- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California's dairy operators are struggling with a bleak bottom line as the commodity price for milk has tumbled. According to a story over the weekend in the Fresno Bee, milk prices dropped 50 percent in the last six months, from about $20 for every 100 pounds to about $10. The overall cost to produce milk in California is estimated at $19 per 100 pounds, the story reported.
Bee ag reporter Robert Rodriguez spoke to UC Davis dairy specialist Leslie "Bees" Butler for his perspective on dairies' dismal numbers. He blamed the drop in milk value to dramatic changes in the export market. Australian producers are recovering from a recent drought that...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Three local newspapers in the state today added a few pieces to the mosaic that portrays the depth and breadth of the UC Cooperative Extension program in the media over time.
Ethnic newspaper reports on new Master Gardener
A community newspaper that serves a mainly African-American audience, the Los Angeles Wave ran a story about a new Master Gardener in South Los...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
The Fresno-based reporter for National Public Radio's California Report, Sasha Khokha, put together a story for yesterday's program on raw milk. The piece featured an interview with Mark McAfee of Organic Pastures Dairy, 25 miles west of Fresno.
McAfee is opposed to a new law that went into effect in January requiring raw milk producers to ensure their product meets the same coliform standards as pasteurized milk. He likened the rule to requiring yogurt without bacteria.
Michael Payne, the dairy program coordinator of the UC Davis Western Center for Food Safety and Security, disagrees. And so far court...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Not surprisingly, a story in yesterday's Sacramento Bee about goats that have been genetically modified with human genes is generating comments on the newspaper's Web site.
The story was prompted by a UC Davis news service press release by Pat...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
California dairies are being squeezed between increasing costs for feeds and decreasing return for milk, according to a story in the Marin Independent Journal over the weekend. The story reports that 55 percent of Marin's agricultural income - more than $27 million in 2006 - comes from the county's 28 dairies.
Reporter Rob Rogers spoke to UC Davis CE specialist Bees Butler about dairy economic trends.
"The dairy industries in China and India will start to expand because of the incredible growth in those areas," Butler is quoted....
