Posted: July 10, 2009 at 11:56 am
By Chuck
Thanks to the folks at Family Features Editorial Syndicate for a great ice cream recipe. This story was featured in many newspapers and websites.
So, how about this? Ice Cream Hamburger Treats, a recipe from Blue Bunny. These are “cool” – in more ways than one.
The burger is chocolate ice cream, the grill marks are licorice sticks, the ketchup is red gel frosting, the mustard is yellow food coloring in marshmallow cream, the pickles are sliced green gum drops, and the bun is a dessert sponge cup with sesame seeds on top.
Check out the recipe on BlueBunny.com for a fun summer treat that kids will love!
Posted: July 10, 2009 at 11:46 am
By Chuck
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Cheese prices remain below the government support level. The block price dropped 2 cents Friday despite the CWT announcement of a second herd removal, and closed at $1.09 per pound, down 2 1/2-cents on the week, 84 1/4-cents below a year ago, and 4 cents below support. Barrel also closed at $1.09, down a penny on the week, 83 cents below a year ago, and a penny below support. Thirty four cars of block traded hands on the week and 14 of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price slipped to $1.1373, down 1.2 cents. Barrel averaged $1.0986, down 1.4 cents.
Cash butter closed Friday at $1.2225, up 3 cents on the week, but 32 3/4-cents below a year ago. Eighteen cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1770, up 0.2 cent. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged 83.91 cents, down a penny, and dry whey averaged 28.11 cents, up 0.9 cent.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline
Posted: July 8, 2009 at 8:37 pm
By News Editor
California dairy giant Foster Farms Dairy has agreed to buy Humboldt Creamery‘s Fernbridge and Stockton, Calif. plants pending bankruptcy court approval or a higher bid.
The company is the largest privately owned dairy in the state, milking more than 5,000 cows a week at its five dairies. Foster Farms’ bid and plan to operate the company would have to be approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge overseeing the case.
Foster Farms was founded in 1939 and now has three processing plants and eight distribution facilities in California, employs about 650 people and does some $300 million in sales each year. It produces milk, juices, butter, ice cream, cottage cheese, sour cream and powdered milk.
The dairy business is separate from its sister business, also Foster Farms, which produces mostly poultry but has recently expanded into frozen Mexican foods.
Humboldt Creamery’s CEO Len Mayer said that the deal was struck after weeks of negotiations.
”This sale is a very good step for farmers, employees, customers, suppliers and the community at large,” Mayer said.
A call to Foster Farms Dairy wasn’t returned by deadline, but its Chief Financial Officer Tom Van Autreve said in a statement that the Modesto company was looking forward to expanding with Humboldt Creamery’s assets.
The creamery — to which about 40 dairies supply milk — filed for Chapter 11 protection in April, two months after its former CEO Rich Ghilarducci resigned and called attention to financial discrepancies in the company’s books. Since then, unsecured creditors’ inquiries into the creamery’s financial condition show its inventory and accounts payable and receivable were off by nearly $60 million as of December.
Humboldt Creamery intends to ask the court to approve the sale to Foster Farms Dairy — the so-called stalking horse bidder — or to the highest bidder at the hearing expected to be held on Aug. 11. The creamery expects the sale to be complete by Aug. 25.
Posted: July 8, 2009 at 8:22 pm
By News Editor
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) applaud U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for his recent announcement regarding initial allocations under the Dairy Export Incentive Program (DEIP) for the new marketing year July 2009 – June 2010.
“This important action by Secretary Vilsack demonstrates his commitment to continue to offer support for dairy producers at a time when dairy prices are at their lowest in years,” said Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of NMPF.
In order to expedite DEIP allocations, USDA is extending the remainder of the uncommitted bids from 2008-2009, making available 48,176 metric tons of nonfat dry milk, 19,235 metric tons of butterfat and 2,878 metric tons of cheese for the new 2009-2010 DEIP marketing year. These quantities will count towards the new marketing year that began July 1, 2009 and that ends June 30, 2010.
“We appreciate USDA’s prompt announcement,” said Kozak. “Unlike the short period of time given to exporters under last year’s DEIP announcement, this swift action by USDA will allow us to properly compete with other subsidized exporters. However, it is extremely important that USDA issue DEIP invitations immediately for all allowable categories of dairy products in a manner that maximizes exports so producers receive the full benefit.”
USDA shall continue to work with other agencies to make the rest of the full DEIP allocations (20,025 metric tons of nonfat dry milk, 1,862 metric tons of butterfat and 152 metric tons of cheese) available at a later date.
