Posted: July 18, 2008 at 5:34 pm
By Chuck
The first ever winners of the BQA Award were announced today and one of them is a dairy producer.
Quality. It’s not only a word written in an instruction manual but a responsible action – one must live it and then teach it. That was the underlying theme this week as two producers were honored with the national Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) award, created to recognize outstanding beef and dairy producers from across the country who incorporate BQA principles as part of the day-to-day activities on their operations. The winners were selected based upon their commitment to beef quality assurance while operating sustainable cattle operations.
This year’s winners were Jim Docheff, Diamond D Dairy from Longmont, Colo., and Anne Burkholder, Will Feed Inc. from Cozad, Neb.
A common trait among the two winners is a strong desire to continually improve BQA on their operations while successfully encouraging others around them to implement BQA. The National BQA award winners are selected annually by a committee of representatives from universities, state beef councils and cattle industry groups. For more information about the beef checkoff or BQA program, visit www.bqa.org, www.dbqa.org or www.beefboard.org.
Listen to my interview with Jim and Anne here: cisc-08-bqa.mp3
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Posted: July 18, 2008 at 4:48 pm
By News Editor
The got milk? folks unveiled a new print ad in this week’s Sports Illustrated that features ten American athletes that will compete in the upcoming Beijing Summer Olympics.
The print ad is all about paying tribute to 10 of America’s Olympic hopefuls. And milk, too, of course. As part of its homage to the Games, “Got Milk?” also will unveil an Olympic component on their website.
Olympians pictured in the two-page ad range from swimmers Maritza Correia and Ryan Lochte to gymnasts Paul and Morgan Hamm to soccer players Sasha Kljestan and Leslie Osborne. Also among those who made the “Got Milk?” Olympic cut is Cat Osterman, the assistant softball coach at DePaul University who is part of the U.S. Olympic softball team.
“Looking for gold? Don’t forget the white.”
Posted: July 18, 2008 at 4:35 pm
By News Editor
As a follow-up to Chuck’s coverage of the Joint Beef & Dairy Information Symposium here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference, dairy producers should be aware that the Cattlemen’s Beef Board has launched a new website, designed to be the one place to go to find out how national beef checkoff dollars are invested and the results of those investments. Don’t forget that as a dairy producer, you are also a beef producer!
“The site is interactive, well organized and very user-friendly,” says CBB member Richard Nielson, cow-calf producer from Ephraim, Utah, and chair of the producer communications committee. “Most important is that the design is very versatile allowing us to deliver a number of different services to different users. For example, with the launch of the new site, we’re also offering ‘sign-and-go’ newsletters in beef and dairy editions to help producers stay up to date on their checkoff.”
Launched on July 15, the new site gives beef and dairy producers across the country new access to information about their checkoff investment. Some highlights of the new site include:
* Easy access to CBB members and staff
* Expanded state beef council information and access
* Monthly e-newsletter sign-up
* Producer profiles from across the country
* Links to all checkoff-funded consumer and industry sites
“It is our hope that the site brings producers together, whether they are a dairy producer in New York or a beef producer in Washington, with the knowledge they need to educate their neighbor about the checkoff over a cup of coffee,” says Nielson. “That’s the unique thing about the new site – it reinforces the idea that producers can’t be everywhere, but their checkoff can.”
Posted: July 18, 2008 at 4:06 pm
By News Editor
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has announced tentative plans to accepted 209 bids in its herd retirement program, representing 25,474 cows and 440 million pounds of milk.
This latest round of CWT’s milk reduction program should help strengthen farm-level prices for milk at a time when dairy producers are suffering from rising feed and fuel costs, according to CWT officials.
Farmers in 41 states submitted a total of 609 herd retirement bids last month to CWT, reflecting “the continued financial stress that farmers in all parts of the country are facing as the cost of production has soared during the past two years,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF, which administers CWT. Kozak noted that the cost of dairy feed has risen 37% between the spring of 2006 and the spring of 2008, while the cost of diesel fuel has risen 61% during the same timeframe.
The total number of bids initially accepted by this round includes:
Northeast: 56 million pounds of milk; 30 farms accepted; 2,855 number of cows; 17 bred heifers
Southeast: 68 million pounds of milk; 38 farms accepted; 4,228 number of cows; 172 bred heifers
Midwest: 70 million pounds of milk; 76 farms accepted; 4,124 number of cows; 32 bred heifers
Southwest: 84 million pounds of milk; 36 farms accepted; 5,189 number of cows; 36 bred heifers
West: 162 million pounds of milk; 29 farms accepted; 9,078 number of cows; 101 bred heifers
Posted: July 18, 2008 at 1:43 pm
By Chuck
Dairy Markets Week in Review
The cash cheese market strengthened this week as it awaited Friday afternoon’s June Milk Production report. Forty pound block closed at $2.00 per pound, up 6 3/4-cents on the week and 15 1/2-cents above a year ago, when the blocks tumbled 11 1/2-cents, to $1.8450.
