The transaction, which was unanimously approved by Alto Dairy’s board of directors last month, was supported by 98-percent of the cooperative’s members who attended a special meeting in Fond du Lac yesterday.
“This is an historic day for the Cooperative,” said Alto Dairy CEO Rich Scheuerman. “The approval of the sale will strengthen the business by improving the long-term viability of our manufacturing facilities, providing job stability and a long-term purchaser of milk for dairy producers in Wisconsin.”
Saputo has extensive dairy experience with facilities in Canada, Argentina, Germany, United Kingdom and across the United States, which will help Alto Dairy’s manufacturing facilities grow in the future. The Canadian-based firm says the deal is part of a strategic orientation that will help them expand in the U.S. market.
Posted: February 29, 2008 at 10:45 pm
By News Editor
One lucky and deserving Jersey breeder from New York will be among those attending the 18th annual International Conference of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau. Robin Denniston-Keller, from Bryon, New York is among one of the recipients of the 2008 International Young Jersey Breeders Educational Travel Award (JETA) which sponsors five young farmers to attend the conference in May 2008.
The five JETA winners will each present a paper at the 18th International Conference of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau on their ‘Jerseys at home’, visiting herds in the Island of Jersey, making new friends in the international Jersey world.
Robin, with her husband Kip, have developed Den-Kel Jerseys milking 80 cows averaging 20,440 pounds of milk (9,271 litres) and have 20 home-bred bulls on test with A.I. organizations. Robin is President of the New York Jersey Cattle Club and Vice President of the Genesee County of the New York Farm Bureau.
Other region winners are:
Ruben Dario Galvis Goez, from the Antioquia, Colombia in the Latin American region, Henrik Dalgaard Christensen, from Denmark in the European region, Wikus van der Merwe, from the Republic of South Africa in the African region, Lyna Beehre, from Northland, New Zealand in the Oceania region.
Posted: February 29, 2008 at 10:33 pm
By News Editor
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Edward T. Schafer has announced the appointment of three incumbents and six new members to the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board. This board is composed of 15 fluid milk processors from 15 geographic regions and five at-large members. At least three at-large members must be fluid milk processors and at least one must be from the general public.
Re-appointed to serve second terms are: Brian Haugh, Dallas, Texas, Region 8 and Michael A. Krueger, Phoenix, Ariz. (At-Large Processor).
Re-appointed to serve a first term after filling a vacancy lasting less than 18 months is:
Jay B. Simon, Stockton, Calif. (Region 14).
Newly appointed are: James F. Walsh, Lynnfield, Mass. (Region 2); Michael R. Smith, Lakeland, Fla. (Region 5); and Steven M. Turner, Covington, Tenn. (Region 11).
Newly appointed to fill vacancies lasting less than 18 months are: John R. Zuroweste, Dallas, Texas (Region 12); Charles S. Mayfield, Jr., Athens, Tenn. (At-Large Processor); and Janey K. Thornton, PhD., Elizabethtown, Ky.
Terms for these appointees begin July 1, 2008, and expire June 30, 2011, except for Mssrs. Zuroweste and Mayfield, and Dr. Thornton, who are filling vacant positions with less than 18 months remaining and whose terms expire June 30, 2009. All appointees will be seated at the board meeting July 17-19, 2008.
Posted: February 29, 2008 at 1:32 pm
By Chuck Zimmerman
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Roller coaster cheese prices remain the center of attention. Trading the last week of February saw blocks hit $2.09 per pound before plunging to $1.99 on Thursday, but rebounded some Friday and closed at $2.07, down just a quarter-cent on the week but 72 1/2-cents above that week a year ago.
Barrel closed at $1.97, down a nickel on the week but 62 cents above a year ago. Sixteen cars of block traded hands on the week and nine of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $1.8823, up 12.7 cents. Barrel averaged $1.9114, up 4.7 cents.
Dairy Market News reports Oceania cheddar at $2.25-$2.45 per pound, down a few cents from two weeks ago, but the CME’s Daily Dairy Report says the price has run 30-70 cents higher than the U.S. block price for the past five months and that exporters in drought-stricken Oceania continue to acquire supplemental cheese from other sources such as the U.S. to cover needs of key customers.
Cash butter closed Friday at $1.25, up 7 1/4-cents on the week, but 6 1/2-cents below a year ago when it had jumped 10 1/2 cents. Twenty nine cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1879, down 2.9 cents. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged $1.2748, down 3.2 cents, and dry whey averaged 24.92 cents, down 1.3 cents on the week.