“The FY 2008-09 and FY 2009-10 allocations of DEIP could remove more than 1.5 billion pounds of milk from the U.S. market,” said Kozak. “Coupled with actions being taken under our own Cooperatives Working Together program, this will help address, in a meaningful way, the imbalance currently present in our market.”
Tom Suber, president of USDEC, added, “The European Union continues to subsidize its dairy products, while New Zealand’s auction process seems to have spiraled down world prices. We support the elimination of all export subsidies. However, until that goal is achieved and especially in extremely challenging market conditions, we must employ all available tools to assist our industry to compete against the active export subsidy programs of the European Union.”
Posted: July 8, 2009 at 9:19 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
Chop height can have an impact on silage nutrient composition. Leo Brown, Pioneer livestock information manager, discusses how to determine the optimum harvest window for corn silage and how that time frame can impact its nutritional value.
pioneer-podcast-58-wdd.mp3
Leo Brown on High Chop Effect (5:00 min MP3)
To see all archived Pioneer Forage Forum podcasts, click here.
Podcast: Play in new window
| Download
Posted: July 7, 2009 at 7:05 pm
By News Editor
The National Milk Producers Federation has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to boost its purchase prices for cheese and milk powder in order to bolster the current rock-bottom milk prices that are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of dairy farmers.
In a letter sent to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, NMPF requested that the USDA raise the purchase price for cheese blocks from $1.13/lb. to $1.19; raise the purchase price for barrel cheese from $1.10 to $1.16/lb.; and raise the purchase price for nonfat dry milk powder from $0.80/lb. to $0.84. These price levels are identical to those suggested by NMPF to Congress as it wrote the farm bill in 2007 and 2008. Higher product prices will translate into higher farm-level prices, according to NMPF.
Under the Dairy Product Price Support Program, the USDA serves as a buyer of last resort to help clear commodity dairy markets during periods of exceptionally low farm-level prices. The current price levels were written into the 2008 Farm Bill, passed by Congress a year ago, but the USDA has the authority to increase those prices, according to NMPF. The letter to Vilsack asks the USDA to temporarily boost those purchase prices for a three-month period of July through September.
“Secretary Vilsack is sensitive to the fact that farmers are desperate for any type of price relief, as they are caught in the crushing vise of low prices and high input costs,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “Raising the price support levels by a few pennies a pound will be a simple and effective way to offer some assistance to farmers facing a very difficult summer.” Kozak calculates that raising the price support levels for cheese and nonfat dry milk will hike farmer income by $235 million this year.
Kozak said that USDA has already taken several important steps to help farmers in 2009, including liquidating 200 million pounds of surplus milk powder, reauthorizing the Dairy Export Incentive Program in May, and expediting the payments under the Milk Income Loss Contract program.
The NMPF letter also asked USDA to authorize DEIP bonuses for the new fiscal year that begins July 1st, which, if fully implemented, could help clear another 1.7 billion pounds of milk from the U.S. market. The letter also reiterated NMPF’s intention to maximize the use of its Cooperatives Working Together self-help program, which is currently concluding its largest-ever reduction in surplus milk volume.
“As much as we’d like there to be some silver bullet that will restore dairy farm profitability, there is no simple solution to a problem tied to the poor health of the global economy. But strengthening the price support safety net represents a needed and quick fix to keep many farmers afloat at a time when the tide of red ink continues to rise,” Kozak said.
Posted: July 7, 2009 at 2:18 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
For the third year in a row, Cheez-It crackers saluted one of America’s “big cheeses” by commissioning a cheese carving of patriotic significance, known as The Cheez-It Big Cheese™. This year, to commemorate the bicentennial year of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, master cheese carver Troy Landwehr created his tallest Big Cheese statue to date: a life-sized rendering of America’s 16th president.
Using a 1,000-pound block of Wisconsin cheddar cheese, Landwehr carved a rendering of Lincoln that measured 6-feet, 8-inches tall: Lincoln in a standing position, complete with his famous top hat. The Cheez-It Big Cheese carving of life-sized Lincoln was on display in the shadow of the Lincoln Memorial on July 3, to kick-off the Independence Day holiday weekend. Patriots and cheese enthusiasts alike had the opportunity to visit The Cheez-It Big Cheese carving of Lincoln, take photographs with the life-sized replica, and sample Cheez-It crackers.
Sadly, the Green Bay Press Gazette reports that Mr. Lincoln lost his head during the course of his appearance in the nation’s capitol.
