World Dairy Diary

What’s New at Accelerated Genetics

According to the August 2006 Accelerated Genetics newsletter, SOP® is a new patented technology designed to improve the environment for dairy cattle and calves. SOP® creates a healthier environment for livestock by reducing the pathogenic bacteria and stimulating beneficial bacteria. SOP® is not a disinfectant nor is it a bacterial enzyme – but rather a revolutionary new technology. SOP® is formulated for use in bedding packs, compost barns, free stalls, slatted or scraped barns and calf housing.

Senate Bill Would Affirm Manure Not Toxic Waste

The National Milk Producers Federation is supporting a bill introduced in the Senate that would clarify laws regulating industrial waste sites. At issue is whether dairy farms and other livestock operations should be governed by the same laws that were intended to address Superfund toxic waste sites.

According to the latest NMPF newsletter, the new bill, S. 3681, amends the so-called Superfund laws passed more than 20 years ago to affirm that those laws do not, and should not, regulate animal manure as a toxic waste.

“Manure happens on farms, and there are plenty of existing federal and state laws, including the Clean Water Act, that help ensure the nation’s waterways are protected from any negative impacts from the nutrients found in animal waste,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “But Congress never intended for the CERCLA and EPRCA laws to be applied to farming, and this new legislation will help ensure that the laws remain focused on regulating and cleaning up industrial waste sites.”

Lots of Stuff in New USDA-ERS Report

A new report from USDA’s Economic Research Service outlines trends in the dairy industry in recent years and what the future might hold. Among the report’s findings:

- Per capita domestic commercial use of all dairy products (milkfat basis) has grown only 0.4 percent annually since 1995.

- Cheese has provided most of the dairy-product demand growth for many decades. Per capita cheese consumption has more than doubled since 1980 to just over 31.2 pounds in 2004, with most of the growth coming from sales of natural cheese.

- Butter demand has varied over the long run but has increased considerably since 1995.

- Current beverage milk sales are virtually the same as in the mid-1980s, a sizable drop in per capita use. Contributing factors include a smaller share of children in the population, the increase in meals eaten away from home, children’s greater control over their food consumption, and stronger and more diverse competition from other beverages.

- Since 1980, the number of milk cows on farms in the U.S. has declined by about 16.5 percent and the number of dairy farms (operations) has fallen almost 75 percent. As a result, the average operation has more than tripled
in size, from 32 to 111 cows.

- The top 10 milk-producing States in 2004 were California, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Minnesota, New Mexico, Michigan, Texas, and Washington. This reflects the western shift in milk production.

- In some southern regions, such as the Southeast, where the climate is less conducive to milk production and forage quality problems persist, producers saw and continue to see their share of total production declining.

The report also studied the impact of trade agreements and government programs on dairy trends. Overall, it’s a very comprehensive study of the industry worth reading and could be useful to lawmakers as they consider development of new farm policy.

Podcasting To Peru Dairy Farmers

You know that we recently introduced the first regular dairy podcast but did you know that podcasting is being used to bring dairy farm information to farmers in countries like Peru?

Not all farm podcasts have to be downloaded onto a digital audio player. I just found a story from earlier this year on bbc.co.uk. In Peru, telecentres (local broadcasting outlets) are subscribing to farm podcasts to obtain the information so they can broadcast it to local listening farmers. The organization behind it is Practical Action.

These telecentres, many of which are run on solar power, automatically download the programmes onto CDs to rebroadcast them on local radio stations. The charity has found it effective to distribute audio material to local people, who prefer listening in their own dialect to being sent the written word.

The podcasts are regionalized so that each area and telecentre broadcasts information pertinent to farmers in that area like, “In Chanta Alta, the podcasts concentrate on cattle-raising husbandry and on dairy production.”

Another creative way to use podcasting to bring news and information to farmers wherever they are!

Dairyline Markets In Review

Dairy Markets Week in Review

Butter closed Friday at $1.20, up 4 3/4-cents on the week, but 39 cents below a year ago. 24 cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1272, up 0.1 cent.

Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

Grafton Village Cheese Growth

Grafton Village Cheese Company of Vermont is planning an expansion project with the goal of doubling its current annual production to three million pounds of award-winning aged cheddar cheese.

The company is part of the Windham Foundation, a non-profit “that focuses on building and funding programs that support Vermonters and the Vermont way of life.”

According to a foundation release, the plan calls for the construction of a building up to 28,000 square feet that will include a cheese production facility resulting in 1.5 million pounds annually, with the potential to double expansion in future years. It also includes a retail shop, a cheese making viewing area and office space for staff. The company anticipates commencing building in late spring 2007.

