PENNSYLVANIA

Ag Department’s ban on ‘hormone free’ milk labeling postponed
Pennsylvania is reviewing a recent decision that would prevent dairies from labeling milk containers as hormone-free.

The additional scrutiny is expected to take at least two months, postponing the new rule beyond its original Jan. 1 effective date.

A spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell says opposition from rural lawmakers and farm lobbyists prompted the additional review.

The state Agriculture Department said last month that it would act against misleading labels on dairy products, particularly claims that milk is free from artificial growth hormones.

Synthetic hormones are used to improve milk production but have never been detected in milk. Consumer demand has resulted in more products being billed as hormone-free.

—From AP newswire report

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Tracking how too little milk, sunshine and exercise hurts U.S. children’s bones
Too little milk, sunshine and exercise: It is an anti-bone trifecta. And for some children, shockingly, it is leading to rickets, the soft-bone scourge of the 19th century.

But cases of full-blown rickets are just the red flag: Bone specialists say possibly millions of seemingly healthy children in the U.S. are not building as much strong bone as they should – a gap that may leave them more vulnerable to bone-cracking osteoporosis later in life than their grandparents are.

“I don’t know if we’re raising a population that’s going to be at risk for osteoporosis,” said Dr. Heidi Kalkwarf of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, who led the study. “It’s really hard to know what the cutoff is, how low is too low.”

But almost half of peak bone mass develops during adolescence, and the concern is that missing out on the strongest possible bones in childhood could haunt people decades later. By 30, bone is broken down faster than it is rebuilt. Then it is a race to maintain bone and avoid the thin bones of osteoporosis in old age.

—From AP newswire report

WISCONSIN

Doyle announces $33 million in new initiatives for agriculture
Wisconsin’s agricultural industry will receive $33 million in initiatives to help it compete in the global market, Gov. Jim Doyle announced recently.

Three of the initiatives Doyle outlined were included in the two-year budget that passed late last year. Those were:

– $13 million to assist farmers with runoff pollution, wastewater management and improving working conditions.

– $1.3 million in new tax credits for dairy farms to buy equipment and new technology to increase efficiency and quality. Credits are for up to 10 percent of the costs, or up to $200,000 per facility.

– $800,000 to help farmers better manage their resources through intelligent land management and stewardship.

–Extend $1 million in tax credits to modernize meat processing plants.

– Make $1.3 million in credits available to cheese cooperatives to help them work together and streamline their businesses.

—From AP newswire report

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

U.S. food companies fight dairy farmers over import fees
A fight in Congress over whether to assess fees on dairy imports to help pay for promoting dairy products in this country is pitting dairy farmers against big-name U.S. food companies, cheese importers, foreign countries – and even the outlying U.S. areas of Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

The fees on domestic producers are levied only on dairy farmers in the 48 contiguous United States, which excludes the states of Hawaii and Alaska as well as U.S. territories.

This year, the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, inserted a measure into the 2007 Farm Bill that would extend the mandatory fee to dairy farmers in Hawaii and Alaska and Puerto Rico. That would remove the trade hurdle and pave the way for fees on imports, he argued.

U.S. dairy farmers pay 15 cents per 100 pounds of milk sold for the promotions. Cheese importers would pay around 1.5 cents a pound because it takes about 10 pounds of milk to make a pound of cheese. The promotions pay for things like the “3-A-Day” marketing campaign, which encourages people to consume three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt a day.

“America’s dairy farmers feel that it’s a fundamental issue of fairness and only want everyone – including domestic production and imported production – to be treated equally,” said Chris Galen, a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation.

Cheese importers and U.S. food companies that use imported dairy products as ingredients have formed the Alliance for Fair Dairy Promotion to lobby against the assessment. The coalition includes companies such as ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kraft Foods and Nestle, as well as groups such as the Cheese Importers Association of America, the National Taxpayers Union and the International Dairy Foods Association.

— From AP newswire service

KANSAS

Cattle fed distillers grain prone to E-coli exposure
In a study that could have far-reaching food safety implications, researchers at Kansas State University have found that cattle fed a byproduct of ethanol production are twice as likely to carry a potentially deadly strain of E. coli bacteria.

