National Milk Producers Federation

NMPF expressed generally positive comments last week regarding USDA's recommended changes to the fluid milk product definition that affect whether processing plants pay the higher Class I value to producer Federal Order pools, or a lower Class II price. More ...

Following the Senate passage of an immigration reform bill at the end of May, the House announced that it would hold hearings on this issue across the country. In response, the Senate is also holding hearings. The first of these hearings were held at the beginning of July; they will continue throughout the summer. More ...

On July 8th, the U.S. and Colombia finalized the text of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The Bush Administration plans to notify Congress in the near future of its intent to sign the agreement. More ...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has sent a team of veterinary officials to help Canada's government investigate how a four year-old dairy cow from Alberta has become the seventh Canadian case of BSE, or mad cow disease. More ...

World Trade Organization negotiators met at the end of June in Geneva to try to find consensus on a variety of issues, including market access and domestic support, as the time frame for a deal continues to narrow. More ...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a guide entitled "Pre-Harvest Security Guidelines and Checklist 2006", available online here, to help agricultural producers enhance security at the farm level. These practical measures help to protect against natural disasters, as well as the unintentional or intentional introduction of plant or animal diseases. More ...

The NMPF Scholarship Committee recently awarded $11,000 in scholarships to five deserving Ph.D. and graduate level students pursuing research in the dairy industry, as part of the 2006 NMPF National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program. More ...

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