Okay, I’m a little behind. I did spend a lot of the last week in Indianapolis with the Team Ethanol though. So here’s last week’s announcements from Cooperatives Working Together:
Boy do I wish I could play golf next week. The Western United Dairymen will be though. Registration is underway for the 4th Annual Western United Dairymen Federal PAC Golf Tournament Fundraiser Tuesday, June 6, at the award-winning Diablo Grande Golf Course.
Last year’s event drew nearly 120 golfers to raise funds in support of the WUD’s federal political action committee. The event will begin with registration at 11:15 a.m. followed by lunch at 11:30 a.m. and a shotgun start at 12:45 p.m. Awards and prizes will be presented at the post-tournament dinner. The golf course was designed by golf legends Jack Nicklaus and Gene Sarazen and is part of the Diablo Grande Winery & Resort in the hills southwest of Patterson in Stanislaus County.
Check out the golf course here.
The Wisconsin Dairy Business Association press conference we alerted you to yesterday has now been held. Thanks to Dana Pronschinske for the follow up information. Here’s a summary of what happened.
Citing reform of federal dairy policy as a top priority, the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association, representing dairy farm families, joined with industry experts and producers to urge Chairman Gil Gutknecht (R-MN) and members of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Dairy, Nutrition and Forestry to help fix what is badly broken with regard to U.S. dairy policies. The press conference was held just prior to the dairy field hearing in Winona, Minnesota on Wednesday, May 31, 2006.
In commending the Chairman and members of the subcommittee for convening the field hearing, John Vrieze, president of the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association (pictured) noted that “the complexity and importance of federal dairy policy warrants the creation of a new Farm Bill that will encourage innovation, efficiency, profitability and market access for all producers and processors.” Vrieze continued that, “our organization comprised of dairy farm families, cooperatives, agricultural lenders and manufacturers recognize we are at a critical moment in history whereby fundamental reform is essential for the long-term health of our industry.” (more…)
It looks like construction has started on the new Iowa State University dairy farm south of Ames and officials look forward to opening the facility in 2007. The ground breaking was held this spring.
“We are beginning an important new chapter in dairy science at Iowa State and for the state of Iowa,” said Wendy Wintersteen, dean of ISU’s College of Agriculture. “The Dairy/Animal Science Education and Discovery Facility will elevate Iowa State into the top tier of institutions with educational and research facilities devoted to progress in dairy science and animal science.” (more…)
The Wisconsin Dairy Business Association will be conducting a press conference tomorrow to discuss how things are going in the dairy industry. It will be held at Winona State University.
The Wisconsin Dairy Business Association joined by dairy experts and producers will hold a press conference prior to the start of the House Agriculture Subcommittee Hearing to discuss the current state of the dairy industry and why the 2007 Farm Bill is critical for reforming federal dairy policy. Representing dairy farm families as well as processing entities, cooperatives, agricultural lenders and rural leaders, DBA will also unveil specific principles to reenergize the dairy industry and enable producers to compete in the marketplace.
WHO: John Vrieze — President, Wisconsin Dairy Business Association, Dr. Robert Cropp — Professor, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin, Director, Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, Dana Allen, PhD — Minnesota Diary Producer; Testifying on behalf of the Minnesota Milk Producers Association
I had hoped to have taken this picture myself since I was attending the Indy 500 but my credentials didn’t allow me in to get the photo. So this one is courtesy of the Indy Racing League.
Once again though milk is featured at the greatest spectacle in racing as you see Sam Hornish, Jr. tipping a bottle. After a swallow he doused himself in the cold beverage. It was a hot day on the track. I was there covering the event on our sister site, Domestic Fuel.
The milk was delivered to Victory Lane this year by Steve Phares and Merrill Kelsay who serve on the board of the Milk Promotion Services of Indiana.
Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica is offering several products of benefit to the dairy industry, including Vovikalc calcium boluses, Daque nutritional supplements for calves, Stocker insecticide ear tags, and Breed-Back FP for BVD.
Bovikalc is a unique bolus formulation of calcium that provides for both fast and extended sustained serum calcium levels. This oral mineral nutritional supplement provides a source of calcium for use in freshening cows, featuring two sources of calcium designed to ninimize irritation and waste, while reducing risk of aspiration pneumonia in and easy to administer formula.
