Ladies, don’t miss your opportunity to attend the 3rd International Forum for Women in Dairying (IFWD), held September 28th and 29th, 2008, at the Madison Concourse Hotel. Early bird registration ends tomorrow, so be sure to take advantage of the reduced fee today! Registration forms, agenda and sponsors can be found on the IFWD website.
IFWD highlights a great agenda, including exciting tours, inspirational speakers, and most of all, open interaction with other women passionate about the dairy industry!
Participants can develop themselves through a series of workshops, network with others who share mutual experiences, exchange achievements and challenges, learn from international speakers, and become more inspired and motivated.
Originally started in Australia in 2000, the event is planned every four years with World Dairy Expo now serving as the official hub.
Head over to Dr. Terry Etherton’s blog to read in detail the results of a new study that finds “no meaningful differences” in the composition of milk with three different label claims.
A new scientific study by Vicini et al. published in the July issue of the prestigious Journal of the American Dietetic Association (JADA) reports the results of the first in-depth survey study comparing retail milk for quality, nutritional value and levels of different milk hormones, including bovine somatotropin (bST). The study that we published found that there were “no meaningful differences” in the composition of milk with the three different label claims.
The 2002 and 2008 Farm Bills amended the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to require retailers to notify their customers of the country of origin of covered commodities. Those commodities include:
Muscle cuts of beef, including veal.
Lamb
Chicken
Goat
Pork
Ground beef
Ground lamb
Ground chicken
Ground goat
Ground pork
Wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish
Perishable ag commodities
Macadamia nuts
Pecans
Ginseng
Peanuts
A very interesting read: a new one-of-a-kind recycling plant in the UK called The Closed Loop claims to be the first in the world to take both milk bottles and clear drinks bottles and turn them back into food-grade plastic.
Once it is up and running, the £13m facility aims to help create a continuous cycle by enabling manufacturers to use recycled plastic from the UK in their food and drink packaging.
“Essentially the consumer buys their product, say, a bottle of Coca Cola. If they do the right thing with that bottle and place it in the recycling it will have every chance of ending up at our plant and eventually being turned back into another Coke bottle,” says Closed Loop London’s managing director, Chris Dow.
But bottle to bottle recycling, as it is known, could go some way towards answering growing consumer ire about packaging.
The stringent processes used at the Dagenham plant will strip out any bacteria or toxins, says Mr Dow. He adds that Closed Loop aims to deal with 35,000 tonnes of used plastic a year.
IDairy is pleased to announce that 70% of the United States’ 59,000 commercial dairy producers are estimated to have registered their premises as part of the National Animal Identification System (NAIS). Today more than 42,000 dairy producers are estimated to have registered their premises under NAIS.
“IDairy worked closely with USDA and state officials over the past year on the common goal of promoting premises registration as part of NAIS,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “When we began our effort last year assisting USDA and individual state agencies, we estimated that 35,000 commercial dairy producers and heifer growers had registered their premises. Today, state government estimates indicate that over 42,000 commercial dairy producers and heifer growers now participate in NAIS. NAIS is an important part of our dairy industry’s national insurance policy against animal disease outbreaks.”
The next step for IDairy will involve encouraging producers to use radio frequency based Animal Identification Number (AIN) eartags, referred to as “840” AIN RF eartags, which are available now. IDairy has developed standards for RFID tags to be used in the dairy industry, including assuring that such tags are NAIS-compliant. Dairy producers have already begun using RFID tags, and they may use the 840 AIN RF tags as proof of U.S. origin when the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) law goes into effect this fall.
CWT has accepted four export assistance bids last week for the sale of butter and anhydrous milkfat. With these accepted bids, CWT’s total 2008 export obligations are: butter, 13,792 metric tons (30.3 million lbs.); cheese, 741 metric tons (1.6 million lbs.); whole milk powder, 170 metric tons (374,000 lbs.); and anhydrous milkfat, 594 metric tons (1.3 million lbs.).
Two of the bids were from United Dairymen of Arizona of Tempe, AZ, for the following butter exports: 100 metric tons (220,000 pounds) to Egypt; and 93.5 metric tons (205,700 lbs.) to Morocco.
Another bid was accepted from California Dairies Inc., of Artesia, CA, for the export of 171 metric tons (376,200 lbs.) of butter to the Canary Islands. This is the first CWT-assisted export to that country.
Finally, one bid was accepted from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, for the export of 38 metric tons (83,600 pounds) of anhydrous milkfat to Mexico.
CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidders, only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.
