Posted: June 30, 2006 at 4:30 pm
By Chuck
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Cash block cheese closed the last Friday of June Dairy Month at $1.1725 per pound, down a quarter-cent on the week, and 37 1/2-cents below a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.1650, unchanged on the week, but 34 1/4-cents below a year ago. Twelve cars of block traded hands and none of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $1.2002, down 0.1 cent. Barrel averaged $1.2027, down 0.6 cent.
Butter closed Friday at $1.15, down a quarter-cent on the week, and 53 1/2-cents below a year ago. Four cars sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1486, down slightly.
Price support purchases this week totaled 1.7 million pounds of nonfat dry milk. That put the cumulative total at 65.3 million, compared to 31.8 million a year ago.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
Posted: June 30, 2006 at 10:43 am
By Chuck
Some new research suggests that eating low-fat dairy products could lower your blood pressure. That’s according to research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Millions of Americans are affected by high blood pressure (HBP), and it is a major risk for stroke, heart attack, kidney failure and heart failure. HBP also incurs higher health care costs.
Non-drug approaches to lowering blood pressure include exercise, weight loss and the well-known Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet, which is low in salt and rich in fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. The DASH diet is also rich in the minerals potassium, magnesium and calcium, which are found in dairy products.
However, studies on calcium have had inconsistent results, with several showing no effect on blood pressure, said Luc Djoussé, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., lead author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.
More on this story.
Posted: June 29, 2006 at 3:33 pm
By Andy Vance
Accelerated Genetics released 12 new bulls for the Progressive Action Through Cooperative Efforts (PACE) program this week. Ayrshire, Jersey, and Holstein bulls will be randomly sampled by dairy producers participating in Accelerated Genetics’ PACE program.
Ayrshire Sire:
014AY00026 Sunrise-Ridge Charlie is a uniquely bred young sire is an Eastern son, who is leading the LPI sire list in Canada. Charlie’s dam, a Griffey daughter, is scored Excellent-90 and has completed a record of 29,270 pounds of milk, 1086 pounds of fat and 911 pounds of protein. Griffy is the number one PTI active AI sire and the number one net merit active AI sire. Charlie was bred by Todd Frescura of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. (more…)
Posted: June 29, 2006 at 11:44 am
By Chuck
Vermont Governor Jim Douglas and legislative leaders have announced an $8.9 million emergency relief package for Vermont’s farmers. According to a press release from the governor’s office, Douglas made the announcement at an emergency dairy summit he convened to discuss ways to provide both immediate and long term assistance to farmers.
“Working with the legislature, whose support for this package is appreciated, I am pleased to announce that the state will provide direct assistance to farmers totaling $8.6 million over the next few months,” Governor Douglas said. “We are taking this extraordinary step because our farmers have suffered the triple threat of low milk prices, high fuel prices and extreme weather that has destroyed crops and prevented the harvesting of hay.”
Also this week, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns designated the entire State of Vermont as a primary natural disaster area, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Counties in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York were also included in the declaration, according to a USDA release.
Posted: June 28, 2006 at 8:02 pm
By Chuck
A new study by researchers from Harvard Medical School suggests that eating low-fat dairy products could help fight high blood pressure. According to an article by Health Day reporter Amanda Gardner, scientists “aren’t clear where the beneficial effect comes from, but they said low-fat dairy might be a crucial component of a healthy diet.” The lead author of the study, published in the August issue of the journal Hypertension, is Dr. Luc Djousse, associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
Posted: June 27, 2006 at 5:31 pm
By Chuck
Because an estimated one-third of Hispanics in this country are overweight and because New York is one of the most obese cities in the US, the milk industry is specifically targeting New York’s Hispanic residents to sign-up for the Great American Weight Loss Challenge. The 12-week program “provides the necessary tools to start losing weight in a healthy manner. The plan recommends drinking 24 ounces (or 3 glasses) of low-fat or fat-free milk every 24 hours, as part of a reduced calorie diet and an exercise program,” according to a release.
The Challenge stop in New York as part of a 75 city national tour, including the 8 most important Hispanic cities. So far, the tour has stopped in Miami, San Antonio, Phoenix, Houston, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and, after visiting New York, will visit Dallas, its last Hispanic city, in August. Among these 8 Hispanic cities, 7 (including New York) are among the list of the 25 most obese cities in the US: Chicago (1), Los Angeles (3), Dallas (4), Houston (5), San Antonio (12), Miami (14), and New York (25).
The Challenge is being promoted on the milk industry’s Hispanic website – www.2424leche.com.
Posted: June 26, 2006 at 6:22 am
By Chuck
Here’s a new MilkPep “Got Milk” campaign poster with Freddy Adu, soccer star.