500-pound barrel closed Friday at $1.97, up a nickel on the week and 13 cents above a year ago, when the barrels lost a dime. No block traded hands this week but three cars of barrel were sold. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price fell to $1.9512, down 4.3 cents. Barrel averaged $1.9346, down a nickel.
Butter fell to $1.53, down 2 cents on the week, but a penny above a year ago. Four cars were sold on the week. NASS butter averaged $1.5406, up 3.2 cents. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged $1.3957, down slightly, and dry whey averaged 26.67 cents, down 0.6 cent.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
Posted: July 18, 2008 at 1:41 pm
By Chuck
Inspirational speaker and writer, Rebecca Long Chaney, is working on a series of agricultural education books for pre-schoolers and elementary school children. Here she’s seen with her exhibit at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference.
The book she’s promoting will be available through her website soon. This first book, which she had for sale, is written from the perspective of her twin daughters, raising their first orphan beef calf they found in a field. The book follows along from the field to when they get the calf halter trained.
Rebecca says the next book will focus on dairy, with her daughters spending a day on a neighbor’s dairy and working in a local creamery. She’s very passionate about teaching the truth about animal agriculture to children and says that this project is one she’ll be working on for years.
Rebecca was born and raised on a dairy farm and now raises registered Hereford beef cattle.
Listen to my interview with Rebecca here: cisc-08-chaney.mp3
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Posted: July 18, 2008 at 1:40 pm
By Chuck
CBB’s Chief Executive Officer is Tom Ramey. This morning he made a presentation at the second general session of the Cattle Industry Summer Conference. You can listen to his presentation below.
I also interviewed Tom and found out that there are two main issues of special importance to the Beef Checkoff here at this conference. The first one, according to Tom, is the budget. The recommended budget was presented at the CBB Update Session and committees will be looking at the parts that affect them during their meetings. Tom says that Checkoff dollars are down and that it’s a tough time right now. He says some difficult decisions will need to be made.
The other big issue is the process to create recommendations for ways to improve the Checkoff. Tom says the staff has sent out over 300 letters soliciting comments and that they’ll be organizing meetings with a number of the organizations targeted. Once those comments come in the staff will organize them and scrub them so that the Admin Subcommittee, which is charged with overseeing this process, can look at them on the merit of the comment without being affected by seeing who wrote them. Then the staff will be helping organize meetings with the committee to review the comments and formulate recommendations prior to the end of the year.
Tom says producers here seem excited about what the Checkoff is doing but are concerned about the budget. He says these are difficult times for the beef industry.
Listen to my interview with Tom here: cisc-08-ramey-1.mp3
Listen to Tom’s general session presentation here: cisc-08-ramey-general-session-2.mp3
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Posted: July 16, 2008 at 10:15 pm
By Chuck
One of the main dairy groups represented at today’s Joint Beef & Dairy Information Symposium here at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference was Dairy Management Inc. David Pelzer is Senior VP, Industry Image & Relations. DMI is a non-profit organization that manages the Dairy Checkoff.
I spoke to him today about dairy and beef producers getting together and discussing common issues. He says that on the dairy side of things it’s important for the industry to become more consumer driven instead of just production driven. As he puts it, “Give consumers what they want, when they want it and how they want it.”
He says that on-farm practices or the consumer’s perception of on-farm practices can affect buying habits. For this reason he says that all DMI related organizations are becoming increasingly focused on consumer perceptions. He wants to show consumers that it’s standard operating procedure for beef and dairy producers to care about their animals and the environment.
David thinks this Symposium is a great opportunity to get together.
You can listen to my interview with David here: cisc-08-pelzer.mp3
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Posted: July 16, 2008 at 10:11 pm
By Chuck
Earlier this week the National Dairy Board met and like last year, that meeting ended just in time for attendees to meet with beef producers at the Cattle Industry Summer Conference, Joint Beef & Dairy Information Symposium. One of those people is Rob Byrne, Sr. VP Scientific & Regulatory Affairs, National Milk Producers Federation.
I spoke with Rob during today’s session. He was on the second part of the program that focused on animal care and welfare. Rob thinks that this joint meeting idea is fantastic. It’s an opportunity to discuss issues of common interest. Animal care just happens to be a primary one right now.