Diaque is a nutritional supplement providing a source of energy and electrolytes for young animals. It is a unique formula containing a patented hydrophobic citrus fiber and a three-step buffering system that allows it to be fed with milk. Highly palatable and convenient, it can be fed with milk, milk replacer, or warm water. An excellent source of energy, Diaque contains a balanced electrolyte formula in an easy-to-use 3.5 oz packet or bulk pails that for easy mix and clean up.
Stocker Insecticide Cattle Ear Tags are injection molded ear tags containing 20% diazinon or 2000 mg diazinon per tag, and applied with the Allflex Universal Total Tagger Applicator.
Finally, while I was researching these new products, I discoverd Breed-Back FP for persistent BVD, and recalled our discussion late last week on the subject. There are several products available under the Breed-Back banner.
Milk powder, butter, and cheese are hot commodities for the kiwi exporter. The latest report from Statistics New Zealand indicates that the export value of these products was up $209 for the month of April, a 54.5 percent jump over 2005. In total, these three products make up $592 million exported, or 19.6% of total exports for the island nation.
These sales totals were the highest ever for an April month. The main contributor to the increase was milk powder, which was up $145 million (77.0 percent). The increase in exports of milk powder, butter and cheese was spread across many of New Zealand’s trading partners: Venezuela, the United Arab Emirates, the People’s Republic of China, the Philippines, Iran and Jordan all showed increases exceeding $10 million since April 2005.
Ohio has become Ground Zero for the Raw Milk debate. It is, to put it mildly, a passionate debate, with folks on either side clinging valiantly to their beliefs. We’ve been tracking a bill in the Ohio legislature that would change our state’s position on Raw Milk from one of prohibiting sales of Raw Milk to one where the trade of Raw Milk is perfectly legal in a given set of regulatory circumstances.
We spoke after last week’s House Ag Committee hearing on the bill with one proponent, Warren Byle of Citizens Against Milk Prohibition, as well as one supporter of the current regulatory situation, Tim Demland of Ohio Dairy Producers. The two gentleman are well spoken, and presented cogent arguments for their positions. I’ll keep you updated as to the bill’s progress – it is currently stalled in the committee, with more hearings to follow.
Listen to Tim Demland, Director of Producer Services for the Ohio Dairy Producers, defend the current regulations against selling raw milk: 
Tim Demland Interview (5:59 mp3)
Listen to Warren Byle, Director of Citizens Against Milk Prohibition, defend the nutritive values of raw milk, and the rights of producers to sell it to consumers: Warren Byle Interview (8:15 mp3)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Cash block cheese closed the fourth week of May at $1.2250 per pound, up 2 1/2 cents on the week, but 23 1/2 cents below a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.19, unchanged on the week, but 22 1/2 cents below a year ago. 5 cars of block traded hands and none of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average price for block cheese hit $1.1550, up 0.5 cent. Barrel averaged $1.1512, up 1.4 cents.
Butter closed Friday at $1.1775 per pound, unchanged on the week, but 23 1/4 cents below a year ago. 8 cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1648, down 0.6 cent.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
USDA’s Ag Research Service is working to combat major diseases in the dairy industry. One of the most challenging has been Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD). The disease has typically been battled by vaccinations, but as we learn from Julia Ridpath, a microbioligist with ARS, this strategy isn’t as effective as it could be due to persistently infected animals. Past-President of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting Joe Cornely has the details here: 
Julia Ridpath on BVD (2:59 mp3)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Amid debate over illegal immigration and spending priorities, Congress has put the brakes on further Animal Identification funding to USDA, at least until they have more information on which to resume funding.
This week the $33 million intended to fund the next steps of USDA’s national animal identification program was frozen in negotiations on the Agriculture Appropriations bill. That package of $93.6 billion was debated this week among many contentious agricultural issues. One attempt to scuttle the program entirely was easily defeated, but the House withheld funding for ID until the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service outlines its strategy in a proposed rule that would delineate the program’s parameters. That rulemaking process would include a public comment period, after which Congress will decide how to resume the program monetarily speaking.
Harvestore is striving once again to become the heart of dairy nutrition systems. To that end, the producer of those iconic blue silos has added a long-time dairy nutritionist to its staff. Greg Anderson, M.S. has been named Consulting Nutritionist, serving both Harvestore customers, and Harvestore researchers.