The ad copy reads, “Kick into gear. Get noticed. On and off the field. The protein in milk helps build muscle, and some studies suggest teens who choose it tend to be leaner. Staying active, eating right, and drinking 3 glasses a day of lowfat or fat free milk helps you look great. Score one for milk.” The ad debuts in the July 4th issue of Sports Illustrated.
Posted: June 25, 2006 at 6:52 pm
By Chuck
After this highway trip I’m on I’ll be back to posing more regularly. However I thought you might be interested in this interview since it mentions the dairy business.
Jim Robbins, Illinois Corn Marketing Board Director, showed up to greet the AASHTO convoy in Tinley Park, IL. In fact, he gave our convoy group and nice description of what ethanol means to him as a farmer and to our country.
Jim is a corn grower in Illinois right below Chicago. He also commented on ethanol plants like he’s involved with are working with dairies on the use of the dried distiller grains that are a byproduct of the ethanol making process.
I interviewed Jim prior to his speech: 
Jim Robbins Interview (4 min MP3)
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Posted: June 23, 2006 at 10:42 pm
By Chuck
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Last week’s milk production report fed the bears. Block cheese closed Friday at $1.1750 per pound, down 2 cents on the week, and 33 1/4-cents below a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.1650, also down 2 cents on the week, and 29 cents below a year ago. Eight cars of block traded hands on the week and none of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $1.2016, down slightly. Barrel averaged $1.2090, down 0.1 cent.
Butter closed at $1.1525, down 2 1/4-cents on the week, and 49 3/4 cents below a year ago. 10 cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1483, down 0.6 cent.
Price support purchases for the week totaled 1.9 million pounds of nonfat dry milk. That put the cumulative total at 63.6 million, up from 31.8 million a year ago.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
Posted: June 23, 2006 at 2:03 pm
By Chuck
The Senate Agriculture Committee held its first field hearing on farm policy Friday in Albany, Georgia. One of those who testified was Tom Thompson with the Georgia Milk Producers who told the committee that “dairymen located in the Southeast are endanger of extinction. According to trendlines from the Federal Milk Marketing administrator’s office in Atlanta, without a change in the rules, the present trend lines indicate that virtually no dairies will exist in the southeast in the next ten years.” Thompson gave the committee several recommendations, including geographical reduction in the southeast order, restoring the relationship between plant utilization and production and the geographical proximity to those plants.
“Locally produced fluid milk for local consumption just makes good common sense,” he says.
Listen to Thompson’s complete testimony before the committee here. Hearing Testimony (6 min MP3)
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Posted: June 22, 2006 at 7:35 pm
By Chuck
The Environmental Protection Agency has opened a 45-day comment period on a proposed rule that would revise the current permit system for concentrated animal feeding operations, according to an agency release.
Under the proposed rule, CAFOs — such as large pig, veal and poultry, beef and dairy farms — would continue to be required to properly manage the manure they generate. Public notice and review of nutrient management plans.
Public meetings have been scheduled on the proposed rule change:
July 24 in Raleigh, North Carolina
July 25 in Ames, Iowa
August 1 in Denver, Colorado
August 2 in Dallas, Texas
August 3 in Sacramento, California
Information on proposed rule can be found here.
Posted: June 21, 2006 at 4:23 pm
By Chuck
An ethanol facility powered by renewable energy from dairy waste is planned for a large Indiana dairy farm. Bion Environmental Technologies and Fair Oaks Dairy Farms have announced a joint venture that will enable environmentally sustainable expansion of animal agriculture in concert with ethanol production.
According to the news release, Bion’s technology platform provides sufficient renewable energy from the associated animal waste stream to produce ethanol absent any outside fuel source such as natural gas or coal, while it directly addresses the growing long-term risk to distiller grains revenues as those markets become increasingly saturated by the continued expansion of U.S. ethanol production.
That’s a pretty technical way of saying they intend to use cow manure to generate the power required for ethanol production. Bion’s research indicates they can create sufficient renewable energy to support one million gallons of ethanol for every 1,000 dairy cows The joint venture will start with a research center to determine the economic and environmental sustainability of utilizing sand bedding in conjunction with Bion’s technology platform. Based upon that evaluation, Stage Two will include a Bion treatment system for Fair Oaks’ dairy herd and potentially other local dairy herds, along with an ethanol plant of a size to be determined by the number of participating dairy animals.
Fair Oaks is “the largest dairy east of the Mississippi River and an industry leader in efforts to find a solution to dairy environmental issues,” according to the release.
Posted: June 20, 2006 at 11:23 pm
By Chuck
I know posting has been a little light the last few days. That’s because I’m on a cross country convoy trip with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The purpose is to commemorate the 50 year anniversary of the interstate highway system.
I think it’s important. How much milk, cheese and ice cream gets transported on our highways?
Posting will continue to be light until the trip is over. If you’d like to check out my coverage of this trip please visit our sister site, Domestic Fuel.