Rob says the dairy industry has actually worked on this issue for many years. Recently released videos have sensationalized what is a very uncommon practice though and that has brought this issue to the forefront. He says that the increased consumer interest probably won’t result in any significant changes since producers in general do take good care of their animals but the situation he says, has placed a renewed focus on it. Rob says that this is currently a primary focus for NMPF. To that end, he says they’re forming a national animal welfare and care program for the dairy industry.
You can listen to my interview with Rob here: cisc-08-byrne.mp3
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Posted: July 16, 2008 at 10:09 pm
By Chuck
It’s Cattle Industry Summer Conference time once again. I’m helping out the Cattlemen’s Beef Board with their Beef Board Meeting.com as I have for several years now.
The current Vice Chairman of the CBB is Lucinda Williams. Lucinda is married to a 12th-generation dairy producer and farmer in Hatfield, Mass., on her 220-acre family owned farm, which dates back to 1661.
Lucinda not only got things moving in the Executive Committee meeting this morning but welcomed everyone to the second annual Joint Beef & Dairy Information Symposium. That session split it’s focus between nutrient-rich foods and animal care and welfare.
Lucinda says it’s hugely important to work together like this. She thinks it’s very important for producers to take time out of their busy schedules to come together and work jointly on issues common to each area. She acknowledges that animal care has become a big issue.
Because of Beef Checkoff efforts though she says that they’ve been able to counteract some of the sensationalism and keep consumer confidence in both beef and dairy products. She also likes to remind dairy producers that they are also beef producers.
You can listen to my interview with Lucinda here: cisc-08-williams.mp3
You can find a lot of pictures from the conference taking place here in my online photo album: Cattle Industry Summer Conference Photo Album
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Posted: July 16, 2008 at 8:11 pm
By News Editor
Guernsey breeders from across the country gathered in Cross Plains, Wis. in late June for their annual convention and National Guernsey Convention Sale. The Sale set records for the Guernsey breed, with an all-time high sale average of $5,794 on 46 live lots. The sale also included 77 embryos that averaged $645 each.
“The demand for registered Guernseys is incredible,” says Seth Johnson, executive secretary of the American Guernsey Association, Reynoldsburg, Ohio. “The 2007 national sale was a record breaker; however, this record was shattered by $1,000 in 2008.”
The high seller at $34,500 was a stunning, deep-pedigreed senior two-year-old. Dymond H Mentor Babyruth was nominated All-American fall calf in 2006 and is out of an excellent 90-point dam that was the All-American fall calf in 2003. Her dam produced more than 25,000 pounds of milk. Consigned by Cindy Harrison of Gray, Tenn., Babyruth sold to John and Bonnie Ayars of Mechanicsburg, Ohio, and Dr. Kenny Manion of Scottsville, Ky.
Mike Weimer of Emlenton, Pa., and Doug Handley of Logan, N.M., purchased the next high seller — the chance to select any animal from the Maplehurst herd in Lynden, Ontario, Canada. The herd has long been known for its show-winning cows with exciting pedigrees that have been exhibited in both the United States and Canada. In the past decade, the Ken Forster family has exhibited the Canadian national champion on numerous occasions and bred and shown a Reserve Grand Champion at World Dairy Expo. The choice sold for $18,500.
Posted: July 16, 2008 at 7:51 pm
By News Editor
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA) has introduced an organic whipped butter manufactured by Keller’s Creamery, a division of DFA. Label under the name Breakstone’s®, the new product will be available at 21 grocery store chains in seven states east of the Mississippi – Alabama, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
DFA introduced the new product in response to the rising interest in organic foods. According to market research, organic butter sales increased 26 percent last year alone and have increased by more than 200 percent since 2003.
Breakstone’s organic whipped butter also is kosher certified. Kosher food is prepared according to Jewish dietary laws. Certification agencies examine the ingredients used to make the food, supervise the process by which the food is prepared, and periodically inspect the processing facilities to make sure that kosher standards are maintained.
Posted: July 15, 2008 at 8:01 pm
By News Editor
Congratulations to Renée Norman from Liberty, Pa., who is the new Assistant Editor of the Jersey Journal, published by the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All-Jersey Inc.
In this position, Renée will work closely with Jersey Journal editorial and ad design and also on JerseySites, the AJCA’s website service for Jersey owners.
The daughter of David and Aggie Norman, Renée has worked on her family’s farm, Normandell Jerseys, assisting with all areas of herd management.
She was the winner of the 2006 National Jersey Youth Achievement contest, and received the Russell Memorial Scholarship for advanced studies in 2005 and the V. L. Peterson Scholarship in 2007. She was the winner of the Pennsylvania Jersey Cattle Association Youth Production Contest in 2005.
