DairyCast Update

Information To Help Your Operations

• Audio: Flex-Fuel Vehicles May Cause More Corn To Disappear - Additional corn stocks may eventually work their way into fuel tanks as this conversation with Kansas State Ag Engineer Ed Brokesh illustrates. "The Flex-Fuel vehicles can up their ethanol intake substantially" [audio].
• Video: Cow Abductions? - Doorstep Dairy shares a bit of humor by sharing a cow abduction video on their website.

Information To Help Your Operations

• Audio: Farm Bill Passes Senate Without HSUS-Egg Amendment - Troy Dumler, Economist, Kansas State, discusses the details in the recently passed Senate version of the 2012 U.S. Farm Bill. The HSUS-UEP Egg Bill amendment did not get added to the passed version while direct payments were replaced with additional crop insurance support [audio].
• Video: How To Look At The Weather - While this presentation is from the World Pork Expo, the topic and information are just as valuable to you on dairy farms: weather. High temperatures across the USA have been a departure from the 1981 2010 average. The persistent heat from the summer of 2011 had more than 70 days over 100 degrees in some spots across the USA and every state has had temps over 100 degrees. What are the impacts on agriculture going forward? What should we do? Dr.

Information To Help Your Operations

1. Audio: How Will Europe's Mess Affect My Grain Prices? - Kansas State Research and Extension Ag Economist Dan O'Brien discusses the relationship between the European Community Crisis and commodity prices around the world [audio].
2. Audio: How Do We Make Animal ID happen? - Veterinarians and computer IT folks don't speak the same launguage. Yet, information technology plays a critical role in animal identification, standards, and software to help pull together efficient and accurate animal identification systems [audio].
3. Video: Authentically Agriculture - Who is leading the conversation about agriculture today? Many people would answer with consumers, HSUS, Michael Pollan, and Jamie Oliver, to name a few. Why can't people in agriculture be leading the conversation and thought leadership?

Foot and Mouth Disease presents special problems for the dairy industry which are reason for special planning, like the Secure Milk Supply Project. Dr. Pam Hullinger, University of California-Davis, shares this update with attendees at the National Institute for Animal Agriculture annual meeting. Dr. Hullinger's full presentation along with many others from this important industry meeting are available online at TruffleMedia.com.

Information To Help Your Operations

1. Audio: Are There Impacts to Regulating Animal Agriculture? - Modern animal ag has become a math problem: reduced land use, more people, more food consumption, less water, and transit costs changing. Add in the need to be global and the need to understand animal welfare and the idea of raising livestock become more complex. Dr. Anthony Frank, DVM, President, Colorado State University, suggests farmers and ranchers need to avoid the trap question "Do you want safe food or affordable food?" and that the real answer is to provide both and turn back to the dialog within the middle ground [audio].
2. Video: Do Producers and Consumers Absorb Regulation Costs? - Dr. André Williamson, Vice President & Senior Consultant, Agralytica, asks "What are some of the economics of regulation to animal agriculture?".

It is not a surprise that the US Environmental Protection Agency has recently had a decidedly retro-agriculture perspective. However, the range and extent of the actions being taken is unprecedented. Illinois farmer and attorney Gary Baise shared his concerns with these policies and the impact on agriculture with the closing session of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture's annual meeting.
Many of the presentations from that event are now online.

Information To Help Your Operations

1. Audio: EPA and Agriculture's Side? - Attorney and Illinois farmer Gary Baise once played a role in the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. He tells the annual meeting of the National Institute for Animal Agriculture that the agency is now establishing regulations that will end modern agriculture [audio].
2. Video: Animal Disease Surveillance - Dr. Aaron Scott, Center Director, USDA/APHIS/VS/CEAH, works to answer the question of "Why do animal disease surveillance?". Dr.

Updates from the Midwest Dairy Conference have information that might change the way you look at your operations. Dairy Manager Stephen Fenderhoff discussed take-aways that can increase his efficiency and profitability. Also this week, Jon van Koy of Nature's Farm overviews the unique nutrition program his company employs and why it appeals to consumers.

Information To Help Your Operations

1. Audio: Good or Bad? Farm Bill Action In Washington - Congressman Frank Lucas, House Ag Committee Chair, updated a livestock group on the current climate in Washington, D.C. and offered his thoughts on the next Farm Bill, where it stands and what might happen [audio].
2. Audio: Claudia, The High-Tech Cow, Drives Opportunities and Revenue - The dairy industry is different. The reality is that set milk and feed prices are a thing of the past and many dairy operations need to approach revenue with a new look.

Information To Help Your Operations

1. Audio: Can I Maximize Return On My Forage Investment? - David Fischer, retired University of Illinois extension specialist, recently shared the importance of properly managing critical periods in forage development and harvest to gain maximum value from those acres. He spoke at the recent JBS United Midwest Dairy Conference [audio].
2. Video: Rumensin in Controlled-Energy Diet During the Dry Period - Joel Vasquez, JBS United Dairy Nutritionist, talks about controlled energy diets, how they are used, and what are some of the results from studying Rumensin in dairy operations [video].
3. Audio: Is Bovine Tuberculosis In Your Area? - Mike Leffler, JBS United Nutritionist, shares an update on Bovine Tuberculosis and how to rebuild trust in the safety of the product [audio].
4. Animal Biotechnology and Society (First-Year Seminar Course) - Dr.

Information To Help Your Operations

1. Article: Glimpse Into 2012 Commodity Classic - The 2012 Commodity Classic just ended, social media shares what happened [article].
2. Video: Reaching Out to Consumers - Dr. Mike Lormore, Director of Dairy Veterinary Operations, Pfizer Animal Health, provides a consumer perspective on antibiotic use in food animals. He also highlights the hot button issues [video].
3. Here a Sustainable Farm, There a Sustainable Farm - Dr. About Terry Etherton asks what sustainable food production means and finds it is a confusing term. "The answers are diverse, and astonishing in some instances" says Etherton [blog].
4. Video: Judicious Use of Antibiotics - Dr. William Flynn, Deputy Director for Science Policy, Food and Drug Administration, shares how the U.S. FDA is approaching antibiotics in food-producing animals. Dr.