade surplus has fallen to $79 million. For the first 4 months of fiscal year 2006, exports are $1.2 billion higher than the same period in fiscal 2005. Imports are $2.4 billion higher. While this still maintains a trade surplus, that surplus continues to shrink, falling from $3.7 billion in the first 4 months of fiscal 2005 to $2.5 billion in 2006.

Source: USDA/ ERS, March 10, 2006
Source URL: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/SO/view.asp?f=trade/fau-bb/

Objectives of this study were to evaluate factors that could affect pregnancy rate after embryo transfer (ET) in lactating dairy cow recipients.

The influence of high milk yield and body temperature on fertility in lactating dairy cow recipients suggests that these effects can occur also after embryo reaches the blastocyst stage.

Source: Factors potentially affecting fertility of lactating dairy cow recipients. Theriogenology 65 (1): 192-200, 2006. Vasconcelos, J.L.M.; Demetrio, D.G.B.; Santos, R.M.; Chiari, J.R.; et al.

The Netherlands holds the bovine tuberculosis-free (BTB-free) status according to European Union standards, but in recent years small outbreaks of the infection have occurred. After the last outbreak in 1999 with 10 infected herds the question raised if the current surveillance system, visual inspection of carcasses at the slaughterhouse, is efficient enough to detect infected cattle in time and to maintain the official BTB-free status.

Our study results are used for an economical optimisation analysis of the six surveillance strategies.

Source: Evaluation of surveillance strategies for bovine tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis) using an individual based epidemiological model. Preventive Veterinary Medicine 67 (4): 283-301, 2005. Fischer, E.A.J.; vanRoermund, H.J.W.; Hemerik, L.; vanAsseldonk, M.A.P.M.; et al.

In a Swiss dairy farm (canton of Geneva) consisting of 73 animals 8 abortions were observed within 2 weeks. Serological and molecular biological analyses (PCR) on aborting dams, and abortion materials, respectively, revealed that the protozoan parasite Neospora caninum was the causative agent.

Thus, the animals most probably were exposed to N. caninum-oocysts (e.g. by dog feces-contaminated forage) and the resulting abortion storm was due to an exogenous (formerly known as ''horizontal'') parasite transmission into a naive herd. This is the first documented record of such an event in Switzerland.

Source: First documentation of a Neospora-induced ''abortion storm'' (Exogenous transplacental transmission of Neospora caninum) in a Swiss dairy farm. Schweizer Archiv Fur Tierheilkunde 147 (3): 113-120, 2005. Sager, H.; Hussy, D.; Kuffer, A.; Schreve, F.; et al.

The MilkoScan FT2 offers a 20% improvement in accuracy for main parameters in milk compared to the existing and highly popular FOSS MilkoScan FT 120. This allows dairies to push standardisation of key parameters even closer to production targets. For instance, in dairy powder production, a plant producing 300 tons per day can save around 12,600 kg of protein or 16.6 tons of protein per year.

Source: FOSS Analytical/ News Release, Feb. 21, 2006
Source URL: http://www.foss.dk/modules/pagetemplates/newsview2.asp?newspkid=280

Manitoba's Minister of Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives is urging farm families to take advantage of a number of new resources aimed at reducing the risk of accidental injury and death on the farm.

In observance of Agriculture Safety and Health Week, which concludes tomorrow, Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives and Manitoba Labor and Immigration have unveiled details of three new resources designed to help farm families reduce the risk of farm accidents.

"Safe Choices" is a print resource designed to help decision makers identify and reduce safety risks.

"Farm Family Walkabout" guides farm families with young children on a walk around the farm to identify and reduce the hazards children may encounter day to day.

Source: Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork/ Farmscape #2085/ Bruce Cochrane, March 13, 2006
Source URL: http://www.farmscape.ca/f2ShowScript.aspx?i=21974&q=Manitoba+Introduces+New+Agricultural+Safety+Resources