Downes-O’Neill dairy economist, Bill Brooks, said on DairyLine that the recent Cold Storage report shows that we have a lot of butter on hand so prices continue to move sideways and trade in a fairly narrow range. He said prices could strengthen a little but warned that the level of production that’s happening right now would likely temper that.
Posted: February 28, 2008 at 6:45 pm
By News Editor
The Burger King mascot may soon be advertising a bowl of mac and cheese to your kids. Burger King will test market Kraft macaroni and cheese at select locations.
Burger King next week will start offering single servings of macaroni and cheese in test markets, said Heather Krasnow, a company spokeswoman. “It’s something we are considering for kids,” Krasnow said, though she added that the product is not aimed solely at children.
In grocery stores, Northfield-based Kraft Foods is virtually synonymous with macaroni and cheese. But for at least six years, the company has also been selling the product to restaurants through its food service division, a small part of Kraft that doesn’t break out its revenues.
“The availability of [Kraft-branded] macaroni and cheese in restaurants is widespread in the United States,” said Basil Maglaris, a Kraft spokesman. It’s shipped in frozen packages and heated in microwaves at restaurants.
That will be the case at Burger King. Still, Kraft has “created a macaroni and cheese product specifically for Burger King,” Krasnow said.
Posted: February 28, 2008 at 6:36 pm
By News Editor
The Canadian Food Inspection Agencyconfirmed on Tuesday a case of BSE in a 6-year-old dairy cow from Alberta. The animal’s carcass is under CFIA control, and no part of it entered the human food or animal feed system. The age and location of the infected cow are consistent with previous cases in Canada, and this case will not affect Canada’s Controlled Risk country status, as recognized by the World Organization for Animal Health.
Posted: February 27, 2008 at 5:43 pm
By News Editor
Congratulations go out to Shannon Dwyer, West Bend, Wis. for being honored as the Holstein Association USA’s 2007 Overall Judi Collinsworth Outstanding Junior Exhibitor. The fourth Junior Holstein member to win this award, Dwyer will receive a $500 scholarship.
Shannon is the 21-year-old daughter of Tom and Mary Dwyer of West Bend, Wis. She was awarded the Collinsworth Award at the Midwest Spring National Show in Madison, Wis., last April. Dwyer is currently a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in Dairy Science. She has exhibited cattle at all levels and has participated in dairy bowl and public speaking competitions. She enjoys participating in dairy promotion programs and being an advocate for the industry. In the future, Dwyer would like to own an elite herd of Registered Holstein cows, a goal she has started working toward through involvement on her home farm, Hillcrest Farms, and summer internships. She plans to remain active as a volunteer with the Junior Holstein Association to help other Juniors develop important life skills.
Each year, the Judi Collinsworth Outstanding Junior Exhibitor Memorial Award is presented to a deserving Junior exhibitor at each of the National Junior Holstein Shows. It rewards youth for their hard work and involvement with their cattle and dairy activities. Each winner is selected on sportsmanship, herdsmanship and level of participation in Holstein activities.
Other winners at 2007 National Junior Holstein Shows were Dallin Buttars, Western National Spring Show; Danyel Hosto, International Junior Show; Kelly Lee, Grand National Junior Show; Jason Miley, Mid-East Spring National Show; Brian Moff, Mid-East Summer National Show; Tim Rauen, Midwest Fall National Show; and Brent Schuler, Premier National Junior Show.
Judi Collinsworth, former Holstein Association Executive Director of Member and Industry Services, passed away in 1993 of cancer. Collinsworth was dedicated to improving and expanding Holstein youth programs and was a driving force behind increasing support for those programs.
Posted: February 27, 2008 at 5:36 pm
By News Editor
Winn-Dixie Stores said it has agreed to sell its two dairy plants, located in Hammond, La., and Plant City, to Southeast Milk.
Winn-Dixie said in a release that it is choosing to focus more on its retail operation. Once this sale is complete, its only remaining manufacturing operation will be the Chek Cola plant in Fitzgerald, Ga.
During the transition, both dairy locations are to continue production. When the sale is complete, Winn-Dixie employees in these plants will shift over to Southern Milk.
Both companies expect the sale will be finalized within 90 days, the release said.
