Mercy for Animals, an animal rights group, posted a video last year that focused on what it said were six main issues of animal abuse at the Willet Dairy in Genoa. However, two investigations of animal abuse at Cayuga County’s largest farm have found the farm has done nothing illegal and no criminal actions were taken against the farm, reports The Post-Standard. The Cayuga County district attorney’s office and the Finger Lakes Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigated the Willet Dairy in Genoa. Both reports found no systemic abuse of cattle, and all dairy and care practices were above the industry standard.

Around 200 people gathered together for the Midwest Manure Summit held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, last month. Fresh off a Superbowl win, Packer fans were eager to get a glimpse of the Lombardi Trophy as they convened for this bi-annual event at Lambeau Field. Just as noteworthy was the wide array of topics to be covered, from air quality and application to renewable energy and runoff. or scroll down to view Bob Nagel, D.V.M. of Holsum Dairy discussing lessons learned from operating a plug-flow anaerobic digester.

The significant capital cost of installing an anaerobic digester can be offset by government funding and investment groups. Another viable form of funding is by voluntary consumer premiums for renewable energy. Sanders et. al from Purdue University and The Ohio State University surveyed Ohio consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for renewable energy produced by anaerobic digesters on dairy farms. “Digesters and demographics: Identifying support for anaerobic digesters on dairy farms” was published in the November 2010 Journal of Dairy Science.

Progressive Dairyman selected a few companies that specialize in manure digesters to comment on industry trends and how they are working to meet the needs of today’s dairy producers. Here are their responses: Avatar Energy, LLC Erin Wood Avatar Energy, LLC, is a renewable energy company that designs, installs and operates anaerobic digester systems for small- to medium-sized dairy farms in the U.S. and Canada. It has offices in Vermont, California and Nevada. Avatar Energy uniquely addresses three hot-button issues in the industry: 1. modularity (its pre-engineered, scalable and modular design allows for maximum configuration flexibility, providing an easily deployable and replicable technology at minimal capital expense – while producing heat, power, bedding and fertilizer to the farm) 2. scalability (hulls can adapt to variable herd sizes) 3. above ground (fiberglass hulls resist corrosion from inside, so risk of groundwater contamination is eliminated)

DAIReXNET and the National Association of County Agricultural Agents is hosting a webinar titled “Impact on Air Quality and Climate Change – Where the Dairy Industry Stands.” The webinar is free to the public and is geared toward bringing pertinent information to extension educators, allied industry professionals, veterinarians and dairy producers across the U.S.

Merck and sanofi-aventis announced the mutual termination of their agreement to form a new animal health joint venture by combining Merial, the animal health business of sanofi-aventis, with Intervet/Schering-Plough, Merck's animal health unit. As a result, each party will keep its current, separate animal health assets and businesses.

The Professional Dairy Producers Foundation has launched a new campaign to allow dairy producers to easily contribute to support its programming. The Two Cents for Tomorrow campaign seeks to raise at least $2 million annually to help bolster the industry through producer-driven education programs. The campaign invites producers to contribute up to two cents per hundredweight of milk from their farms.

Pennsylvania dairy producers can receive up to $1,500 to tap into the expertise of a Center for Dairy Excellence “Dairy Decisions Consultant” to make decisions that will help shape the future of their dairy business. Fourteen individuals with experience in whole farm analysis and viability studies are available to producers through grants from the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association and the U. S. Agriculture Department.

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.