Posted: July 28, 2008 at 4:27 pm
By News Editor
The weekly update for Cooperatives Working Together (CWT):
CWT has accepted four export assistance bids last week for the sale of butter and anhydrous milkfat. With these accepted bids, CWT’s total 2008 export obligations are: butter, 13,792 metric tons (30.3 million lbs.); cheese, 741 metric tons (1.6 million lbs.); whole milk powder, 170 metric tons (374,000 lbs.); and anhydrous milkfat, 594 metric tons (1.3 million lbs.).
Two of the bids were from United Dairymen of Arizona of Tempe, AZ, for the following butter exports: 100 metric tons (220,000 pounds) to Egypt; and 93.5 metric tons (205,700 lbs.) to Morocco.
Another bid was accepted from California Dairies Inc., of Artesia, CA, for the export of 171 metric tons (376,200 lbs.) of butter to the Canary Islands. This is the first CWT-assisted export to that country.
Finally, one bid was accepted from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, for the export of 38 metric tons (83,600 pounds) of anhydrous milkfat to Mexico.
CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidders, only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.
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: June 23, 2008 at 8:08 am
By Chuck Zimmerman
Here’s the latest announcement from Cooperatives Working Together:
Cooperatives Working Together announced today that it accepted five export assistance bids last week for the sale of butter.
Two of the bids were from Foremost Farms of Baraboo, WI: 1,370 metric tons (3,014,000 pounds) of butter to Iran, and 38 metric tons of butter (83,600 lbs.) to Japan.
The other three bids were from United Dairymen of Arizona of Tempe, AZ: two separate bids were accepted for butter exports to Morocco, one in the amount of 140 metric tons (308,000 lbs.), and another for 120 metric tons (264,000 lbs.). The last bid was for 70 metric tons (154,000 lbs.) of butter to Egypt.
CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidders, only when delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.
With these accepted bids, CWT’s total 2008 export obligations are: whole milk powder, 170 metric tons (374,000 lbs.); butter, 2,029 metric tons (4,464,240 lbs.); cheese, 209 metric tons (459,800 pounds); and anhydrous milkfat, 210 metric tons (462,000).
Posted: May 1, 2008 at 4:54 pm
By News Editor
Today is a day for butter news! Keller’s Creamery, a division of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), was named the 2007 Outstanding Supplier by Auntie Anne’s Pretzels. Keller’s Creamery manufactures butter and butter products and has supplied Auntie Anne’s for nearly a decade.
DFA’s Winnsboro, Texas, plant manufactures the product for Auntie Anne’s and works with the Keller’s Creamery sales and distribution teams in Harleysville, Pa., to meet the needs of the famous pretzel company.
“We are proud of the Keller’s team at Winnsboro and Harleysville, who deserve the credit for this recognition,” says Mark Korsmeyer, president of DFA’s Dairy Food Products division. “To be associated and recognized by such a reputable company, with such great-tasting products, is an honor.”
Keller’s Creamery was honored at an awards recognition dinner on April 16 in Lancaster, Pa. Auntie Anne’s President and CEO Sam Beiler made the presentation.
“Keller’s was innovative in the testing and implementation of a new packaging project. They also provide a high-quality product and go above and beyond our expectations,” says Beiler. “We rely on Keller’s great product and service to make the best pretzels we can that our customers love and keep coming back for.”
Posted: May 1, 2008 at 4:43 pm
By News Editor
Three new board members have been elected to the American Butter Institute (ABI) during its spring meeting. New to the board are: Cody Gruwell, United Dairymen of Arizona, in Tempe, Ariz.; Michael John, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association, Inc. in Reston, Va.; and Dean Van Tuinen from Darigold, Inc., in Seattle, Wash.
In addition, John Whetten, ABI’s President from 1999-2001 received the American Dairy Product Institute’s Award of Merit. The award was established in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the dairy products industry in such field as processed
Posted: April 20, 2008 at 12:27 pm
By News Editor
The Wisconsin Dairy Products Association (WDPA) is looking for a few good judges for their annual World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest. The contest, held in conjunction with the World Dairy Expo, is in its sixth year. Do you have what it takes to be a judge? Then be sure to get your resume to the WDPA by May 23, 2008!
This year’s contest will have 55 different categories, encompassing a wide range of dairy products that include, cheese, butter, milk, ice cream, yogurt, whey, cottage cheese, sour cream, whipping cream and more.