Founded in 1925, Jacksonville-based Winn-Dixie is one of the nation’s largest food retailers, with 521 grocery locations. Southeast Milk is the largest operating co-op of dairy farmers in Florida, with more than 300 family-owned and -operated dairy farms. It supplies to most of the southeastern United States.
The administrative rule under consideration prohibits companies from making false or misleading statements about milk and dairy products on their packaging. Companies that tout their products free of artificial growth hormone will have to clarify on their packaging that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not found a significant difference between milk from cows that receive the hormone — technically called recombinant bovine growth hormones, or rbGH — and cows that do not.
Under the proposed rule, the state can penalize violators up to $5,500 per occurrence. In addition, dairy permits may be suspended or revoked, and the state may recall misbranded products.
Yet Utah Commissioner of Agriculture Leonard Blackham said a labeling rule is necessary to prevent consumers from being misled about the conclusions of the FDA, which believes rbGH is not harmful to people. Blackham recalls seeing dairy products in Utah stores stating, “No Hormones!”
Posted: February 25, 2008 at 6:11 pm
By News Editor
Four Canadian dairy producers will no longer be shipping their milk into the U.S., something that they had been doing illegally, potentially disrupting trade balances.
“The milk that’s come over the border is a drop in the bucket,” said Jessica Chittenden, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. “But it’s the principle. Here are farmers producing milk outside of the U.S. They haven’t been following the rules.”
At issue is an international trade regulation govern quotas for dairy imports between the two countries.
In May 2003, the World Trade Organization ruled that Canadian dairy farmers should participate in a quota system. U.S. officials hoped that agreement would level the playing field for American producers.
Currently, New York and Canadian officials know of only four Canadian dairy producers that are sending the milk across the border. New York is the third largest dairy producing state, behind California and Wisconsin.
But this month a Canadian court issued a restraining order against the Ontario-based dairy farmers that would restrict them from exporting the milk to the United States.
Accepting Canadian milk isn’t illegal, state officials said, but could potentially upset trade balances. And while the farmers that sent their milk stateside aren’t hurting dairy sales in New York at this point, the state wants the practice to end.
State Department of Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker had complained to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab late last year that the issue hadn’t been resolved after the 2003 World Trade Organization ruling.
Posted: February 25, 2008 at 5:14 pm
By News Editor
The last several times I’ve stopped at Starbucks for a quick pick-me-up, I’ve noticed appealing new signs touting the benefits of milk in the coffee house’s lattes. Now I read that Starbucks has created a print ad featuring one of their baristas wearing a milk mustache. What do you think of it?
The ad features coffeehouse barista Young Han wearing a foam milk mustache, and is set to run in this week’s issue of Entertainment Weekly and in the New York Times Magazine on Feb. 24.
The ad promote the fact that Starbucks’ beverages—such as the Grande Latte that Han holds in this ad—deliver about half of an adult’s recommended daily allowance for calcium and vitamin D. The store manager from Mountain View, Calif., was selected from several other nominees in a companywide contest.
“Starbucks is a big seller of milk, but people don’t think of the company in that way,” said Sal Taibi, president of Lowe, which created the ad. “Now, given how health conscious people are, Starbucks saw this was a great way to get milk in the diet, and the processor saw value in getting that message out there.”
For the ad, Starbucks approached Kemp, a St. Paul, Minn., dairy processor, for collaboration on the advertising. MilkPEP, a Washington marketing group funded by milk processors, typically handles the milk mustache campaign.
Posted: February 22, 2008 at 5:47 pm
By News Editor
Dairy farmers in Kansas have worked with their legislators to propose a bill that would stop misleading labels on dairy products in that state. Kansas follows the lead of Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey who have all debated the same issue.
A proposed bill in Topeka would stop dairy companies from labeling milk from cows that are given certain hormones. The proposed legislation says it would be illegal to label any agricultural product that compares its quality with other products in a “misleading” way.
Carrol Campbell’s Cowley County dairy farm has been in his family since 1935.
“When I go to the dairy case and I see my product right next to a big splash it indicates somehow that my product is inferior, quite frankly I’m offended,” said Campbell.
Campbell’s been using RBST for years saying it supplements natural hormones in the cow leading to a gallon more of milk each day.
“Research by third parties says there’s no question that it’s safe and so I feed it to my family. You know would I if it was dangerous? I wouldn’t do that,” said Campbell.
