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Confined animal feeding operations and other farming operations in the Raccoon River watershed in west-central Iowa would be required to implement numerical nutrient runoff standards, the state would have to implement a plan to restore the watershed, and CAFO construction or expansion would be halted if a lawsuit filed in a district court in Polk County this week is successful. The lawsuit was filed by environmental groups Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Food and Water Watch. Nutrients runoff in Iowa has been the center of heated debate and legal action for the past decade. [node:read-more:link]

Josh Link, a Pennsylvania native, found his home in Alaska's veterinary community. Link will be one of the first to graduate from a 2+2 program that connects the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in May. He plans to return to Fairbanks as a general practitioner. "I joke that one of my professors gave me a sled dog and that was the bait, and I took it," Link said. [node:read-more:link]

Most Washington dairy farmers don’t brand cows and aren’t in the mood to pay more to support a brand program, an industry representative told lawmakers, complicating a last-ditch push to save the program aimed at marketing cattle and deterring rustlers. Other cattle groups endorsed a plan to raise fees to fund inspections by the state Department of Agriculture of cattle changing owners. Washington State Dairy Federation policy director Jay Gordon said recent meetings with members revealed strong opposition.“We got our ears bent pretty hard,” he said. [node:read-more:link]

Oregon lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday to fund a new program that would provide state grants for projects to protect and conserve farmland. [node:read-more:link]

The number of dairy farms in the U.S. has been sharply declining, and now a U.S. Department of Agriculture report has revealed by just how much. According to the data, the U.S. lost 2,731 (6.5%) licensed dairy farms from 2017 to 2018. The total number of dairy farms is now at 37,468. [node:read-more:link]

Spring should be a time of promise, but the Mulder Dairy is clouded by doom. “Pretty depressing topic to talk about so I don't really bring it up a whole lot,” Kelsey Mulder said as he milked his father’s herd of 170 Holstein cows.Mulder is counting the days until the United States of America – the only country he's ever known - forces him to leave.Eighteen years ago, Kor Mulder and his former wife brought their two sons - ages two and three - from their native Holland to the open spaces of western Minnesota to start a dairy farm.Back home, land was scarce - while regulations were many. [node:read-more:link]

If you walk through the dairy aisle, there’s quite the variety: two percent, whole milk, almond, and soy milk. Those last two are now in question as the battle over what is considered “milk” is heating up.Louisiana State Senator Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, has introduced a bill that would remove the term “milk” from anything that is not dairy. For farmers like Mike Brian, it could help sagging profits.Sen. [node:read-more:link]

It's official. The bluetick coonhound is Tennessee's state dog — as if that was a debatable subject.Gov. Bill Lee signed the bill into law officially making the beloved University of Tennessee mascot a state symbol. The bipartisan bill, which was introduced by Rep. Bill Beck, D-Nashville, in early February, sailed through the House and Senate with unanimous votes. [node:read-more:link]

Flood damages in the Midwest are now estimated at nearly $3 billion. In Nebraska, the damages to agriculture are nearing the $1 billion mark. Iowa officials are reporting agricultural losses of approximately $214 million. Several other states have also experienced severe flooding, including Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and South Dakota. Threats of additional flooding of the Missouri River are on the horizon, as above normal snowpack in the north melts and moves downstream. [node:read-more:link]

This year, in the dead of winter, America’s wild reindeer went extinct in the contiguous United States. After years of dwindling, the last remaining herd of caribou known to roam between Canada and the Pacific Northwest states of Idaho and Washington was down to just one known member. [node:read-more:link]