WDPA is issuing a “call for judges” for the championship dairy product contest. WDPA is seeking judges for these products:
Cheese and Butter – 10 judges needed
Yogurt – 2 judges
Ice Cream and Sherbet – 2 judges
Whey Products – 2 judges
Cottage Cheese, Sour Cream and Sour Cream Dips – 2 judges
Fluid Milk and Cultured Buttermilk – 2 judges
Interested parties should send their resumes to Wisconsin Dairy Products Assn, 8383 Greenway Blvd, Middleton, WI 53562.
Posted: March 28, 2008 at 8:06 pm
By News Editor
The California based butter company, Challenge Dairy, has come under fire by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and country singer Willie Nelson. An online petition alleges that the Dairy uses products from a calf ranch that “violates state anti-cruelty laws.”
An online petition urges the California facility as well as St. Paul, Minn.-based Land O’Lakes to stop using milk from calves raised at the Mendes Calf Ranch in Tipton in the Central Valley.
“As a cowboy, I must stand up for cows,” Nelson said in a cover letter for the petition, which now has more than 23,000 signatures. “It’s a tragedy to see the small-town farmer, who cared deeply for his backyard animals, is rapidly being edged out by huge facilities that look more like factories than farms — and treat animals no better than machines.”
The petition was started in October. In June 2006, the ALDF filed lawsuit against Mendes for allegedly isolating and confining newborn calves in crates, which they say is illegal.
A press release from ALDF states that “Baby calves are almost immediately taken away from their mothers and shipped to the Tulare County facility, which houses as many as 12,000 calves at one time.”
Nelson’s letter describes the calves living “for extended periods in cramped, filthy crates — often without enough room to turn around or lie down completely.”
Posted: February 22, 2008 at 5:42 pm
By News Editor
Enterprising dairy farmers looking for a new niche are turning to dairy products made on-farm in small batches. They are finding consumers, chefs and artisan connoisseurs are very appreciative and excited about their products.
These artisanal operations are turning cow, goat or sheep milk into simple, straightforward foods like crème fraîche, butter, buttermilk, ice cream, puddings, custards, yogurt, yogurt-based sauces and yogurt drinks. Many of these dairies also sell unhomogenized, and in a few cases even unpasteurized, milk with an old-fashioned farmhouse flavor.
The movement is, in some ways, an offshoot of the American cheesemaking revival that began 15 to 20 years ago, and some of the creameries make fresh cheeses like mascarpone, mozzarella and ricotta that let the quality of the milk speak for itself.
Chalk it up to a lucky confluence of events. Most small dairy farmers cannot keep afloat selling milk to large processors at commodity prices, so those who are trying to survive are looking for alternatives. At the same time there is an increasingly sophisticated public that appreciates the difference between mass-produced dumbed-down food and the handiwork of a small dairy that has learned to produce exceptional butter or yogurt or ice cream by doing it the way it was done before World War II, when there was a creamery in every town.
The comeback is taking place across the country. States like Wisconsin, Vermont and New York are helping other small farmers get these businesses going. In 2004, Senator Herb Kohl, Democrat of Wisconsin, pushed through one of those infamous earmarks for $2.4 million for just such a project.
Posted: January 4, 2008 at 10:45 pm
By News Editor
Artists have a knack for being able to create a story from any medium. Jim Victor has carved himself a niche in butter - butter sculptures to be exact! On Thursday, the 17th annual butter sculpture was unveiled as part of the kick off to the 92nd Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa.
The butter sculpture is sponsored annually by Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program on behalf of the Commonwealth’s dairy farmers. The golden sculpture introduces “Discover Dairy” and “MILK: It Does a Student Body Good!,” two educational series developed by Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program in conjunction with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to help students understand the many ways dairy farmers positively contribute to the community. As the largest butter sculpture in Pennsylvania Farm Show history, this year’s sculpture was crafted from 1,000 pounds of butter donated by the Land O’Lakes plant in Carlisle.
“With just 8,400 dairy farms remaining in the Commonwealth, it’s important to educate Pennsylvanians about milk’s journey from cow to container,” said Tom Croner, a Somerset County dairy farmer and chairman of the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program. “Consumers are increasingly interested in where their food comes from. By using the butter sculpture to promote our dairy education kits, educators will be well-equipped to teach the story of our state’s official beverage.”
At the conclusion of the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the butter sculpture will be bussed to State College where it will be made into biodiesel at the Pennsylvania State University and State College High School. At Penn State, the butter sculpture will power the tractors used to harvest crops that feed the cows that make milk, which is churned into butter. The rest of the sculpture will be processed by State College High School Career and Technical Center Ag Science Program and Science Department Integrated Biodiesel Project to fuel the school’s grounds equipment. Both schools currently recycle used cooking oil from their campuses.
Posted: October 22, 2007 at 4:54 pm
By News Editor
The American Butter Institute (ABI) elected new officers at its annual meeting held this month in Arizona.
