Last week, Agri-Mark announced it would send a second round of cash payments of $1 per hundredweight of milk shipped in September by 1,300 members in New England and New York. In Kansas City, Dairy Farmers of America announced it is mailing checks to more than 10,600 members for 30 cents per hundredweight of milk marketed in September.

Authors intending to make oral or poster presentations at the IDF World Dairy Summit 2010 are now invited to submit their abstracts.

Probiotics are to take center stage in a new series of TV documentaries, the first of which will be screened next Fall on major TV channels in the United States, including Public Service Broadcasting outlets, National Geographic and Discovery, along with European and Asian networks.

New research suggests that increasing dairy consumption from three to five servings a day in the context of a reduced calorie diet can help fight obesity.

The Food and Drug Administration says it will take aim at logos and symbols on food packaging that mislead consumers about the health benefits. "It is clear that at the present time this vast array of different approaches is adding confusion rather than clarity," said Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, FDA commissioner. "We believe we can offer important benefits in terms of developing the science- and nutrition-based criteria for the use of dietary guidance claims."