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Spending time with Paul and Phyllis Van Amburgh and their five children on their Dharma Lea dairyfarm can make life here appear enviable.Sure, the work is hard and the days are long. But the Van Amburghs get to spend time together and they enjoy a close relationship with the land and their animals.But that’s the pastoral version of life on a small family farm. And the Van Amburghs, now in their fifth year, know that farming -- dairyfarming, especially -- is mainly about survival.

Funding is available right now to help producers address on-farm energy use and increase efficiency.

Jersey cows required 20% less total feedstuffs by weight and 32% less water to produce the same amount of milkfat and protein as Holstein cows.

Milking rations as low as 14% crude protein still yield 90 to 100 lb. of milk/cow/day.

This online tool weights the answers to assess level of risk, depending on how a dairy actually implements antibiotic treatments.

A 4,500-cow dairy proposed for Adams County has received the state water protection permit and high capacity well approvals necessary to operate, although it must meet additional requirements aimed at protecting area groundwater and lakes and streams.

The video also serves as a library of facts that dairy farmers can reference in talking to consumers about the dairy industry.

As the Washington Department of Ecology searches for ways to improve water quality in the Little Spokane River, state officials are looking for ways to engage private landowners. Landowners hold the key to reducing pollutants such as phosphorus and fecal coliform bacteria in the water.

Western United Dairymen wants leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees to support funding for the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

Funding for the biodigesters is provided through the USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).