Since 2014 the annual average U.S. all-milk price has fallen by more than 30 percent. This year, it is projected to be at the lowest level since 2009, at $16.10 per hundredweight. Milk prices are projected to improve slightly in 2019 to $16.75 per hundredweight, but ongoing trade tensions in July compelled USDA to push its 2019 milk price projection down by 45 cents per hundredweight. [node:read-more:link]
Ag organizations have moved to support Smithfield Foods in its bid to have a judge’s gag order lifted, in the wake of a third jury verdict finding a Smithfield-related hog farm responsible for excessive odors and property value damage due to hog waste. The American Farm Bureau Federation and the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation collaborated on a brief filed in U.S. District Court in North Carolina, saying the gag order has a “chilling effect” on agricultural producers’ First Amendment rights. [node:read-more:link]
Smithfield Foods Inc. has struck out a third time with juries in North Carolina, as its Murphy-Brown LLC hog production unit was ordered on Friday to pay $473.5 million to plaintiffs in a noise and odor lawsuit filed by residents near some of its hog farms, according to court documents. Businesses raising hogs for Smithfield’s pork products have already lost two other cases, one in which the jury awarded $50 million and one in which the award was $25 million. In the third case, among dozens that have been filed, the jury in the U.S. [node:read-more:link]
WeWork, the co-working mega-giant, recently instituted a new policy at its office spaces across the world: No more meat. Amid some backlash, the company said the decision was an attempt to reduce its carbon footprint and overall impact on the environment. And while this is a truly noble mission, if you take a deep dive into the science of climate and carbon emissions, the policy starts to look half-baked. [node:read-more:link]
A group of Bloomer dairy farmers is suing Cornell-based Chippewa Valley Electric Cooperative, claiming that stray voltage from the cooperative’s equipment is harming the dairy herd.The lawsuit was brought by LaGesse Dairy Farms. Thomas C., Catherine J. and Deanne M. LaGesse and Conrad Willi, all of Bloomer.Stray voltage levels are small degrees of voltage traveling through parts of livestock buildings or equipment, according to a 2010 report from the nonprofit Midwest Rural Energy Council. [node:read-more:link]
As portions of the U.S. endure scorching drought, livestock owners struggle to locate feed supplies. Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana and several more western states range from D0 (abnormally dry) to D4 (exceptional drought). [node:read-more:link]
There have been recent discussions about a cheese factory in Centre County.Some say that such a factory could be a positive factor to help dairy farms in the area, but farmers in Centre County say it may be too little, too late. Harry Wasson, who has been a dairy farmer for 50 years, said 2018 may be his toughest year yet in terms of profitability. “There’s not much left after the milk check so we have to dip into savings to pay expenses,” said Wasson. Doug Wasson said they are probably being paid less than a dollar for each gallon of milk they produce. [node:read-more:link]
Dairy farmers are caught in a vortex that includes low milk prices, uncertainty about export markets and President Donald Trump’s tariffs, among other factors, that have created “pretty near crisis time,” says U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin.The Wisconsin Democrat made that assessment during a press conference Monday after she toured Organic Valley’s Cashton distribution center and spoke with officials, members and employees of the cooperative. [node:read-more:link]
Germany’s grape harvest is officially under way on its earliest date yet after a scorching summer that has many other farmers groaning but — so far — is promising to be good for vintners. At a vineyard in Loerzweiler, south of Mainz in southwestern Germany near the Rhine River, workers started plucking white grapes off rows of vines Monday.The first grapes go to make Federweisser, a young wine that gives the first clues about the potential quality of a vintage. The main harvest is expected to start in late August or early September. [node:read-more:link]
