Every beef producer has heard the statistics about how dangerous it is to farm.

Producers have a variety of options to choose from in alternative feeds; however, the choice of those feeds depends on several factors, including availability and nutrient composition as well as storage and handling characteristics. One possibility is to incorporate sugar beet byproducts into the diet.

Wyoming County, New York, ranked 32nd nationwide in milk production in 2011, reaching 1 billion gallons annually. And the booming yogurt market could mean a lot more business for its farms. A project called the Wyoming County Agriculture Business Center of Excellence is underway, intended to consolidate numerous county and related agencies into a single location. The hope is that the center will create new opportunities for the county’s large agriculture and dairy industries, as the Alpina and Project Wave yogurt plants become operational in Batavia.

The National Milk Producers Federation praised the successful resolution of negotiations with China on an import dairy certificate, a measure that provides certainty to U.S. dairy exporters in order to enhance U.S.-China dairy trade. U.S. and China government officials have been negotiating a new certificate for nearly three years, since China revised its requirements under the dairy certificate in the first part of 2010.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid is promising to act this year on legislation that went nowhere in the last Congress, including a five-year farm bill. In a Jan. 22 speech on the Senate floor, Reid said the Senate would consider a farm bill, as well as other measures that the House didn't pass.

The newly formulated Ru-Mend is part of an improved Key Dairy Program from Agri-King. The product is intended to help break down fiber and starch, releasing more energy and nutrients. New technology assists in making nutrients more available to the rumen and the cow.

The 2013 Wichita Falls Ranch & Farm Expo will be held March 6-7 at the JS Bridwell Agricultural Center, which is part of the MPEC in Wichita Falls, Texas. The show hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on March 6 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on March 7.

The International Brangus Breeders Association recently elected five new members to serve a four-year term on the IBBA board of directors. The directors will be officially inducted at the IBBA Annual Membership Meeting March 1, 2013, in Houston, Texas. The new members of the board include:

Law firm BakerHostetler has announced the third and final settlement agreement with the remaining defendants in the Southeast Milk Antitrust Litigation. Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and the remaining defendants in the lawsuit that claims violation of federal antitrust laws have reached a settlement agreement with the certified class of Southeastern dairy farmers across 14 states totaling $158,600,000.

The USDA has recently licensed a new vaccine for reducing mastitis caused by Streptococcus uberis, giving dairies an option for proactively minimizing environmental streptococcal mastitis. According to the news release, Streptococcus Uberis Bacterin has been tested on commercial dairies with a history of elevated somatic cell counts (BTSCC and SCC) and isolation of environmental streptococcus species (e.g. Streptococcus uberis) from milk samples.