Posted: July 31, 2009 at 5:43 pm
By News Editor
Congratulations to Craig Lang, Brooklyn, Iowa on being awarded the 2009 Ralph Keeling Leadership Award by the Iowa State Dairy Association. Lang is a dairy farmer and President of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF).
“It is a real honor to receive this award,” says Lang. “The dairy industry is very important to Iowa and I enjoy working with Iowa’s dairy farmers. I will continue to work hard to help the dairy industry and I look forward to seeing it prosper for the next generation of Iowa’s young dairymen.
“This is an important year for my family at the Iowa State Fair,” he continues, “this will be the 90th year that my family has shown livestock at the fair and to receive the Ralph Keeling Leadership Award makes this year even more special.”
Lang farms in partnership with his father and brother on Yarrabee Farms, a 500-head dairy in east-central Iowa. Two of Lang’s sons are also part of the operation where, in addition to milking, they grow their own corn, soybeans and alfalfa. Lang and his wife, Mary, a registered nurse, have four children.
Lang was nominated by Dr. M. Douglas Kenealy, Professor in Charge, Dairy Science, at Iowa State University. “I’ve known Craig since his days as a dairy science student at Iowa State University and I have been tremendously impressed by the service he has given to the state of Iowa through not only dairy but civic and industry leadership positions,” says Kenealy. “Craig is eminently qualified for this award based upon his lifetime of work in dairy production and leadership for the Iowa dairy industry.”
The Ralph Keeling Leadership Award is given in honor of the late Ralph Keeling. Keeling operated a successful dairy farm and business, devoting much of his time and talents to help the progress of Iowa’s dairy industry. Since 1967, this award has been presented annually to outstanding individuals in various fields of the State’s dairy industry.
Posted: July 31, 2009 at 5:36 pm
By News Editor
Glad to hear a little bit of good news for our country’s struggling dairy farmers!
Agriculture Secretary Vilsack today announced that the Obama Administration is taking immediate action to support struggling dairy farmers by increasing the amount paid for dairy products through the Dairy Product Price Support Program (DPPSP). USDA estimates show that these increases, which will be in place from August 2009 through October 2009, will increase dairy farmers’ revenue by $243 million.
“The Obama Administration is committed to pursuing all options to help dairy producers,” said Vilsack. “The price increase announced today will provide immediate relief to dairy farmers around the country and keep many on the farm while they weather one of the worst dairy crises in decades.”
The increase announced today will raise the price paid for nonfat dry milk from $0.80 per pound to $0.92 per pound, the price paid for cheddar blocks from $1.13 per pound to $1.31 per pound, and the price of cheddar barrels from $1.10 per pound to $1.28 per pound. This increase in the support price will have an immediate effect upon dairy farmers’ bottom line. Temporarily raising the price of these dairy products increases the price that dairy farmers receive for their milk.
USDA estimates that today’s announcement is expected to increase the all milk price received by dairy producers. The increase will result in the government purchase of an additional 150 million pounds of non-fat dry milk (NDM) and an additional 75 million pounds of cheese.
Posted: July 31, 2009 at 12:09 pm
By Chuck
Our latest sponsor here on World Dairy Diary, Ft. Dodge Animal Health, has announced that it has inventory of its PYRAMID® 10 vaccine. This is the one that will help producers protect their cattle from major bovine diseases.
PYRAMID 10 is a highly effective, single-dose vaccine that provides protection against 10 respiratory and reproductive bovine diseases, including infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), bovine virus diarrhea (BVD) types 1 and 2, parainfluenza type 3 (PI3), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) and five strains of leptospirosis. Not only does PYRAMID 10 offer the added convenience of a combination vaccine in a single injection, it utilizes MetaStim®, the Fort Dodge Animal Health proprietary adjuvant system.
“MetaStim makes the difference,” says Gary Robertson, bovine biological marketing manager for Fort Dodge Animal Health. “MetaStim facilitates uniform distribution of the vaccine virus to the immune system in a highly concentrated and efficient manner.”
