In last week's In the Cattle Markets newsletter, John Michael Riley summarized the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report from USDA. Obviously, the highlight of that report was the deteriorating prospects for this year's corn crop.  The market has, of course, been monitoring crop prospects and updating expectations continuously all season long and has continued to do so since last week's report. The judgment of the market can be quickly assessed by looking at prices. Corn prices have posted an impressive run over the past month.

Dan Monson Gratiot, Wisconsin Director of Dairy Specialists Agri-King

During the 2000s, organic milk production was one of the fastest growing segments of organic agriculture in the U.S., according to a USDA Economic Research Service publication "Characteristics, Costs, and Issues for Organic Dairy Farming." In 2008, about 3 percent of the nation's cows were managed organically. Among the conditions necessary for a cow to produce organic milk, she must eat only organic feed or browse on organic pasture for at least the previous 36 months. However, dairy producers have found that producing or sourcing organic feed – which must be grown without synthetic fertilizers, insecticides or herbicides – is challenging.

The Agriculture’s Lasting Heritage website tells the stories of America’s farm and ranch families and how century farms (in operation by the same family for more than 100 years) have helped shaped our nation’s history. Century farm families can nominate their farms for a feature on the website. (Click here then go to “Submit your own profile.”)

More than 250 Sorrento Lactalis production and maintenance employees are back on the job after a two-day strike that started July 9 outside the Buffalo, New York, cheese plant. The employees that went on strike are members of the Teamsters Local Union No. 264, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, from Cheektowaga, New York. The issue was inferior terms for health care coverage.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court dealt a blow to environmentalists concerned about water pollution from livestock farms when it said communities couldn't set stricter standards than the state. According to the Associated Press, the ruling was the first decision by a state Supreme Court from among several similar cases filed in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and Oklahoma.

Some USDA reports vital to dairy producers could be on the budgetary chopping block. A recent Farm Foundation webinar featured several speakers from the federal government, private industry and commodity groups discussing how to head off cuts to many market reports.