“The event was from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., it was 85-degree weather and during the course of the event we had people coming, taking pictures, posing with Lincoln, and at the very end of the event a girl was posing with Lincoln kind of accidentally kicked the podium he was standing on,” said Jessica Wickliffe, whose firm publicized the statue’s appearance for Cheez-It, its sponsor.
Somebody said, “Just say cheese.” Then, Lincoln’s head rolled. So did his torso.
But, the article reports that there was a happy ending, as the cheese carver did manage to put the presidential cheese back together again for a Sunday appearance on Fox and Friends. The Big Cheese is now reportedly on display at Kerrigan Brothers Winery in Wisconsin for a couple of days before becoming a disassembled donation to charity.
Posted: July 7, 2009 at 2:18 pm
By Amanda Nolz
Here is a market update from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Daily Livestock Report. This update gives a summary on the recent completion of the dairy herd reduction program. Did you take part in this program? Have you in the past? What do you think about these buyouts? Beef and dairy producers have definitely been split on their opinions about these programs, and I would like to hear your thoughts.
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT)) announced recently that it has completed the qualification phase for its 7th dairy herd reduction program. This round of herd retirement removed 101,400 cows heifers from the national’s dairy herd. CWT says that the cows removed accounted for almost two billion pounds of milk per year.
CWT removed 367 diary herds in 41 states. Though the announcement did not mention it, our contacts indicated that the remainder of these cows should move to slaughter by the end of July. Dairy cow slaughter was 59,454 head for the week of June 20, the last week for which data are available. That number is roughly 10,000 head higher than the level before the CWT program began moving cows to slaughter. At that pace, it would take about 10 weeks to slaughter the cows, a time frame that fits reasonably well with the late July conclusion of the program. CWT Chief Operating Officer that additional CWT herd reductions are likely in 2009 given continued low milk prices and the imbalance between supply and demand.
Please feel free to forward the Daily livestock Report to others who you think will benefit from having this information. The DLR is published daily by Steve Meyer and Len Steiner, and distributed courtesy of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, 20 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606. To receive this newsletter in the future, subscribe here.
Posted: July 7, 2009 at 1:56 pm
By Amanda Nolz
I found some interesting news on MSN Money about more accessible loans for dairy farmers. This report, Vilsack: Loan Help Coming For Dairy Farmers was written by AP reporter Holly Ramer, and I have included an excerpt of the USDA’s plan to assist dairy farmers. It’s about time, huh?
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Monday he will soon announce a plan to make it easier for dairy farmers to take out new loans or keep up with their existing payments. The plan, to be released in the next week or so, includes providing farmers with operating loans at lower interest rates, reducing the principle of outstanding loans or allowing farmers to forgo payments for a time, Vilsack said. The agriculture department also is working with commercial lenders to guarantee loans to dairy farmers, he said.
The price paid by dairy processors to farmers is set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture based on commodity markets, which rise and fall with global demand. Some of the raw milk is processed into milk for stores as well as butter, yogurt and other products for U.S. consumption. The rest becomes powdered milk, cheese and whey for international and domestic markets.Dairies increased production when demand for U.S. milk exports soared last year, but once the global recession accelerated last fall, demand dropped, farmers were left with too much milk and wholesale prices crashed.
Vilsack said his agency has tried to buy wholesale prices recently by releasing 200 million pounds of excess powdered milk to schools, food banks and needy countries to reduce U.S. supply and accelerating payments to farmers through the USDA’s Milk Income Loss Contract program. Those two efforts will amount to about $1 billion for dairy farmers this year.
Posted: July 6, 2009 at 5:14 pm
By News Editor
Pennsylvania dairy 4-H members ages 15-19 may apply to attend the National 4-H Dairy Conference Sept. 28 – Oct. 1 in conjunction with World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., thanks to a grant provided to the Center for Dairy Excellence by the Pennsylvania Dairyman’s Association.
Penn State’s Department of Dairy and Animal Science is coordinating Pennsylvania’s delegation to the National 4-H Dairy Conference. Each county 4-H program can nominate two 4-H members and applications are available online at www.das.psu.edu. Click on “Dairy Cattle,” under “4-H Programs,” to find more information about the conference. All nominations must be submitted through local county extension offices to Penn State by July 21.
The annual conference draws about 200 4-H dairy youth from the U.S. and Canada, and includes tours of local dairy farms, the Hoard’s Dairyman farm, the National Dairy Shrine and Nasco. It also includes workshops about dairy product marketing, biotechnology, herd mating strategies and artificial insemination.
