Julie Veldhuis Lund Wendell, Idaho Member National Dairy Promotion and Research Board

Julia Hamann, DVM Cedar Rapids, Iowa Dairy Marketing Manager Diamond V

Algae grown from surplus manure on dairy farms presents an alternative source of bioenergy and opportunity to lower dairy farms' environmental impact by increasing on-farm nutrient utilization. Biofuel demand is rising, and this alternative algal biomass could create a win-win relationship between commercial algae growers who need affordable sources of fertilizers and the dairy farmers who need outlets for their manure. A review in the journal Algal Research discussed the feasibility of algae grown from dairy, swine and poultry manure water. The conclusion was that manure, runoff and drainage water contained enough nutrients to facilitate algal growth.

A massive beef recall from Canada now affects 30 states in the U.S., according to the Huffington Post, which says that Safeway and Walmart are among the stores participating in the recall. This is in addition to Albertsons' recall that started a few days ago. Cargill is also affected. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a recall on Sept. 16 of beef products from Alberta's XL Foods. On Sept. 21, it expanded the recall to include all meat produced on Aug. 24, 27, 28 and 29 and Sept. 5.

California Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have strongly endorsed California Department of Food and Agriculture Secretary Karen Ross’ call for inclusion of a margin insurance program in either the Farm Bill or any disaster aid measures. In a letter to Sen. Debbie Stabenow, chair of the Senate Ag Committee and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee, the two Senators asked for quick action on a full five-year Farm Bill.

The global dairy market appears to be heading for a period of renewed supply scarcity in the coming 12 months, according to Rabobank. Rabobank senior dairy analyst Michael Harvey says the impetus for the tightening global market emanates largely from the supply side, where low milk prices, extreme feed costs and pockets of unfavorable weather are slowing growth in milk production across key export regions.

DHI-Provo's EZweights is a platform scale program to track commodities coming across a scale or being delivered to an operation. The program tracks deliveries, pickups, transfers, contracts, locations, brokers, haulers, trucks, drivers, owners, harvesters, fields and harvest information. It is easily customizable to simplify the weigh-in/weigh-out process for truck drivers.

The Dairy Cattle Reproduction Council (DCRC) is gearing up for its annual meeting, which will take place November 8-9 at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento, California. Because successful reproductive management depends on many areas on the dairy, this year’s meeting will address topics that ultimately impact reproduction, including nutrition, herd management, animal welfare and technology.