Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee held an informational session to educate Ag Committee members and their staffers on the role that dairy plays in Pennsylvania. Center for Dairy Excellence staff joined Jay Howes from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Tim Moyer from the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board and Justin Risser, a dairy producer from Bainbridge, Pennsylvania, to provide those in attendance with a 90-minute introduction to Pennsylvania’s dairy industry, the role it plays in Pennsylvania’s economy and in rural communities across the commonwealth, and the opportunities and threats that exist for today’s dairy farm owners. This month’s Center for Dairy Excellence column includes an abbreviated version of the comments Justin Risser provided before the Senate Ag Committee. All dairy farm families should consider sharing their story with key leaders in their communities and on the state and national level.

The movement to raise the voices of America’s farmers and ranchers and facilitate the dialogue about today’s food is gaining momentum. The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) is a collaboration of more than 75 farmer- and rancher-led organizations and agricultural partners. The organization aims to create new ways for farmers and ranchers from all types of agriculture to reach consumers – whether that’s in the national news scene, popular culture or social media.

The movement to raise the voices of America’s farmers and ranchers and facilitate the dialogue about today’s food is gaining momentum. The U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance (USFRA) is a collaboration of more than 75 farmer- and rancher-led organizations and agricultural partners. The organization aims to create new ways for farmers and ranchers from all types of agriculture to reach consumers – whether that’s in the national news scene, popular culture or social media.

In response to current market conditions, California Dairies, Inc. (CDI), the nation’s second largest dairy processing cooperative, recently cautioned its member-owners that penalties for overproduction of milk may be incurred per the terms of CDI’s internal supply management program. In effect since 2008, CDI’s internal supply management program was designed to place limitations on the amount of milk that each member would be allowed to ship to the cooperative. Penalties may apply to those members who ship more milk than the baseline amount they were assigned.

Warmer-than-normal spring temperatures have accelerated the development of biennial weeds in pastures and along roadsides. "A problem that we would typically think about dealing with sometime in mid-May is rearing its ugly head now," said University of Illinois extension educator Robert Bellm.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan has been crisscrossing the country, visiting college campuses to educate young people about careers in agriculture. Merrigan's efforts are spurred by the rising age of farmers in America, which is 57. (In 2002, it was 55.)

Agricultural census figures show that the fastest-growing group of farmers and ranchers is the segment over 65. For every one farmer and rancher under 25, there are five who are 75 or older.

Out of 200 professions ranked in CareerCast.com’s 2012 Jobs Rated Report, dairy farmer was rated the second worst, followed only by lumberjack on the list of Worst Jobs of 2012. Factors that went into the score included work environment, stress, physical demands, hiring outlook and income. The page of the report that details the score for dairy farming has accumulated a variety of comments, most of which offer a point-of-view that contrasts with CareerCast's assessment of the profession.

The National Dairy Producers Organization, Inc., are holding meetings to discuss industry specific topics with Congressional representatives as well as producers in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. These meetings launched Wednesday, April 18, when board members Dennis Trissel, Bob Krucker and Gary Genske met with Congressmen and their representatives in Washington D.C. to discuss industry compromise as well as the Dairy Industry Stabilization and Sustainability Act of 2011 (DISSA).