The companies were pressed to halt the use of rBGH milk after more than 200 hospitals around the country — including Kaiser Permanente, Legacy Good Samaritan and OHSU in Portland, Good Shepherd in Hermiston and Southwest Medical Center in Vancouver — pledged to serve rBGH-free products to their patients, staff and visitors.
The rBGH-free initiative was spurred by Health Care Without Harm, an international coalition that promotes ecologically sustainable health care that doesn’t harm people or the environment. The Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility also supported the initiative.
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Cheese prices reversed five weeks of gains the last week of February, likely in response to Friday’s Cold Storage data and lots of product coming to the market. The blocks closed Friday at $1.1750 per pound, down 13 1/2-cents on the week and 89 1/2-cents below a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.18, down 9 cents on the week, and 79 cents below a year ago. Seventy one cars of block traded hands on the week and 25 of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average on block cheese rose 3.9 cents, to $1.1701. Barrel averaged $1.1965, up 5.2 cents.
Butter closed Friday at $1.15, up 4 3/4-cents on the week, but still 10 cents below a year ago. Sixteen cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.0845, up a half cent. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged 81.41 cents, down 0.4 cent, and dry whey averaged 15.91 cents, up 0.4 cent.
“We’ll have to see what specifically the president is talking about, but we just finished the farm bill last year, and I don’t think we’ll open it up,” said Rep. Collin C. Peterson, Minnesota Democrat and chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Likewise, the ranking Republican on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, said the farm bill, which lasts for five years, “should not be changed midstream.”
“I believe it is premature to make any sweeping changes to the makeup of the farm safety net before we have even had the chance to implement the current farm bill,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia.
The pushback came a day after Mr. Obama called for cutting subsidies to farm businesses in his address to Congress, one of a few examples of how he can save $2 trillion from the federal budget over 10 years, and as other Democratic leaders took issue with what they see as White House moves into their domain.
The president demanded that there be no explicit earmarks in the $787 billion economic stimulus package passed last week, but the same discipline is not carrying over to the regular appropriations bills.
The omnibus spending bill passed by the House Wednesday contains thousands of earmarks, requested by lawmakers of both parties. The specific items funded are almost always for programs, grants or other federal projects directed to the state or district of the lawmakers requesting them.
In his Tuesday address, Mr. Obama said new spending on health care, energy and education would be matched with cuts to “education programs that don’t work,” an end to no-bid contracts in Iraq, and an assault on waste and fraud in Medicare.
But the farm payments pledge was his most specific. “In this budget, we will … end direct payments to large agribusiness that don’t need them,” Mr. Obama said.
The ranking Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Frank D. Lucas of Oklahoma, said Mr. Obama didn’t seem to understand the agribusiness programs he was talking about.
“With the president last night calling for, in essence, what he referred to payments to big agribusiness – I’m not sure he really appreciates or understands the definition of that phrase,” Mr. Lucas said, noting that direct payments go to entities that own farms and grow crops, not conglomerates that process them. “If he’s referring to other things, then that’s not the direct payment program.”
He said Mr. Obama’s comments build on a speech earlier this month by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in which the former Iowa governor urged farmers not to rely on direct payments.
“It’s kind of ironic that the secretary and the president are talking about doing away with relatively small amounts of money compared with [the financial and automaker bailouts] that help assure us of the safest and most abundant food supply in the world,” said Mr. Lucas, who expressed his concern in a letter to Mr. Vilsack late Wednesday.
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Obama had proposed limiting direct payments to only farms with incomes of $250,000 or less. That’s just a third of the current $750,000 farm income limit set in the 2008 farm bill.
GDPs members are leading dairy corporations, cooperatives and associations who are uniting to strengthen their interests around the world. Based in Rosemont, IL, a suburb of Chicago in the United States, GDP is focused on sustaining and expanding global demand for milk and dairy products.
Doyle has 32 years of experience in the dairy industry at national and international levels and joined both GDP’s Operational Committee and the full Board of Directors.