Posted: June 20, 2006 at 5:11 am
By Andy Vance
Milk production totals continue to climb as they have each month this year. USDA reports that for the 23 major dairy states, total output is up 2.8% for the month of May over the same month in 2005. Production of 14.7 billion pounds is also 3.5% above the April 2006 figure.
California continues to be the largest volume producer in the country, putting 3.3 billion pounds in the tank. New Mexico also continues to be the fastest growing dairy state, with production up 16.1% over 2005 at 705 million pounds.
Cow numbers are the primary driving factor in these production pluses – 8.26 million head are now in production, up 128,000 over last year and 19,000 head over last month.
Posted: June 16, 2006 at 11:01 pm
By Chuck
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Cash block cheese closed the week of June 12 at $1.1950 per pound, down 1 1/2-cents on the week, and 30 1/2-cents below a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.1850, up a quarter-cent on the week, but 26 3/4-cents below a year ago. Three cars of block traded hands and two of barrel. NASS block cheese hit $1.2018, up 1.6 cents. Barrel averaged $1.2096, up 1.3 cents.
Butter closed Friday at $1.1750, up three-quarters of a cent on the week, but 31 1/4-cents below a year ago. 42 cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1546, down 0.2 cent.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
Posted: June 15, 2006 at 9:49 pm
By Chuck
Intrepid Technology and Resources, Inc., an Idaho-based renewable alternate energy company, has received a $50,000 grant from the Idaho Department of Water Resources to install anaerobic digestion technology to produce useable energy from dairy biogas. According to a company release, the grant will be used to purchase energy measurement equipment at the Whitesides Dairy biogas plant. The equipment will monitor the heating values of the gas, determine its energy content, contaminate levels and flow rates either onsite or offsite locations and will assist in the expansion and remote operation of the Whitesides biogas plant.
Posted: June 15, 2006 at 7:48 pm
By Chuck
Dr. Donald Sanders of Vaca Resources has a new book out called, “Stories From the Land of Milk & Honey” which is now available on line.
The book is an entertaining and poignant true-life report about his experiences and observations from the past 38 years of veterinary practice. Get your own copy. It is a great gift idea with special deals for volume purchases.
Posted: June 15, 2006 at 4:13 pm
By Chuck
This is what I call serious outsourcing. I wonder how the Arla employees feel about becoming IBM employees? These kinds of deals can make a lot of sense though as each party can focus on what they do best.
Arla Foods and IBM have signed a 7 year agreement for the development and management of all Arla Foods’ IT operations in Sweden and Denmark. Effective from July 1 and valued at DKK 2 billion, the agreement means that 130 Arla staff will transfer to IBM.
IBM will provide a flexible solution expected to bring significant cost savings enabling Arla Foods to grow and strengthen its international leadership in the dairy industry. “As we strive to continue to focus on our core business, dairy operations, we also want a strong IT partner who can play a major strategic role for our company”, says IT Director Jesper Erichsen, Arla Foods.
Arla Foods mission statement is: “Our mission is to provide modern consumers with milk-based products that create inspiration, confidence and well-being.”
Posted: June 15, 2006 at 3:59 pm
By Chuck
The Holstein Association USA is pleased to announce Olympic wrestler Rulon Gardner will give the keynote address at the National Junior Holstein Convention next week in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Gardner will appear June 24 at the awards banquet. His keynote address will focus on overcoming obstacles, including points on turning the negative into a positive, aiming high when you’re feeling low, and enlisting others.
There’s lots more going on at the convention, including the Distinguished Junior Member finals, the National Dairy Bowl Contest, Dairy Jeopardy, speech contest, National Junior Forum, and the Isle of Champions which will showcase the Junior Show Champions at State Shows from across the country.
The National Junior Holstein Convention will be held June 21-24
Posted: June 13, 2006 at 10:32 am
By Chuck
The International Federation of Agricultural Journalists has presented a special award to their regional vice president for Africa. I’m taking this from their latest newsletter and thought you might be interested since Reg Weiss, has been honoured for his contributions to agriculture and specifically the South African dairy industry during 58 years in active journalism.
Western Cape Editor of the Dairy Mail in South Africa, Weiss was honoured at the South African Dairy Championships dinner held at Stellenbosch. Cape of Good Hope Agricultural Society president Duimpie Bayly presented Weiss with an illuminated address on behalf of the Society, the first and oldest in southern Africa. This added his name to the Society’s roll of honour as part of its 175th celebrations and cited “his contribution to the dairy industry in South Africa, his enthusiasm for dairy matters, complemented with objective journalism”.
Pictured from left to right: Mr Johan Ehlers, CEO of Agri-Expo which celebrates its 175th birthday this year, Reg Weiss, and Mr Duimpie Bayly, chairman of Agri-Expo. Agri-Expo is the new name for the Western Province Agricultural Society established in 1831. It was the first to be established after the British officially took over the Cape in 1814 and might be the oldest agricultural society in the Southern Hemisphere.
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