In the Amazon River town of Santarem, a battle is brewing over the global demand for soybeans and what that is doing to the Amazon rainforest.

Cargill opened a $20-million port three years ago in Santarem expecting to profit on the increasing global demand for soybeans—which were also Brazil’s No. 1 agricultural export. Now the company is fending off residents, environmentalists and federal prosecutors who contend the port is illegal and want it closed.

Defenders of the Amazon see soy as a villain while Brazilians and companies such as Cargill and others view the crop as the only way to lift Santarem out of poverty.

Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press/ Associated Press/ Michael Astor, July 24, 2006
Source URL: http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/business/15106775.htm

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

• Updated Harvard Risk Assessment of BSE Released
• Manure Runoff Costs WI Dairy Farmer
• NE: Phosphorus Field Assessments Due Jan. 1
• Virginia Plans Massive Water Reuse Program
• Anthrax Found in Four Manitoba Herds
• Saskatchewan Anthrax Cases Hit 45

Click to read more of these and other news stories.

The National Milk Producers Federation today expressed its support for a new bill introduced in the Senate to clarify laws regulating industrial waste sites. At issue is whether dairy farms and other livestock operations should be governed by the same laws that were intended to address Superfund toxic waste sites.
     
The new bill, S. 3681, amends the so-called Superfund laws passed more than 20 years ago to affirm that those laws do not, and should not, regulate animal manure as a toxic waste.

Source: National Milk Producers Federation/ News Release, July 19, 2006
Source URL: http://www.nmpf.org/newsFlash/index.cfm?sectionsCode=PR&nfID=294

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

• Cropp’s Dairy Situation and Outlook
• Argentina, Chile: Markets and Lessons for US Dairy
• Corn Consumption Set to Pop
• Crop Acreage Shifts Follow Price Signals
• Extension Update: Check Out the Crop Futures
• USDA Cattle: Milk Replacement Heifers up 3%
• Livestock Slaughter: Veal Falls 1% on Year
• Cold Stocks: Butter Up 27% on Year

Click to read more of these and other market articles.

The outlook for international dairy markets for the balance of 2006 continues to be fairly positive as demand continues to be driven by strong economic growth – over 6 percent forecast in developing countries and over 7 percent in Asian nations. This strong growth, particularly in developing regions, translates into rising disposable income accelerating expenditures not only for basic food products but also higher value added branded products. In the key China market, growth is expected to drop only slightly from the previous year but still near 10 percent. However, concerns remain over the persistence of high oil prices and the upward adjustment of interest rates in response to inflationary fears generated by these energy prices.

Source: USDA/ FAS, July 20, 2006
Source URL: http://www.fas.usda.gov/dlp/circular/2006/06-07Dairy/dairyprd.html#Summary

The experiment was a randomized block design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments. Factors were normal shade or shade plus evaporative cooling with pressurized spray, plus with or without the administration of bovine somatotropin (bST).

Administration of bST effectively improved performance of cows under hot summer conditions whether evaporatively cooled or not.

Source: Effects of Bovine Somatotropin and Evaporative Cooling Plus Shade on Lactation Performance of Cows During Summer Heat Stress. Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 82, No. 11, 1999. M. Tarazo´ N-Herrera, J. T. Huber, J. Santos, H. Mena, L. Nusso, And C. Nussio/ Monsanto Dairy Online Connection, July 2006
Source URL: http://lscgw.monsanto.com/dairyoc/docnew.nsf/id/12227B48C3D63121862571860054B2F0/$file/Effects%20of%20Bovine%20Somatotropin%20and%20Evaporative%20Cooling.pdf

After 20 years of dairy farming, Bob and Karen Breneman had reached a turning point. Labor was in short supply, machinery needed to be replaced, and the family wasn’t satisfied with the income they were earning for all their hard work.

“A lot of money went in, and a lot went out,” Karen Breneman says. “We could see no future in replacing the equipment. It seemed like a treadmill, like we weren’t moving ourselves forward.”

Source: University of Wisconsin/ News Release/ Margaret Broeren, June 29, 2006
Source URL: http://news.cals.wisc.edu/newsDisplay.asp?id=1506

Four multiparous ruminally cannulated Holstein cows (mean bodyweight [BW] 615 kg) in mid-lactation (103 days in milk and 32 kg milk (.) d(-1) at start of the experiment) were used in an one-factorial experiment to evaluate the effects of fibre level (19, 24, 28, 32 and 39% physically effective NDF [peNDF] in dry matter [DM]) in diets consisting of hay and slowly degradable concentrate on rumen fermentation patterns and digesta particle size, under a constant intake level (146 g DM (.) kg(-0.75)).

Based on the response of ruminal solid digesta to dietary fibre, it can be concluded that the recommendations of feeding a structural value >= 1 per kg DM (De Brabander et al. 1999) underestimated, and 400 g CF per 100 kg BW (Hoffmann 1990) overestimated the evaluation of structural effectiveness of the present diet.

Source: Effects of fibre concentration of diets consisting of hay and slowly degradable concentrate on ruminal fermentation and digesta particle size in mid-lactation dairy cows. Archives of Animal Nutrition 60 (3): 254-266, 2006. Tafaj, M.; Zebeli, Q.; Maulbetsch, A.; Steingass, H.; et al.

The objectives were to establish the origin of 2 acute phase proteins in milk during subclinical bovine mastitis and to characterize the relationship between those proteins in milk and blood.

Immunocytochemistry demonstrated that M-SAA3 protein was present within secretory epithelial cells at significantly higher levels in infected mammary glands than in control tissues. These proteins, which have host defense and antibacterial activities, may play a significant role in the early response to invasion of mammary tissues by pathogenic bacteria.

Source: Acute phase proteins in bovine milk in an experimental model of Staphylococcus aureus subclinical mastitis. Journal of Dairy Science 89 (5): 1488-1501, 2006. Eckersall, P.D.; Young, F.J.; Nolan, A.M.; Knight, C.H.; et al.

Over time, shifts in consumer demands, in the location and structure of milk production, in industry concentration, in international markets, and in trade agreements have dramatically altered the U.S. dairy industry and changed the context for dairy policies and the sector as a whole. In the future, the U.S. dairy industry is likely to become more fully integrated with international markets. At the same time, dairy products such as fluid milk, butter, and cheese are likely to continue to be increasingly used as ingredients for restaurants and in processed foods while still being sold in their traditional forms.

Source: USDA/ ERS/ James J. Miller and Don P. Blayney, July 2006
Source URL: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/ldp/2006/07Jul/ldpm14501/ldpm14501.pdf