Robertson says the company has aggressively ramped up production of the vaccine after initial supplies were depleted last fall due to high demand in the marketplace. “Fort Dodge Animal Health has a long-standing commitment to bringing safe, effective animal health solutions to the market,” Robertson explains. “We are pleased supplies of PYRAMID 10 are now available. Since its introduction, the vaccine has become an important tool in helping dairy producers and veterinarians better manage the health of their herds for greater production.”
Posted: July 31, 2009 at 12:01 pm
By Chuck
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Market reaction to USDA’s increased purchase prices was instant Friday morning with block cheese jumping 6 cents and barrels up 7 cents. The block price closed at $1.2850 per pound, up 8 1/2-cents on the week but 2 1/2-cents below the new temporary support price, and 55 cents below a year ago when the blocks tumbled 23 1/4-cents to $1.8350.
Barrel closed out July at $1.26, up 9 cents on the week, 2 cents below the new support price, and 54 cents below a year ago. Only eight cars of block traded hands on the week and seven of barrel. The lagging NASS-surveyed U.S. average price on block cheese inched up 0.3 cent, to $1.12. Barrel averaged $1.1254, up 1.4 cents.
Cash butter closed out the week and the month at $1.2450, down a penny and a half on the week and 33 cents below a year ago. Forty two cars were sold on the week. The price support on butter was not changed. NASS butter averaged $1.2290, up 4.1 cents.
Cash Grade A nonfat dry milk jumped 2 cents Friday, to 91 cents per pound, and Extra Grade gained 2 1/-cents, closing at 90 cents, on two unfilled bids of each. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged 84.99 cents, up 1.3 cents, and dry whey averaged 29.53 cents, down 0.1 cent.
Uncle Sam’s price support program purchased 868,904 pounds of nonfat dry milk on the week but exported 11.9 million via the Dairy Export Incentive Program.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
Posted: July 30, 2009 at 7:23 pm
By News Editor
The 2009 Ohio State Fair Butter Sculpture showcases “the people behind the product,” Ohio’s dairy farmers. To see the buttery art for yourself, visit the Ohio State Fair, July 29-Aug. 9.
“While many things about modern agriculture have changed with the times, dairy farmers’ commitment to caring for their animals remains a top priority,” said Scott E. Higgins, CEO for the American Dairy Association Mideast. “This year’s display serves as a reminder that Ohio’s dairy farmers go above and beyond to make sure their herds are safe, well-fed and given the best care.”
Ohio’s 3,300 dairy farmers work around the clock to take excellent care of their cows by providing them with a nutritious diet, regular veterinary care and clean, healthy living conditions to ensure their cows produce high quality milk for you to enjoy. The American Dairy Association salutes Ohio’s dairy farm families for their hard work, dedication and commitment.
The 2009 butter display depicts a typical Ohio dairy farmer and his veterinarian giving a routine check-up to one of his cows. Nearby, a baby calf is bottle fed by the dairy farmer’s young daughter with the help of her grandfather. The cow is modeled after an ideal Holstein dairy cow.
The Dairy Products Building exhibit was sculpted by a group of three Cincinnati-based free-lance technical sculptors engaged primarily in the toy industry. Crafted from approximately 1,800 pounds of unsalted butter donated in part by Dairy Farmers of America, the display was completed in 350 hours, in which approximately 200 of those hours were spent actually sculpting the butter.
The sculptors began by building wooden and steel frames to support the weight of the butter.
From 55-pound blocks, the butter is sliced into manageable loaves and is layered to cover the frames. After many hours of molding and smoothing the butter in a 45-degree cooler, each figure begins to take shape. Intricate details, like eyes and hair, are then defined to give each figure its unique likeness.
Following the fair, the butter from the display will be turned into biodiesel, an eco-friendly alternative fuel that is cleaner and less expensive than fossil fuel diesel. Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) will convert the butter into fuel by using a chemical process that they currently use to recycle vegetable oil from their catering service into biodiesel, which is then used to power their maintenance equipment. MVNU’s biodiesel is currently powering a bus, a dump truck, all lawn/snow removal equipment, and diesel generators for their campus.
