He has spent the past eight hours milking cows, helping a veterinarian do pregnancy checks on his herd and fixing a tractor. He looks at the bill and says goodbye to more than half of the $19,000 he's expecting from an emergency state payout to dairy farmers who suffered $18 million in losses last year. But 2006 was the worst year yet for farmers such as Williams, who say the rising costs of fuel, feed and fertilizer have far outpaced what they're paid for their milk. Department of...

Cooperatives Working Together announced yesterday that its fourth herd-retirement program has removed 52,783 cows representing 1 billion pounds of milk. We were able to get more bang for our members bucks in this round, and we re very pleased with the amount of milk we were able to remove this spring, Wosje says. In the first five months of the year, the program has spent approximately $14 million to help export 27 million pounds of cheese, butter and anhydrous milkfat. That one billion...

Ranchers say the far western Panhandle has long been susceptible to cattle theft because the region is so sparsely populated. Smith believes the recent increase in cattle rustling is due to the high price of cattle. Smith and other area ranchers are taking precautions to prevent them from being vulnerable to cattle rustlers. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Cattle rustling on the rise in Oklahoma Panhandle. OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Cattle rustling is...

June/August bear spread (where traders sell June and buy August) and August/October bull spread (where traders buy August and sell October) at times trimmed June's gains and, along with unpredictable Chicago Board of Trade corn movement, pressured October and remaining trading months. June/August bear spread (where traders sell June and buy August) and August/October bull spread (where traders buy August and sell October) at times trimmed June's gains and, along with unpredictable Chicago...

Along with the high cost of fuel and feed, experts also say recent drought conditions, higher labor costs and a surge in dairy sales overseas are also driving up the price of milk here at home. The price of all dairy products, from cheese to cream to yogurt, is on the rise. The cost of milk, a mainstay of kitchen tables across the country, is hitting an all-time high. Some economists are predicting that the price of a gallon of milk may jump to $4. Corn, used to feed milk-producing cows,...