A pilot project conducted by the Midwest Dairy Association in the Kansas-based Goddard Public School district was a tremendous success. The students at the district chose cheese from their school cafeteria more than three times as often during the program. The effort was designed to increase cheese sales and consumption while educating students about the health benefits of cheese.
To meet the goal of improved cheese sales, counter top coolers at the schools were stocked with a variety of cheese products that could be purchased by students a la carte. Cheese was also incorporated into school menus and offered as a side item once a week.
Before the pilot, 424 cheese items from the menus were sold over a two-month period; the new offerings resulted in a sharp increase to 14,228 cheese items purchased during the two-month pilot. “This project shows that schools can offer nutrient rich foods and students will embrace them,” said Tami Larson, Midwest Dairy Association’s Kansas school nutrition program manager.
Additional results confirm the school’s success: 1,785 additional reimbursable meals were served due to the project. When students came through the line missing one component of the meal, they were offered a variety of cheeses from a Got Cheese? cooler bag. The addition made the meal reimbursable through the national school lunch program, and the large increase in reimbursable meals had a positive financial impact on the school district. Due to the excellent results, school officials have also encouraged other districts to increase the availability of cheese through similar programs. Of the cheese products provided, Colby Jack was by far the most popular, with cheddar and mozzarella taking second and third places, respectively.
Congratulations to the following The Young Jersey Breeder Award winners: Amanda Elmore Baldwin, Statesville, N.C., Ryan A. and Freynie E. Lancaster, Ferndale, Wash., Brian Nichols, Lyndonville, Vt., Christy Ratliff, Garnett, Kan., Brian S. Seacord, Greenwich, N.Y. and David and Yvonne VanBuskirk, Carleton, Mich. The award is given annually to individuals or couples who are at least 28 years old and under the age of 40 on January 1 of the year nominated, who merit recognition for their expertise in dairy farming, breeding Jersey cattle, participation in programs of the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey Inc., and leadership in Jersey and other dairy and agriculture organizations.
Amanda Elmore Baldwin has been active in the Jersey industry since childhood. She is now co-manager of Dusty Road Jersey Farm, and owns 130 of the herd’s 175 milking Jerseys. The herd has a rolling herd average of 13,720 lbs. milk, 591 lbs. fat and 489 lbs. protein.
Ryan A. and Freynie E. Lancasters’ Family Hill herd includes 68 Excellent cows and another 47 Very Good cows, with an overall average final score of 89%. It is also an outstanding herd for production. Enrolled on REAP, the herd posted a 2007 AJCA herd average of 17,578 lbs. milk, 831 lbs. fat, and 633 lbs. protein on 86 completed lactations.
Brian Nichols has known exactly what he wanted to do for as long as he could remember, and that was to be a dairy farmer. He rented his first farm in 1988 after graduating from Vermont Technical College with a degree in dairy farm management. After a few years of transitions, he established Speedwell Farms of Lyndonville, Vt., in 1998.
Christy Ratliff has been described by people close to her as “hard-working, competitive and passionate.” These traits have helped her develop Ratliff Jerseys, owned with her husband Ron, into a herd highly-regarded for production and show-winning type.
Brian Seacord got his start at the age of five when his father gave him the gift of a Registered Jersey™ calf. Since then he has been busy building his herd and now has 150 Registered Jersey milking cows. Seacord Farm posted a 2007 AJCA lactation average of 17,858 lbs. milk, 850 lbs. fat, and 655 lbs. protein. The herd includes 29 Excellent and 103 Very Good cows; and is enrolled on REAP and a member of New England Jersey Sires, Inc.
David VanBuskirk is the eighth generation to produce food on a farm which has been the family since 1835. He is intent on improving the family’s Registered Jersey™ herd and giving back to his community. David operates JVB Red Hot Jerseys in partnership with his parents, Jim and Janet. The 100-cow herd is enrolled on REAP and a member of Liberty Jersey Sires Inc.; and had a September 2007 rolling herd average of 16,122 lbs. milk, 741 lbs. fat and 609 lbs. protein on 112 lactations.
There’s been a real explosion in the media lately about social media, and the dairy industry is no exception. Many agriculture-based companies are starting to take online blogs, networking sites and video sharing seriously. This article was recently published in Progressive Dairy, and is well worth your time to read, as well as this video that is featured in the article - check it out!
In 2006, University of Georgia student Cameron Prince used the website “Facebook.com” to unite agricultural college students like himself. Using one of Facebook’s applications, Prince created a group and titled it, “And He Takes the Tractor Another Round!” He based the title on the country-western song, “Amarillo Sky” by Jason Aldean. He says, “I created the group to serve as a forum for people to discuss their passion for agriculture.”