The butter sculpture display and the Dairy Products Building are sponsored by the American Dairy Association Mideast, Ohio’s dairy-farmer funded marketing and promotion program.
Posted: July 30, 2009 at 7:11 pm
By News Editor
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, has committed to temporarily raise the price the federal Department of Agriculture will pay for dairy products, providing the director of the U.S. Office of Management and the Budget approves the move.
In a meeting with U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., and other senators Wednesday, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack agreed to raise the floor for dairy prices through an increase in the Dairy Price Support Program, according to a news release from Udall’s office. Vilsack also said he would encourage federal and private banks to be lenient with dairy farmers with outstanding loans, according to the release.
Udall’s spokesman Sam Simon said Vilsack didn’t specify how he would encourage the banks to be lenient or what price level he would set.
“Helping our local and national dairy farmers is essential to long-term economic health,” Udall said in a press release.
However, not everyone is happy with the move.
“It effectively dilutes the market and keeps the market low,” said Roosevelt County dairy farmer Alan Anderson. “I’m more of a free market person.”
The government price support keeps dairies in business that would have otherwise folded, meaning the milk supply remains too high, he said. Therefore, the program ensures a diluted price for many instead of a better price for dairies that could survive independently, Anderson continued.
Anderson said participation in the program isn’t voluntary. The money from what the government buys is distributed in checks for milk and can’t be separated from the rest of the payment.
In the Dairy Price Support Program, Simon said, the government sets a price level, and if prices for dairy products in the private sector drop below that point, the Department of Agriculture buys the products at the set price. Until now, the price floor has been so low that dairies would still go out of business with the government buying the milk products, he said.
Also, Simon said Office of Management and the Budget Director Peter Orszag must approve the change.
“Once (Orszag’s) decision is made, it’s almost immediate,” Simon said of when the raise would take effect.
The length of time until the approval depends heavily on Orszag, he said.
Simon said the USDA has no cutoff for the amount of dairy products it will buy under the price support program and has never had a problem with running out of money for it.
“This is an investment for them because they buy it when the price is quite low, and store it and resell it when the price is high,” he said.
The USDA may also give the food to people struggling with hunger. Simon said the department buys mainly dehydrated milk, but also butter and cheese.
Posted: July 29, 2009 at 9:14 pm
By News Editor
As dairy farmers throughout the country continue to face a pressing financial crisis in their industry, dozens of members of the House of Representatives announced Wednesday that they will reform and reactivate the Congressional Dairy Farmer Caucus.
Led by Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Joe Courtney (CT), Peter Welch (VT), Devin Nunes (CA) and Tim Walz (MN), and joined by Caucus Vice Chairs Tom Petri (WI), Tom Rooney (FL), Chris Lee (NY) and Harry Teague (NM), the organization will help facilitate better interaction between elected officials and dairy producers from across the country. The bipartisan caucus will work with dairy industry leaders to reach common sense solutions to address both the current dairy crisis, as well as other issues of concern to the dairy producer community.
“The complexities of dairy policy, and the diverse size and scope of dairy farming in the U.S., means that we need a forum in Congress for dairy farmers to interact with their elected officials. The Dairy Farmer Caucus will help facilitate the communication between, and education of, members of Congress and the farmers they represent,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF.
The Congressional Dairy Farmer Caucus was initially started in 2006 to provide a bipartisan forum, involving both House and Senate members, to collaborate on policy issues that addressed the interests of dairy producers nationwide.
“Preserving a vibrant dairy producer community in America is essential to maintaining the health of rural communities across the country, and critical to securing continued access to wholesome, fresh, American-made foods,” Kozak said. “We appreciate the leaders of the Dairy Farmer Caucus investing their time and energies in this effort, and look forward to an ongoing dialogue with them about the federal policies that can best help the American dairy producer community prosper.”
Kozak said that a national, bipartisan organization will help build consensus on Capitol Hill on the range of issues affecting farms of all sizes in all regions. He added that the Caucus would also help NMPF and its members communicate with the variety of regulatory agencies involved in milk production, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Trade Representative, among others.
