Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the expansion of a USDA initiative to help farmers and ranchers conduct energy audits and improve their overall energy efficiency. The initiative builds on the existing energy audit initiative to also help producers implement the energy conservation and efficiency recommendations that result from an energy audit.

World Ag Expo and E.M. Tharp Inc. presented the “We Believe in Growing” scholarship to two graduating seniors from the Central Valley.

Managing lameness in the dairy herd will be the topic of workshops offered across Pennsylvania in March by Penn State Dairy Alliance. The Lameness Management Workshop is designed for dairy producers and their dairy employees who want to reduce lameness in their herds. Participants will explore hoof anatomy and pathology to learn more about the metabolic and infectious diseases that cause lameness. Lameness prevention will focus on such factors as nutrition, heat stress, housing and cow comfort, as well as hygiene and foot baths. A hoof trimming demonstration will also be offered.

Last week's episode on the television show Grey's Anatomy highlighted Twitter, the social networking and microblogging website. The characters on the show were using Twitter to showcase procedures being performed to doctors at other hospitals. Chief Webber, who runs the fictional hospital, was appalled that his staff was broadcasting surgeries for the whole world to see. As the episode goes on, Webber finds out that Twitter can be a useful service. When his staff members weren't sure how to deal with a problem in surgery, a suggestion from a Twitter user saved the patient. Webber was also able to reconnect with a former colleague, thanks to tweets and messages.

Read below for two reports about the 1099 requirements. Senate votes to repeal 1099 reporting requirement The U.S. Senate voted to repeal the 1099 reporting requirement included in the health care reform law approved last year. The 1099 mandate required businesses of all sizes, including dairy farms, to report IRS information on all non-credit card purchases totaling more than $600 or more with any vendor in a tax year. This provision was considered extremely burdensome for small businesses in terms of additional paperwork. The House must now act on the same language or a similar amendment prior to 2012.

The FSIS Residue Violation Information System List identifies all producers that have marketed food animals which have tested positive for antibiotic residues at slaughter. The list is updated weekly, ranges from 110 to 140 pages and includes the names, addresses and phone numbers of producers who have marketed animals with antibiotic residues and businesses that have purchased their cattle during the previous 12 months. Not only does this list present a negative image for the cattle industry, but it is a target for increased scrutiny from industry critics. The reputation of individual producers and of the entire livestock industry is at stake.

Click here to download a pdf of an update from Cooperatives Working Together. This Issue 3 (February 8, 2011) update provides information about continued export assistance in 2011.

Click here to download a pdf of an update from Dairy Management, Inc. This update provides information about how the dairy checkoff unified to drive 2010 sales.

New for 2011, the World Forage Analysis Superbowl will feature a Grass Hay category. This new category is in addition to the contest’s six standard categories of Commercial Hay, Dairy Hay, Haylage, Baleage, Standard Corn Silage and Brown Mid-Rib (BMR) Corn Silage, along with the Quality Counts Awards for hay/haylage and corn silage.

The Brown Swiss Historical Society, BSHS, seeks nominations for the 2011 Master Breeder Award program. The program adopted in 2009, annually recognizes people important to the continuing progress of the Brown Swiss breed. The awards recognize an active breeder and a historical breeder that successfully developed a breeding program that accentuated cow families, especially those that contributed significantly to the advancement of the breed.