“We are excited to work with the Dairymen’s Association and the Center for Dairy Excellence to support this delegation,” said Dale Olver, Pennsylvania 4-H dairy specialist. “It is a real testament to the support system our young people have within Pennsylvania’s dairy industry.”
Delegates interested in attending this year’s conference should plan to miss an entire week of school.
Finalists will be interviewed by a selection committee at Penn State’s 4-H Achievement Days on July 29. Any finalist not attending Achievement Days will be interviewed by phone during that week. For more information, contact your local extension office or call Dale Olver at 814-863-3664.
Posted: July 6, 2009 at 5:01 pm
By News Editor
The 2009 Wisconsin Farm Technology Days will be hosted by the Crave Brothers Farm LLC, in Wisconsin. The three-day event is titled, Food – Fuel – Future and will take place July 21-23. Visitors will have an opportunity to see the latest in technology, enjoy hands-on activities, view demonstrations, and learn about new ways for “going green.”
The Crave Brothers are innovators in many areas of agriculture. They were among the first in the state to utilize free-stall barns, total mixed ration, and bunker silos. In their quest to stay ahead of the curve, they built a state-of-the-art cheese plant in 2002. They have now doubled the size of the plant to accommodate increasing sales of their popular cheeses and increasing milk production on their growing farm.
The Craves also formed a unique partnership with Clear Horizons of Milwaukee on two anaerobic manure digesters that create enough electricity to power 550 average Wisconsin homes – which is more than twice what the farm and cheese factory need. After operating the first digester successfully for two years, the company built the second digester to stay in pace with the herd that has now grown to 1,100 milking cows. Heifers that the Craves moved back home from satellite farms to the new heifer barns on the home farm provide additional manure for the digester. Besides creating electricity that Clear Horizons sells to WE Energies, some of the solids are used as bedding for the livestock and the rest is the main ingredient in a potting mix product sold under the EnerGro brand name.
In addition to the traditional field demonstrations at the July show, the Dodge County farm technology days planners are working with the custom manure haulers organization to demonstrate environmentally safe methods of distributing manure on the farm. There will also be farm tours via trams to highlight all of the unique aspects of this modern dairy operation.
The show offers something for everyone. Youth activities will center around changes and the emphasis will be on healthy eating; Family living will feature a variety of entertainment and education. A “Family Farm Adventure” tent will feature educational, fun activities for the younger children. A crafts tent will feature unique, hand-made items. The University of Wisconsin’s Farm Progress Pavilion will feature a wide variety of educational topics including digesters, composting, cheese making and animal identification. More than 1,000 commercial exhibitors will also demonstrate or talk about the latest products and service offerings.
Posted: July 3, 2009 at 10:06 pm
By News Editor
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Cash cheese prices were mixed in the shortened 4th of July week. The blocks closed Thursday at $1.1150 per pound, down a half-cent on the week, 80 3/4-cents below a year ago, and 1 1/2-cents below support. Barrel closed at $1.10, up a penny on the week, 77 1/2-cents below a year ago, and right at support. Twenty nine cars of block traded hands on the week and 11 of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price hit $1.1490, down slightly. Barrel averaged $1.1123, down a half-cent.
Cash butter slipped this week, closing at $1.1925, down 1 1/4-cents on the week, and 36 cents below a year ago. Ten cars were sold on the week. NASS butter averaged $1.1703, down 3.9 cents. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged 84.93 cents, up 0.3 cent, and dry whey averaged 27.2 cents, down 0.3 cent on the week.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline
Posted: July 3, 2009 at 9:33 am
By Chuck
You have probably noticed the Fort Dodge Animal Health ad on the top of World Dairy Diary. We’re really glad that it’s there and want to welcome them as a new sponsor. In the coming months we’ll learn a lot more about them and their products.
With the support of sponsors like Fort Dodge Animal Health we’re going to continue to develop World Dairy Diary. Plans include a regular e-Newsletter and regular edition of The Milking Parlor, our podcast program.