Posted: July 29, 2009 at 7:11 pm
By News Editor
America’s dairy producers find themselves in a “price-cost squeeze” between plummeting milk prices and feed costs that have remained high. Several public and private assistance initiatives are in place, but relief is not yet being fully felt at the farm gate, an Iowa dairy farmer today told a House Agriculture subcommittee.
Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Lang, partner in a dairy with his father, brother and sons, testified on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation before the subcommittee on livestock, dairy and poultry during a hearing on the economic challenges facing the dairy sector.
Lang said that due to historically low milk prices, his family and a number of other dairy producers have depleted cash that was put aside during positive economic years, and they are “now using a bank line of credit to help pay for daily operations.”
Coming off positive economic returns in 2007 and most of 2008, farmers responded to market signals to produce more milk. Lang explained that last fall, factors such as the global economic recession and a stronger dollar effectively shut down the international market for U.S. dairy goods.
Lang said “the demand shock from the evaporation of the international marketplace, excess supply being thrust upon the domestic marketplace, and shrinking margins of income over feed costs” are putting dairy farmers at financial risk.
Lang testified that lower prices have resulted in supportive action by the federal government. At Farm Bureau’s urging the Agriculture Department has purchased dairy products for nutrition programs. Low prices also have triggered support payments under the Milk Income Loss Contract for the first time in two years, and USDA has allocated the maximum volume of dairy products eligible for incentives to boost exports consistent with world trade rules.
(more…)
Posted: July 28, 2009 at 7:48 pm
By News Editor
The residents of Somers, Wis. were given a cheesy treat this past week when they visited their local Sam’s Club. Four Wisconsin cheesemakers sampled their creative masterpieces while Sarah “The Cheese Lady” used her unique artistic talent to bring extra attention to the hand-crafted cheeses.
Local cheesemakers included: Meister Cheese Company of Muscoda, Wis. – 3 Alarm Monterey Jack; Park Cheese Company, Inc. of Fond du Lac, Wis. – Provolone; Klondike Cheese Company of Monroe, Wis – Feta; and Pine River Cheese of Newton, WI –Cheese Spread.
Sarah “The Cheese Lady” is a nationally recognized cheese sculptor. Since 1996, she has received hundreds of commissions for her cheese creations, which have captured countless media impressions. Kaufmann creates some sculptures in her studios in Cincinnati and San Diego and also appears in person to sculpt cheese at a variety of venues: food & wine festivals, supermarkets, tradeshows, state fairs, sporting events, civic celebrations and other special occasions.
Posted: July 28, 2009 at 7:29 pm
By News Editor
New research undertaken by the Universities of Reading, Cardiff and Bristol has found that drinking milk can lessen the chances of dying from illnesses such as coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke by up to 15-20 %. The study, led by Professor Peter Elwood (Cardiff University) together with Professor Ian Givens from the University of Reading’s Food Chain and Health Research Theme, aimed to establish whether the health benefits of drinking milk outweigh any dangers that lie in its consumption.
Importantly, this is the first time that disease risk associated with drinking milk has been looked at in relation to the number of deaths which the diseases are responsible for.
The review brought together published evidence from 324 studies of milk consumption as predictors of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke and, diabetes. Data on milk consumption and cancer were based on the recent World Cancer Research Fund report. The outcomes were then compared with current death rates from these diseases.
Professor Givens explained: “While growth and bone health are of great importance to health and function, it is the effects of milk and dairy consumption on chronic disease that are of the greatest relevance to reduced morbidity and survival. Our review made it possible to assess overall whether increased milk consumption provides a survival advantage or not. We believe it does.
“Our findings clearly show that when the numbers of deaths from CHD, stroke and colo-rectal cancer were taken into account, there is strong evidence of an overall reduction in the risk of dying from these chronic diseases due to milk consumption. We certainly found no evidence that drinking milk might increase the risk of developing any condition, with the exception of prostate cancer. Put together, there is convincing overall evidence that milk consumption is associated with an increase in survival in Western communities.”
