Kelli Hinman, a Syngenta grower from Hardrock Farms in Wheatland, Wyoming, was named Champion Forage Producer Wednesday, October 5, at the 22nd Annual World Forage Analysis Superbowl in Madison, Wisconsin, during the World Dairy Expo.

For the first time since the 1970s, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is proposing amendments and additions to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in an attempt to increase safety requirements for young workers employed in agriculture. The proposed rules do not attempt to make changes or limit the current exemption for youth workers employed on farms owned or operated by parents — the new rules would only apply to hired workers.

Steve RiesenbeckEscalon, California Management Consultant Pine Creek Nutrition Service, Inc.

Merck Animal Health recently introduced the Antibiotic and Drug Residue Prevention and Avoidance Awareness Program to increase residue awareness and provide solutions to help the dairy and calf ranch industries combat and prevent antibiotic and drug residues. The program toolkit was recently upgraded to include a content list with interactive links to online, bilingual training modules at www.resflorgold.com, www.nuflor.com, www.nuflorgold.com and www.banamine.com, industry friendly tool kit cover and drug inventory move-in and move-out sheets. These additional service options and accessories have been added to further improve efficiencies for dairy producers.

Five livestock veterinarians and about 20 of their client farmsin four states volunteered to be filmed for a new reality series, to give consumers a personal and up-close view of responsible livestock farming in the U.S. The series, “Veterinarians on Call,” captures the pride and responsibility of veterinarians in their day-to-day work on U.S. farms and ranches, working with their client livestock farmers and other professionals raising pork, beef and dairy animals. Presented by Pfizer Animal Health, Veterinarians On Call premiered in September on channel YouTube.com/VeterinariansOnCall.

Spanish-speaking dairy employees can learn standardized milking procedures at the upcoming Best Milking Practices: Hispanic Education workshops offered at multiple sites by the Penn State Extension Dairy Team. The workshops will be taught in Spanish, and are aimed at Spanish-speaking employees with parlor responsibilities.

Metabolic syndrome poses a significant public health threat in the U.S. Affecting more than one-third of American adults, it is a cluster of symptoms that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes and accounts for billions of dollars of health care costs annually. Research has associated dairy consumption with a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome and its related diseases. A new scientific review, published in Advances in Nutrition, discusses how components of dairy’s unique nutrient package may account for dairy’s positive effects. The review was authored by research scientists at the Dairy Research Institute, an organization founded under the leadership of dairy farmers who have a commitment to product, nutrition and sustainability research.

EXCENEL RTU (ceftiofur hydrochloride) Sterile Suspension is now available in a 250 mL vial. This gives producers and veterinarians a more convenient size of the only treatment for metritis – that also has zero milk discard – approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).