Doyle Johannes has worked land near the Missouri River in central North Dakota for 35 years, raising everything from corn to cattle. He's not about to let someone from outside the state's borders tell him how to go about his business. Johannes and other farmers took notice last year when The Humane Society of the United States pushed a ballot proposal to abolish fenced hunting preserves. They've also followed efforts to pass animal welfare laws in other states, and they don't want any unreasonable rules in North Dakota.

H WCC/WB 668 Wyarno 9500 ET and KLD 3060 Penny Lane D105 ET won the grand champion bull and female titles at the 2011 American Royal National Hereford Show Oct. 30 in Kansas City.

Researchers from the University of New Hampshire are leading a multi-state project that aims to help organic dairy farmers better produce and market their milk. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to 12 researchers from the universities of Maine, Vermont, Cornell and the USDA, as well as UNH, the research will explore how organic dairy farmers in the Northeast can enhance farm profitability by extending the grazing season and adding value to milk through flaxseed supplementation.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation's (USMEF) 35th Anniversary Strategic Planning Conference opened Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz., with a wide range of guest speakers, each of whom offered a unique perspective on the importance of red meat exports.

About twenty Wisconsin producers met with Dr. Stephenson, Director of Dairy Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on October 20, 2011, at the request of the DBA. Dr. Stephenson presented the results of his latest study, an analysis of the revised version of the Dairy Market Stabilization Program. Dr. Stephenson's modeling showed that there would be a milk price reduction of $.80 to $1.63 per hundredweight for all size farms with only moderate milk price volatility improvement. Dr. Stephenson and Professor Nicholson at California Polytechnic State University created this systems dynamic economic model of U.S. dairy industry several years ago.

It is hard to believe this is our final issue of 2011. Last year, we introduced our plans for a new Canadian edition at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ontario. One year later, we returned to celebrate accomplishments made thus far and announce bigger plans for the future.

Replacement heifer feeding programs must be designed to allow heifers to be bred efficiently, calve out by 24 months old and produce to their maximum potential. To achieve this,heifers must be fed to grow at a high rate while not becoming overconditioned, as well as to remain healthy.

It’s that time of year once again. The leaves have fallen, harvest is near completion and without any break in the action, decisions for 2012 are already upon producers. For dairy producers, the decision of which hybrid or hybrids to plant in 2012 can have significant financial implications.

Plans are underway for the 10th annual Beef Industry Safety Summit, to be held March 7-9, 2012, in Tampa, Fla. The event, which attracts beef industry food safety experts from across the country, has been one of the premier events in the U.S. cattle and beef industry’s commitment to provide consumers the most wholesome product possible.