Posted: October 6, 2011 at 8:57 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
The National Milk Producers Federation held a press conference here at World Dairy Expo on Wednesday to help the media better understand the recently introduced Dairy Security Act of 2011 so that we can in turn better explain it to the dairy industry.
The legislation, HR 3062, introduced in the House last month by Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Mike Simpson (D-ID) grew out of the Foundation for the Future proposal made by National Milk Producers Federation, but the final version is different, according to NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak. “When Mr. Peterson introduced his discussion draft, it was Foundation for the Future, word for word,” Kozak said. However, after some grassroots meetings with producers around the country, it became evident that some changes needed to be made. “So, it’s now the Peterson-Simpson bill, there is no Foundation for the Future.”
Kozak says the main components of HR 3062 are pretty simple. “It establishes a dairy margin protection program, a basic and a supplemental program, it establishes a market stabilization program that would kick in during times of imbalance,” he explained, noting that it would be voluntary, not mandatory. The act would eliminate all current dairy programs, including the price support and MILC, and would result in an overall budget savings.
Kozak feels confident about the chances of passage for the Dairy Security Act since it has good support within the industry, but he is disappointed with the strong opposition by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). “We’ve tried to engage them in the dialogue and they have repeatedly just said no,” Kozak said. “Secondly, the tactics they’ve recently come out with that expose the entire country to the issues between producers and processors are not healthy for the image of dairy products.”
He encourages producers to contact their representatives in Congress and encourage them to support the Dairy Security Act (HR 3062).
Pastor Clinton Bush, founder of City Kidz Ice Cream Cafe in Jacksonville, FL was presented a special award for his organization’s Philly Vanilla ice cream entry in the contest, which won second place in its division. “Normally we don’t give special recognition to second and third place winners during the awards reception,” said Brad Legried of the Wisconsin Dairy Products Association, which sponsors the competition. “But Pastor Bush and the young people of City Kidz Ice Cream Cafe deserve the notice.”
Bush founded City Kidz Ice Cream in 2006 to foster financial literacy in inner-city communities and the group provides young people the opportunity to work in a dairy manufacturing plant and learn how to pursue career paths. The group received a special award from the competition and the 15 young people who helped manufacture their “Philly Vanilla” ice cream entry will all received special merit certificates.
“I think we all have a moral obligation to make sure we preserve our food industry, especially our dairy industry, because America has always been the global leader in food science,” Pastor Bush said, noting that the ice cream the students created is heading for supermarket shelves in the near future.
Speaking of the future, a $2000 scholarship was also awarded at the event Tuesday evening. UW-Madison student Susan Hodgson received the sizable check to pursue her dairy-related studies.
The Championship Dairy Product Contest had over 700 entries this year. It’s the only contest of it’s kind in North America because it includes all dairy products. This year there were 74 classes for ice cream, cheese, yogurt, fluid milk, cottage cheese, whey, sour cream, butter, etc.
Airplanes on display at a dairy show? Yes indeed at this year’s World Dairy Expo.
Cirrus Aircraft had a plane on display in the outside exhibit area and it was receiving a lot of attention. To learn more about them I spoke with Valerie Blanchenay, Marketing Director. She says many of the owners of their planes use them specifically for business travel so that what might have been a six hour drive turns into only an hour and allows you to get your meeting done and be back home in time for dinner. The company started in Baraboo, WI and just celebrated selling their 5,000th plane. Exhibiting at a farm show is new and this is their first time at World Dairy Expo. Valerie says that international visitors have been interested because there are countries without good transportation infrastructure like roads and planes become even more useful for travel.
These are single engine planes that have an interior designed much like a car. They have a range of about 1,000 nautical miles. Low end models start at about $280,000.
One of our World Dairy Expo sponsors is Hoard’s Dairyman. Here’s Managing Editor, Steve Larson, serving ice cream at the opening night exhibitor reception. Steve will be presented with the 2011 Guest of Honor award here at Expo from the National Dairy Shrine.