Norman graduated in May from the Pennsylvania State University, earning a B.S. degree in animal science, with a business/management option and a minor in agribusiness management. She was a member of university’s Dairy Challenge team that received Gold honors at the 2008 competition in Madison, Wis.
Renée completed internships at Select Sires Inc. (2006) and with AgChoice Farm Credit (2007). For the past two years, she has also worked with the Pennsylvania All-American Dairy Show.
Posted: July 15, 2008 at 7:56 pm
By News Editor
An Australian researcher who studied nutritional benefits of dairy food, was awarded the Danisco International Dairy Science Award by the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA). Congratulations to Dr. Parodi for this wonderful honor!
Dr Parodi, 74, is a world expert in dairy nutrition, particularly the role of dairy fat in human health. In 1977, he was the first person to discover the presence and determine the structure of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) – a major form of trans fatty acids in milk fat.
His work spans five decades uncovering the positive health benefits – and possibly the cancer-fighting properties – of dairy foods. Dr Parodi’s work in determining the structure and composition of milk fat was so important that in 1998 he was given the honor of naming a major trans fatty acid found in milk, which he called rumenic acid, after the cows’ stomach system, the rumen.
“For a scientist, exploring the unique properties and health benefits of dairy foods has been very rewarding,” he said.
His research has been supported by Australian dairy farmers through dairy research organizations – most recently Dairy Australia. Last year Dr Parodi was honored with the International Dairy Federation (IDF) award at its world summit in Dublin. He has been a recipient of dairy science’s most prestigious national awards – including the Award of Merit from the Australian Society of Australia and the Loftus Hill Dairy Science Award twice.
The annual international research and development award was established in 1980 and is judged by panel drawn from the ADSA. It recognizes outstanding accomplishments in chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, technology, and engineering pertaining to the dairy foods industries.
Posted: July 14, 2008 at 8:51 pm
By News Editor
The Star Valley Cheese factory in Thayne, Wyo., closed since 2005, may be re-opening its doors again later this year. Idaho dairyman Gaylen Clayson is in the process of buying the facility.
“We’re looking to buy the factory, and we are very interested in purchasing it and starting it up again,” Clayson said. “Our goal right now is just to get the plant going again and make mozzarella cheese … and try to bring local milk into the plant to help the local dairymen.
“We’re going to try and work with the farmers in the valley to buy their milk … not so much because we need the milk, but we’d sure like to bring them along just to keep the milk here in Star Valley and help keep the dairy industry alive in Wyoming.”
Clayson, a former Bedford dairy farmer, is the owner of Cedar Arch Dairies in the Idaho communities of Blackfoot, Firth and Penagre. He said the Thayne plant will initially produce mozzarella cheese.
Clayson initially plans to use milk from his Cedar Farm operations to produce cheese at the factory until Star Valley producers can be secured. Milk will be trucked in, and whey — the watery part of milk that is separated from the curds during cheese production — will be trucked back to Idaho to be used as feedstock for cattle.
The plant has the capacity to produce up to 1.5 million pounds of cheese per month. Star Valley cheese was sold in markets across the United States and as far away as Hawaii, though most of the cheese produced during the last few years of production went to California.
Posted: July 14, 2008 at 8:23 pm
By News Editor
Attention Iowa State Dairy Association (ISDA) members – you could win a free Registered Holstein calf this summer, thanks to ISDA, the Sioux Dairy Equipment of Rock Valley and Westfalia Surge.To be eligible, you must be a producer member of ISDA. The winner will be announced at Noon on Friday, August 8 at the Iowa State Fair. Registered Holstein calf is Dyks R Candy – ET, born 1/26/07, Sire Regancrest Roy Racer and Dam Dyks Durham Cupcake.
Posted: July 14, 2008 at 6:42 pm
By News Editor
Four more export assistance bids have been accepted by Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) for the sale of cheese and anhydrous milkfat.
One bid was accepted from Land O’Lakes of Arden Hills, MN, for 54 metric tons (119,050 pounds) of Cheddar cheese for export to South Korea.
The other three bids were all from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, for exports of anhydrous milkfat to Mexico in the following amounts: 150 metric tons (330,693 lbs.), 100 metric tons 220,462 lbs.), and 36 metric tons (79,366 lbs.).
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, 2,814 metric tons (6.2 million lbs.); cheese, 633 metric tons (1.4 million lbs.); whole milk powder, 170 metric tons (374,000 lbs.); and anhydrous milkfat, 556 metric tons (1.2 million lbs.).
