Listening to the news today gives the impression that ethanol plants are springing up faster than the cornstalks that make the raw product that goes into ethanol. More and more ethanol plants are rising out on the prairies, and in other places like Tennessee and California.

Why the rush to the common ear of corn? Could it be fool’s gold, or is it the real thing?

A number of reasons have helped spur on the nation’s headlong dive into the corn-for-ethanol hype.

Source: New York Times/ Alexei Barrionuevo, June 25, 2006
Source URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/business/25ethanol.html?adxnnl=1&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1151341334-EzlFHRjh956cyWyBjiBb2A

The news on dairy product consumption and its link to blood pressure has fluctuated like some blood pressure readings themselves. One day up, one day down. Today, it’s up again.

A new study suggests eating dairy, especially products with low-fat content, could help lower blood pressure. However, the study didn’t shed any light on where the benefits come from, but scientists said low-fat dairy might be a crucial part of a healthy diet. The findings appear in the
August issue of the journal Hypertension.

Source: Forbes/ HealthDay News, June 26, 2006
Source URL: http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2006/06/26/hscout533459.html

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

• DuPont, BP Join for New Biofuels; Biobutanol First
• All Vermont, Parts of NH, NY Declared Natural Disaster Areas
• USDA Sets Hearing to Amend Class III, IV Pricing
• Amish Farmer Challenges Raw-Milk Ban on Religious Grounds
• Low-Fat Ice Cream Uses Pout Fish Protein
• What’s an Oregon Dairy Cow Worth in Economic Impact?
• Study Suggests More Mad Cow Mortalities
• Canada Bans Cattle SRMs from All Feed, Fertilizer

Click to read more of these and other news stories.

As we near the halfway point of 2006, U.S. farm milk production is booming, but growth in demand for milk and dairy products is not keeping pace.

Total U.S. farm milk production in the first five months of 2006 was 4.4% higher than during the same period last year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) figures. This jump in production came from more milk cows in the national dairy herd (103,000 more in May 2006, up 1.1% from last May) and more milk produced per cow (up 3.3% on average for January through May when compared to the same period last year).

Source: International Dairy Foods Association/ Bob Yonkers, June 26, 2006
Source URL: http://www.idfa.org/news/stories/2006/06/marketupdate.cfm

This year’s world grain harvest is projected to fall short of consumption by 61 million tons, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that production has failed to satisfy demand.  As a result of these shortfalls, world carryover stocks at the end of this crop year are projected to drop to 57 days of consumption, the shortest buffer since the 56-day-low in 1972 that triggered a doubling of grain prices. 
        
World carryover stocks of grain, the amount in the bin when the next harvest begins, are the most basic measure of food security. Whenever stocks drop below 60 days of consumption, prices begin to rise. It thus came as no surprise when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) projected in its June 9 world crop report that this year’s wheat prices will be up by 14 percent and corn prices up by 22 percent over last year’s.

Source: Earth Policy Institute/ Lester R. Brown, June 15, 2006
Source URL: http://www.earth-policy.org/Indicators/Grain/2006.htm

Following are some of the headlines from the market news and analysis highlighted this week:

• Lower Livestock Prices Contribute to Decline in Farm Income 
• Grain Report a Checkpoint for End-of-Year Stocks
• Cold Storage: Butter, Cheese Stocks Climb
• Analysts: Bailey, Roberts

Click to read more of these and more market articles.

Objective: Evaluation of clinical and orthopaedic findings, stage of the disease as well as complications in cattle with interdigital necrobacillosis.

Conclusion and clinical relevance: A remarkable result of the present study was the large number of 30 out off 66 cases of interdigital phlegmon with secondary infection of the distal interphalangeal joint or other synovial cavities of the digit, suggesting that diagnostic workup of interdigital phlegmon was difficult and/or initial treatment was inadequate. An accurrate diagnosis is only possible after careful cleaning of the claws and the interdigital skin and subsequent diligent examination of the region.

Source: Interdigital phlegmon (Interdigital necrobacillosis, foot rot) in 66 cattle. Part 1: Clinical findings. Tieraerztliche Praxis Ausgabe Grosstiere Nutztiere 34 (1): 5+, 2006. ReinohlDeSouza, C.; Kofler, J.

In this paper we examine the role of secondary advantages conveyed by antimicrobial resistance genes.

Our results demonstrate that the antimicrobial resistance genes are not responsible for the greater fitness advantage of anti microbial-resistant E. coli in calves, but the farm environment and the diet clearly exert critical selective pressures responsible for the maintenance of antimicrobial resistance genes.

Source: Antimicrobial drug resistance genes do not convey a secondary fitness advantage to calf-adapted Escherichia coli. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 72 (1): 443-448, 2006. Khachatryan, A.R.; Hancock, D.D.; Besser, T.E.; Call, D.R.

Reproductive efficiency of dairy cattle causes great frustration and potential lost income for dairy producers. Even under optimal conditions, the reproductive process is less than perfect because of multiple factors involved in producing a live calf. To manage the complexities of the estrous cycle, understanding of many interrelated physiological functions is critical. Further, reproductive efficiency involves the successful management of not only the cows, but also the people who milk, feed, house, inseminate and care for them. Although the benefits of improving reproduction are apparent, specific causes of poor reproductive performance are difficult to identify and resolve. To improve reproductive efficiency, the limiting factors must be identified. To maximize the chances of a renewed pregnancy for every heifer or cow that calves into the herd, a number of important time-dependent components of the reproductive cycle must be managed. It is critical to understand each component of the estrous cycle and annual reproductive cycle, and to determine where limited time and resources should be concentrated. Maximal reproductive efficiency requires management of the calving interval, which consists of three major components: 1) the voluntary waiting period; 2) the active AI breeding period; and 3) gestation – including the dry period.

Source: University of Minnesota/ Cliff Lamb, Carl Dahlen, and Jamie Larson, June 2006
Source URL: http://www.extension.umn.edu/dairy/dairydays06/pdfs/Lamb_ReproductiveManagement.pdf

As with most enterprise budgets the cost of making hay is broken down into variable costs and fixed costs. Variable costs are expenses associated with the production of hay. Variable costs increase as production increases. For example, fertilizer costs to achieve a four-ton per acre yield will be higher than the fertilizer costs required to produce two tons per acre of hay. Variable costs can be figured on a per acre or a per ton basis. Variable cost included in the OSU grass hay enterprise budget includes seed, fertilizer, repairs, fuel, oil, grease, interest on operating capital, and miscellaneous costs such as soil testing, supplies, small tools, etc.

Source: Ohio State University/ BEEF Team Newsletter/ Rory Lewandowski, June 28, 2006
Source URL: http://fairfield.osu.edu/ag/beef/beefJune28.html