The E. coli 0157 strain studied in the Kansas State study is the same kind found in a series of recent illnesses and massive recalls of contaminated meat – although the Kansas State University study itself did not link the ethanol byproducts to those specific cases.

Last month, agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. recalled more than 1 million pounds of ground beef from a Pennsylvania plant that was contaminated with E. coli 157:H7, a bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration.

Jim Drouillard, a professor of animal sciences at the university, has collaborated with other researchers on a study to test the prevalence of E. coli 0157 in cattle as well as the carcass quality of cattle fed distillers grain.

“The study is interesting, but we don’t know the significance of it at this point in real world conditions,” said Dave Ray, spokesman for the American Meat Institute, the industry group representing meatpackers. “Even the researchers have said more research is needed to evaluate the practical significance of this finding.”

—From AP newswire report

CALIFORNIA

Growing dairy production in the West thanks to California
Ranchers throughout the West are using the “California Model” to challenge California’s dominance of the U.S. dairy market, which fueled the rapid expansion in California during the mid-1990s.

The California strategy includes taking cows off pastures and concentrating them together in massive dairies. Feed is shipped into operations and manure is hauled out, rather than relying on naturally occurring processes in pastures.

Many California ranchers and dairy producers also must turn to expensive consultants and lawyers to see them through the state’s lengthy, complex permitting procedures.

Depending on the size of a ranch or dairy and its location, permit-related fees in California can reach up to $700,000, with the process taking as long as five years, Western United Dairyman CEO Michael Marsh said.

In Idaho, permit fees can cost as little as $15,000, with the process taking just 90 days, said Bob Naerebout, director of the group United Dairymen of Idaho.

—From AP newswire service

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Senate approves Farm Bill, goes to conference with House
The U.S. Senate has approved a $286 billion farm bill with an election-year expansion of subsidies for growers.

The bill, passed on a 79-14 vote in December, expands subsidies for wheat, barley, oat, soybeans and several other crops and creates new grants for growers of vegetables and fruit.

It also increases loan rates for sugar producers, extends dairy programs and provides more dollars for renewable energy and conservation programs to protect environmentally sensitive farmland over the next five years.

President George W. Bush has threatened to veto the legislation, saying it costs too much and should instead be cutting subsidies at a time of record-high crop prices. He also has threatened to veto a House of Representatives version passed in July. The Senate’s passage was sufficiently one-sided to override a veto, but the House vote lacked the two-thirds majority needed.

Farm-state senators deflected several attempts to derail the bill and reduce government payments to large growers. Still, even some from farm country acknowledged the bill does not do enough to trim the government’s massive subsidy programs.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Tom Harkin, a Democrat, had hoped to take significant steps to reduce subsidies but was blocked by Southern lawmakers on the committee who favor current law. Southern crops such as rice and cotton are more expensive to produce than corn, wheat and most other crops grown around the United States.

While the House and Senate bills are similar, significant differences will have to be worked out as Congress reconvenes this month.  PD

—From AP newswire service

LOTS O’ RAIN

Dairies in Washington and Oregon affected by recent flooding
Coastal areas in western Oregon and Washington received torrential rain and experienced record flooding in early December, interrupting dairy production and killing several thousand dairy cows. Washington Governor Christine Gregoire declared 18 of the state’s counties in a state of emergency, as dairy producers, residents and volunteers continue to clean up silt and debris left by receding flood waters.

The Washington State Dairy Federation estimates that more than 25 dairy producers have been affected by the storm and flooding in Washington. More than 600 dairy cows have died since the flooding began.

Chuck Hayes, president of the Washington State Dairy Federation, said dairymen are trying to salvage what they can and get back on their feet. Many dairies are still not fully functional but hope to be running again by the middle of January.

The Washington State Dairy Federation has established a contribution fund for those who would like to donate money to help. Money donated to the federation’s fund will be distributed to dairy producers only. Anyone wishing to offer assistance can contribute to the federation fund at www.wadairyfederation.org.  PD