Posted: July 11, 2008 at 6:15 pm
By News Editor
This is a heartbreaking story to have to report, as the situation in Calif. continues to develop concerning three dairies where cows have tested positive for tuberculosis. Now it looks like many of the animals will have to be slaughtered. Tuberculosis is a highly contagious respiratory disease that California had been free of since 2005. Our thoughts and prayers here at WDD go out to the dairy producers faced with this terrible situation.
More than 4,800 dairy cows at risk of carrying tuberculosis are being slaughtered this week in central California, where nearly 16,000 cattle in the country’s largest milk-producing region have been quarantined, federal officials said.
Undersecretary of Agriculture Bruce Knight met privately with local dairy operators Tuesday along with the state veterinarian and other industry officials monitoring three new cases of TB recently discovered in Fresno County dairies.
Federal and state agriculture officials were still tightlipped about the identities and locations of the three dairies where cows tested positive for the disease, which can be transmitted to humans and other mammals through the air or through drinking unpasteurized milk from an infected cow.
The discovery of the highlyalready has prompted changes in interstate shipping regulations.
Pasteurization kills the TB bacteria, but trade organizations still worry about the possible financial impact on California’s $7.3 billion dairy industry.
The owner of one dairy has accepted a USDA buyout of up to $3,000 a head, and his cows are headed for the slaughterhouses. The two other dairies are weighing whether to operate under strict quarantines, which can last for years.
One of the affected dairies milks more than 10,000 cows and sells semen and embryos from high-production cows and bulls internationally. The operation faces losing 50 years of genetic development if the dairy operator chooses to slaughter his cattle, said Michael March, chief executive of Western United Dairymen.
“It’s tragic when you have that kind of investment and build up that legacy and genetic bloodline,” said Marsh. “He’s facing a very difficult choice.”
A routine inspection of a slaughterhouse cow in January found TB lesions on its lymph nodes, prompting the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s inspection so far of 150,000 cattle. Ninety percent of infected cattle do not show symptoms, which include weight loss, cough and rough coats.
“Because we don’t have a good test and it can be spread so easily, unfortunately they are guilty until proven innocent,” said Andrew House, spokesman for U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, whose constituents include dozens of dairy operators. “That’s especially tough if you have a dairy herd with 10,000 animals and only one confirmed case.”
State officials are still trying to understand how the cows got exposed. DNA testing shows that two of the cows that tested positive this spring share a strain of the bacteria that originated in Mexico.
Posted: July 11, 2008 at 6:01 pm
By News Editor
Dairy UK, an organization that has brought together dairy processors, farming representatives, co-ops and bottle milk buyers in the UK, has launched ‘Proud of Dairy.’ The campaign’s goals include making the government, media and the public proud of the British dairy sector.
Over 75,000 people work in the dairy industry, including farmers, milk processors, milkmen and retailers and they contribute £8 billion to the economy each year.
Director general of Dairy UK, Jim Begg, said:“An enormous effort is made at every stage of the dairy supply chain to ensure that consumers are end up with a huge choice of high quality, nutritious dairy foods.
“From farmers and processors on to distribution, the dairy industry is making big strides to reduce the environmental impact of milk, innovate and respond to consumer trends.
“It means that there are more natural, tasty dairy products on offer now than ever before. These are just some of the reasons that we’re Proud of Dairy.”
Posted: July 11, 2008 at 5:50 pm
By News Editor
New research from the Netherlands suggests that delayed introduction of cow’s milk in infants may increase, rather than decrease, the risk that a child will develop allergies in the first 2 years of life.
They note that one of the most widely recommended allergy prevention strategies is delaying the introduction of milk and solid foods into the infant’s diet. However, there is little scientific evidence to support this advice.
To investigate, Dr. Bianca E. P. Snijders, at Maastricht University, and her colleagues analyzed data from 2558 infants. Mothers provided information late in pregnancy and at 3, 7, 12, and 24 months after delivery regarding foods they ate and any allergy symptoms they experienced. The infants were tested for allergy symptoms at 2 years of age.
Tests showed that delaying the introduction of cow’s milk products beyond 9 months significantly increased the risk of eczema, a chronic skin condition characterized by dry patches of very itchy skin.
Delayed introduction of other food products for more than 7 months also markedly increased the risk of eczema as well as the risk of atopic dermatitis and recurrent wheeze. Excluding infants with early symptoms of eczema and recurrent wheeze “did not essentially change our results,” Snijders’ team notes in the journal Pediatrics.
“Although breastfeeding remains definitely favorable for the infant’s health,” they add, the value of withholding other foods to prevent allergies “is questionable.” However, they conclude, based on current knowledge, that “it may be too early to change the current guidelines on the introduction of cow milk.”
SOURCE: Pediatrics, July 2008.
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