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James D. Quigley, III, Ph.D. Brookville, Ohio Technical and Research Manager Provimi North America

A study overseen by Oklahoma State University (OSU) found that cows at one of the dairy farms in that state produced 6 percent more milk when LED lights were used compared with cows under fluorescent lights. LED technology, which stands for light-emitting diode, uses semiconductor chips to convert electricity. LEDs are more energy efficient than either incandescent bulbs or fluorescent lights. The discovery was not the main focus of the OSU study.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced April 11 that it is taking three steps to promote the judicious use of medically important antibiotics in food-producing animals. Based on a consideration of relevant reports and scientific data, FDA is proposing a voluntary initiative to phase in certain changes to how medically important antimicrobial drugs are labeled and used in food-producing animals.

Congressman Tom Latham (R-Iowa) introduced bipartisan legislation in early March in the U.S. Congress that will block Washington’s attack on America’s long-standing family farm tradition. Latham’s bill blocks recent attempts by the Department of Labor, with moral support from the Department of Agriculture, to increase federal regulatory involvement into family farms that risk outlawing farm youth from working on their family owned farms. “The family farm is one of Iowa’s most cherished traditions and a cornerstone of our state and nation’s economy and cultural history,” Congressman Latham said.

A new poll showed more than 70 percent of likely voters supported a national guest worker program for farm laborers, if such a program included various provisions. Western Growers, an association representing farmers in Arizona and California, whose members produce more than half of the nation’s fresh fruits and vegetables, commissioned the new poll. Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley discussed the survey results with Ken Barbic (top far right), a Washington, D.C.-based lobbyist for Western Growers, and Brian Nienaber (top right), vice president of the Terrance Group, the national polling firm that conducted the poll.