Prince originally invited about 80 of his “Facebook friends” to join the group, and encouraged them to spread the word. Today, Prince’s group has more than 20,000 members, displays almost 5,000 photos and features as many as 80 user videos.
What is Facebook?
Lost in some of the lingo? Here’s a brief overview of the popular online phenomenon. According to the makers of the free networking website, Facebook is “a social utility that helps people communicate more efficiently with their friends, family and co-workers.” Harvard students Mark Zuckerburg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes founded Facebook in February 2004. Although originally used by college students, Facebook today invites anyone with a valid e-mail address to join. New members create an account and select a network(s), which can include a city, a school (high school or college/university), a workplace, a region or all of the above. Users connect with each other and build a list of contacts by using the application, “Add As a Friend.”
Facebook provides a number of other applications that allow users to upload and share photos and videos, to post links or notes and to participate in an online marketplace, where they are able to buy and sell items ranging from used textbooks to apartment leases. Users can also join or create a “group,” which share common interests or shared ideas. One of the more popular groups, “The Largest Facebook Group Ever,” has more than one million members. Group topics range from political views to napping and just about everything in between. Within these groups, users are able to post items and to connect with new people.
The relevance for producers
Although this website is not likely to become the homepage for some of the older generation of dairy producers, Facebook holds a multitude of opportunities for young producers already interested in the website and its many features. Producers can use Facebook to connect with other producers and promote the dairy industry. (more…)
Scotland’s biggest cheese maker, the Caledonian Cheese Company, has announced that they will begin selling their leading product, “Seriously” in the U.S. There are four varieties of the Seriously cheese, vintage, strong, mild red and mild white. They are marketed by Lactalis McLelland.
The launch, expected in the coming week, follows interest drummed up at a major food exhibition in the US. All the cheeses will be packaged so that customers will be in doubt that they come from Scotland.
Andy Smith, Lactalis McLelland’s managing director, said: “This brand is now sold in 42 countries around the world and this international expansion is set to grow in the future.
“Part of this success is down to the consistently high standard of quality produce we receive from farmers. We will continue to seek additional opportunities as well as strengthening our relationships and fostering new partnerships with farmers.”
Posted: July 25, 2008 at 2:27 pm
By Chuck Zimmerman
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Block cheese closed the week at $2.0675 per pound, up 6 3/4-cents and 22 1/4-cents above a year ago when the blocks lost 11 1/2-cents and were trading at $1.8450. The Daily Dairy Report credited strong export demand for block cheese but says exports for barrel are non-existent.
Barrel, after losing 6 1/2-cents early in the week, gained it all back and closed Friday at $1.97, unchanged on the week, 14 cents above a year ago, and almost a dime below the blocks. Seven cars of block were sold this week and 12 of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price hit $1.9218, down 2.9 cents. Barrel averaged $1.9313, down 0.3 cent.
Butter closed at $1.54, up a penny on the week, and 2 cents above a year ago. Only three cars traded hands. NASS butter averaged $1.5127, down 2.8 cents. Nonfat dry milk averaged $1.4099, up 1.3 cents. Dry whey averaged 25.83 cents, down 0.9 cent.
Every once and a while there’s a marketing campaign that makes me smile, and this is one. Creative advertising at its finest! Check out Oreo’s newest - “it’s milk’s favorite cookie”!
Congratulations to Shelby Bohnenkamp, Milnor, N.D. the newly crowned North Dakota Dairy Princess! Shelby, 18, is the daughter of Bob and Mary Bohnenkamp and plans to study law at North Dakota State College of Science.
Shelby will represent nearly 300 dairy farmers and serve as the official goodwill ambassador for North Dakota’s dairy industry for the coming year. She will also make numerous public appearances and participate in media interviews and promotional events.
As North Dakota Dairy Princess, Bohnenkamp receives a $400 scholarship from the North Dakota Milk Producers Association and a $300 scholarship from the Friends of the Dairymen.
Sarah Holle of New Salem was named first runner-up. Holle, 19, daughter of Charles and Catherine Holle, is studying social science composite education at Dickinson State University. Holle was also awarded a $200 scholarship from the North Dakota Milk Producers Association, a $200 scholarship from the Friends of the Dairymen and a $500 scholarship sponsored by Midwest Dairy Association-North Dakota Division.
