When the votes were tallied at the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin’s 2011 Business Conference, the membership elected two new individuals to its Board of Directors and re-elected a third to the Board. Charlie Crave, Waterloo, Wisconsin, and Kay Zwald, Hammond, Wisconsin, were elected to their first three-year term on the Board while Mark Diederichs, Malone, Wisconsin, was re-elected to his second three-year term.

Scholarships worth $140,000 will be awarded to students attending the Farm and Industry Short Course (FISC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) this year. Applications are due April 20 to be considered in the first round of awards, according to Ted Halbach, director of the Short Course. Any student eligible for Short Course and who submits financial information on their Short Course admission application will be taken into account for a scholarship. The application form can be found here.

Biogas recovery systems at livestock operations can be a cost-effective source of clean, renewable energy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Because of its high energy content, biogas can be collected from manure and burned to supply on-farm energy needs for electricity or heating. With growing interest in clean, renewable energy, many opportunities exist for farmers to market the biogas collected from anaerobic digestion systems. Experience has shown that the profitability of biogas systems depends on the size of the operation, the method of manure management, and local energy costs.

Earlier this year, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced new investments in 33 states to support the production and usage of advanced biofuels. Vilsack highlighted these projects as ways the Obama Administration is working to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil by creating alternative energy sources and promoting economic development and job creation. "The Obama Administration is working aggressively to bring greater energy independence to all of America by promoting the production of renewable energy in rural communities," said Vilsack. "This funding will help the nation's advanced biofuel industry produce more fuel from sustainable rural resources, and in doing so create jobs, a new revenue stream for agriculture producers and stimulate rural economies across the nation."

Rice Dairy is excited to offer a webinar explaining the basics of risk management for dairy producers. This 45-minute webinar will go over basis, futures, options and creating a risk management plan.

With the vast snows of the winter still mostly on the ground and more precipitation expected, some livestock producers might have concerns about the capacity of their manure storage systems. That’s according to South Dakota Cooperative Extension Environmental Quality Engineer/Specialist Erin Cortus, who said the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has put together a fact sheet on manure management-system practices for wet weather conditions.

Organic Valley announced it has distributed a bonus 13th check – traditionally, a cash distribution paid out when annual profits exceed sales goals – to its farmer-owners.

Twelve of the nation’s premier agriculture students were recently selected for the 2011 International Collegiate Agricultural Leadership (I-CAL) Program. These students were required to complete an application and answer numerous essay questions regarding their understanding and thoughts on international trade and marketing. They will travel to Panama and Columbia May 15–27 to study international grain marketing and trade and global agriculture.

The Agriculture Council of America (ACA) announced the 2011 National Ag Day written essay and video essay contest winners, Nora Faris and Kyle Trevino, respectively.