That’s why he’s pushing for the bill, saying the labeling is simply a marketing ploy.
Posted: February 22, 2008 at 5:42 pm
By News Editor
Enterprising dairy farmers looking for a new niche are turning to dairy products made on-farm in small batches. They are finding consumers, chefs and artisan connoisseurs are very appreciative and excited about their products.
These artisanal operations are turning cow, goat or sheep milk into simple, straightforward foods like crème fraîche, butter, buttermilk, ice cream, puddings, custards, yogurt, yogurt-based sauces and yogurt drinks. Many of these dairies also sell unhomogenized, and in a few cases even unpasteurized, milk with an old-fashioned farmhouse flavor.
The movement is, in some ways, an offshoot of the American cheesemaking revival that began 15 to 20 years ago, and some of the creameries make fresh cheeses like mascarpone, mozzarella and ricotta that let the quality of the milk speak for itself.
Chalk it up to a lucky confluence of events. Most small dairy farmers cannot keep afloat selling milk to large processors at commodity prices, so those who are trying to survive are looking for alternatives. At the same time there is an increasingly sophisticated public that appreciates the difference between mass-produced dumbed-down food and the handiwork of a small dairy that has learned to produce exceptional butter or yogurt or ice cream by doing it the way it was done before World War II, when there was a creamery in every town.
The comeback is taking place across the country. States like Wisconsin, Vermont and New York are helping other small farmers get these businesses going. In 2004, Senator Herb Kohl, Democrat of Wisconsin, pushed through one of those infamous earmarks for $2.4 million for just such a project.
Posted: February 22, 2008 at 1:57 pm
By Chuck Zimmerman
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Recapping the markets, forty-pound block cheese picked up 2 1/4-cents on the shortened holiday week, closing at $2.0725 per pound, and 70 1/4-cents above a year ago. Five hundred pound barrel closed Friday at $2.02, up 3 cents on the week, and 67 cents above a year ago. Two cars of block traded hands on the week and one of barrel. The NASS-surveyed block gained 2.1 cents and averaged $1.7550. Barrel averaged $1.8644, up 2.9 cents.
Cash butter closed the week at $1.1775, down 2 1/2-cents, three and a quarter-cents below a year ago. 12 cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.2166, up 0.3 cent. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged $1.3059, down 7.3 cents, and dry whey averaged 26.23 cents, down one cent on the week.
Posted: February 22, 2008 at 8:13 am
By Chuck Zimmerman
This is your last weekly reminder and request to take a moment and fill out our World Dairy Diary Survey. There’s only about 12 easy questions so it will only take a minute and we’d really appreciate your participation.
We’re going to pick one lucky winner from all the people who participate in our survey for a brand new, personalized 4G iPod Nano.
Posted: February 20, 2008 at 9:59 pm
By News Editor
The state of Idaho has declared milk the official state beverage. The bill was passed this week, following on the heels of 2007’s $2 billion dairy industry in the state.
While the bill has drawn humor, it is intended to decrease childhood obesity, said its sponsor, Rep. Branden Durst, D-Boise. He said that soda pop consumption continues to rise while milk consumption decreases, and that the Legislature has a responsibility as role models.
“I just had a glass this morning - it was fantastic,” Durst told the committee. Committee Chairman Tom Trail, R-Moscow, who is a co-sponsor, followed: “I had a glass at lunch.”
The vote came shortly after a presentation by the United Dairymen of Idaho that concluded with the organization handing out duffle bags stuffed with dairy products, including cheese, yogurt and milk. Rep. Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls, a farmer, sipped milk during the vote.
Last month, industry officials told state lawmakers that Idaho dairies produced 10.5 billion gallons of milk. The milk production grew by 50 percent between 2000 and 2006, they said.
There are at least 18 states that have designated milk as its official state drink. Durst said that the first state to designate milk as its official beverage was New York - which, minutes earlier, Deanna Sessions of the United Dairymen of Idaho said Idaho would overcome shortly to become third in the nation in milk production.
Support for the bill came from Idaho Milk Producers, Idaho Farm Bureau and the Idaho Dairymen’s Association.
Posted: February 20, 2008 at 9:55 pm
By News Editor
Calling all young dairy women in South Dakota - could you be the next South Dakota Dairy Princess? The Midwest Dairy Association is currently seeking candidates for the 53rd State Dairy Princess pageant to be held on March 19-20 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Applications are due March 1st.
