World Dairy Diary

Meatrix II Animated Film Blasts Corporate Dairies

Hopefully you’ve got a sense of humor. I just had a notice about this emailed to me. It’s a Matrix film spoof to blast corporate farming called The Meatrix. I never heard of it before but this is Meatrix II. The group doing this claims the first one’s been downloaded over 10 million times and they’ve won awards for it. They are short animated movies.

I only watched the second one and thought it was hilariously funny. I’m afraid it’s done by some very ignorant people who could sure put their creative talents to use on a much more worthwile issue. However, feel free to watch and laugh although if you haven’t seen The Matrix you may not appreciate the humor.

They even have a blog about it which you can find here. The whole thing is a project of the Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE).

Of course you can find out the truth about corporate dairy farming by visiting this website.

Wrapup From The Dairy Calf & Heifer Conference

Here’s the last day’s summary from the National Dairy Calf & Heifer Conference that ended last Friday. Thanks again to Elizabeth LeBrun for sending these in with pictures. The one on top here is of Randall Grimmius receiving a thank you certificate for hosting a tour.

The 10th National Dairy Calf & Heifer Conference wrapped up in Visalia, Calif. with a looping tour of San Joaquin Valley farms. The first stop was Three Sisters Farmstead Cheese and Hilarides Dairy, where the family-owned operation creates homemade cheese. (more…)

The Young Producers List

The Young Producers Leadership Conference, sponsored by Accelerated Genetics, gave attendees plenty of educational opportunities and time to work together.

The producers that attended this year’s conference included:
Troy & Leigh Allen, Reedsburg, WI
Diane Bovee, Oakfield, WI
Tim Bowers, Marion, WI
Tod & Sondra Brancel, Endeavor, WI
Gary Depies & Julie Bores, Adell, WI
Todd & Jessica Ertl, Unity, WI
Mike Kelley, Fennimore, WI
Steve & Amanda Killian, Blair, WI
Brian Koch, Waunakee, WI
Ken & Theresa Kohlmeyer, Reedsburg, WI
Steve & Patty Kvigne, Ferryville, WI
Ed & Katie Lawver, Hillpoint, WI
Erika Lepeska, Monfort, WI
Tim Maier, Jim Falls, WI
Thomas & Emily Martin, Shullsburg, WI
Chad & Lisa Pethke, Suring, WI
Benjamin Raasch, Goodhue, MN
Katie Reichling, Darlington, WI
Matt Scott & Juliann Balistreri, Blanchardville, WI
Steve & Kristi Thomas, Greenwood, WI
Jerry & Jennifer Volenec, Highland, WI
Phillip Waldera, Whitehall, WI
Donald R. Jr. & Renee Wendlandt, Randolph, WI
Matt & Janine Wipperfurth, Dane, WI

Accelerated Genetics’ Young Producer Program is open to any producer, individuals or couples, who are interested in expanding their horizons, meeting other producers, and having fun doing it. Anyone interested in becoming involved is encouraged to attend any or all of the Young Producer activities throughout the year! Upcoming Young Producer events include a Summer Meltdown to be held June 24th in Fond du Lac, WI and a Fall Conference slated for November in Stevens Point, WI. For more information on any of these programs contact Kari Stanek – 1.800.451.9275 or kstanek@accelgen.com.

YPLC Attendees Piece It All Together

‘Piecing It Together—Excellence In Leadership’ was the theme for the 2006 Young Producer Leadership Conference sponsored by Accelerated Genetics. The picture shows that they worked on the piecing it together part.

Roger Ripley, Accelerated Genetics President & CEO, comments about the program, “Accelerated Genetics’ Young Producer Program is the foundation of our cooperative’s future. Our priority is to develop future leadership by listening to the needs of the next generation, enlisting input and encouraging involvement. Our hope is that life-long friendships will be created that will help participants be more successful in their own farm operations as well as in their contributions to the agricultural sector.”

In addition to Ripley, Dan Weisenbeck, Chair of Accelerated Genetics Board of Directors; Janet Keller, Vice President of Advertising, Communication and Public Relations and Kari Stanek, Communications & Public Relations Coordinator were on hand for the producers throughout the entire weekend.

Tom Jadin Closed Accelerated Genetics YPLC

Tom Jadin was another speaker at the Accelerated Genetics Young Producer Leadership Conference. It sounds like he got to go last.

Jadin ended the conference by motivating the group, sharing some more life-lesson stories and of course using humor. He answered the question “Why do some people and some farm operations look enthused, dedicated, and vigorous as they take on new changes, challenges, and choices while others look frazzled and worn out?”

Young Producers Hear From Don Wick

Another speaker at the Accelerated Genetics Young Producer Leadership Conference was farm broadcaster, Don Wick.

Wick challenged the producers to tell agriculture’s amazing story. As a journalist himself, he offered practical hands-on advice in communicating agriculture’s message. Producers learned tips about how to communicate with their neighbors, community and the media.

Accelerated Genetics Young Producer Conference Roundup

Our sponsor, Accelerated Genetics, just held their Young Producer Leadership Conference and we’ve got pictures and information for you. I’m going to put it into several posts. The Conference was held March 25-26 at the Voyageur Inn Conference Center in Reedsburg, WI.

