Reporting to you from Yei, Central Equatoria state, South Sudan.… Her name is Rita Harriet Brown. She is headmistress and lead teacher at the Yei Girls Boarding Secondary School. This is the story of the school, and the 300 young women living, learning and coming of age in Central Equatoria state.

University of Illinois chemist Wilfred van der Donk (right) has identified a chemical compound that could be the next frontier in mastitis treatment. The synthetic compound, geobacillin, is similar to a natural mastitis-fighting compound, nisin, which is made in a cow’s udder. A commercial form of nisin for mastitis treatment is currently under FDA review and a decision is expected soon. (Read an update about this drug’s approval status below.) Research initially shows the new compound to be even more potent than nisin against at least one bacterial strain that causes mastitis. Progressive Dairyman Editor Walt Cooley talked with Van der Donk about his discovery.

On April 26, Rep. Thomas J. Rooney, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry, held a hearing on reforming dairy programs in the 2012 Farm Bill. This is the third of eight hearings which are gathering agricultural leaders in Washington to share their perspective on farm policy. Witnesses discussed problems with current dairy programs and provided feedback on proposals being considered to address those inadequacies. Dr. Scott Brown, assistant research professor at the University of Missouri, provided economic analysis of policies under discussion. Other witnesses shared their perspectives on the potential impacts of dairy reform.

The upcoming 4-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference will be held June 13-14, 2012, in Dubuque, Iowa. Click here to learn how you can attend the conference. We asked two of the speakers a few questions about their topics and why producers should be interested in attending. Thomas Overton Associate Professor and PRO-DAIRY Director Cornell University

A bill recently approved by a legislative committee would funnel revenues from the Oxford Casino to a loan program to aid Maine's dairy farmers. The Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee supported a bill to create a revolving low-interest loan fund that farmers could use for equipment purchases and other capital needs, according to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network (MBPN).

A large fraction of Los Angeles' smog is ammonium nitrate particles, which are formed when ammonia reacts with nitrogen oxides that are produced in large quantities in automobile emissions. The ammonia is generated by cars with certain types of catalytic converters – and by bacteria that consume cattle waste. To provide an accounting of these ammonia sources in Los Angeles, researchers from the University of Colorado-Boulder and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration organized eighteen flights of a plane carrying instruments that could make detailed atmospheric measurements.

Earlier this week the U.S-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, or Colombia TPA, entered into force, opening new possibilities for U.S. trade with the third-largest economy in Central and South America. The Colombia TPA is expected to boost U.S. dairy exports through immediate open and unlimited access for most whey and lactose products, as well as duty-free access for sizable amounts of cheese and skim milk powder, among other dairy products. The estimated benefit to the U.S. dairy industry over the first several years of the implemented agreement is an additional $25 million in exports per year, according to an International Dairy Foods Association news release.

A century ago, bovine tuberculosis (TB) was responsible for more losses among U.S. farm animals than all other infectious diseases combined. Since state and federal agencies started tracking and eradication procedures in 1917, the disease has mostly been eliminated, but pockets of breakouts throughout the U.S. remain serious and costly for livestock producers. A year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and Veterinary Services released “Assessment of Pathways for the Introduction and Spread of Mycobacterium bovis in the United States – a study of the condition based on 2009 conditions.” The study found that the biggest risk factors are the importation of cattle into the U.S. – both legal and illegal – and exposure to wildlife.