World Dairy Disappointment

The Global Dairy Alliance is calling the suspension of the Doha Round negotiations “a major blow.”

According to a GDA release, President Osvaldo Cappellini of Latin America says it is especially disappointing that commitments already agreed in the Round now have to be placed on hold. For dairy exporters the elimination of export subsidies by 2013, which had been agreed, would have removed a major distortion in international dairy trade – a long awaited goal.

The Global Dairy Alliance includes the dairy industries of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, New Zealand and Uruguay.

Heat Stress in California

Western United Dairymen sent a letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger this week requesting that he take the steps needed to obtain federal financial aid for Californias dairy producers who have suffered losses from the states extraordinary heat wave.

Meanwhile, the volume of dead cows is causing stress in the affected areas. Several counties have taken emergency measures to allow farmers to bury dead animals on their property. Normally, state law requires that dead animals be taken to rendering plants for disposal. Counties with emergency declarations include Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Merced and Stanislaus. Others that may take that step include Madera, Kern and San Joaquin counties. Stanislaus County is now allowing dead cows to be brought to landfills for disposal.

See Western Dairy’s headline news for more updates on the heat-related issues in California.

California Cows Dying of Heat

Dairy cows in California have been dying by the hundreds this week after ten straight days of 100-degree temperatures. The Associated Press reports that a combination of sweltering temperatures, growth in the state’s dominant $5 billion dairy industry and fewer plants to properly dispose of the animals have forced several counties to declare a state of emergency.

San Joaquin County, which also has declared an emergency, estimated that its dairy farms were losing a total of 120 cows per day from the heat. Individual dairy farmers could lose about 2 percent of their herd this year, according to industry experts.

Checks are in the Mail

For dairy producers facing tough times in Vermont (see previous post). Governor Jim Douglas announced Tuesday that the first Target Price Program checks have been sent out and should be arriving on farms within the next few days.

The Target Price Program was created in late June to help dairy farms recoup some of the losses caused by poor weather conditions, the high price of fuel, and the very low price they are being paid for their milk. The program is paying farmers $0.99 per hundredweight for June payments.

BVD Hijacks Profits

Novartis Animal Health reminds dairy producers that persistently infected (PI) animals remain the most common source of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) infection.

“The presence of one PI animal, based on a herd size of 150 cows, results in a loss of $1.93 per hundredweight of milk,” says Julia Ridpath, PhD, National Animal Disease Center, Ames, Iowa.

That’s why Novartis suggests that dairy producers take steps to control, and even eradicate, BVD in their herds with a three pronged approach of testing and eliminating PI animals, vaccination and biosecurity.

Big County Fair Dairy Show

Each summer, the Buckeye Ag Radio Network embarks on a huge adventure – county fair season! The 2006 County Fair and Festival Tour Powered by Propane will take Lindsay Hill and I across at least 40 county fairs, as well as the 11 days of the Ohio State Fair, and several other farm field days and events. In all, we’re on the road, Monday through Friday, each day from now until September.

Earlier this week, our Lindsay Hill was in Clark County (Springfield, OH) broadcasting live from their Junior Fair area. She spoke with two Senior Fairboard Members about one of the largest dairy feeder shows in the state, which also happens to be one of the fastest growing project areas at the fair!

Listen to Lindsay Hill discuss Dairy Feeders (6:24, mp3)

Dairyline Interview

One of our regular features on World Dairy Diary is the Dairyline Dairy Markets Week in Review and while in Portland, Oregon this week for the Ag Media Summit I had the opportunity to talk with Dairyline General Manager Bill Baker to learn about this daily news and market source for the dairy industry professional.

Listen to interview with Bill Baker (5:30 mp3)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

NMPF “Disappointed” By Suspension of Doha Round

The National Milk Producers Federation has joined the chorus of voices from the U.S. agriculture industry in expressing disappointment over the collapse of World Trade Organization talks.

According to an NMPF release,
The decision by the World Trade Organization to suspend efforts aimed at achieving a breakthrough in world trade talks “is a disappointment for America’s dairy farmers, who were hoping to use the WTO as a way of leveling the playing field while increasing their opportunities for future exports,” said Tom Suber, President and U.S. Dairy Export Council. “We applaud our negotiators for seeking an ambitious conclusion of the Doha Round, which seeks to reduce the current inequities,” Suber added.

Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, praised the dedication and skill of the U.S. negotiating team. “To their credit, our government’s negotiators understood that no deal is worse than a bad deal for our dairy industry and the United States, and rather than tinker at the margins, they agreed to walk away for now.”

U.S. Trade Ambassador Susan Schwab and Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns held a joint press conference from Geneva this morning expressing their feelings about the collapse of the talks.

“A lot of disappointment that we weren’t able to wrap this up, a recognition that this is a serious failure,” said Schwab.

Johanns said Congress will now move forward with the writing of a 2007 Farm Bill, since there is no hope at this point that an agreement could be reached by the end of the year to be considered under the current Trade Promotion Authority before it expires.

“There are no negotiations planned for the future. This round has been suspended. The negotiating teams have stopped.”

Johanns and Schwab say the focus now will be to continue to aggressively pursue bi-lateral and regional trade agreements.

Attempt to Derail Livestock Permitting Program Thwarted

Ohio is well known among State Departments of Agriculture for its Livestock Environmental Permitting Program – it is one of the most well regulated state programs in the country, permitting and inspecting over 157 large livestock operations in a state with a very tight rural-urban interface. These facilities, in the case of dairy, are larger than 700 animal units, and require a permit to build facilities, and a permit to operate once constructed. For the past year, ODA has been defending the program from an appeal waged by Citizens Against Megafarm Dairy Development before the Environmental Review Appeals Commision.

I spoke with ODA’s Director of Communication Melanie Wilt about the decision in the case, and learned how the attempt at curbing the regulatory program actually galvonized it.

Listen to Melanie Wilt Discuss the ERAC Decision (7:51 mp3)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Organic Infighting Now Official

Organic and “natural” or “whole” foods comprise one of the fastest growing niches in food marketing today. Consumers are open to messaging decrying conventional commodity agriculture and touting products that are somehow more wholesome and nutritious due to their specialized production style. These interests are now attempting to eat their own, it appears. The Cornucopia Institue, which claims to be a non-profit food policy lobby, has filed formal compliant with USDA requesting investigations into Aurora Organic Dairy near Dublin, Texas. Cornucopia claims that the dairy, whose cows number somewhere between 3000 and 5000, violates numerous organic regulations “governing the management of its livestock at the factory-farm operation.”

This is not, however, the first time that Cornucopia has gone after fellow Organic supporters. Last winter, the Institute tackled Horizon Organic Dairy and one of its facilities in Idaho, alleging basically the same thing. Horizon and Aurora combined are perhaps the largest slice of the Organic milk production in the country, and as such, fairly large targets.

The question of these dairies meeting the prescribed regulations may be valid. The folks asking the questions, however, may have a vested interest here. In his blog Milk Is Milk, Alex Avery dissects who is really behind the Cornucopia Institute, and discovers that one of the founders is, at the very least, a former consultant and lobbyist for Organic Valley Dairy. Conflict of interest? It certainly appears as such. Avery’s thesis is that Cornucopia may very well be a tax-free marketing arm of Organic Valley, seeking to discredit the co-op’s largest competitors, if not to earn them some hefty fines and bad publicity.

This situation is concerning, at the very least, because of the bad press it may bring to the dairy industry in general. Great marketing always has the potential to offend someone, but dairy marketers need to walk a thin line to avoid turning consumers off to not just their competitors, but to milk in general.

FluNix-D Approved for Lactating Cows

The FDA has approved FluNix-D for use in lactating dairy cows, according to a release from AgriLabs of St. Joseph, MO. FluNix-D (flunixin meglumine) is a Non-Steroidal Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) that reduces the fever and inflammation caused by Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) and endotoxemia.

FluNix-D may be administered intravenously or intramuscularly. The compound breaks down quickly in the animal’s body and is cleared from the bloodstream via the urine. FluNix-D has a 36-hour milk withdrawal and four-day meat withdrawal in lactating dairy cows.

Dairyline Markets In Review

Dairy Markets Week in Review

Butter closed the week at $1.1525, up three quarter cents, but 43 3/4-cents below a year ago. 19 cars sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1267, down 0.2 cent.

Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

CWT Export Assistance Bids

Here’s the latest announcements from Cooperatives Working Together:

Missiles Destroy Dairy Plant in Lebanon

The violence in the middle east has had an effect on the dairy business. According to a story on Mirror.co.uk, the Libanlait milk farm and processing plant, near Hosh el Sneid, in the Bekaa Valley was destroyed by missile fire. The manager sounds like a hero though.

“We distribute milk to the whole of the region. We’ve no idea why we were targeted. But I’m not leaving. Our duty is to stay here and rebuild.”