Got “lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows”?Doesn’t quite have the same marketing zing as the traditional four-letter word for moo juice, but according to the Food and Drug Administration rule 21 CFR 131.110, that is the legal definition of milk.But the definition should be upheld, according to 32 members of Congress — including six from Wisconsin — who recently sent a letter to U.S. Food and Drugs Administration Commissioner Robert Califf to crack down on almond-, coconut- and other plant-based fluids.

Earlier this month, Ross Barnhardt and I, along with first-time attendee Senator Bill Rabon, attended the State Agriculture and Rural Leaders (SARL) conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. SARL is a group of state legislators and agriculture industry representatives from across the United States and Canada that get together every year to discuss and study issues and policies affecting the agriculture industry and rural communities. I have had the privilege to attend the conference the past 4 years and have served as a SARL board member for the past several years.  

Welcome to our 2017 Agricultural Outlook. It’s a new year that will bring opportunities and challenges for agricultural industries. While no one can accurately predict the future, it is our mission to help you understand the major economic drivers of the agricultural economy in 2017. That begins with a new administration in D.C., which is expected to immediately pass an economic stimulus package to accelerate economic growth. That should have some positive impacts for U.S. agriculture but what about the strength of the U.S.

Activists groups are pushing slower-growing broilers as a higher welfare alternative to modern breeds, but they don't seem to be willing to let consumers demonstrate that they want them at the cash register.  When questioned about what consumers want, Super said, “What the majority of consumers actually want is choice. Slow-grow, conventional, raised without antibiotics – each of these production practices dictate choices about how chickens’ living conditions are managed.

Perdue Farms announced it has expanded its $68 million investment in nutrient recycling on Delmarva with the addition of a $12 million capital investment in a composting operation.  The AgriSoil composting facility, which started operation next to Perdue AgriRecycle’s organic fertilizer plant in Blades, Del., increases the company’s capacity to handle surplus poultry litter from Delmarva chicken farms and adds the capability to recycle other agricultural by-products that were previously land-applied.

The Fort Steuben Mall in this former steel town on the edge of the Ohio River is battling a double whammy of store closures that have thrust it into a fight for survival. On one side of the mall is an empty space that housed a Sears department store and automotive center until the struggling retailer closed the location last June. On the opposite side sits a Macy’s set to close in early spring, the retail chain said early this month, as part of 100 closures announced last summer. Fort Steuben Mall is being swept up in a wave of store closings that is buffeting landlords across the U.S.

Gov. Nathan Deal announced that Colorado Premium, a manufacturer of premium protein products, will create 190 jobs and invest $15 million in a Carroll County food processing plant by the end of 2018. The company purchased an existing 130,000-square-foot building in Carroll County for the new processing facility.

Nestlé has joined Chinese authorities in investigating factories suspected of producing £12M worth of counterfeit food seasonings and sauces, including fake Nestlé products.

UK meat exporters are preparing to break into the lucrative US market, after receiving training on US beef and lamb import regulations last week, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) revealed.

A discovery of Brazilian horsemeat laced with naproxen in Belgium has sparked calls for tough controls over EU imports of horsemeat.