Happy Birthday, Accelerated Genetics! That's right, Accelerated Genetics is 70 years young and going strong! Since March of this year Accelerated Genetics has been celebrating its birthday through various means. The theme for this momentus achievement is “Celebrating 70 Years of Innovation.”

Chris Lundgren West Union, Iowa Southern Plains Area Representative at American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey Inc.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) hailed the full and complete lifting of retaliatory tariffs by Mexico in the cross-border trucking dispute. This action came after the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) implemented a pilot program to allow a selected number of Mexican carriers to operate on the U.S. side of the border under strict safety standards.

The state of Maryland is looking to buy electricity generated from animal waste. Poultry litter or livestock manure are the types of waste the state is hoping will be used in the Clean Bay Power project.

Cattle brought from Minnesota to Wisconsin no longer have to be tested for bovine tuberculosis. The requirement for TB testing dates back to 2005, when state animal-health authorities discovered an infected beef herd in northwestern Minnesota.

The Humane Society of the United States and the Nebraska Farmers Union have announced a partnership on farm-animal issues that is drawing criticism from some farm groups.

New York farmers who lost equipment or other infrastructure to this year's back-to-back tropical storms may be able to tap a $5 million fund set up by the state. The program will be run by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to help farmers recover from Irene and Lee.

Colombia's president calls a free trade pact finally approved by the U.S. Congress a commercial milestone that will build export muscle, but many of the country's small farmers fear for their livelihoods. Some worry that imports of less expensive, subsidized U.S. goods could drive them out of business. Small farmers help make Colombia self-sufficient in food production but tend to earn very little.

Valmetal expanded their factory this summer in order to adapt to a fast-changing market and to better serve the needs of large equipment production.

On the day in which the U.S. Congress passed three historic free trade agreements, the grassroots dairy producers of the Dairy Policy Action Coalition (DPAC) were in the nation's capitol stressing the need for policies that position dairy farmers to benefit from these trade opportunities. DPAC lauded the October 12 introduction of the much-anticipated Dairy Advancement Act by Senator Robert Casey, Jr. (D-Pennsylvania). Senate Bill 1682 wasthe highlight of discussions on Capitol Hill throughout the day. It contains key elements of DPAC’s Cornerstones for Change.