Senator Patrick Leahy is optimistic that the new 5 year federal Farm Bill will include several provisions to help small dairy farmers stay in business. One provision will allow farmers to purchase insurance that will guarantee that they'll be able to recoup their production costs.

Yogurt has always been associated with good health. Now demand is growing for a new kind of yogurt -- the Greek variety. Sales more than doubled last year.  And just as this market shift is healthy for consumers, it's also good for dairy farmers.

Lawmakers in Washington are hearing from representatives of the dairy industry about what they hope will be in the next federal Farm Bill, which is likely to be debated this summer. More than two dozen dairy organizations are pushing for the inclusion of a supply management policy called the Dairy Security Act.

Newscast: Thursday, April 19, 2012, 5:50 p.m.

The Vermont Senate's Agriculture Committee has set a hearing for this week on what may be tough times coming for dairy farmers on the prices they get for their milk.

Vermont dairy farmers benefited from rising milk prices last year, but there was continued fallout from the record low prices of 2009. Farmers are hoping the coming year won't see a return to the recent boom and bust cycle in milk prices.

A Vermont judge has granted final approval to a settlement that would require dairy processor Dean Foods Co. to pay more than 9,000 Northeast farmers and their attorneys $30 million to settle antitrust allegations.

Vermont dairy farmers are using fans, sprinkler systems that spray mist and good old-fashioned shade to keep their cows from overheating. The Agency of Agriculture says that when cows get too hot, they don't eat as much, and then they don't produce as much milk.

The Vermont attorney general's office is evaluating the fairness of a proposed anti-trust settlement between Northeast dairy farmers and the nation's largest milk producer. Lawyers for the state have asked the federal court to open up records in the case so lawmakers and the public can learn more about the complex litigation.

Attorneys representing some Northeast dairy farmers in an antitrust lawsuit against a dairy cooperative and its marketing affiliate say the cooperative is misleading dairy farmers about the merits of the case.

Vermont dairy farmers may have gotten an early holiday gift this week. A tentative settlement has been reached in an anti-trust lawsuit between farmers across the Northeast and the dairy-processing company that controls most of the region's milk.

Dean Foods Company has tentatively agreed to pay Vermont dairy farmers $30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit. Details of the settlement have not been released.

Vermont's congressional delegation wants to help stabilize dairy prices by controlling the supply of milk produced around the country. The legislation unveiled this week is the latest of many attempts to overhaul a complex milk pricing system. The bill's backers say it will be tough to get it through.

Vermont's two U.S. senators are backing legislation that would stabilize dairy prices through a system designed to curb over-production of milk.

Milk prices paid to dairy farmers are creeping upwards, providing some hope that Vermont will lose fewer farms than predicted this year. But experts say any price relief will be short-lived. So a group of local dairy farmers is trying to get Congress to overhaul dairy legislation as part of the 2012 farm bill.

Vermont lost 52 dairy farms last year. Farmers were struggling with low milk prices long before this economic downturn. But they're also affected by the economy around them. VPR's Mitch Wertlieb speaks iwth Onan Whitcomb of the North Williston Cattle Company.

US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack visited Vermont over the weekend.  He attended three meetings, addressing the concerns of dairy farmers from throughout the region.  Top on the list was the need for a change in the way milk is priced. 

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will visit Vermont this weekend to meet with dairy farmers.  

These were some of the voices in the week's news.

Vermont dairy farmers are finally going to get emergency financial assistance from Washington.