Keith was driving me into Edmonton, Alberta, on Hwy 26 from the west. The large grain and cattle farms began to shatter into smaller pieces of property: 40 acres, 20 acres or 12 acres. The countryside was still green and well kept with fields of five horses or three cows. Usually it included a nice home with landscaping and a manicured entrance. “More farm ground is disappearing every year,” said Keith, noting the loss of big farmsteads. He was right, but it has been going on since the pilgrims set foot in Newfoundland; it is the inexorable roll of civilization.

I recently received a question by telephone about rubber flooring and what it does for the animal. I would like to share this conversation with you – from a hoof trimmer’s perspective. I have to admit that it is a subject with differing opinions, environments, climates and you name it, and that I certainly do not have all the answers to the flooring options available. I would like to start with a statement: “If you have a lot of lameness in your herd and that is the reason you want rubber in your alleys, then you are one station too far.” It is so important to understand the underlying reason for the lameness before deciding on any flooring option.

Economists have a mythical figure called the misery index. It is the total of the unemployment rate added to the inflation rate. This summer in the U.S. it’s running about 13.0. The lower the better. In both the ’90s and ’00s it’s been as low as 7.

The USDA recently awarded Washington State University and five partnering land-grant universities $4.1 million for a five-year project to address issues associated with climate change and animal agriculture. The funding comes from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) via its Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program. The project will be facilitated through the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center (http://www.extension.org/animal_manure_management).

JBS United and DeKalb Feeds have entered into a joint venture involving Dekalb’s Frytown, Iowa, mill facility. The new venture is called Central Nutrition Services, LLC, (CNS). CNS will focus on manufacturing superior quality livestock feeds and nutritional supplements for both JBS United and DeKalb Feeds and their customers throughout the Midwest. This announcement was made by Doug Webel, chief operating officer of JBS United’s Nutrition and Emerging Technologies, and Kelly Keaschall, president of DeKalb Feeds, Inc.

For more than three decades, Alltech has remained committed to its founding ACE principle; a promise that when doing business they have a positive impact on the animal, consumer and the environment. In order to achieve this, they have strategically placed regional offices in some of the most influential agricultural communities in North America, and one of them is in Fresno, California. Although placed in a starter office, they have maintained a steady presence with local businesses, producers and organizations.

With recent devastating floods destroying many U.S. farms, Dow AgroSciences, through The Dow Chemical Company Foundation, donated $100,000 to help with flood relief efforts in six states. Thousands of Dow AgroSciences’ customer locations and millions of acres have been impacted in the Midwest and Midsouth regions, and the funds will be used in efforts to help the agricultural community recover from the flood damage.

The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, in affiliation with the Dairy Research Institute, announced the U.S. Dairy Sustainability Awards, a new program to recognize dairy farms, businesses and collaborative partnerships for efforts that deliver outstanding economic, environmental and/or social benefit, thus helping to advance sustainability of the dairy industry. The awards are divided into three categories: dairy farm, dairy processing/manufacturing and energy conservation/generation. Nominations are being accepted through Dec. 1.

A three-part webinar series, offered by the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, will run from September through November. “What’s ahead for dairy in 2012?” will be presented by Dan Basse of AgResource on Mondays from noon to 1 p.m. Central Time. The first webinar “The crop report: What does it mean for dairy?” will take place on Monday, Sept. 26. You've heard the crop reports but what do these numbers mean to your business and future? This savvy market analyst who has one of the best track records in the industry will provide an outlook for 2011 U.S. corn and soybean production based on field surveys and summer weather conditions – and he’ll share how the size of the U.S. major summer row crops will impact feed pricing throughoutthe remainder of 2011 and 2012. Participants of this webinar must register this week.

Dairy Cattle exhibitors traveling from across North America will get a warm welcome to this year’s World Dairy Expo. The Dairy Cattle Show, featuring more than 2,500 head of elite animals, will be held Oct. 4 through Oct. 8 in Madison, Wisconsin. Dairy cattle owners and their staff of bovine beauticians will be bringing their best cattle to World Dairy Expo to compete for honors and to network with fellow dairy producers. The owners and caretakers of these top-notch animals will be treated to a tasty Exhibitor Welcome Barbecue early in the week as they pack bedding, feed and settle their cattle in for their week-long stay in Madison. The Exhibitor Welcome Barbecue, for dairy cattle exhibitors only, is planned for Sunday, Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Estrumate Sale Pavilion. Merck Animal Health has committed to sponsoring this Dairy Cattle Exhibitor event and the Estrumate Sale Pavilion through 2013. Merck’s support of Expo’s Dairy Cattle Show and exhibitors is part of its overall support of Expo as a Five Star Sponsor.