The reviewers also believe that increased milk consumption is likely to reduce health care costs substantially due to reduced chronic disease and associated morbidity.
“There is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms involved and for focused studies to confirm the epidemiological evidence since this topic has major implications for the agri-food industry,” added Professor Givens.
Posted: July 28, 2009 at 7:22 pm
By News Editor
Four California milk marketing cooperatives signed an agreement last week to work together to market their milk and dairy products in the state.
The announcement came from California Dairies Inc. in Visalia, Calif. The formation of the Western Milk Cooperatives Agency on July 16 will allow its members to exchange production, marketing and statistical information. The four cooperative members are: California Dairies Inc., Dairy Farmers of America Inc. (Western Council), Land O’Lakes Inc. and Security Milk Producers Association. The cooperatives have agreed to immediately begin to identify operational inefficiencies, especially in milk transportation, to address what they call the “short-term dire financial crisis” facing California dairymen.
Source: Visalia Times
Posted: July 28, 2009 at 3:15 pm
By Amanda Nolz
Here’s some positive media coverage to perk up your Tuesday! Kathleen Blanchard RN is an Examiner from Charlotte who gives “calcium credit” where it’s due: dairy products. Here is an excerpt from her latest blog post…
Eating foods fortified with calcium, or taking calcium supplements may not be as good as dairy intake say Purdue researchers. The team of scientists studied differences in bone health, comparing those rats a nutritious diet supplemented with calcium carbonate with rats given dairy products that contain calcium.The results showed that dairy intake is best for maintaining bone health. Longer, stronger bones were found among the rats given dairy.
The research concluded that consuming dairy products early in life and continuing throughout life is the best way to keep bones strong and reduce risk of osteoporosis, fracture and disability associated with aging.
Professor Connie Weaver, head of the food and nutrition department at Purdue University says, “A lot of companies say, if you don’t drink milk, then take your calcium pills or calcium-fortified food. There has been no study designed properly to compare bone growth from supplements and milk or dairy to see if it has the same effect. We found it was an advantage having milk or dairy while bones were growing over calcium carbonate, and it protects you later in life.”
To read the entire article, link here.
Posted: July 28, 2009 at 4:10 am
By Amanda Nolz
Now, this is a good cause worth celebrating: helping the Children’s Miracle Network while selling dairy products. It just doesn’t get much better than that, folks! According to the Dothan Eagle, Dairy Queen is teaming up with the Children’s Miracle Network for another year of miracle-making. This is great!
On Thursday, Aug. 13, Dairy Queen will host the fourth annual North American “Miracle Treat Day,” when $1 or more from every Blizzard sold on that day will be donated to Children’s Miracle Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children’s hospitals.
Last year on Miracle Treat Day, Dairy Queen raised more than $4.5 million for 170 Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. A partner since 1984, Dairy Queen has raised more than $77 million and is one of the top five contributors to Children’s Miracle Network.
For more information about Miracle Treat Day visit Dairy Queen or Miracle Treat Day.
Posted: July 27, 2009 at 10:49 pm
By Amanda Nolz
It looks like this beauty queen isn’t forgetting her heritage. Miss America Katie Stam is going back home.
As reported in the Chicago Tribune, the Seymour native will visit the Jackson County Fair in Brownstown on Monday to co-host a qualifying round for the County Fair Rising Stars talent show. She’ll also perform two songs.
Stam says she’s never missed a Jackson County Fair in her 23 years. She did 4-H projects there for 10 years. Stam and her siblings also showed dairy cattle from the family farm. Stam recently became a spokeswoman for the Indiana Dairy and American Dairy Associations.
Stam has made several appearances in Indiana since being crowned Miss America in January.
Posted: July 27, 2009 at 7:53 pm
By News Editor
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will appoint an advisory board to recommend how the government can avert further freefalls in the price dairy farmers are paid for milk, his office said.
The advisory board, whose membership has yet to be determined, could take the place of a congressionally mandated commission that was dictated by the 2008 farm bill but has yet to be appointed because of a budget-related disagreement with Congress — although the USDA did not rule out also creating the panel directed by Congress.
