Message from Tammy Anderson-Wise, CEO, Dairy Council of California — The 2019–2020 fiscal year has been one of the most rewarding, unexpected and challenging years for Dairy Council of California. We started by celebrating 100 years of empowering stakeholders and educating children and families. We enjoyed many successes in the first three quarters of the year, working toward innovating the programs, resources and …

With the ongoing COVID-19 crisis teaching hard lessons on risk management throughout agriculture, and with dairy margins expected to be volatile over the next year, the National Milk Producers Federation is urging farmers to sign up for maximum 2021 coverage under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dairy Margin Coverage program. DMC signup begins today. “The DMC emphatically proved its worth …

Subway sandwich franchises nationwide will generate more money for GENYOUth’s Emergency School Meal Delivery Fund and build awareness about the checkoff’s support for youth wellness through Fuel Up to Play 60. Subway, which has 21,000 franchises, and Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) are both NFL partners. When Subway and the NFL were working on their sponsorship agreement, the league encouraged the …

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) announced the recipients of its 2020 National Dairy Leadership Scholarship awards. The awards, presented by the NMPF Board of Directors, support the next generation of dairy leaders and researchers and are open to qualified graduate students who are actively pursuing dairy-related fields of study. NMPF this year awarded scholarships to: Ellen Lai, Ph.D. Integrative …

Two Michigan State University (MSU) Department of Animal Science researchers have each received $500,000 grants from USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) for research related to dairy cow health. Tasia Taxis, assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science, is looking to build off of work already accomplished by MSU’s bovine leukemia virus (BLV) team and further advance development of research designed …

Dehydration in calves experiencing scours is often underestimated. A scouring calf can lose anywhere between 5 to 10% of its body weight in water within one day. Dr. Jennifer Trout, Western U.S. Calf and Heifer Technical Pro, offers her insight on properly diagnosing and rehydrating scouring calves. “Shortly after I finished vet school, I was talking with my father who …

This week the American Dairy Coalition sent a letter to Secretary Perdue of the U.S Department of Agriculture and Secretary Azar of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services requesting they look into concerns farmers have with the draft of the Dietary Guidelines for America. The Dietary Guidelines for America (DGA), which is updated every 5 years, sets our nation’s leading nutrition …

The Animal Agriculture Alliance is excited to announce the launch of the Animal Ag Allies program to empower farmers, ranchers and practicing veterinarians to be outspoken advocates for agriculture online and within their communities. The Alliance is currently seeking participants to enroll by August 7. The Animal Ag Allies program provides opportunities for networking, training, and continuous development of issue …

The 2Blades Foundation and collaborators at the University of Minnesota, Kansas State University, and the John Innes Center will study wild emmer wheat to discover genes that can help farmers combat devastating wheat rust diseases which are estimated to cost farmers and consumers nearly $3 billion each year. The United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture …

UC Riverside scientists have solved a 20-year-old genetics puzzle that could result in ways to protect wheat, barley, and other crops from a devastating infection. Ayala Rao, professor of plant pathology and microbiology, has been studying Brome Mosaic virus for decades. Unlike some viruses, the genetic material of this virus is divided into three particles that until now were impossible …