Several major agricultural organizations issued a joint statement today on the official expiration of the 2008 farm bill. The 2008 law governing many of our nation’s farm policies expired on Sunday, September 30th, and the 2012 Farm Bill needed to replace it is bottled up in Congress. While the Senate and the House Agriculture Committees were both able to pass … Read More
Dairy Groups Join Coalition Calling for Farm Bill Now
A coalition of 39 farm groups, including the National Milk Producers Federation, the United Dairymen of Arizona, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, is calling on Congress to pass a new farm bill before the old one expires at the end of September. The group, Farm Bill Now, has an interactive web portal at www.FarmBillNow.com, that lets you connect with … Read More
California Dairies Tout Sustainability Success
California dairy families are proud of the sustainability accomplishments they achieved in 2011. According to the California dairy farming sustainability coalition Dairy Cares, the state’s dairy industry continued its commitment last year to protect and improve the environment. Central Valley dairy farmers launched the nation’s largest dairy groundwater monitoring program, a non-profit, collaborative scientific effort to assure that dairy farming … Read More
Judges Panel For U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards
At World Dairy Expo we got an update on the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program from Dairy Management, Inc. The U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards program continues to gain support, as the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® today announced that the newly launched awards program will be judged by a panel of experts from academic institutions, USDA, EPA, World Wildlife Fund, … Read More
NMPF Votes On Changes To Dairy Policy Reform Package
The National Milk Producers Federation’s Board of Directors has voted for a revised approach to reforming federal dairy policy, with the key change of “allowing farmers an individual choice between receiving the financial protection of a government safety net, or opting out of such protection.” You can listen in on a conference call with NMPF about the changes here: As … Read More
DFA Annual Meeting Underway
The Dairy Farmers of America annual meeting is underway in Kansas City, Mo. The theme of the meeting is “From Challenge to Change” which “recognizes the industry’s hardships of 2009, its slow recovery in 2010 and highlights our focus and determination to embrace the need for change in our industry.” Among the highlights of the meeting today are the Chairman’s … Read More
DFA Holding Virtual Food Drive
In honor of National Ag Day this week, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) kicked off the DFA Cares Virtual Food Drive to raise awareness for and help address the needs of hungry Americans. The drive, which is organized through the DFA Cares Foundation, will run through the start of June Dairy Month. A starting goal of $5,000 has been established, … Read More
DFA Holds Grazing Conference
Approximately 150 producers and agribusiness professionals attended Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.’s (DFA) 2011 Grazing Conference held in Louisville earlier this week. The two-day event was presented by Dairy Grazing Services (DGS), a wholly owned subsidiary of DFA that provides resources and consulting services to producers interested in pasture-based dairying. “Increasing input costs and volatile milk prices continue to create … Read More
Midwest Dairy Association Restructures
Midwest Dairy Association has announced an “organizational realignment” to enable the checkoff organization to better meet the needs of the dairy industry in the Midwest. Under the new structure, Chuck Cruickshank has been named to serve as the new Senior Vice President of Industry Relations to the staff. The Industry Image and Relations program will be realigned into two program … Read More
Cheese is King at World Dairy Expo
2010 World Dairy Expo Photo Album Since World Dairy Expo is held in the nation’s number one cheese producing state, it’s no surprise to find that cheese is just about everywhere. One of the special events for the media at the expo is the Talk Session, sponsored by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board each year. It gives the media a … Read More