“I look forward to being part of GDP’s many initiatives, such as information sharing and activities developed by our respective organizations that benefit the global dairy sector,” said Doyle. “There is indeed much room for a fruitful and constructive relationship, as has been demonstrated recently with a new proposal of work plan of collaboration between IDF and GDP.”
Posted: February 25, 2009 at 8:32 pm
By News Editor
Two additional universities, Colorado State University and the University of Florida, have joined the eight original consortium member (Abilene Christian University, University of Arizona, New Mexico State University, Oklahoma State University, Tarleton State University, Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University and West Texas A&M University) of the Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium – Teaching (SGPDC-T).
The 10-member consortium is the first dairy teaching program of its kind that pools university resources that enable dairy science students to receive university credits for large-herd dairy management courses that are not available on their home campus.
The second annual session will begin May 18, 2009 and run for six weeks at Clovis Community College in New Mexico. According to SGPDC-T chair Michael Tomaszewski, this year’s faculty will include Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois; John Smith and Joe Harner, Kansas State University; Larry Fox, Washington State University; Todd Bilby, Texas A&M University; Chad Dechow, Pennsylvania State University; Matt Lucy, University of Missouri; Jason Osterstock, Texas A&M University; Bob Collier, University of Arizona; and Robert Hagevoort, New Mexico State University.
The six weekly modules will focus on herd health and genetics, mastitis and milk quality, herd evaluation, reproduction, facilities and transition diets. Each day’s schedule includes classroom instruction and actual hands-on access at a dairy located within a 20-mile radius of Clovis.
Clovis was selected as the site to conduct the classes since it is in the middle of the third largest milk shed in the United States and in close proximity to dairies with all possible management levels, housing styles for cattle and parlor designs, explains vice-chair Robert Hagevoort. Classes are open initially to consortium members and then other universities that do not have advanced dairy programs.
Posted: February 25, 2009 at 8:13 pm
By News Editor
The Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence announces an exciting new program for young dairy producers: “Young Producer Learning Groups.” These groups are lead by five of the state’s experienced and successful dairy farmers and will be idea-sharing sessions.
“Many of our state’s younger producers cannot access the formal training opportunities available to them because of timing, cost and traveling constraints,” says John Frey, executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence. “The learning groups are a way to bring this group of producers together to expose them to informal training and resources while giving them the opportunity to learn from each other.”
The five dairy producers helping to coordinate the learning groups are Candy Cooney of Ulysses, Potter County; David Bitler of Fleetwood, Berks County; Duane Hertzler of Loysville, Perry County; Steve Paxton of Grove City, Mercer County; and Harold Schaulis of Somerset in Somerset County.
The groups began forming after the first of the year, and initial meetings will be underway in February and March.
The Northern Tier group, led by Cooney, was the first to meet. “Group members gathered from three counties from different styles of farms – milking between 50 to 100 cows in both tie stall and freestall set-ups,” said Cooney. “The group members were excited and gave themselves homework for the next meeting. They are to bring ideas of what has worked or not worked on their farms in the areas of saving money and how to ‘work smarter, not harder.’”
“Most dairy producers recognize they learn the most by visiting with other farmers,” Frey says. “By touring each other’s farms, participants can share what works effectively on their farms, and invite outside people to provide expertise in problem areas, and troubleshoot common issues.”
The benefits were mostly associated with foods high in calcium, rather than calcium tablets. Prior studies have produced conflicting results.
But because of its huge size — 492,810 people and more than 50,000 cancers — the new study presents powerful evidence favoring the idea that calcium may somehow keep cells from becoming cancerous, said University of North Carolina nutrition expert John Anderson, who wasn’t involved in the study.
The new research involved food questionnaires from participants and a follow-up check of records for cancer cases during the subsequent seven years. This research method is less rigorous than some previous but smaller studies.
National Cancer Institute researcher Yikyung Park, the study’s lead author, called the results strong but said more studies are needed to confirm the findings.
Duke University nutrition researcher Denise Snyder said the results support the idea that food rather than supplements is the best source for nutrients.
Participants were AARP members aged 50 to 71 who began the study in the mid-1990s. A total of 36,965 men and 16,605 women were later diagnosed with cancer. There were more than 10 different kinds of cancer, the most common being prostate, breast, lung and colorectal.
