The National Milk Producers Federation urges Congress to create a federal labeling standard for foods produced with biotechnology. A comment period on organic livestock management rules is extended. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling on ‘waters of the U.S.’ is seen as a win for landowners. This and other U.S. dairy policy news can be found here.

A U.S. district court judge approved a $50 million settlement agreement in a 7-year-old Northeast dairy antitrust lawsuit, spawning two new potential lawsuits related to the case. Feeding Pennsylvania and industry partners Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association, Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program and Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association are combining to provide milk for eight local food banks. A 100-foot larger-than-life Olympic logo on an Arizona dairy farm celebrates the winning combination of the U.S. Olympic team and milk. This and other U.S. region-by-region dairy news can be found here.

Three co-ops explore major joint cheese plant in Michigan, and Dairy Farmers of America will expand an existing plant. Grass-fed milk standards are open for review. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration wants less sodium in cheese. This and other U.S. dairy industry news can be found here.

There’s good news for a change. The fluid milk sales slide may be ending. USDA’s outlook raises prices for the last half of 2016. California’s July Class 1 milk prices are up. This and other U.S. dairy economic news can be found here.

USDA’s June World Ag Supply & Demand Estimates (WASDE) report raised 2016 and 2017 U.S. milk production and marketing estimates, but also saw reason to brighten the 2016 price outlook.

Historically, when I make a career change, dairy farmer milk prices go up. You can look it up. When I moved from one Wisconsin weekly agricultural newspaper to another in 1989, the U.S. average milk price increased about $1.30 per hundredweight from 1988.

All the political talk about the stagnant wages for U.S. workers pales in comparison to the income brought home by the average dairy cow. The USDA’s annual Milk Production, Disposition and Income report, released each April, estimates cow numbers, milk production per cow, milk price and total milk production for all 50 states.

While U.S. dairy farm numbers continue to decline, the number of dairy processing plants remain constant, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s annual dairy products summary.

One of the fastest-growing niche markets is “grass-fed” milk, attracting producers, consumers and premium prices. To ease consumer confusion, the American Grassfed Association is seeking to find unity in production standards.

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) draft ecological assessment report on the triazine herbicide Atrazine is drawing criticism for its substance and process.