Hagens Berman, on behalf of several dairy consumers, including Compassion Over Killing (COK) members, recently filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of consumers alleging that various dairy companies and trade groups, including the National Milk Producers Federation, Dairy Farmers of America, Land O'Lakes, Inc. and Agri-Mark, Inc. combined to form Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) in order to fix the price of milk in the United States.

On September 21, JBS and Five Rivers Cattle Feeding in Greeley, Colorado hosted a group of producers, scientists and others interested in learning about reasons to expand heifer herds. There have been years of struggle and more supply than demand.

Livestock raising and agriculture in Wyoming are likely to be impacted by rising temperatures, but experts continue to debate the extent. Average temperatures in Wyoming have increased by approximately 1.5 degrees since the mid-1980s. Continued temperatures increases can have an impact as cattle and sheep can feel the heat but have a limited ability to do anything about it.

A national group that has promoted agricultural training for nearly a century is seeing a boom in membership among young people interested in agricultural careers. Indiana and other states are seeing a rise in membership in FFA, formerly known as Future Farmers of America. More than 17,000 new students joined the FFA organization nationwide in the past year, an all-time high for the 83-year-old group, The Republic reported (http://bit.ly/pfZXEF).

DAIReXNET is hosting a webinar titled “Human Resource Management: Being a Boss or Building Relationships.” The webinar is free to the public and is geared toward bringing pertinent information to extension educators, allied industry professionals, veterinarians and dairy producers across the U.S. The air quality webinar will be held Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. EDT. Dr. Bob Milligan, Cornell University Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management professor emeritus and senior consultant at Dairy Strategies, LLC, will introduce you to the current thinking in human resource management. Current research substantiates that great leaders and supervisors focus on relationship building, communication, clarity and feedback rather than command and control.

Enjoy a day filled with agricultural activities and free entertainment for the whole family! The International Agri-Center will host its first Ag-Fest event on Saturday, Oct. 15, in Tulare, California. The event will include a 5K run, food demonstrations and a performance by 2011 America's Got Talent musician, Ryan Andreas.

The Center for Dairy Excellence is offering scholarships to help dairy producers take advantage of two dairy educational opportunities available in Pennsylvania – the AgBiz Masters Program and the Middle Managers Conference. The scholarships are awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis to those who register.

The Wisconsin Holstein Association’s (WHA) Young Adult Committee will be offering monetary awards for young adults to attend educational events in 2012. There will be four $500 awards given to WHA members, ages 21-45.

Horizon is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2011 and reflecting on its growth from a small organic yogurt brand to not only the top-selling organic milk brand in the U.S., but the top-selling milk brand, conventional or organic. “Over the past 20 years, Horizon has grown its network of family farmers from seven to more than 600, and helped create and grow the organic dairy category,” said Mike Ferry, Horizon president. “While we are proud to celebrate these achievements throughout our 20th anniversary year, we are also marking the occasion by reaffirming our commitment to sustainable agriculture, to advancing the organic movement and to our family farmer partners.”

The Adisseo Group, one of the worldwide leaders in the animal nutrition additives, has just finalized the acquisition of 90 percent of Innov’ia shares. With a consolidated turnover of 16 million Euros and 110 employees, Innov’ia is, with its subsidiaries, one of the European leaders in the design and toll manufacturing of powders and granules for the food and feed industry, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and fine chemical sectors.