Moldy silages can create a variety of concerns for producers. Pioneer nutritional sciences veterinarian, Bill Seglar, discusses the effects of moldy silages. Additionally, Seglar explains how to identify moldy silages as well as how to reduce and remove the problem. Seglar says moldy silages are the result of an energy-consuming, spore-forming microbe, known as molds, that deplete the silage of its energy value. From the start, the cattle are going to be consuming a much less energy-dense forage.
Bill Seglar on Moldy Silages (5 min MP3)
To see all archived Pioneer Forage Forum podcasts, click here.
Previous Forage Forum podcasts are also archived at the Pioneer GrowingPoint website. To access them, go to www.pioneer.com/growingpoint and click “Livestock Nutrition” and “Forage Blog.” Those not registered for Pioneer GrowingPoint website can call 800-233-7333 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT for assistance.
As experts in the agricultural industry, we know better than most how the food we eat each day made it to our plate. For those who don’t have a knowledge of agriculture, there is a new show on the Food Network called “How’d That Get On My Plate?” One recent episode featured milk being made into mint chocolate chip ice cream in Modesto, Calif., string cheese in Wisconsin and chocolate in Chicago. Click here for a schedule of repeats of this episode! The host of the show, Sunny Anderson, also has posted photos of the places she visits with informative captions - including the dairy farm she was on. Check it out!
The Jersey Association is proud to announce 11 Junior member winners from its third national Jersey youth public speaking contest, TalkJersey. The contest, offering cash awards sponsored by ABS Global Inc., De Forest, Wis., was held at Piedmont Jerseys in Lincolnton, N.C. on June 26, 2008, during the 140th Annual Meeting of the American Jersey Cattle Association. Check out all of the winners photos here!
There were entries in three of the contest’s four age divisions. Contestants could speak about any topic related to Jersey cattle or Jersey milk, including current affairs and dairy industry trends. Presentations were scored on content and organization (25 points), language and voice (10 points), presentation (5 points), and total effectiveness (5 points). Each contestant received written evaluations from each member of the judging panel. A new category, the audio-visual presentation, was introduced for this year’s TalkJersey contest. Videos or narrated PowerPoints produced and presented by the contestant on Jersey-specific topics were eligible.
Rankings in each division were as follows.
Division II (11-13 years)
1. Sydney Endres, Lodi, Wis., “Jersey Beef: It’s What’s for Dinner”
2. Andrew Theobald, Waymart, Penna., “The Jersey Cow”
3. Mitchell Endres, Lodi, Wis., “The Power of the Little Brown Cow”
4. Ben Grammer, Sebring, Ohio, “Three A Day The Jersey Way!”
5. Douglas Chapple, Jr., Clover, S.C., “Jersey Producers Involvement with Youth”
Division III (14-16 years)
1. Cassie Chittenden, Schodack Landing, N.Y., “Jersey Milk”
2. Billy Grammer, Sebring, Ohio, “The Brightest Star in the Sky”
Division IV (17-20 years)
1. Emily Waggoner, Pendleton, S.C., “The Southeastern Swing Towards Grazing Dairies: The Jersey Advantage”
2. Tyler Boyd, Parrottsville, Tenn., “Jerseys: What Brown Can Do For You”
3. Amber Ettinger, Kinards, S.C., “Milk: Squeeze Out the Goodness”
There are new officers for the Wisconsin Dairy Products Assn. (WDPA). They were elected at the 2008 Dairy Symposium held July 13-14 in Spring Green, Wis.
President, Jim Bleick, Graf Creamery; Vice President, Dennis Donohue, Manitowoc Milk Producers; Treasurer, Deborah Van Dyk, Schreiber Foods; and Secretary, John Breene, AMPI.
In addition, two members were newly elected to the Board of Directors for three-year terms. They are Pete Kondrup, Westby Cooperative Creamery and Trevor Wuethrich, Grassland Dairy Products.
Four other members were approved for three-year terms Tony Anderson, Swiss Valley Farms; Jim Anderson, Land O’ Lakes; John Breene, AMPI; and Ken Kohlwey, Cedar Crest.
Want to increase the income of your cull animals? The Dairy Beef Quality Assurance Program can help you identify opportunities for improving the value of market cows and bulls from your operations through management, monitoring and marketing. Quality defects can rob dairy producers of almost $70 per head at market, according to the 1997 National Market Cow and Bull Beef Quality Audit.
Dairy cattle represent a significant source of the United States beef supply. Twenty percent of all beef comes from dairy cattle, including cull cows and dairy steers. This equates to 1.5 billion pounds of meat every year. In the western states alone, more than 800,000 head, worth $500 million, go to slaughter every year.
