Farm Radio

Lots of Milk! (Photo from Youtube.com) The latest milk production data from USDA shows farmers are still harvesting a lot of milk, even with low prices. Colorado's production is leading the way in the amount of milk produced in the U.S. Colorado has increased production by 11% over last year, Kansas reports a 7.55 increase and Texas is up by 6.6%. Nationwide, milk production is up 1.3% from last year in the top 23 milk producing states. USDA is also reporting the highest per cow milk production numbers- with individual cow production averaging just over 19,000 pounds per month.

The House of Representatives placed the farm bill back in the court of the Senate, voting to move towards conference yesterday. The voice vote approval paves the way for the Senate to consider similar action so the two chambers can appoint conferees to mend differences between the House and Senate versions of the farm bill. Now, the Senate must also vote to proceed to conference and appoint conferees. However, when the conference committee will convene remains uncertain, before or after the August recess. The current farm bill expires September 30th. Wheat harvest is nearing completion (about 85% complete). Dryland yields are averaging 40 bushels per acre, irrigated about 80 bushels per acre. Of course where hail and heavy winds have hit, those yields are much lower. In addition, farmers in NE Colorado are dealing with an epic sawfly infestation. There is not much they can do but ride it out at this point in the growing season. There is a photo of a f...

(From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting ) Japan Will Resume Sheep and Goat Imports from U.S. (Photo credit: African  Farming) Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that the Japanese government has finalized the technical requirements that will allow U.S. sheep and goat exports to Japan to resume for the first time in 14 years. U.S. Meat Export Federation Chair Dennis Stiffler says Japan was a primary market for U.S. lamb before losing access in December of 2003 because of mad cow disease detection in the American cattle herd. “Our lamb producers and the overall industry are very excited about the opportunity to export our quality products to an upscale market,” Stiffler says. “The Japanese have proven in the past that they’re very receptive to the unique flavor of U.S. lamb.” While U.S. lamb has already been well-received in other markets like Taiwan, which reopened to U.S. lamb in 2016, Japan presents an exceptional opportunity for significant export growth. Japan...