The Leadership Conference’s program was specifically tailored for persons who wanted to improve their leadership skills, participate in educational activities, network with other producers and have fun doing it. Speakers Jolene Brown, Don Wick and Tom Jadin were featured at the Leadership Conference, along with other educational and fun sessions designed to help producers manage and lead their family, farm and cooperative in the future.

Brown (pictured) shared with the group the benefits of a positive sense of humor and how they extend to better health, understanding rural issues, and positive farm family relationships. In addition, she offered information and tools to improve communication, foster farm-family and inter-generational relationships, and increase the farm business’ bottom line.

Thursday Update From Dairy Calf & Heifer Conference

I’m sorry to say but my email program didn’t receive the updates from Elizabeth LeBrun from the National Dairy Calf and Heifer Conference. But I finally did and without further ado here they are. This one is her wrapup of Thursday:

The third full day of the National Dairy Calf and Heifer Conference in Visalia, Calif. began with regional caucuses, followed by a variety of industry-related seminars for Professional Diary Heifer Growers Association members, non-members, students and associates alike. Seminars on this day touched upon a variety of subject matter from feeding to reproduction, and offered attendees the following topics and breakout sessions:

• Intensive Feeding, Calf Growth and Mammary Development (Dr. Mike Amburgh, Cornell University)
• Nutrition and Management of the Transition Calf (Dr. Jon Robison, California State University – Fresno)
• Nutrition and Management Systems for Reducing Variance in Heifer Performance (Pat Hoffman, University of Wisconsin- Marshfield)
• Heifer Reproductive Management (Dr. Jose Santos, University of California-Davis)
• Animal Health Protocols (Dr. Jim Reynolds, University of California-Davis)
• Mycoplasma Control (Dr. Ricardo Rosenbusch, Iowa State University)
• Observations on Large Calf Operations (Dr. Jon Robison)
• Colostrum Management and Pasteurization (Dr. Sandra Godden, University of Minnesota)
• Colostrum Substitutes and Gut Modifiers (Dr. Jim Quigley, Diamond V-Mills)
• On-Farm Pasteurizer Management for Waste Milk Quality Control (Dr. Bob James, Virginia Tech) (more…)

More Sires For Select Sires

You can order your Select Sires, February 2006 directory online now by visiting their website. You can view the lineup here. They just sent out announcements on 18 new sires entered into their various programs. It’s way too much information for us to post here so I would look around their website to see what’s new.

World Champion Cheese is an Emmentaler

The World Championship Cheese Contest is over and the winners are announced. The contest is hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association. The picture is the sunrise over Lake Monona in Madison, WI behind a nice table display. Here’s the top places:

World Champion
Emmentaler Switzerland Premier Cru
Made by Christian Wuthrich
Kaserei Ruderswil for von Muhlenen
Dudingen, FR, Switzerland
Champion Round Score: 98.271

First Runner-Up
Parrano Gouda
Made by Rene Rovers
Uniekaas Nederland
Kaatsheuvel, The Netherlands
Champion Round Score: 98.05

Second Runner-Up
Young Gouda Spiced with Cumin
Made by H. Rijkee
Friesland Foods Cheese
Bedum, The Netherlands
Champion Round Score: 97.973

You can find all the contest results here.

Butter Bound For Turkey

The latest export announcement for Cooperatives Working Together.

Cooperatives Working Together announced Friday that it has accepted a bid from California Dairies Inc. of Artesia, CA, to export 225 metric tons (495,000 pounds) of butter to Turkey. CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidder, once completion of the butter shipment is verified.

This is the second butter shipment to Turkey facilitated by CWT in the past ten days. It increases CWT’s total butter exports in 2006 to 1,122 metric tons (2.47 million pounds). CWT has also facilitated a total of 1,035 metric tons (2.28 million pounds) of cheese so far this year. Previous shipments facilitated by CWT’s export assistance program have gone to Algeria, Barbados, Denmark, Egypt, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Panama, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, Trinidad, Tunisia and Turkey.

News From The DFA Annual Meeting

I drove through Kansas City a day late to be able to stop by the DFA annual meeting. However, they now have some great coverage of the event on their website.

You can listen to interviews with people like Tom Camerlo, Randy Mooney or John Wilson.

Cheese To Tunisia

The latest from Cooperatives Working Together:

Cooperatives Working Together announced Tuesday that it has accepted a bid from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, to export 19.2 metric tons (42,240 pounds) of Cheddar cheese to Tunisia. CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidder, once completion of the cheese shipment is verified.

This accepted bid increases CWT’s total cheese exports in 2006 to 1,027 metric tons (2.26 million pounds) of cheese. CWT has also facilitated 859 metric tons (1.9 million pounds) of butter so far this year. Previous shipments facilitated by CWT’s export assistance program have gone to Algeria, Barbados, Denmark, Egypt, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Panama, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Taiwan, Trinidad, Tunisia and Turkey

Posilac Supply To Increase

According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch story, Monsanto “is beginning in-house production of Posilac, which should ease a two-year-old shortage of the hormone used to boost milk production in cows.”

