The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announces that Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) safety-net signup for 2021 coverage will begin October 12 and will run through December 11, 2020. DMC has already triggered payments for two months for producers who signed up for 2020 coverage. “If we’ve learned anything in the past six months, it’s to expect the …

In a pivotal move to ensure event excellence during the changing business climate, the Women in Agribusiness (WIA) Summit series has announced virtual attendance options for its 2020 U.S. and international conferences. Its WIA Summit Europe, July 2-3, originally scheduled to take place in Paris, will now be held completely virtual, and its flagship Women in Agribusiness Summit U.S. has …

Quota has been a real sensitive topic of contention over the past year for California dairy producers, and things seemed to really escalate right up to the World Ag Expo, when the United Dairy Families of California presented a five year plan to potentially terminate the California Quota Implementation Plan (QIP).  Things slowed down with the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and …

The California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) has partnered with Dairy Council of California to teach ag literacy in an exciting and innovative way that brings the farm experience to students as they learn from home. The Farm to You Virtual Field Trip connects the successful Dairy Council of California Mobile Dairy Classroom assembly experience with a virtual trip to a …

UnitedAg announced the 2020 recipients of the Agribusiness Education Foundation’s educational scholarship. The member-owned agricultural trade association awarded sixty students from agricultural communities across California and Arizona a combined $75,000. Each year, the association’s Board of Directors and the Foundation’s Education Committee spotlight two outstanding applicants with top awards. Karli Lundberg (affiliated with Babe Farms, Inc.) earned the Maurice McMillan …

Positive Message from CEO Tammy Anderson-Wise (April 7) – Less than a month ago, we first saw headlines about COVID-19, and few if any of us could have anticipated the profound disruption it would have on our work, our personal lives and the industry. It is indisputable that what we are living through now has no modern parallel. But this …

The California Milk Advisory Board is proud to share its newly elected 2020 Executive Committee officers including: Vice Chairman Tony Louters of Merced, Chairman Josh Zonneveld of Laton, Treasurer David Vander Schaaf of Stockton, Member-at-Large Essie Bootsma of Lakeview, Secretary Megan Silva of Escalon, Member-at-Large Kirsten Areias of Los Banos, and Member-at-Large Renae DeJager of Chowchilla. David Vander Schaaf is …

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their colleagues have discovered a gene that can be used to develop varieties of wheat that will be more resistant to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a disease that is a major threat both overseas and to the nation’s $10 billion annual wheat crop. A paper reporting the discovery and the cloning of the gene, …

66 students from eight Western U.S. universities and one Canadian college traveled to Modesto, California, for the 15th annual Western Dairy Challenge on February 20 – 22, 2020. The contest was hosted by Modesto Junior College. The Western Regional Dairy Challenge is a three-day educational competition designed to prepare students for dairy careers. Working in mixed-university teams of four or five …

WEATHER Temperature highs ranged from the mid 40s to low 70s in the mountains, low 60s to low 80s along the coast, low 60s to mid 80s in the valley, and low 60s to high eighties in the desert.  Temperature lows ranged from the mid 10s to high 40s in the mountains, mid 30s to mid 50s along the coast, …