Star Spangled Ice Cream, which calls itself "the conservative alternative to Ben & Jerry's," donated $1,000 to the Navy League of the United States during the annual TalkFest radio talk show convention May 20 on the campus of Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Va.

Kraft Foods Chief Executive Roger Deromedi says the company's "sustainable growth plan" is working and he's sticking with it. Speaking with analysts last month, Deromedi increased the company's earlier profit projection of $1.73 to $1.78 per share, and predicted profit margins would improve in 2006.

MIDDLETOWN, Md.-A Maryland dairy farm family has recently become a milk processor-and one providing home delivery-in an attempt to maintain the viability of its 200-acre farm.

Starbucks Cheese Starbucks has rolled out a new artisanal cheese box to 340 of its upscale coffee shops in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The company partnered with celebrity

Japan's three major dairy producers reported record group pretax profits for fiscal 2004 as they reaped the benefits of streamlining their businesses and revamping their product lines.

Dairy processors have been in the news lately for making substantial charitable contributions. Turner Dairy Farms, Pittsburgh, is celebrating its 75th anniversary and marking the occasion with a $50,000 donation pledge to Pittsburgh's Forbes Health Foundation.

Glanbia Foods Inc., continues to expanding its cheese-production operations in Gooding, Idaho, and has just completed a smaller expansion at its headquarter plant in Twin Falls, Idaho.

The National Milk Producers Federation Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) program has concluded after spending more than $51 million to cull 50,066 cows from the milk supply.

If the U.S. Free Trade Agreement with Central America and Dominican Republic (CAFTA-DR) ends up road-blocked in Congress, it will likely be over the always-sensitive issue of sugar imports. At a meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee, members from sugar-growing districts expressed concerns about the sugar provisions of the treaty, echoing comments from their counterparts on the Senate Finance Committee. The treaty does in fact provide new access to U.S. markets for foreign sugar growers, but the U.S. Trade Representative's Office says those new imports would not negatively impact the current U.S. sugar program. Top White House and Agriculture Department officials have held meetings on how to counter U.S. sugar growers' objections and push the agreement through Congress.

ATLANTA-Sucralose, which is becoming ever more popular as a non-nutritive sweetener for dairy products, has come under scrutiny from some consumers and in particular from a website launched by sugar producers which questions the ingredient's health profile (truthaboutsplenda.com).