Compared with people who got little calcium, those who consumed the most had the lowest chances of getting colon cancer.
Those in that highest category got on average 1,530 milligrams a day among men and 1,881 milligrams daily among women. The recommended amount for older people is 1,200 milligrams, and getting much more than that didn’t result in any greater protection. Adults can get that amount from four cups of milk or calcium-fortified orange juice.
Men who got the most calcium from food were about 30% less likely to get cancer of the esophagus, about 20% less likely to get head and neck cancer and 16% less likely to get colon cancer, when compared to men who got low amounts of calcium.
Among women, those who got the most food-based calcium were 28% less likely to get colon cancer than low-calcium women.
In men, calcium supplements only seemed to help protect against colon cancer; for women, supplements meant a lower risk for liver cancer, which is rare.
Posted: February 24, 2009 at 8:24 pm
By News Editor
President Barack Obama has chosen Kathleen Merrigan, a professor who helped develop U.S. organic food labeling rules, as the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture.
Merrigan, tapped for deputy secretary of agriculture, was head of the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service from 1999-2001 during the Clinton presidency and helped to develop the USDA’s rules on what can be sold as organic food.
As a Senate aide, she worked on the 1990 law that recognized organic farming.
“Sustainable and organic farmers are excited … that someone who has been associated with these issues her whole career is going to be at that level in the department,” said Ferd Hoefner of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.
Hoefner encouraged the Senate to confirm Merrigan, an assistant professor at Tufts University. The deputy agriculture secretary usually oversees day-to-day USDA operations.
Merrigan, who went to work at Tufts in Boston after serving at the USDA, has worked at the Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture and as a consultant for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization from 1994-99.
She worked on the Senate Agriculture Committee from 1987-92. She has a doctoral degree in environmental planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Posted: February 23, 2009 at 5:52 pm
By Amanda Nolz
Have you heard of The Pioneer Woman? She is a blogger, ranch wife, mother of four, city girl gone country. She does it all. She writes, cooks, takes photos, homeschools, gardens, decorates and looks good doing it. I’m addicted to her funny, self-deprecating writing style, and her daily updates keep me coming back for more.
In her cooking section, she started a dairy page sponsored by 3-A-Day Dairy. On this page, she hosted a dairy recipe contest, photographs and her favorite recipes including: decadent chocolate milk, pumpkin cake with whiskey whipping cream, crispy yogurt chicken, blueberry yogurt smoothies, enchilladas, tomato basil pizza and more! Hungry yet? Check out her dairy page now! Let me know what you think. Beware, readers become fixated on her blog quickly! Here is what Ree, The Pioneer Woman has to say about her passions for dairy.
I couldn’t live without dairy products. They’re as much a part of my life now as they were when I used to sit in my parents’ kitchen, hunkered over a bowl (or four) of cereal every morning. In high school, I ate cheddar cheese and apples for lunch every day. And in college, I perfected the art of ordering Avocado-and-Cheese omelettes “with extra, extra, extra, extra…and I mean EXTRA cheese.” I’ve always been a bit of a dairy fiend. Special thanks to 3-A-Day™ of Dairy for sponsoring this special Dairy Section
Posted: February 20, 2009 at 9:07 pm
By News Editor
The Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin (PDPW) Annual Business Conference, March 17-18, 2009 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. provides dynamic speakers you can’t find anywhere else, unmatched information to increase your profits, and networking opportunities with producers, industry and world-renowned experts.
Adam Timmerman, NFL star and former player for the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams, will share some “touchdown” pointers about adding passion to win the game of life. This Iowa farm boy never dreamt he would one day be playing football in the NFL. An All-Pro selection in 2001, Adam went to four Super Bowls in his career, winning Super Bowl XXXI with the Packers and Super Bowl XXXIV with the Rams. You’ll learn from Adam’s experiences to develop the right game plan for your business.