Steven A. Larson, a dairy journalist and editor for Hoard’s Dairyman magazine who has been educating dairy producers and sharing their stories for over four decades, has been named the 2011 National Dairy Shrine Guest of Honor. The prestigious award is given each year to salute a contemporary leader for his or her outstanding achievements and contributions that benefit the dairy industry.
As a Hoard’s Dairyman associate editor from 1969 to 1998, Larson covered important dairy topics around the United States and the world. He also solicited articles on contemporary topics from leading dairy professionals and scientists. “Steve kept his finger on the pulse of the dairy industry on a wide range of issues,” says George Shook, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
I visited with Steve before he had to start serving ice cream last night. Steve says the award he’s receiving is very special and many of his mentors and people he looks up to have received it. “I hardly put myself in that category. I kind of have to pinch myself to get the feeling of it. It is a great honor.”
The company is releasing Pioneer® hybrid P1376XR, a 113-day BMR hybrid, in limited quantities to growers primarily across the northeastern United States for the 2012 planting season. “P1376XR is our first BMR hybrid corn product,” says Kyle Whitaker, Pioneer senior sales and marketing manager for global forages. “To develop it, we back-crossed the brown midrib trait into our best silage inbreds and it resulted in some really nice advantages over competitive products.”
Among those advantages are good digestibility, improved agronomics, increased yields, high starch, strong drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance. This hybrid contains Herculex® XTRA insect protection as well as the Roundup Ready® Corn 2 trait and the LibertyLink® gene.
Kyle is pictured here at the Pioneer booth at World Dairy Expo where the new BMR hybrid is on display. We did an interview last week over the phone prior to the official release of the hybrid.
Every year the Cattlemen’s Beef Board serves some samples at World Dairy Expo. On opening day Angela Horkan, Wisconsin Beef Council (left) and Melissa Slagle, CBB, were serving meat balls made with veal. Mmm, mmm, good.
Angela says they like to come to Expo since 80% of their Checkoff funds come from the dairy industry. So the booth gives them a chance to talk with dairy producers about what the Beef Checkoff is doing. Melissa says she went on a farm tour the day before and talked with dairy and veal producers about their operations and what the Beef Checkoff is doing for them. She’s also encouraging producers to take a beef production practices survey at CattleSurvey.com. It’s the first year they’ve asked for producer input to learn about what they’re doing in their operations to ensure quality for the end product.
You can listen to my interview with Angela and Melissa here: Beef Board Interview
Posted: October 5, 2011 at 9:05 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
If you happen to stop by the Alltech booth (#3204) at World Dairy Expo, make sure you take a photo of yourself and post it on their Facebook page (facebook.com/AlltechNaturally). It could win you a new iPad!
If you can’t make it by the booth, or you’re not even at expo, just post a photo of your cow on the Alltech Facebook page. The photo that has the most “likes” by the end of Expo wins the poster an iPad. Certainly worth the effort! Photos are already up there, including ours. Sure, we’ll take a new iPad if you want to like our photo!
When we stopped by the booth, we talked to Tammy Casper, assistant marketing coordinator with Alltech. Tammy says their main message for dairy producers is that Alltech cares. “We do want to help dairy farmers and increase milk production,” she said, noting that the first day of expo was busy and fun with all the students who stopped by.
World Dairy Expo General Manager has dialed in some beautiful weather to start off the 2011 show. I visited with him this morning to get a preview of this year’s program. Mark says the thing he’s noticed early here at the show it how positive the attitude is on the part of dairy farmers.
I asked him what’s new and he says that they often find that out on opening day as companies unveil new products. He says he’s been hearing a lot about RFID and robotics. We’ll see if we can find some of those stories while we’re here. Mark also says that the breed shows should set a record for participation. He says they had to put up a new structure to house animals since so many are here.
The National Milk Producers Federation’s Board of Directors has voted for a revised approach to reforming federal dairy policy, with the key change of “allowing farmers an individual choice between receiving the financial protection of a government safety net, or opting out of such protection.”