A panel could give the government more momentum to make significant changes in the system that sets minimum prices that dairy plants must pay farmers for milk, a long term solution that many people in the dairy industry say is necessary to smooth out the wide price swings that put farmers out of business in some years and hurt milk bottlers, cheese makers and other dairy processors in other years.
Any changes in policy, however, would be a few years away — soon enough, perhaps, for the next low cycle in milk prices but too late to save the hundreds of farmers in New York who experts say could go out of business due to this year’s price crisis.
Mr. Vilsack’s spokesman, Caleb Weaver, said the board would include “a whole cross section of people involved in the dairy industry.”
He couldn’t say when the board will be appointed or when Mr. Vilsack hopes it to finish its work.
From the USDA’s perspective, an advisory board may make more sense than the farm bill’s commission. Mr. Vilsack has freedom to set the advisory board’s composition and priorities, whereas Congress dictated the general makeup of the commission and its scope of work. He can also work around the farm bill’s requirement that a commission be appointed subject to funds being approved by Congress — something that has not happened and may not happen this year, if spending bills now moving through Congress are an indication.
The department has also stepped up government purchases of nonfat dry milk through the price support program, which takes excess dairy products off the market.
An advisory board could look at a wide range of ideas, from increasing government payments to farmers when prices fall, to simplifying the system and reducing the number of federal marketing orders that set prices around the country. Some groups have also called for measures to enhance competition among milk sellers and buyers, reversing a trend that has put most milk in the hands of just a few large companies and dairy cooperatives.
One idea that seemed to gain traction at a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing on Tuesday was reducing the number of marketing orders or possibly doing away with the idea of different prices in different regions by creating one national order.
Posted: July 27, 2009 at 7:36 pm
By News Editor
Congratulations to Dr. Jamie Jonker for his promotion to Vice President of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs for the National Milk Producer Federation (NMPF). Jonkers assumes the lead regulatory role with NMPF following the resignation of Dr. Rob Byrne, who is now working for Schreiber Foods.
In his new role, Jonker will expand his current responsibilities in regulatory affairs, including animal health and welfare, animal biotechnology, dairy farm bio-security, dairy farm air and water quality, dairy processing and products, and technical service issues. He will also continue to coordinate relationships with NMPF’s Animal Health & Welfare Committee, Regulatory Committee, NCIMS Committee, and Environmental Task Force; and with the National Institute for Animal Agriculture and Animal Agriculture Coalition.
Jonker actively represents NMPF on numerous national and international committees, including the Johne’s Disease Working Group, the National Dairy FARM Program, and the in-country U.S. Delegations to the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs and the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Food Derived from Biotechnology. In 2008, he was appointed to the USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture and the International Dairy Federation’s Standing Committees on Animal Health and Farm Management.
Jonker received a Ph.D. in Animal & Avian Sciences from the University of Maryland. Prior to joining NMPF, his career included six years of experience in agricultural policy including service at the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture.
He spent his formative years on a 100-cow family dairy farm in New York, participating in all aspects of dairy production from crop production to animal health to nutrition.
Posted: July 25, 2009 at 11:04 am
By News Editor
Dairy Markets Week in Review
The cash dairy markets showed little reaction to the Milk Production data but reports of hot weather later in the week added some strength. The block cheese price closed this week at $1.20 per pound, the highest since April, and was up another nickel and a half on the week, but 86 3/4-cents below a year ago when block was trading at $2.0675, only to plunge 23 1/4-cents the following week to $1.8350.
Barrel closed Friday at $1.17, up three cents on the week, but 80 cents below a year ago. Fifteen cars of block traded hands on the week and eight of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price lost 1.3 cents, slipping to $1.1172. Barrel averaged $1.1101, up 0.1 cent.
Butter closed at $1.26, up a penny on the week, but 28 cents below a year ago. Forty three cars were sold on the week. NASS butter averaged $1.1879, up 1.4 cents. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged 83.69 cents, down 0.8 cent, and dry whey averaged 29.41 cents, up 0.2 cent.
