Expansion projects can create a great deal of excitement for a company. Whether the project is a new milk parlor, a hay barn, a silage pit or waste disposal system, these projects typically signify growth. While growth is exciting, it can also be a time of uncertainty. Large expansion projects generally come with large costs and questions of how those costs can be managed. In addition, they provide a number of tax planning and saving opportunities.

Feihe International Inc., formerly known as American Dairy, said Monday that it plans to sell its two dairy farms in China to a Chinese investment company. The investment firm, Haerbin City Ruixinda Investment Company Ltd., will pay about $18 million in cash for the two farms. It will also supply Feihe with milk for the next year and a half, which Feihe estimates will be worth about $114 million.

Dairy producers considering new or upgraded milking facilities have a lot to think about. Cow comfort, ergonomics, productivity, efficiency – all these things are top-of-mind when designing. After all, the purpose of a milking parlor is for people to milk cows safely and efficiently. That’s the heart of a good system. A parlor’s CIP system is vital. It’s like the kidneys of a milking system. Don’t overlook the importance of its design and proper installation. Optimum milk quality, and the premiums that go with it, depend on effectively cleaned and properly working equipment. It’s similar to how the heart depends on the kidneys to clean and filter the blood it pumps.

Environmentalists are making a new push for stricter regulations on large livestock operations in Indiana, even as the number of such farms with thousands of animals continues to decline. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management recorded a decrease of 57 permitted farms in the past year to 1,994 – part of a decline of nearly 10 percent over the past four years, The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported (http://bit.ly/qx134Y).

Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE: KFT) today announced that its Board of Directors intends to create two independent public companies: A high-growth global snacks business with estimated revenue of approximately $32 billion and a high-margin North American grocery business with estimated revenue of approximately $16 billion. The company expects to create these companies through a tax-free spin-off of the North American grocery business to Kraft Foods shareholders.

North Dakota's Farm Bureau is promoting a state constitutional amendment that says no one may restrict "modern livestock production and ranching practices." The Farm Bureau intends to circulate an initiative petition to put the amendment on the statewide ballot. The proposed initiative was delivered to Secretary of State Al Jaeger's office.

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton says he hopes to boost the state's farm exports when he goes on a couple of trade missions this fall. Dayton spoke at the annual Farmfest show in southwestern Minnesota. He says Minnesota's agricultural economy generates about $16 billion a year and that exports are a big part of that.