Washington DC - February 16 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced details of the final regulation regarding access to pasture for organic livestock operations to clarify the use of pasture in raising organic ruminants.

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Washington DC - January 21 - USDA scientists are developing strong, biodegradable dairy-based films that are better oxygen barriers than petrochemical-based films and could provide a viable alternative to petroleum- based packaging products.

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Washington DC - January 15 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has joined a campaign to fight and defeat childhood obesity in cooperation with the NFL, National Dairy Council, multiple health organizations and several major corporations.

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Washington DC - December 21 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that approximately $60 million in cheese and cheese products will be purchased by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) for use in domestic feeding programs through USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.

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Washington DC - December 18 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the implementation of the new Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Payment program, providing $290 million for loss assistance payments to eligible dairy producers.

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Washington DC - December 16 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate adoption of innovative manure to energy projects on American dairy farms. The agreement is another demonstration of the Obama Administration’s commitment to curb the emissions of greenhouse gases.

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Washington DC - December 2 - The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced the dates and locations of joint public workshops to explore competition and regulatory issues in the agriculture industry.

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Washington DC - November 17 - The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have asked senators planning to mark up key food safety legislation next week to rectify the omission of facilities producing unpasteurized, or raw, milk products from any of the food safety regulations proposed by Congress.

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Washington DC - October 26 - Speakers at Farm Bureau’s second annual commodity outlook conference painted a “cautiously optimistic” outlook for U.S. agriculture, with crop and dairy producers likely faring better than livestock producers who will still face challenges in the year ahead.

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Washington DC - October 9 - The Senate passed and sent to President Obama legislation to provide $350 million in emergency assistance for hard-pressed dairy farmers. The House last night approved the same $121 billion agriculture spending bill for the 2010 budget year.

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Washington DC - October 1 - Leaders of the Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus hailed an agreement reached by Senate and House negotiators to provide $350 million in emergency assistance to struggling dairy farmers.

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Washington DC - September 22 - The National Milk Producers Federation’s Strategic Planning Task Force agreed to pursue a four-part approach to implementing sweeping changes as to how federal dairy policies protect producers and how farm-level milk prices are established.

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Washington DC - September 11 - In an effort to help both dairy farmers and needy Americans, the National Milk Producers Federation is urging congressional leaders to direct $350 million dollars toward the purchase and donation of cheese.

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Washington DC - September 8 - The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced it will add an additional weight category to the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) for non-adult beef cattle, non-adult dairy cattle and non-adult buffalo/beefalo.

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Washington DC - July 31 - Agriculture Secretary Vilsack announced that the Obama Administration is taking immediate action to support struggling dairy farmers by increasing the amount paid for dairy products through the Dairy Product Price Support Program.

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