Anderson, a 24 year nutritionist, owns and operates his own private nutrition practice in Monroe, Wisconsin, where he serves clients across Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Anderson will assist Harvestore owners in developing forage-based dairy herd rations. He will also work with company sponsored researchers on forage quality improvement, as well as with company engineers on quality improvements to those towering blue silos.
MoovingImages.com of Madison, WI has launched its redesigned website. The site now features online ordering, hundreds of high-resolution downloadable images, and advanced search capabilitiles. Expanded photo selections are also key, with new photos being added daily. In the near future, the site will also feature images from guest consignors. For folks interested in dairy, the catalog hosts nearly 550 dairy cow shots, 179 “dairy specific” photos, and dozens of farm scene shots.
Here’s a technical story that I’m going to depend on the release writer from the Agricultural Research Service to explain in their words.
In ARS lab studies, a new two-in-one recombinant protein was developed, which kills several bacteria known to cause mastitis in dairy cows. Last year ARS reported success by a different research team in producing transgenic cows (including “GEM,” pictured) that were protected against a single major cause of mastitis, the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus.
An Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-led team has combined specific DNA segments from two different sources to produce a novel antimicrobial protein. The resulting “fusion” antimicrobial protein degrades the cell walls of several bacterial pathogens in a solution of whey extracted from cow’s milk. (more…)
The President/CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation is Jerry Kozak. He is publishing a “CEO’s Corner” on their website. Great idea and I wish more CEO’s did this kind of thing. This isn’t quite blogging but is sort of like it. Why not tell people directly what’s on your mind as the organizational leader.
In his latest post Jerry specifically mentions a couple of different topics and what NMPF is trying to accomplish. Here’s a couple of excerpts:
Recognizing that dilemma, National Milk’s Economic Policy Committee decided earlier this year to support efforts to increase the make allowance that farmer-owned co-op processors (as well as proprietary processors) are permitted under the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. . . . This is a difficult issue for NMPF, coming at a time when milk prices are already suffering. . . . We call on everybody to rally around NMPF’s position and put aside individual interests. This compromise is best for the entire industry.
I won’t be in Indianapolis until tomorrow evening. You can see my Indy 500 coverage on sister websites, AgWired and Domestic Fuel. Today though the fastest rookie was honored by the American Dairy Association of Indiana. He’s Marco Andretti and he’s winner number 32.
In accepting the honor, Marco will join his father, 1984 Fastest Rookie Michael Andretti, to form the first father-son duo in the award’s history. In fact, had the program been around in 1965, the Andretti family would be celebrating a three-generation sweep. Marco’s grandfather, the great Mario Andretti, was the fastest rookie qualifier in 1965, his freshman year at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
(more…)
The Accelerated Genetics May Proofs are updated and they are very happy with the results. You can find information on each sire on their website.
The headliners just keep coming. Accelerated Genetics had another exceptional sire run in May. The PACE program continues to deliver top graduates in all breeds. A total of eight new PACE graduates were added to the already powerful lineup. In addition, three new exciting bulls were added to the lineup from two of our alliance partners—Semenzoo in Italy and SRV in Germany. Click here for more news.
Everyone is concerned about energy these days. Heck, the high price of fuel of all kinds is enough of a reason. Vigilistics has just introduced some software to help processing facilities out. Their new software package offers real-time operations intelligence and energy-use analysis
“The cost of natural gas has doubled in the last few years,” said Robert Moore, Vigilistics CEO. “Our customers urged us to add energy management capabilities to the Vigilistics real-time operations intelligence software, which is already used by dairy processors for reducing milk losses.” Vigilistics offers five configurable modules for energy management. (more…)
Kristin Pearson Wilcox has been promoted to vice president of legislative and political affairs at the IDFA. She will be taking a lead role in the development and implementation of IDFA’s legislative and political strategy, which includes responsibility for federal government relations, grassroots activity, election outreach, and the Ice Cream, Milk and Cheese Political Action Committee.
“Kristin played a major role in the passage of legislation benefiting our members, including a Child Nutrition Act that enhanced milk’s role in schools and, most recently, the Milk Regulatory Equity Act,” said Chip Kunde, IDFA senior vice president. “These efforts showcase her talents as a legislative strategist and an unwavering advocate for our members. The granddaughter of a dairy farmer, Wilcox hails from California, the leading state in dairy foods production, and is very familiar with the challenges facing the U.S. dairy and agriculture industry. She joined IDFA in 2003 as senior director of legislative affairs.