Stephen Sheppard Bad Axe, Michigan National Account Senior Specialist Genex Cooperative

Chad Wethal Madison, Wisconsin Marketing Associate Filament Marketing

Aurora Organic Dairy (“Aurora”) has reached an agreement to settle all claims in the consolidated class action lawsuits pending before the U.S. Federal Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals and the district court confirmed that Aurora’s milk was at all times properly labeled and sold as organic, and that Aurora’s milk has been certified as organic by a USDA-accredited certifying agent since 2004. As such, the only remaining action in this lawsuit, which was originally filed in 2007, concerned marketing claims made by Aurora and its customers.

Yesterday California dairy farmers staged a protest at the front door of the California Department of Food and Agriculture office. It's the latest move in a continuing battle to get the CDFA to raise Class 4b prices. “We’re hoping to draw attention to what Gov. Jerry Brown and [California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary] Karen Ross are doing to our milk single-handedly,” Jim Wilson, Hanford resident and Fresno County dairy owner, told The Sentinel.

Wulf Cattle, Morris, Minnesota, hosted its first Calf Run event to kick off the fall feeder calf buying season showcasing the recently acquired feeder cattle management and backgrounding facilities at Wulf’s Cattle Depot and feedlot in McLaughlin, South Dakota.

U.S. pork exports in July were slightly lower than a year ago while beef exports dipped moderately in volume, achieving their largest monthly total of 2012 while holding steady in value. These results are based on statistics released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).