One of the most common misconceptions in the dairy industry is that all market cows become hamburger. “This is a misnomer,” says Ryan Ruppert, director of quality-assurance programs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Only a small percentage goes to ground beef, while the majority goes to whole-muscle cuts that are purchased by restaurants and casinos across the country. Whole-muscle cuts include rib eyes, New York strips, and tenderloins. In addition, 90 to 95 percent of the jerky marketed in the United States comes from cow rounds.
Beef from dairy cattle plays an important role in the food chain. Approximately one out of three cows currently in your milking string could be on a consumer’s plate in the next 12 months. Most dairy producers underestimate the value that this secondary profit center could bring them. And, that 4 percent income from market cows can be raised to 15 percent with proper care and marketing.
The safety and quality of beef produced is critical not only to the consumption of beef, but also milk.
A substantial economic incentive exists for dairy producers to care about beef quality. A premium of $5 to $10 per hundredweight can be realized if dairy cattle qualify for the “white-cow market.” Some beef packers offer incentives for cows that fit this market. The name “white cow” is derived from the practice of transitioning an animal’s fat color from yellow to white to produce a higher-quality carcass.
Schreiber Foods says it plans to close its processed cheese plant in Wisconsin Rapids, Wis. at the end of September and shift production to Missouri. Schreiber Foods is a $3 billion global enterprise and the world’s largest customer-brand dairy company. They provide products to the biggest names in fast food and are the world’s largest supplier of private-label dairy products to grocery chains and wholesalers.
Deborah Van Dyk is vice president of industry and regulator affairs with the Green Bay-based Schreiber. She says a small amount of production could continue beyond Sept. 30, depending on how the transition works out.
Van Dyk also says the decision was made to transfer production to Schreiber’s Fairview facility in Carthage, Mo., because it is closer to the southeastern United States. The products made at Wisconsin Rapids tend to be shipped to customers in that region, she said.
The plant has 140 production, quality assurance, laboratory and office workers.
Cooperatives Working Together has accepted seventeen export assistance bids last week for the sale of cheese and butter.
One bid was accepted from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, for the export of 108 metric tons (237,600 pounds) of Monterrey Jack cheese to Japan.
All sixteen other bids accepted were for butter. Seven separate bids were accepted from Darigold of Seattle, WA, for the following exports: 5000 metric tons (11 million lbs.) to Russia; 2600 metric tons (5.72 million lbs.) to Japan; 1450 metric tons (3.19 million lbs.) to Japan; 500 metric tons (1.1 million lbs.) to Mexico; 350 metric tons (770,000 lbs.) to Singapore; 40 metric tons (88,000 lbs.) to Mexico; and 25 metric tons (55,000 lbs.) to Egypt.
The other nine bids were from United Dairymen of Arizona of Tempe, AZ, for the following butter exports: 93.5 metric tons (205,700 lbs.) to Morocco; a second bid for 93.5 metric tons (205,700 lbs.) to Morocco; 93.5 metric tons (205,700 lbs.) to Egypt; a second bid for 93.5 metric tons to Egypt; 70.125 metric tons (154,275 lbs.) to Morocco; 70.125 metric tons (154,275 lbs.) to Egypt; 46.75 metric tons (102,850 lbs.) to Morocco; 46.75 metric tons (102,850 lbs.) to Egypt; and a final bid for 40.25 metric tons (88,550 lbs.) to Egypt.
CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidders, only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation. With these accepted bids, CWT’s total 2008 export obligations are: butter, 13,427 metric tons (29.5 million lbs.); cheese, 741 metric tons (1.6 million lbs.); whole milk powder, 170 metric tons (374,000 lbs.); and anhydrous milkfat, 556 metric tons (1.2 million lbs.).
Ladies, don’t miss your opportunity to attend the 3rd International Forum for Women in Dairying (IFWD), held September 28th and 29th, 2008, at the Madison Concourse Hotel. Early bird registration ends tomorrow, so be sure to take advantage of the reduced fee today! Registration forms, agenda and sponsors can be found on the IFWD website.
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Moldy silages can create a variety of concerns for producers. Pioneer nutritional sciences veterinarian, Bill Seglar, discusses the effects of moldy silages. Additionally, Seglar explains how to identify moldy silages as well as how to reduce and remove the problem. Seglar says moldy silages are the result of an energy-consuming, spore-forming microbe, known as molds, that deplete the silage of its energy value. From the start, the cattle are going to be consuming a much less energy-dense forage.
