Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson of Newcastle University in the United Kingdom have won a veterinary medicine prize for showing that giving dairy cows names and calling them by their correct name increased milk production yield by an average of 258 liters a year. The researchers said cows are very responsive to friendly milkers with a positive attitude.

The USDA has issued new rules that require Certified Organic dairy cows and other ruminants to be run on pasture for the entire green season, but not for less than 120 days. It also requires that the animals receive at least 30% of their feed, or dry matter intake from pasturing. In addition, organic livestock will be required to have access to the outdoors year-round with the exception of documentable environmental or health considerations. Currently according to the Cornucopia Institute, 30 to 40% of the nation’s supply of organic milk is coming from a handful of large scale confinement dairies largely found in the arid states. Under the Bush Administration, Aurora Dairy in Colorado was allowed to continue to operate even after career civil servants recommended its decertification due to its lack of pasturing. In addition to dairy cattle, the standards assure humane animal husbandry practices in eggs, poultry, beef and pork production. The USDA will be hosting a series of workshops around the country with the 50 or so organic certification agencies to clearly define the meaning and intent of the new rule so that certifirers will understand the new regulations and only approve management practices that stictly conform to it. The USDA is currently accepting comments as to whether or not beef cattle "finished" in confinement feedlots should be legal to sell under the USDA Organic label.

Gerald Fry, a popular speaker on animal genetic issues, and Teddy Gentry, a member of the country band Alabama, plan to start a vertically integrated grassfed beef company called American Prairie Beef. Other participants are Dr. Ronald Bolze, a seedstock producer, Tom German, a leading Iowa grassfed producer and Myron Wolff, a South Dakota seedstock producer. The company plans on using the correct grass genetics and extensive producer education to ensure that only tender and high quality grassfed meats are the end product. A vertically integrated marketing and production company is proposed with the meats sold under their own brand. The company is currently conducting an equity drive soliciting qualified investors via a Disclosure Statement.

After a 15 city listening tour across the country on the subject of animal disease traceability, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack has decided a State administered program would be better than one run out of Washington. In the future the USDA’s efforts will only apply to animals moved in interstate commerce and will be administered by the States and Tribal Nations. One of the USDA’s first steps will be to convene a forum with animal health leaders for the States and Tribal Nations to initiate a dialogue about the possible ways of achieving the flexible coordinated approach they envision. Additionally, the USDA will be revamping the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Animal Health to address specific issues, such as confidentiality and liability. Mark Kastel of the Cornucopia Institute in Wisconsin said the USDA announcement is an "all too rare victory of the nation’s farmers over the political power of corporate agribusiness.

The USDA’s first in-depth survey of America’s organic farms found that there are currently only 4.1 million acres that are USDA Certified Organic. This is less than one percent of America’s 922 million acres of farmland. However, this small amount of land generates $3.16 billion dollars in sales and is one of America’s hottest growth areas in food marketing. The survey tallied 14,450 farms that were either certified or exempt under the USDA’s organic rules. This compares to 2.2 million farms of all types.

Fast food sales are fallling at many chains due to high unemployment among 18 to 34 males which make up their primary customer base according to The Wall Street Journal. Sales at Burger King restaurants are down 4.6% in the three months that ended September 30 and sales at Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr where down 3.7%. Young people are increasingly cooking at home more and dining out only on the weekends. Noah Rubin, a 28 year old Seattle man, said this new eating pattern is saving him $100 a week. On average 18 to 34 year olds went to fast food chains about 13 times per month from January to September 2009. This is down from almost 19 times per month in 2006.