The story goes on to say that although “Monsanto does not release Posilac market data . . . it sells more than 33 million doses a year.” The hormone product will be made at the company’s Augusta, GA facility.

Dairy Exports Reach A Record

The U. S. Dairy Export Council had some very positive news to report about exports. Talk about an increase this last 2 years. I wish my investment accounts had done as well.

U.S. dairy export values increased 56 percent in the last two years, reaching a record-high $1.66 billion in 2005. For the second straight year, U.S. suppliers showed they can compete internationally at historically strong prices, according to data analyzed by the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) Exporters responded to robust worldwide demand for dairy protein in 2005, the Export Council says. Economic growth in Asia – China in particular – Russia, Mexico and the Middle East created opportunities for increased sales of milk components. The United States took advantage, reigning as the world’s leading supplier of skim milk powder (SMP), whey and lactose last year. (Full Release - pdf file)

The Latest From The National Dairy Calf and Heifer Conference

I want to thank Elizabeth LeBrun for sending us information about the Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association’s Tenth National Dairy Calf and Heifer Conference. I think she may have a little bit of the blogger in her!

The Tenth National Dairy Calf and Heifer Conference finished its second full day today in Visalia, Calif. with dairy professionals from around the country participating to learn new industries techniques while networking with their fellow industry workers.
Wednesday consisted of speaking engagement including six main sessions and six breakouts covering a variety of industry topics including:
• Marketing the Dairy Industry in the 21st Century (Richard Cotta, California Dairies, Inc.)
• Can You Manage Your Employees Like Other Industries Do? (Dr. Tom Fuhrmann, DairyWorks)
• Practical Management Tips for You and Your Employees (Dr. Tom Fuhrmann, DairyWorks)
• Current Status of Immigration Reform (Luawanna Hallstrom, Harry Singh & Sons)
• Do It Right With a Heifer Raising Contract (Fred Silva, J.D. Damrell, Nelson, Schrimp, Pallios and Silva)
• Managing Protocols for Success (Jorge Estrada, M.S., Leadership Coaching International)
• How to be Media Savvy (Charlie Powell, Washington State University)
• Value of an Advanced Gender Selection System for Accelerated Herd Improvement (Tom Bailey, DVM, Monsanto Dairy Business) (more…)

Cornucopia Institute Releases Study on Organic Milk

I was not familiar with the Cornucopia Institute until today when they announced a new study titled, “Maintaining the Integrity of Organic Milk.” I visited their website and was quite happy to see that they’re blogging. They even use the same software as World Dairy Diary. So here’s what their new study is all about:

A smoldering five-year debate in the organic community had gasoline thrown on it when one of the country’s preeminent organic watchdogs released a report this week alleging a handful of leading marketers are shortchanging organic consumers.

“Consumers who pay premium prices for organic products do so believing that they are produced with a different kind of environmental ethic, a different kind of animal husbandry ethic, and social justice for family farmers,” said Mark Kastel, Senior Farm Policy Analyst for the Institute and the report’s primary author. “Our report, Maintaining the Integrity of Organic Milk, and the accompanying dairy brands scorecard will empower consumers and wholesale buyers who want to invest their food dollars to protect hard-working family farmers who are in danger of being washed off the land by a tidal wave of organic milk from these factory mega-farms.”

You can find the report here.

DFA Holding Annual Meeting

Although I don’t see any information about it on their website DFA is holding their annual meeting this week in Kansas City. I did find this article in the Kansas City Business Journal though that says that 2005 was a good year, “Revenue was about 5 percent better than in 2004, when the milk marketer took in $8.5 billion.”

Get Your Omega 3-s

We’ve heard a lot about Omega 3-s and now there’s a milk line from Omega Farms with the healthy stuff. The information gets pretty complicated but you’ll get the point.

Omega Farms has launched the first full line of dairy products with all-natural Omega-3’s, the fatty acids vital to good health and well-being. Now consumers can easily and conveniently obtain two of the most beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids–EPA and DHA–while receiving the nutritional and heart health benefits of high-quality dairy products, including calcium, protein and essential vitamins and minerals.

Omega Farms’ all natural, delicious and nutritious line of products includes Milk with EPA and DHA Omega-3’s, Cheese with EPA and DHA Omega-3’s, Yogurt with EPA and DHA Omega-3’s and Orange Juice with EPA and DHA Omega-3’s.

Patz Launches Truck Mounted Twin Screw Mixer

Patz has unveiled the Model 2400 Truck Mounted Twin Screw Vertical Mixer, the first of its kind fully assembled at Patz. The Model 2400 (950 c. ft.) Truck Mounted Vertical Twin Screw Mixer has a variable speed hydraulic motor that automatically slows the mixing screws down as the load is added to the mixer, helping maintain optimal engine horsepower. It has a mixing capacity of 23,750 pounds.

Company president, Darrell Patz, says this has been the company’s third product launch and the fifth new product produced by the company in the past 17 months.

To learn more about the mixer you can contact Patz Sales, Inc. at (920) 897-2251