You can listen in on a conference call with NMPF about the changes here: NMPF Conference Call
As originally proposed back in 2010, NMPF’s Foundation for the Future (FFTF) program contained a government-subsidized safety net, the Dairy Producer Margin Protection Program, to protect against periods of low milk prices, high feed costs, or a combination of the two. This program offered a Basic level of subsidized insurance coverage, plus the option of Supplemental fixed-cost coverage partially paid by farmers. The FFTF program also contained the Dairy Market Stabilization Program, which was a mandatory means to reduce market volatility by discouraging new milk production during periods of compressed margins.
Under the revised approach backed today by NMPF, the Dairy Producer Margin Protection Program (DPMPP) would continue to be voluntary, but if a producer opts to participate in the DPMPP, his/her participation in the Dairy Market Stabilization Program (DMSP) would then be mandatory. If a producer chooses not to participate in the insurance program, then participation in the DMSP would not be required. As with NMPF’s original reform package, the Milk Income Loss Contract program would be eliminated, as would the Dairy Product Price Support Program. (more…)
While attending the 2011 IFAJ Congress in Canada I recorded a presentation by Richard Doyle, Executive Director, Dairy Farmers of Canada and President, International Dairy Federation. He’s pictured in the center of the photo. The panel was labeled, “Canadian Agriculture 101.”
A big part of Richard’s presentation deals with the supply management system in Canada that is “based on planned domestic production, administered pricing and dairy product import controls.” There are licensed quotas and various other components to the system which you can read about in this pdf. A good source of information is the Canadian Dairy Information Centre. They national system was introduced in 1970. Listen to his presentation here: Richard Doyle Presentation
Last week I joined with other members of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) for the 2011 IFAJ Congress. We meet every year in a different country to learn about agriculture there and for professional improvement sessions. This year we were in Canada and visited some dairy farms. My tour group visited Claynook Farms where we met owners, Wayne and Dennis Wagler.
The conversation with the dairy operators covered just about every topic you could imagine from genetics to marketing. I recorded part of a conversation with reporters in which I asked about their thoughts on the Canadian supply management system (more on that later). You can listen in on that Q&A here: Claynook Farms
I also recorded a video clip with part of the discussion too.
The National Dairy Council teamed with the Midwest Dairy Council and the NFL to recently launch “Fuel Up to Play 60”, a program designed to encourage healthy eating habits and an active lifestyles to the nation’s youth who face a challenge battling the epidemic of childhood obesity. The program is summarized by its motto: “Be Healthy, Be Active, Make a Difference.”
David Crook, a dairy farmer from Humboldt, was among those present at the September 12 press conference at the Nebraska State Capitol promoting the program to Nebraska’s schools. Crook operates a 100-head dairy along with his wife and brother and couldn’t be happier with the program. “We have an extremely great product for our kids. It’s a big part of the solution to childhood obesity. How can we beat this opportunity?”
Crook applauded Governor Heineman’s support for the program and was pleased by the fact that the governor was the first in the nation to pledge support for the program. Crook, in addition to other family dairy producers across the state, was highly encouraged with the strong support for the dairy industry and to Nebraska’s youth.
In a press conference on Monday, Linda Maly from St. John Nepomucene in Weston, Neb., and “Fuel Up to Play 60” Program Advisor of the Year, outlined the program which aims to raise awareness of healthy choices and empower students to choose healthy foods and be physically active through play for at least 60 minutes per day.
It has activated more than eight million students in 70,000 schools nationwide, including 10,000 Midwest schools to be healthy, get active and make a difference.
As a demonstration of this commitment, Midwest Dairy Council awarded $507,728 to 194 schools in their 10-state territory during the 2010-2011 school year to help them jump-start and champion school wellness efforts. As part of Fuel Up to Play 60, schools can receive a free Quick Start Resources kit with planning tools and in-school collateral materials to help them implement healthy eating and physical activity “Plays” to spark positive wellness change in their schools.
Students have the opportunity to participate in a series of three Fuel Up to Play 60 Challenges this school year, and a bonus Challenge in the summer, that help educate and motivate them to showcase their talents and collaborate with their peers through Fuel Up to Play 60. The first Challenge, which launched on August 22 and runs through October 10, is the Back to School, Back to Football Challenge. It is designed to encourage students to get their school and friends excited about Fuel Up to Play 60 by creating a poster or video or planning a pep rally to inspire a healthy start to the new school year.
