The Rural Blog

A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism, based at the University of Kentucky. Links may expire, require subscription or go behind pay walls. Please send news and knowledge you think would be useful to benjy.hamm@uky.edu.

The Rural Blog

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Quick hits: Mississippi bans lab-grown dairy; Lawyers for Reporters; pay phones help boomers and zoomers connect

Whole and 2% milk will return to public school lunchrooms soon

Quick hits: Cold Case Card Deck to solve crimes; USPS podcast; Walmart's new milk plant; states snip SNAP snacks

Whole milk consumption shakes up U.S. dairy expectations -- only the second increase since the 1970s

Drinking raw milk can cause humans to contract diseases and infections, but the risks may not tell the full story

USDA orders testing of raw milk for bird flu to begin on Dec. 16. Testing is 'precautionary' and will aid virus containment

Piles of dead dairy cows in California show an industry that wasn't prepared for H5N1 bird flu's aggressive spread

The USDA has worked to entice dairy farmers to allow bird flu testing; anonymous testing is the latest pitch

Drinking raw milk might have a cult following, but it contains harmful pathogens that make people sick

The bird flu, H5N1, infected dairy cows, and now fragments of the virus have been found in retail milk supplies

U.S. dairy herd growth hits a 22-year low; breeding for beef operations offers significantly higher profit margin

What is milk? The heated debate between labeling animal and plant 'milk' continues with spoofs and a Muppet

As more Americans chose to eat more cheese, farmers look for ways to increase milk fat content

Santa might get whole milk for Christmas, but students will not; one U.S. senator stymies the bill

Full-fat milk may not pose health risks; new studies show the type of dairy is more important than fat content

We got the milk, but where's the carton? Dairy farmers face an unexpected dilemma.

What is milk? Experts have lots of answers, none very clear; infant formula lacks what has evolved over millions of years

School-meals program banned whole and 2% milk in 2012; bill approved by House panel would bring them back

After 17 years of debate, Iowans will be able to buy raw milk, but health questions remain; 18 other states ban sales