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Senator Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, announced the committee will host four Farm Bill hearings in before April. The hearings will allow the committee to continue examining Farm Bill principles and evaluating policy solutions to develop a 2012 bill.
The first hearing, titled Energy and Economic Growth for Rural America, was held on Feb. 15.
The purpose of this hearing was to evaluate policies that make investments in jobs and opportunities for farmers and rural businesses through new markets, entrepreneurship, regional strategies and energy innovation.
Here are excerpts of testimony presented during and the hearing:
The second of several scheduled Farm Bill hearings, focusing on conservation, was held on Feb. 28.
This hearing explored the Conservation Title’s important investment in America – the nation’s fundamental resources of our water, soils and other natural resource infrastructure – through policies that help farmers maintain soil health, keep our water clean and available, our food abundant and safe and our wildlife plentiful, so as to protect the basic principles of farming and our way of life for future generations.
Here are excerpts of testimony presented during and the hearing:
Prior to immersing myself in the U.S. dairy market as of 2009, I’ve had the opportunity to farm in three countries, as well as work with dairy genetic suppliers and farmers in at least 50 more through my current employer.
Every country has a unique set of circumstances driven by their domestic dairy needs or ability to compete on the global product market.The dairy industry differs greatly around the world based on economy, climate, social, environment and labor, just to name a few.
Estate tax planning has never been an art of certainty, but the last two years have brought about a new era of uncertainty. Due to congressional indecisiveness, estate tax planners have been unable to give clear direction to their clients.
In light of all the uncertainty, some significant new opportunities are now available for those willing to engage in the process of estate planning.
Livestock Gross Margin Insurance for Dairy (LGM-Dairy) is a subsidized insurance policy that provides protection to dairy producers against the loss of gross margin (market value of milk minus feed costs) for specified portions of milk produced by their dairy cows.
Livestock Gross Margin Insurance for Dairy establishes a floor (minimum) on income over feed costs (IOFC), ensuring that the gross margin will not be less than the amount specified in the LGM-Dairy policy. It is a risk management tool very similar to using a bundled options strategy.
This year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it would soon be modifying extra-label use of cephalosporin drugs in cattle.
Effective April 5, 2012, veterinarians can continue to prescribe extra-label use of any cephalosporin as long as it is the same dosage, used through the same route of administration and in the same species as its FDA-approved label. The new order does not affect FDA’s approved indications for ceftiofur.
When was the last time you reviewed your dairy’s protocols for pharmaceutical use? If it’s been a while, now is the time to make sure your product use is in line with these new guidelines and is helping you avoid any residue violations.
There are enough teat dips and different teat dip formulations on the market to make your head spin (and kudos to whomever can pronounce the names of all the ingredients listed on a teat dip label).
All the different active ingredients, skin conditioners and varying percentages of both can make choosing the right teat dip for your farm a daunting task.
In some cases, the CIP system isn’t the only culprit when PI and standard plate counts are high. So it was with a Utah producer who called, desperate for help, because high PICs and SPCs were robbing him of his bonuses.
This dairy milks 1,500 cows in a 72-stall rotary parlor and had been experiencing problems since the system was built three years ago.
The CIP detectives went to the scene to investigate and identified likely suspects in both the milking system and CIP system.
Scientists at the USDA have found that a commercial vaccine is effective against leptospirosis in cattle.
A widespread zoonotic disease, leptospirosis is transmitted naturally from domestic and wild animals to humans. The contagious disease, which is caused by Leptospira bacteria, is spread through contact with food, water or soil contaminated with urine from infected animals. It can affect all farm animals, rodents and wildlife.
