NATION IN BRIEF : WISCONSIN : Governor Vetoes Milk Hormone Ban

The governor of the nation’s largest dairy state vetoed a bill that would have renewed a ban on a synthetic hormone that makes cows produce more milk. Gov. Tommy G. Thompson called the bill premature. “A state-imposed moratorium would not protect the economic interest of Wisconsin’s dairy industry, but rather would tie the hands of Wisconsin farmers who must compete in national markets,” he said. State Sen. Russell Feingold, the bill’s author, had argued that using the hormone, known as bovine somatotropin, or BST, would increase milk production in a market with already-depressed prices, further hurting dairy farmers.