Posted: February 20, 2009 at 8:56 pm
By News Editor
Dairy Markets Week in Review
CME cash cheese prices moved higher for the fifth consecutive week but weakened at week’s end as lots of product made its way to the market. The 40-pound block price climbed to $1.33 but ended the President’s Day holiday-shortened week at $1.31 per pound, up 7 cents on the week, but 76 1/4-cents below that week a year ago. The 500-pound barrels closed Friday at $1.27, up 4 cents on the week, but 75 cents below a year ago. Thirty six carloads of block traded hands on the week and 14 of barrel but a lot of offers went uncovered. The NASS-surveyed, U.S. average block price hit $1.1310, up 2.7 cents. Barrel averaged $1.1477, up 2.8 cents.
Butter closed Friday at $1.1025, unchanged on the week, but 7 1/2-cents below a year ago. Nothing was sold all week. NASS butter averaged $1.0793, up 0.9 cent. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged 81.87 cents, down 0.2 cent. Dry whey averaged 15.55 cents, up 0.2 cent on the week.
Price support purchases for the week amounted to 433,554 pounds of butter and 4.7 million pounds of nonfat dry milk, bringing the respective cumulative totals for the year so far to 4.6 million pounds and 174.7 million respectively.
Posted: February 20, 2009 at 11:50 am
By Amanda Nolz
There are so many great ways to start telling the dairy production story with consumers, and one of my dear friends is committed to doing just that. Melissa Hart is a freelance writer, wife, mother and dairy producer who writes on her blog every day. The blog is called Melissa Hart the Knolltop Farm Wife , and it details the life of a woman dedicated to producing a high quality, safe dairy product with her family. Here is a sample of her addicting blog entries…
It’s been a busy day here on the Knolltop. My schedule was interrupted when I was asked to go get hay. When I got back I helped finish up chores all while knowing I had to do my Holstein International Column. They have to get it to the interpreters before Friday and of course in Holland they are 7 hours ahead of me. So…deadlines are a little crazy when you write for an international magazine.
Now, Melissa and I have worked together for some time now, but we had never met in person. She helped get my column, Chewing The Cud, into a Michigan newspaper, The Farmers’ Advance. She also is a fellow volunteer for the All-American Beef Battalion, and she is a great freelance friend who is full of advice for someone like me getting started in the industry. So, when I traveled to the Great Lakes Regional Dairy Conference in Melissa’s home state of Michigan at the beginning of February, I was so excited to meet her!
I encourage you to check out her blog. It’s well worth the visit. And, I want to know….Do you blog to talk about your life in the dairy industry? If so, where can I find them and start reading?
Posted: February 19, 2009 at 7:46 pm
By News Editor
Seems like everyone is pinching dollars these days, even on their grocery bill. The farmers of Cabot Creamery Cooperative are sharing their money saving meal solutions!
Put a hearty, healthy meal on the dinner table for less money than you thought possible. Cabot Creamery Cooperative offers real solutions for every day of the week — a tasty menu of delicious, health-conscious recipes that will feed a family of four for less than ten dollars a meal!
“Nobody can argue that plummeting milk prices mean that the farm- family owners of Cabot Creamery Cooperative are painfully aware of just how difficult it is to make ends meet these days,” says Roberta MacDonald, senior vice president of marketing for Cabot. “And they also know the value of a hard-earned dollar and how to put great food on the table for their families. That’s why we’re sharing some of our farmers’ favorite recipes – each one feeds a family of four for less than ten bucks. These recipes are healthy, tasty, and they’ll make you feel full and satisfied.”
Posted: February 19, 2009 at 7:34 pm
By News Editor
A total of 69 students with interest in the dairy industry participated in the fifth annual Midwest Dairy Challenge, January 29-31, 2009, in Rochester, Minnesota.
The Dairy Challenge is an innovative competition developed by industry and university professionals, which exposes students to opportunities in a vibrant dairy industry. Working in four- or five-person, mixed-university teams, students assessed all aspects of a working dairy farm and presented recommendations for improvement to a panel of judges and the participating farm families.
