Family farm earns milk-quality honor

A Bloomington, Wis., family was recently honored by Foremost Farms USA for producing quality milk during the calendar year 2008.

The Crubel Family Farm received quality premiums on all milk shipped and maintained an average somatic cell count of 200,000 or less. The milk tested negative for antibiotics and added water, and the standard plate count was 15,000 or below.

Food-price changes modest, survey says

MADISON, Wis. -- The quarterly Market Basket survey, conducted by members of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, found the average retail price of 20 basic food items surveyed was $52.10 in the third quarter of 2009. This is $1.30 less than the average of $53.40 in the second quarter.

Modest changes were seen in individual items surveyed. Many items saw less than 1 percent change from the previous quarter and a gallon of whole milk remained at $2.59, the same price as the second quarter.

Decreases of more than 5 percent were seen in the following food items: tomatoes, potatoes, Cheerios and white bread. Per-bushel prices for corn, wheat and oats are all lower than at this same time last year.

Agency details disaster loans

LANCASTER, Wis. -- The Grant County Farm Service Agency is announcing that disaster loans are available to farmers in Grant County who suffered qualifying damages or losses caused by the hailstorms that passed through Grant County July 24-27. Other counties that were disaster designations were Crawford, Lafayette and Monroe.

Farmers who feel they sustained a qualifying loss and desire more information should check with the FSA Loan office in Lancaster at 608-723-7697, ext. 2.

Enrollment begins for crop program

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that enrollment for the 2010 Direct and Counter-cyclical Program and the Average Crop Revenue Election program has begun and will continue through June 1.

The USDA urges producers to make use of the eDCP automated Web site to sign up, or producers can visit any USDA Service Center to complete their 2010 DCP or ACRE contract. The electronic service is available to all producers who are eligible to participate in the DCP and ACRE programs and can be accessed at www.fsa.usda.gov/dcp. To access the service, producers must have an active USDA eAuthentication Level 2 account, which requires filling out an online registration form at www.eauth.egov.usda.gov followed by a visit to the local USDA Service Center for identity verification.