The South Dakota Dairy Princess serves as the official goodwill ambassador for the state’s dairy industry, making a variety of public appearances to help consumers understand how dairy products contribute to good health, and how dairy farmers provide wholesome products through responsible stewardship of their land and animals.
Midwest Dairy Association is funded by dairy farmers to build sales and demand for dairy products through integrated marketing, innovation, nutrition education and research. “The princess can serve as an important educator on behalf of dairy farmers,” said Char Hovland, Industry Relations Manager for Midwest Dairy Association. “She can be especially effective with younger children who want to learn about dairy products and dairy farming.”
Candidates must be 17 to 23 years old, a high school graduate, unmarried and have parents or guardians who are actively engaged in the production of milk for sale to a licensed plant. A candidate also qualifies if she or her parents or guardian are employed on a dairy farm. Candidates are judged on their communication skills, personality, general knowledge of the dairy industry and enthusiasm for dairy promotion.
The 2008 South Dakota Dairy Princess receives a $1,000 scholarship from Midwest Dairy Association. The first runner-up receives a $500 scholarship from the Central Plains Dairy Expo.
Posted: February 19, 2008 at 6:51 pm
By News Editor
Here’s news for dairy farmers trying to choose their presidential candidate - both Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton say that they will support and continue the MILC program, while Republican John McCain says taxpayers can no longer afford it.
The Wisconsin State Journal of Madison gave questionnaires to all four major White House candidates on the state’s unique issues. Only Republican Mike Huckabee did not respond.
The Milk Income Loss Contract program gives subsidies when the market price for milk falls below certain levels, but that’s not happening at the moment. Wisconsin’s family farms have benefited the most from the program, getting just more than $0.5 billion since 2001.
But McCain spokesman Brian Rogers says his man cannot encourage farmers to rely on Washington, while the rest of us work four months a year just to pay our taxes. He says it’s better for Washington to find new markets for farm products.
Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both say they’d expand payments under the milk program.
Posted: February 19, 2008 at 6:46 pm
By News Editor
A new breakfast food is set to be unveiled, Bagel-Fuls, a frozen breakfast bagel stuffed with cream cheese. Kraft Foods Inc. is banking on the new product to help revive its cheese category.
Kraft Foods Inc. which has been working to reignite growth in its cheese business, plans to launch a new line of frozen breakfast offerings called Bagel-Fuls. Kraft’s efforts come at a time when the company has been fighting commodity price increases and looking for ways to energize its brands in the face of competition from cheaper private-label products.
Kraft’s new Bagel-Fuls brand are frozen bagels, which come stuffed with Philadelphia cream cheese. Kraft sells everything from Maxwell House coffee to Oscar Mayer meats, but cheese is still a key part of its business. Last year the company’s North America cheese and food-service business had revenue of $6.4 billion.
The company has faced some challenges in its cheese business. Dairy costs have been soaring, hurting Kraft’s margins and forcing it to raise prices for its cheese products. Cheaper private label, or store brands, also have also been trying to build up the offering of cheese products. In recent quarters, marketing and new products has helped Kraft build share in categories like snacking cheeses.
Still, Kraft has had success with several new products like its LiveActive cottage cheeses. It is also betting that new frozen bagel line will help it tap the $1.4 billion market for frozen breakfasts, which is growing at about 3% annually. That line also fits in with another big part of Kraft’s strategy of trying to tap consumers’ demands for so-called quick meals - food that consumers can grab during a busy day.
Posted: February 19, 2008 at 4:27 pm
By Chuck Zimmerman
At this year’s World Ag Expo Dairyline’s Bill Baker interviewed Liz Dornick and Carol Campbell, dairy producers who were at one of the Dairy Profit Seminars. They talked about AFACT, American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology. Liz is in Wisconsin and Carol is from Kansas. They’re both frustrated with the misinformation that consumers find on labels and wanted to help do something about it.
AFACT is an organization that “seeks to educate, equip and empower all participants in the food chain to understand the benefits of technology and encourage consumers to demand access to high-quality, affordable food with a minimal impact on the environment.”
They say that producers understand the long term effect of the loss of technology, especially when it comes from a mis-informed public.
You can listen to Bill’s interview with them here:
The membership of Alto Dairy has approved the sale of its assets to Saputo Cheese USA Inc. for $160 million.
Dairy Markets Week in Review
At this year’s World Ag Expo