As youth go through the program, they are encouraged to consume nutrient-rich foods, including low-fat and fat-free dairy foods, fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and achieve at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day. The ultimate goal is to ensure changes made at school are sustainable, and to provide children with more opportunities to be physically active and choose nutrient-rich food.
The AgChat Foundation just held it’s second annual Agvocacy 2.0 Conference. This is a full program of social media training for farmers to learn how to use social networking to reach out to consumers.
At the conference I met Twitter follower and now friend in person. Here’s @DairyCarrie Mess and her husband.
You’ll notice that Carrie is wearing a New Holland shirt! That’s because the dealership she works at sponsored her participation in the conference. I talked with Carrie to learn what drew her to AgChat and using social media. I think you’ll enjoy hearing her story and it will encourage farmers to get started with social media if they haven’t already. As she puts it “If you are serious about being in agriculture you need to consider this as part of your job.”
Posted: August 16, 2011 at 6:49 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
One of the stops on the 2011 CTIC Conservation In Action Tour in northwest Ohio last week was Bridgewater Dairy in Montpelier, where tour participants heard from owner Dr. Leon Weaver about the conservation practices they use to protect water quality in this area so close to Lake Erie.
“We explained the operation of our large dairy farm where we milk about 3,000 cows and how we house and care for the animals to maximize their health and productivity and also make them comfortable,” Weaver said. “And then how we protect the environment through the treatment of our manure in an anaerobic digester and the nutrient balance of our fields to produce crops to feed back to our cows.”
Weaver says they try to recycle as much as possible on the operation. “For example, water gets used a minimum of three times,” he said. “First to cool our milk, second to irrigate our crops, and third to wash something.” In addition, the manure which is used to produce electricity and fertilizer is also used to make cow bedding. “When the manure comes out of the digester, it’s nearly bacteria-free. We press the solids out to create something that feels and looks about like peat moss and we put that back in as bedding for the cows.”
A family owned business, Bridgewater Dairy includes three separate entities – Bridgewater Dairy LLC, Bridgewater Farming LLC, and Oakshade Dairy LLC. Together the operations milk 4200 Holstein Dairy Cows and farm over 4000 acres of ground in Northwest Ohio. Find out more about them on BridgewaterDairy.com and listen to or download my interview with Leon here: Dr. Leon Weaver on CTIC Tour
Last week the Conservation Technology Information Center conducted a field tour as part of their Indian Creek Watershed Project in Livingston County, IL. This project is funded in part by the Illinois EPA and other stakeholders. I participated and was pleasantly surprised to find a dairy farm on the tour!
We visited Kilgus Dairy. The family dairy farm is the only one in the state bottling their own milk. They also grow corn and soybeans and have land for the cows to graze on. They move those cows periodically, allowing the paddocks to grow back. In the picture you can see Matt Kilgus showing our group how to pour our own ice cream in the on-farm dairy products store, Kilgus Homestead.
Matt says they started the grazing system which got them involved with watershed management. Matt’s uncle was on the steering committee for the CTIC project so they’re conducting several tests and programs, including the use of different types of cover crops. He says that they hope to see some results that will benefit them while also becoming better stewards of the land.
Dr. Jude Capper, Washington State University, Assistant Professor of Dairy Sciences (pictured on the left) is a myth buster. At the Alltech International Symposium she took on the myths about the carbon footprint of modern dairy production. Her presentation was titled, “Managing the media myth: What is the truth behind the carbon footprint of modern dairy production? Things you should know.” I spoke with her to find out what we should know.
Jude says that the main takeaway from her remarks is “If we improve productivity, we cut land use, we cut water use, we cut fertilizer and fossil fuel use and we cut the total carbon footprint.” Now how often have you heard modern dairy production portrayed in that light? But that’s the truth and a story that needs to be told. Compared to 1944 the carbon footprint of a pound of milk has decreased by 63 percent! She says we still have a lot of room for improvement too. Her research has focused on American dairy production but she says that this same trend is happening in countries around the world. I am glad we had her on the program! Dr. Jude Capper Interview
You can find more information about her research on the WSU website.
