Good butter should spread easily at room temperature, right? Well, Canadians have been complaining about strangely "hard" butter for weeks. Matthew Mead/AP hide caption
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dairy industry
Unlike most dairy cows in America, which are descended from just two bulls, this cow at Pennsylvania State University has a different ancestor: She is the daughter of a bull that lived decades ago, called University of Minnesota Cuthbert. The bull's frozen semen was preserved by the U.S. Agriculture Department. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption
Most U.S. Dairy Cows Are Descended From Just 2 Bulls. That's Not Good
Low milk prices forced Vermont dairy farmer Jacques Rainville out of business. John Dillon/Vermont Public Radio hide caption
Customers shop at the Al Meera market in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday. Qatar faces possible food and dairy shortages after its Gulf Arab neighbors cut ties with the wealthy nation. AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Cows graze at Dharma Lea Farm in Sharon Springs, N.Y. Advocates of grass-grazing cattle say it's better for the environment and the animals. But there's another upside: Grass-fed meat and dairy fetch a premium that can help small farms stay viable. Provided by Mike Mulry, Xcelarts hide caption
Mike McCloskey, his cousin Manuel Perez (left), and one of their co-workers on a beach at the edge of their new farm in Puerto Rico. McCloskey and Perez played on this beach as children. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption
Chasing A Dream Built On Dairy, This Master Of Milk Came Home
Companies are selling "milk" derived from a wide variety of plants. The dairy industry isn't happy about it. Bob Chamberlin/LA Times via Getty Images hide caption
Soy, Almond, Coconut: If It's Not From A Cow, Can You Legally Call It Milk?
Dairy operations run 24/7, but federal law excludes its workers from overtime pay. Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
To protest against the falling prices of dairy and meat, farmers pour liters of milk in front of a prefecture in northwestern France in January. Jean-Francois Monier/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Mary Lou Wesselhoeft is a dairy farmer in the Florida Panhandle. Her Ocheesee Creamery pasteurized skim milk has nothing added — and that's the problem. According to regulations, without added vitamins, it can only be sold as "imitation skim milk." Courtesy of Institute for Justice hide caption
Holstein cows at Homestead Dairy in Plymouth, Ind. Mira Oberman/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Gigi The Cow Broke The Milk Production Record. Is That Bad For Cows?
One of the hornless Holsteins at Steve Maddox's California dairy farm. Maddox is beginning to breed hornless cattle into his herd, but it's slow going. Abbie Fentress Swanson for NPR hide caption
Cottage cheese peaked in the early 1970s, when the average American ate about 5 pounds of it per year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. iStockphoto hide caption
The Fall Of A Dairy Darling: How Cottage Cheese Got Eclipsed By Yogurt
Near the Danish city of Ikast, some 1,500 spectators gathered on April 19 to celebrate what has become something of a national holiday at organic dairy farms around Denmark. Courtesy of Organic Denmark hide caption
FDA tests have turned up residues suggesting a few dairy farmers are illegally using antibiotics. iStockphoto hide caption
The milk's industry's new campaign, Milk Life, features ordinary people accomplishing all sorts of tasks after jumpstarting their day with a glass of milk. Courtesy of Milk Processor Education Program hide caption
A new study on lactose tolerance among early farmers in Spain challenges a leading theory that humans developed an appetite for milk to avoid calcium deficiency. iStock hide caption
Sticker shock in the dairy aisle? If the government fails to pass the farm bill, milk prices could spike sometime after the first of the year. George Frey/Landov hide caption
The recent yogurt boom of upstate New York has meant more jobs in places like the Chobani plant in South Edmeston, but it has not led to a bigger dairy herd in the state. Mike Groll/AP hide caption
This 5-foot plexiglass piece of art resembling a freshly poured glass of milk sits near the door at Dairy Farmers of America headquarters in Kansas City, Mo. Peggy Lowe/Harvest Public Media hide caption
Farmers And Their Cooperative Settle Lawsuit On Fixing The Price Of Milk
Dairy farmer Bob Andrews feeds heifers in the same barn his grandfather used. He says today "the harder you work, the further you get behind." David Sommerstein/NCPR hide caption
A security guard opens the gate at the Central Valley Meat Co., the California slaughterhouse recently shut down by federal regulators after they received a graphic video of cows being mistreated. Gosia Wozniacka/AP hide caption
A girl checks out the options at Rocky Point Creamery in Tuscarora, Md., one of seven farms on the state's ice cream trail. Ebony Bailey/NPR hide caption
Laura Chase, a member of the MOOMilk dairy cooperative, sweeps her barn in a film still from documentary, Betting The Farm. Pull-Start Pictures hide caption