Farming in the United States is very diverse, ranging from very small retirement and residential farms to enterprises with annual sales in the millions of dollars. Farms are operated by individuals on a part-time basis, by multiple generations of a family, and by managers of nonfamily corporations. Some specialize in a single product, while others produce a wide variety of products. But despite their diversity of scale, business structure, and production mix, most U.S. farms are family farms. The characteristics of family farms and the farmers who operate them have implications for the economic well-being of farm households and for farm policy.

Source: USDA/ ERS/ Robert A. Hoppe and David E. Banker, May 15, 2006
Source URL: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/EIB12/

The European Union cancelled its plans to reintroduce sanctions on hundreds of U.S. exports, including dairy products, when the United States agreed to repeal tax breaks ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The sanctions, which were scheduled to go into effect May 16, would have targeted milk powders, yogurt, whey, various types of cheese and ice cream. Last week, members of the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 4297, the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, which included a provision to repeal the offending tax breaks.

Source: International Dairy Foods Association/ News Release, May 15, 2006
Source URL: http://www.idfa.org/news/stories/2006/05/repeal.cfm

Following are some of the headlines from news articles highlighted this week:

• Saputo Closes Indiana Cheese Plant
• BSE Program Vendors Overpaid; WI Vet Reassigned
• Livestock Experts Join to Fight Anthrax
• MN Producer Tries Hand with Robot Milkers
• UK: 14% Farmers Plan to Leave Dairy Industry

Click to read more on these and other news stories.

Amid the high gasoline and diesel fuel prices, there’s reason to smile if you’re a corn producer. Demand for ethanol keeps rising along with oil prices at the fuel pump.

And the appetite for corn used to make ethanol should continue rising, by 34 percent over last year to 2.15 billion bushels, according to USDA. Prices are forecast to rise as well, hitting $2.25 to $2.65 a bushel compared to last year’s $1.95 to $2.05.

Source: Los Angeles Times/ Associated Press/ Libby Quaid, May 12, 2006
Source URL: http://www.latimes.com/business/investing/wire/sns-ap-crop-report,0,4400657.story

USDA issued a bullish estimate for consuming new crop corn, raising ethanol use by 34% to 2.15 bil. bu., and exports 6% to 2.15 bil. The May supply/demand report cut ending stocks 50% to 1.1 bil in Aug. ’07. The projected price range was estimated at $2.25-$2.65 compared with $1.95-$2.05 for old crop corn. The total supply of new crop corn was reduced 5% to 12.8 bil. bu., due to a smaller estimated ’06 crop of 10.55 bil. bu.

Source: Farmgate/ Stu Ellis/ University of Illinois, May 12, 2006
Source URL: http://www.farmgate.uiuc.edu/archive/2006/05/extension_updat_21.html

Following are some of the headlines from market articles highlighted this week:

• USDA Reports Prop Up Crop Prices
• Analysis by Bailey, Roberts
• Oceania, European Dairy Markets Overview   
• Feed Outlook: Stronger Prices for Feed Grains
• Many more USDA commodity reports

Click to read these and other market stories.

The objective was to compare the efficacy of two experimental Staphylococcus aureus mastitis bacterins and a currently marketed five-isolate-based Staph. aureus bacterin (Lysigin (TM), Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.) with unvaccinated controls.

Hence, there was no evidence that the vaccines reliably prevented Staph. aureus IMI, but Lysigin showed benefit in reducing the clinical severity and duration of clinical disease post-challenge. Neither of the experimental bacterins appeared to perform better than Lysigin.

Source: Efficacy of different Lysigin (TM) formulations in the prevention of Staphylococcus aureus intramammary infection in dairy heifers. Journal of Dairy Research 73 (1): 19-Oct, 2006. Middleton, J.R.; Ma, J.N.; Rinehart, C.L.; Taylor, V.N.; et al.

Assessment of energy deficit by measurement of body condition score (BCS) has been useful in the past but we now need more sophisticated ways to measure the relationship between adipose tissue and fertility. For this reason, we have focused our attention on the cells of the adipose tissue, the adipocytes, and the role of the hormone that they produce, leptin.

Finally, we probably need to improve dairy cows genetically if we are to achieve the goal of ''clean, green and ethical'' dairy farming. This paper reviews data relevant to these strategies and we conclude that more basic and applied research will be required if we are to find ways to reach that goal.

Source: A new perspective on management of reproduction in dairy cows: the need for detailed metabolic information, an improved selection index and extended lactation. Journal of Reproduction and Development 52 (1): 161-168, 2006. Kadokawa, H.; Martin, G.B.

Starch, supplied in Midwest diets primarily from high-moisture and dry corn grain and whole-plant corn silage, is an important source of energy for dairy cattle. However, the digestibility of corn starch can be highly variable. Various factors, particle size (fine vs. coarse grind), grain processing (steam flaked vs. dry rolled), storage method (dry vs. high-moisture corn), moisture content of high-moisture corn, type of corn endosperm, and corn silage maturity at harvest, chop length, and kernel processing, influence ruminal and or starch digestibility in lactating dairy cows. Because both physical and chemical properties of starch influence starch digestion, assessment of starch digestibility in the laboratory has been challenging. In an attempt to address variation in starch digestibility, NRC (2001) suggested empirical processing adjustment factors (PAF) to adjust non-fiber carbohydrate digestion coefficients for high-starch feeds. However, since no system to measure variation in processing adjustment factors for feedstuffs is available the PAF’s are subjective book values with minimal practical application. For corn silage, Ferreira (2002) developed a kernel processing score (KPS) to assess adequacy of kernel processing of corn silage. But, KPS only considers particle size and does not consider the influence of moisture content and endosperm type on starch digestion. Some commercial laboratories employ in situ or in vitro systems to evaluate starch digestibility, but methods are variable between laboratories and to date relationships to in vivo starch digestion are not well defined.

Source: University of Wisconsin/ Patrick C. Hoffman and Randy Shaver, May 11, 2006
Source URL: http://www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/uwforage/StarchDig-FOF.htm

Bulk tank milk urea nitrogen (MUN) data may be a useful tool to assist in monitoring the feeding program and perhaps to relate to excessive nitrogen excretion in manure. Obtaining a bulk tank milk sample to determine MUN is a useful aid to evaluate the nitrogen (protein) status of the milking cows in a herd. Monitoring bulk tank MUN concentrations has potential as a management tool to evaluate protein feeding of individual herds.

Recently, Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) and other milk marketing organizations began testing for milk urea nitrogen (MUN) from bulk tank samples. Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI) testing organizations also provide MUN testing for samples from individual cows.

Source: Michigan State University/ Michigan Dairy Review/ Herb Bucholtz, Mike Allen, Dave Beede, and Mike VandeHaar, April 2006
Source URL: http://www.msu.edu/user/mdr/archives/mdrvol11no2.pdf