Last week I attended the Alltech International Symposium. Of course dairy is a big part of the educational topics offered at this annual event. I’ve got a couple of interviews to share with you starting with this one.
Disruptive change sounds disturbing. However, perhaps it’s more of a challenge. Mandi McLeod, System Insights, Ltd., New Zealand, talked about it and its impact on the dairy industry during the Alltech International Symposium. She’s seen here being interviewed by Ireland’s RTE voice Damien O’Reilly. I spoke with Mandi after Damien to learn what is going on with dairy farming in her country and how she coaches family business strategy.
Mandi says the New Zealand dairy model is still working but needs to evolve further in light of disruptive changes in the industry. She says that their level of productivity hasn’t kept up with the price of their product which makes them vulnerable at the moment. The current pricing of dairy products is just not financially sustainable and it looks like that isn’t going to improve soon. Mandi is a family business strategist and advises dairy farmers to take a look at their business and make sure they’re using resources wisely. Sounds like common sense advice for any business. She wants people to enjoy what they are doing by finding a balance in their life and business. Having a good plan would help a family business tremendously. Perhaps you should give Mandi a call if you need help. Mandi McLeod Interview
Posted: May 11, 2011 at 5:58 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Planting delays seem to be consuming the thoughts and energy of most growers this spring. But with the alfalfa crop maturing, don’t be tempted to delay that important first crop cutting. Hear what Alan Patterson, dairy specialist with Pioneer Hi-Bred, says about spring alfalfa challenges in this edition of Pioneer’s Forage Forum.
FAPRI Associate Director and dairy & livestock analyst Scott Brown says they looked at how the National Milk Producers Federation used DMSP during the recession of 2009 to add $2 cwt to milk margins, significant when you consider most margins are around $8 cwt. The way it worked was to cut supplies, and that pushed up prices, without the government having to step in and pump any funds into it.
Brown says while it’s not part of federal dairy policy now, it certainly could be. He says that even in these budget-cutting times, DMSP would be appealing to both sides of the political aisle since it would not require any outlay of tax dollars. Brown adds the best part might be that DMSP wouldn’t be used very often.
The legislation, HR 3062, introduced in the House last month by Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Mike Simpson (D-ID) grew out of the Foundation for the Future proposal made by National Milk Producers Federation, but the final version is different, according to NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak. “When Mr. Peterson introduced his discussion draft, it was Foundation for the Future, word for word,” Kozak said. However, after some grassroots meetings with producers around the country, it became evident that some changes needed to be made. “So, it’s now the Peterson-Simpson bill, there is no Foundation for the Future.”
The founder of an inner-city food science lab received special recognition in the 
“I think we all have a moral obligation to make sure we preserve our food industry, especially our dairy industry, because America has always been the global leader in food science,” Pastor Bush said, noting that the ice cream the students created is heading for supermarket shelves in the near future.
Pioneer Hi-Bred is pleased to present a 
Among those advantages are good digestibility, improved agronomics, increased yields, high starch, strong drought tolerance, disease and pest resistance. This hybrid contains Herculex® XTRA insect protection as well as the Roundup Ready® Corn 2 trait and the LibertyLink® gene.
If you happen to stop by the 
One of the stops on the 
Weaver says they try to recycle as much as possible on the operation. “For example, water gets used a minimum of three times,” he said. “First to cool our milk, second to irrigate our crops, and third to wash something.” In addition, the manure which is used to produce electricity and fertilizer is also used to make cow bedding. “When the manure comes out of the digester, it’s nearly bacteria-free. We press the solids out to create something that feels and looks about like peat moss and we put that back in as bedding for the cows.”
Last week the Conservation Technology Information Center conducted a field tour as part of their 
Last week I attended the Alltech International Symposium. Of course dairy is a big part of the educational topics offered at this annual event. I’ve got a couple of interviews to share with you starting with this one.
Planting delays seem to be consuming the thoughts and energy of most growers this spring. But with the alfalfa crop maturing, don’t be tempted to delay that important first crop cutting. Hear what Alan Patterson, dairy specialist with 