After being put on hold after last year’s North Dakota State Fair fell victim to floods, the dairy farmers of North Dakota debuted a brand new milk shake wagon at this year’s fair. The new wagon, carrying the slogan “Milkshakes and Moooore,” doubles the capacity for making the concession’s chocolate, vanilla and strawberry shakes.

Despite the smallest calf crop in 60 years and extremely tight supplies of available feeder cattle, dry conditions across the majority of the United States have sharply lowered expectations for this year’s corn and soybean crop which has sent new-crop grain prices soaring and drastically weakened the demand for feeder cattle. Click here or on the image at right to view it at full size in a new window. June saw yearling feeder prices recede by $4.00 to $6.00 while calves traded $6.00 to $12.00 lower with dog-day summer heat rearing its ugly head and taking its toll, especially on lightweights.

Respondents in a Progressive Cattleman online poll by an overwhelming majority say the Environmental Protection Agency’s use of surveillance planes is a frightening police power on U.S. agriculture.