This year’s contest, hosted by the University of Minnesota, included students from Iowa State University, Lakeshore Technical College, Michigan State University, Ridgewater College, Kansas State University, The Ohio State University, Purdue University, South Dakota State University, Southwest Wisconsin Technical College, University of Illinois, University of Minnesota, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Northeast Iowa Community College, and the UW-Madison Farm & Industry Short Course.
Judges chose two teams as platinum winners, the contest’s highest distinction.
The individuals who comprised these teams are: Clint Harre, University of Illinois; Tim Andrews, Lakeshore Technical College; Joe Pasch, Michigan State University; Brian Bagge from Northeast Iowa Community College; Paige Gott and Renee Starkey of The Ohio State University; Matt Wold from Ridgewater College; Jessica Berg, South Dakota State University; and Jordan Matthews and Phil Monson, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Posted: February 19, 2009 at 4:32 pm
By Amanda Nolz
It’s all over the news: California state Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez (D-Shafter) introduced a bill, SB 135, which would outlaw the common procedure of docking dairy cows’ tails except “during an individual treatment, emergency or operation, if the treatment or operation is performed by a veterinarian for veterinary purposes” with proper anesthesia.
Scientific studies have shown that mutilation of the tail causes serious welfare problems for dairy cows, including distress, pain and increased vulnerability to insect attacks,” Michael Greger, director of public health and animal agriculture for the Humane Society of the United States, said in a press conference today. “Tail-docking never had a scientific rationale, and it’s been exposed now as little more than a routine and pointless type of mutilation.
Since when are L.A. politicians authorities on animal agriculture? I need your thoughts, ideas and concerns on this proposed legislation. Wherever your milking parlor is located, this rule will effect the way you do business in the future.
Posted: February 18, 2009 at 8:20 pm
By News Editor
World Dairy Expo seems a long time away, but the folks who plan the event are busy at work for the 2009 show. Today they announced the official judges for the cattle shows. “Legendary” is the theme for the 2009 show, scheduled for September 29 through October 3.
The individuals responsible for placing over 2,500 head of dairy cattle during the five-day show are:
Central National Ayrshire Show – Steve McDonald, Princeton, Illinois
Central National Brown Swiss Show – Dave Sprengler, Plato, Minnesota
National Guernsey Show – Madison – Fowler Branstetter, Edmonton, Kentucky
International Holstein Show – Mark Rueth, Oxford, Wisconsin
International Junior Holstein Show – Brian Garrison, Tiffin, Ohio
Central National Jersey Show – Michael Heath, Westminster, Maryland
International Milking Shorthorn Show – Rick Allyn, Caanan, Connecticut
Grand International Red & White Show – Chris Hill, Thurmont, Maryland
Posted: February 18, 2009 at 8:15 pm
By News Editor
The Dairy Business Association (DBA) applauds Governor Jim Doyle for protecting farmland in his 2009-2011 Biennial Budget that was delivered last evening. This provision will ensure that Wisconsin’s $20 billion dairy industry will remain a vital part of the State’s economy and allow growth and expansion.
“DBA members across the state applaud Governor Doyle and Secretary Nilsestuen for including important agriculture provisions in the state’s budget,” said Laurie Fischer, Executive Director of the Dairy Business Association. “Difficult times call for difficult measures, but I am pleased to hear the Governor and the Secretary of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection still found a way to help agriculture for future generations by the inclusion of tax credits and protecting our productive farmland.”
DBA also would like to thank the Governor and bipartisan leaders in the State Capitol for the inclusion of the dairy cooperative manufacturing and meat processing tax credit. These two important provisions will help Wisconsin’s cheese and meat industries.
Posted: February 18, 2009 at 4:34 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Alfalfa was once considered a one-size-fits-all crop. Through alfalfa breeding and technology, new alfalfa traits offer growers options for matching the right product to the right field conditions. David Miller, director of alfalfa breeding at Pioneer, discusses these new trait advances.
Dave Miller on New Alfalfa Traits (5:18 min MP3)
To see all archived Pioneer Forage Forum podcasts, click here.
Posted: February 17, 2009 at 9:56 pm
By News Editor
Well, folks, we’ve got our next “Prop 2″ on our hands – a new bill in the California legislature to ban tail docking of dairy cows. Let’s start an open and respectful dialogue – what do you think of this bill?
