Officials have modified the grocery list of foods covered by the federal government’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program. The new list should bring smiles to those who produce fruits, vegetables and whole grains. But producers of dairy, eggs and juice probably will take a dimmer view of the program changes.

Fruits, vegetables and whole grains were added to the approved list; the program will pay less for milk, eggs and juice. USDA said the changes were necessary to better meet science in dietary guidelines in recent years showing a growing obesity epidemic in Americans.

Source: Boston Globe/ Reuters, Aug. 7, 2006
Source URL: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/08/07/food_vouchers_add_fruit_and_vegetables_
but_cut_milk/?rss_id=Boston.com+%2F+News

Dr. J.B. Penn, undersecretary of agriculture for farm and foreign agricultural services, today submitted his resignation from USDA to join Deere & Company. Penn’s resignation is effective at the end of August; he will join Deere effective Sept. 1.

At Deere, Penn will lead the new Office of the Chief Economist and will be responsible for analyzing global macro-economic, policy and trade.

Source: Dairy Business Daily Staff/ News Reports, Aug. 8, 2006
Source URL: www.dairydaily.com

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

• Heat Wave Broils Agricultural Profits
• CA Heat a Glimpse of Future with Global Warming
• WI Panel Sends Manure Rules Back to DNR
• Alaska Dairy Imperiled by Plant Privatization Plan
• Whey to Go! WI Cheese Plant Workers Win Powerball

Click to read more of these and other news stories.

On August 11, the USDA will release the first corn and soybean yield and production forecasts for the 2006 crops that are based on survey and field observation data. Private forecasts generally reflect expectations that the report will show potential for average yields to be slightly above trend for both crops.

At the end of July, the USDA’s weekly report of crop conditions showed that 56 percent of the U.S. corn crop was in good or excellent condition. That compares to 53 percent at the same time last year and 57 percent at the end of the season last year.

Source: Farmdoc/ University of Illinois/ Darrel Good, Aug. 7, 2006
Source URL: http://www.farmdoc.uiuc.edu/marketing/weekly/html/080706.html

Extension Update is a weekly summary of news from Extension, government, and other attributable sources, focused on marketing, farm management, and other issues that are of interest to Midwestern farm owners and operators.

Heading into kernel and pod fill, Extension Marketing Specialist Darrel Good says weather and crop conditions will dominate the market for the next 6-8 weeks. “The Aug. yield forecasts will provide the benchmark for the market to judge the potential impact of Aug. weather on final yield estimates. Recent high temperatures and prospects for another round of heat in the second week of Aug. will stress crops in areas of low soil moisture.

Source: Farmgate/ Stu Ellis/ University of Illinois, Aug. 4, 2006
Source URL: http://www.farmgate.uiuc.edu/archive/2006/08/extension_updat_31.html

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

• EU Ag Markets 2006-2013: Dairy to Improve
• Soybeans may Find New Market Among Foam Makers
• Global Brands Leaders Includes Food Giants

Click to read more of these and other market articles.

The objective of this experiment was to study the effect of prepartum diets on dry matter intake (DMI) around parturition and on milk production in early lactation during a hot summer.

There were no significant differences in milk composition between the two groups.

Source: Effects of forage-to-concentrate ratio in prepartum diet on the dry matter intake and milk yield of periparturient cows during hot weather. Animal Science Journal 77 (1): 63-70, 2006. Kamiya, Y.; Kamiya, M.; Tanaka, M.

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effect of corn silage (CS): alfalfa silage (AS) ratio in 50:50 forage:concentrate diets on production and rumen traits of dairy cows.

It is concluded that CS:AS mixtures support better performance of lactating cows than feeding corn silage as the sole forage.

Source: Engormix/ University of Wisconsin and the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center/ V.R. Moreira, C. Cragnolino and L.D. Satter, August 2006
Source URL: http://www.engormix.com/effect_of_corn_silage_e_articles_145_GDL.htm

Milk quality is different than milk safety. All milk for human consumption must meet the minimum safety standards of 750,000 SCC and under 100,000 bacteria counts with no antibiotic or chemical residues. Public demand for improvement in milk quality beyond current milk safety standards is on the upswing. Why? For 25 years dairy processors have recognized that high SCC significantly reduced cheese yields. Therefore, to encourage production of low SCC, raw milk Midwestern dairy processors have been paying quality premiums since 1979. The current spread between deducts for BTSCC over 300,000 and the highest quality incentives for milk less than 100,000 can be up to $3.00 per hundred weight of milk. This is a strong monetary incentive for producers to work on milk quality.

Source: University of Minnesota/ Jeffrey K. Reneau, Aug. 5, 2006
Source URL: http://www.extension.umn.edu/dairy/dairystar/08-05-06-Reneau.htm

Research from South Dakota State University can help producers determine the fertilizer value in drought-damaged corn.

SDSU Extension Soil Fertility Specialist Jim Gerwing said he has been getting several calls a day from producers asking for that information.

To help provide answers, Gerwing harvested drought-stunted corn of various heights ranging from 2 to 5.5 feet.  He determined dry matter yield per acre and estimated nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium content and value of the nutrients per acre.

Source: South Dakota State University/ News Release, Aug. 4, 2006
Source URL: http://agbionews.sdstate.edu/News/newsrelease.cfm?id=2660