So, let’s learn about a product from Fort Dodge Animal Health called Pyramid 10. Maybe the best way to start is with six reason to start using the product in your dairy operation:
1 Metastim Adjuvant
• Enhances protection by preserving antigen to extend the immune response
• Maximizes the animal’s response to the vaccine for greater protection
2 Demonstrated Fetal PIBVD Protection
• Confidence your future calf crop is protected from BVD infection and its
significant economic impact
3 Two BVD Strains: Singer Type 1 & 5912 Type 2
• Specifically selected for broad BVD protection
4 Single-Dose BRSV Protection
• Convenience of a one shot protocol fits into your handling procedures
and timing
5 Sub-Q or IM Administration
• Flexibility to fit your operational needs
• Compliant with industry BQA guidelines
6 Protection Against Devastating Effects of Five Lepto Serovars
• Vaccinate cows for L. canicola, L. grippo, L. hardjo, L. ictero andL. pomona
Posted: July 2, 2009 at 4:17 pm
By News Editor
R&B star Usher is the latest celebrity to don a milk mustache. Usher is featured in the ad campaign Body By Milk.
Usher was recently quoted in a People magazine article to say, “You’ve got to do things like win Oscars and Grammys. But, you’re nothing if you don’t have a milk ad!”
Bodybymilk.com is an online educational resource for consumers from the Milk Processor Education Program, funded by America’s milk processors.
The ad reads: “Let it flow. I pour my heart into my music. How do I stay in tune? With milk. The protein and nutrients in lowfat milk help me build muscle and stay fit. So eat right, exercise and grab a glass of ice-cold milk. Now that’s’ chill.”
Source: Dairy Herd Alert, IDFA Smart Brief, People magazine
Posted: July 2, 2009 at 4:08 pm
By News Editor
We’ve been seeing this story all over the social media networks – and as a supporter of agriculture, we urge you to become involved by writing a personal letter to Bank of America. You do not need to have an account with the company to express your concerns.
As reported by Cattlenetwork.com and Drovers:
The agriculture industry is protesting a new credit card offer from Bank of America. This new credit card will be a direct fundraiser for the Humane Society of the United States. For every $100 charged to the card, HSUS will receive 25 cents. Cattlenetwork.com, which like Drovers is owned by Vance Publishing, broke this story earlier this week and has covered it extensively. Bank of America, the articles point out, is a major lender to agriculture and does millions of dollars of business with feedyards across the Plains region.
Bank of America said in a response letter that it is looking into the matter of the specialty credit card with HSUS. To read the entire response, click here.
To access a form letter circulating in the industry to protest this partnership, click here.
Posted: July 2, 2009 at 4:03 pm
By News Editor
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has now finished the farm audits of its seventh herd retirement round since the program was started in 2003, removing 101,040 cows that produced almost two billion pounds of milk.
At the completion of the on-farm auditing process at the end of June, CWT removed 367 herds in 41 states, comprised of nearly 101,000 cows that produced 1.96 million pounds of milk. These figures reflect the final number of dairies that successfully were audited in the herd retirement process in May and June.
CWT had received 538 bids from 41 states during the bidding process in April. As has been the case with its previous herd retirement rounds, most of the cows removed were in the western regions of the country. This round also removed 818 bred heifers.
“Even though this was by far the largest of CWT’s seven herd retirement efforts, we were able to move quickly in May and June to audit the participating farms,” said Jim Tillison, Chief Operating Officer of CWT. “The national dairy herd will be noticeably smaller this summer as a result of CWT.”
CWT auditors were sent to each of the farms whose bids were accepted. Once the information submitted by the farmers with their bid was verified, each of the cows had a special CWT ear tag applied, and the farmers were a brief amount of time to sell their cows for processing. Once the sales receipts for the animals are verified and ear tags are returned to CWT by the processing plants, farmers are issued payment, and their names are posted online.
Tillison said some farmers’ names have yet to be posted online from this seventh round, but will be in coming weeks as they are sent their payments. He added that additional CWT herd reduction activities are likely in 2009, given the depressed state of milk prices and the continuing imbalance between supply and demand.
The totals for each region in the Spring 2009 herd retirement round include:
Northeast: 41-Total Farms Audited; 5,121-Total Cows Retired; 104.3 million pounds-Total Milk Removed
Southeast: 52-Total Farms Audited; 6,400-Total Cows Retired; 107.2 million pounds-Total Milk Removed
Midwest: 125-Total Farms Audited; 8,153-Total Cows Retired; 147.3 million pounds-Total Milk Removed
Southwest: 63-Total Farms Audited; 43,121-Total Cows Retired; 844.4 million pounds-Total Milk Removed
West: 86-Total Farms Audited; 38,245-Total Cows Retired; 759.9 million pounds-Total Milk Removed
Total: 367-Total Farms Audited; 101,040-Total Cows Retired; 1.96 billion pounds-Total Milk Removed
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