Some USDA reports vital to dairy producers could be on the budgetary chopping block. A recent Farm Foundation webinar featured several speakers from the federal government, private industry and commodity groups discussing how to head off cuts to many market reports. Jim Robb, the Senior Agricultural Economist and Director at the Livestock Marketing Information Center, told the panel that the … Read More
Milking Parlor: Farm Bill Has Much for Dairy to Like
The U.S. Senate has passed the The Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2012, better known as the Farm Bill, getting through that chamber by a bipartisan vote of 64 to 35. That bipartisan support pleased Senate Agriculture Chair Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and the ranking member of the committee, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS). The vote also pleased the … Read More
Natural Remedy Investigated to Reduce Mastitis
Researchers for the USDA are looking at a natural remedy to delay and reduce cases of mastitis in dairy cattle. This story from the Agricultural Research Service says scientists at the National Animal Disease Center (NADC) in Ames, Iowa, have found that vitamin D may be another treatment for mastitis instead of antibiotics: Molecular biologist John Lippolis, in the Ruminant … Read More
Senate's Farm Bill Passes With Dairy Amendments
The U.S. Senate passed its version of the Farm Bill today by a bipartisan margin of 64-35. Passage gained praise from the Dairy Farmers of America: “The U.S. Senate sent an important message to the nation’s agriculture industry today by passing S. 3240, the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 (Farm Bill). The Farm Bill contains dairy provisions … Read More
Dairy Amendments Included in Senate Farm Bill
The number of proposed amendments to the Senate farm bill shrank from nearly 300 to 73 this week as senators struck a deal to get debate back on track. Votes were held on a number of those amendments Tuesday, included a couple of dairy-related measures. One by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) that passed requires milk marketing order reform, eliminating the … Read More
NMPF and IDFA Oppose Raw Milk Amendment
The two organizations representing America’s dairy farmers and dairy foods companies jointly announced their opposition to a proposal in the Senate that would allow the interstate sales of raw milk. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has introduced an amendment to the 2012 Farm Bill, No. 2180, that would allow the direct sale of raw milk and raw milk products across state … Read More
Leonard Speaks to Senate
Fourth generation dairy farmer, Sarah Leonard, from Midland, VA, spoke at a Senate news conference today about the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012 (the 2012 Farm Bill). Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), the Committee’s Ranking Member, hosted the news conference Wednesday in … Read More
Dairy Producer Supports Farm Bill Energy Programs
The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry was urged to reauthorize Farm Bill energy programs and provide them with mandatory funding during a hearing on “Formulation of the 2012 Farm Bill: Energy and Forestry Programs” on Friday. Steve Reinford of Reinford Farms in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania testified about how investing in an anaerobic digester with the help of USDA … Read More
Labor Department Drops Child Farm Labor Rule
The U.S. Labor Department has officially withdrawn proposed rules that would have prevented many young people from working on farms and ranches. “The Obama administration is firmly committed to promoting family farmers and respecting the rural way of life, especially the role that parents and other family members play in passing those traditions down through the generations,” said the department … Read More
House Subcommittee Reviews Dairy Programs
Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL), Chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, held a hearing this week to review dairy programs as part of drafting the 2012 Farm Bill process. “At our dairy audit hearing last fall, we got a sense for the inadequacy of some of our current dairy programs,” Rooney said. “While consensus is building … Read More