Price support purchases for the week totaled 742,958 pounds of nonfat dry milk, putting the cumulative total at 276 million pounds. Dairy Export Incentive Program bid acceptances amounted to 1.6 million pounds of nonfat dry milk to Africa and the Middle East.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
Posted: July 24, 2009 at 6:14 pm
By News Editor
ABC Nightly News recently did a story on the economic plight our country’s dairy farmers are currently enduring. A good piece to watch.
DAIRY WOES/RECESSION – The recession has slammed many industries but Mike Von Fremd on WORLD NEWS noted that “dairy farmers across the country have been hit by the global recession as hard as any single segment of the economy.” Case in point – milk. Von Fremd notes that “it costs dairy farmers a dollar fifty to produce a gallon of milk but since the beginning of the year, they’ve only been getting a dollar back… a staggering loss of fifty cents on every gallon they produce.” And that’s not all – Von Fremd reports that “although milk sales are up slightly, sales of other dairy products at the supermarket are down: cheese, ice cream, butter, even yogurt.” That has led to many dairy farmers getting out of the business. Von Fremd: “The National Milk Producers Federation runs a farmer-financed program that bought… over 100 thousand dairy cows so far this year. All were slaughtered to reduce the number of cows producing milk. But even a drop in the amount of milk has not managed to increase its price.”
Posted: July 23, 2009 at 7:58 pm
By Amanda Nolz
It looks like New York is going to set the pace for dairy producers in waste management and the environment. According to the Associated Press, New York will host the Dairy Power Project, coordinated by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. What do you think about this project? Will it be too costly investment for producers in the future? Will the environment benefit from this new manure management pilot program? I’m excited to see the results of this test project.
The project’s goal is to set a national model for using methane digesters on dairy farms to create electricity and reduce the farm’s carbon footprint. Methane digesters capture naturally occurring methane gas from stored manure and convert it into electricity. Officials say the technology has the potential to reduce the dairy industry’s greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020. That’s equivalent to removing 1.25 million passenger cars off the road each year.
The Dairy Power Project was also explained in a press release by the New York State Department of Agriculture. In the press release, details for the plan are broken down and plans for the future are outlined.
“New York is committed to leading the nation in the production of clean energy and fighting climate change,” said Governor David A. Paterson. “Harnessing the waste from dairy farms to produce energy is an effective method of capitalizing on an existing resource to help us meet our ’45 by 15′ clean energy goal. We are pleased to have been chosen for this pilot project, and look forward to the positive benefits for our dairy farmers and the environment.”
Methane digesters capture naturally occurring methane gas from stored manure and convert it into electricity. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas – 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide – which contributes to global warming. Methane digesters effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the amount of methane released into the air and by also providing an alternative energy source to fossil fuels.
Posted: July 23, 2009 at 9:51 am
By Amanda Nolz
At the AgWeb Blog, Rick Lundquist summarizes a recent study conducted by the University of Alberta of maximizing milk without acidosis, especially taking consideration that the key to maintaining rumen health is adaptation and stability by avoiding rapid dietary changes. Below is a clip from that article… To read the entire story, link here.
Nutritionists are often asked to walk the fine line of maximizing milk production per cow without compromising animal health.
Preventing subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) can be a real challenge. Some level of SARA is inevitable even in the best managed high producing herds because of high intakes. Subacute acidosis is caused by the rapid accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the rumen (acetate, propionate, and butyrate) which results in periods of low pH and this situation is exacerbated by high dry matter intake.
Researchers from the University of Alberta presented a paper at the 2009 Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference that discussed the latest developments in our understanding of ruminal acidosis. They found that there is a great deal of variability in the susceptibility of individual cows to SARA. Some cows are much more likely to exhibit symptoms of SARA than others, presumably due to differences in intake level, eating rate, salivation, feed sorting and inherent rumen physiological variation. For these reasons, it’s almost impossible to totally eliminate SARA in a high producing herd when rations are balanced for the average cow.
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