The bill was introduced by California Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez. At a news conference on Friday, Florez said tail docking is, in his words, “nothing more than needless animal cruelty which must be stopped”.
At the same news conference, HSUS president Wayne Pacelle cited last fall’s passage of Proposition 2 as evidence that Californians want, quote, “humane treatment of all animals, including those raised for food”—end quote.
Tail docking involves the removal of up to two-thirds of a cow’s tail. According to a University of California-Davis report, producers in the U.S. frequently dock heifers near weaning or approximately one-month prior calving. The report says the most common docking method is rubber band constriction.
A variety of benefits have been attributed to tail docking including improved comfort for milking personnel, enhanced udder cleanliness and improved milk quality. However, the American Veterinary Medical Association—AVMA—has concluded that routine tail docking, quote “provides no benefit to the animal…and can lead to distress during fly seasons”. AVMA policy opposes the routine tail docking of cattle.
Posted: February 17, 2009 at 9:39 pm
By News Editor
Our friend, Keith Good, is the founder and editor of our next “Bookmarkable Blog” – FarmPolicy.com. Keith’s site provides a daily summary of news relating to U.S. farm policy. FarmPolicy.com covers issues associated with the U.S. and global agricultural economy, including the Farm Bill, production agriculture, trade, biofuels and crop insurance.
Keith has an extensive background in Midwest agriculture, having grown up in Central Illinois where his family has successful farming operations. He has worked for the Illinois Agriculture Mediation Program, a dispute resolution service that assists agricultural producers affected by the actions or decisions of the USDA in resolving disputes arising under various USDA programs. He also worked as an Agricultural Statistician with USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and as a Research Associate in the Dept. of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Check out his latest post, it’s very timely!
The Associated Press reported yesterday that, “Hundreds of thousands of America’s dairy cows are being turned into hamburgers because milk prices have dropped so low that farmers can no longer afford to feed the animals.
“Dairy farmers say they have little choice but to sell part of their herds for slaughter because they face a perfect storm of destructive economic forces. At home, feed prices are rising and cash-strapped consumers are eating out less often. Abroad, the global recession has cut into demand for butter and cheese exported from the U.S.
“Prices for milk now are about half what it costs farmers to produce the staple, and consumer prices are falling. Unless the market can be bolstered, industry officials project that more than 1.5 million of the nation’s 9.3 million milking cows could be slaughtered this year as dairy operators look to cut costs and generate cash.”
(more…)
Dannon announced this week that it will stop using milk from cows treated with rBST in its yogurts by the end of 2009.
Dairy Markets Week in Review
The 
President Barack Obama 
In her cooking section, she started a dairy page sponsored by 3-A-Day Dairy. On this page, she hosted a dairy recipe contest, photographs and her favorite recipes including: decadent chocolate milk, pumpkin cake with whiskey whipping cream, crispy yogurt chicken, blueberry yogurt smoothies, enchilladas, tomato basil pizza and more! Hungry yet? Check out her dairy page now! Let me know what you think. Beware, readers become fixated on her blog quickly! Here is what Ree, The Pioneer Woman has to say about her passions for dairy.
The
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Now, Melissa and I have worked together for some time now, but we had never met in person. She helped get my column, 
Seems like everyone is pinching dollars these days, even on their grocery bill. The farmers of 
A total of 69 students with interest in the dairy industry participated in the fifth annual 
Alfalfa was once considered a one-size-fits-all crop. Through alfalfa breeding and technology, new alfalfa traits offer growers options for matching the right product to the right field conditions. David Miller, director of alfalfa breeding at Pioneer, discusses these new trait advances.
Well, folks, we’ve got our next “Prop 2″ on our hands – a 
Our friend, Keith Good, is the founder and editor of our next “Bookmarkable Blog” – FarmPolicy.com. Keith’s site provides a daily summary of news relating to U.S. farm policy. FarmPolicy.com covers issues associated with the U.S. and global agricultural economy, including the Farm Bill, production agriculture, trade, biofuels and crop insurance.