ABI’s new president is Rich Stammer of Agri-Mark in Methuen, Massachusetts. The ABI first vice president is Deborah Van Dyk of Schreiber Foods, Green Bay, Wisconsin, and ABI’s second vice president is Kris McFarland of California Dairies, Inc., Artesia, California.
ABI’s immediate past president, Jim Bleick of Graf Creamery, was presented a plaque for his two years of leadership that ended with the selection of Stammer as the incoming president.
ABI Board members, in addition to officer elections, conducted several other items of business at last week’s meeting, including reviewing ABI’s finances, getting an update on economic and market outlook, learning about butter promotional programs, and reviewing potential labeling and standards changes.
ABI’s next meeting will be held April 27-29, 2008 at the Marriott Downtown in Chicago, IL.
Posted: August 23, 2007 at 7:22 pm
By News Editor
The New York State Fair opened today for its 161st season, and also reveiled the fair’s annual butter sculpture. Sculpted by Jim Victor, the buttery rendition features a cow and her calf.
Here are some fun facts about the 2007 butter sculpture:
This year’s butter sculpture used about 800 pounds of butter. The sculpture weighs as much as:
1. 445 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
2. 2664 iPhones
3. 110 Nintendo Wii systems
4. 2.6 Sumo Wrestlers
It’s also enough for:
1. 25,600 servings of Fettuccini Alfredo (mixed with 4,267 pounds of pasta).
2. 4,800 loaves of Garlic Bread.
3. Enough to dip 8,533 lobsters
4. Enough to spread on 38,400 ears of sweet corn.
* Stats & Information from the American Dairy Association
Posted: August 21, 2007 at 5:52 pm
By News Editor
The Wisconsin Dairy Products Association will host the 2007 Dairy Product Grading and Evaluation Clinic on Tuesday, October 2, 2007 at World Dairy Expo, Madison, Wis. The clinic is a comprehensive training program on dairy product grading (cheese, butter, cottage cheese, and whey) led by graders from the United States Dept. of Ag (USDA), Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade & Consumer Protection (DATCP) and University of Wisconsin.
The Dairy Product Grading and Evaluation Clinic provides an excellent opportunity for dairy industry personnel to sharpen their present grading skills while learning new product evaluation techniques. This year’s clinic will feature an improved grading session format in which expert graders will comprehensively discuss common defects in dairy products, what buyers are looking for and how to properly grade dairy foods. Following this presentation, federal, state and selected industry graders will join attendees as they have an opportunity to evaluate over 40 different samples of cheese, butter, cottage cheese and whey.
In the afternoon, participants will hear informative presentations of issues that impact the dairy industry. The session begins with Tom Leitzke, DATCP and Dave Robbins, Dean Foods discussing the latest changes to state and federal dairy processing rules. Leitzke will highlight the recent revisions to Wisconsin’s processing rules (ATCP 80) and will join with Robbins to focus on amendments to the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance as a result of the 2007 National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments.
Following that discussion, there will be a presentation by Dr. Scott Rankin, UW-Madison, which pertains to a number of cheese issues, such as probiotics, Omega 3 and black spots in Aged Cheddar. The final presentation will be by K.J. Burrington, Center for Dairy Research, on the many unique ways in which whey is being utilized as a food ingredient.
The Dairy Product Grading & Evaluation Clinic will be of interest to all segments of the dairy processing industry – graders, quality and assurance personnel, technicians, salespersons, plant managers, retailers, suppliers, chefs and farmstead operations. The registration deadline is Tuesday, September 25, 2007.
Posted: August 8, 2007 at 6:26 pm
By News Editor
The Wisconsin Dairy Products Association (WDPA) is proud to announce that Dairy Field magazine and Cheese Market News have finalized an agreement with WDPA to become the exclusive sponsors of the Grand Champion Awards for the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest.
Cheese Market News will be the annual sponsor of the Grand Champion Award for Cheese and Butter, while Dairy Field magazine will be the annual sponsor of the Grand Champion Award for Grade A Products and Ice Cream.
“We’re extremely happy to have two of the leading dairy industry publications joining our contest,” says Brad Legreid, WDPA executive director. “Dairy Field and Cheese Market News are well-known and highly respected media sources within our industry and their participation will help our contest continue its phenomenal growth and success,” according to Legreid.
Posted: April 10, 2007 at 4:48 pm
By News Editor
Land O’Lakes Inc. has won a dispute with the GFA Brands Inc. regarding the company’s advertising of their margarine brand Smart Balance Buttery Spread. The national advertising division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus ruled that the company discontinue ads claiming the Buttery Spread tastes like butter.
The competitor, GFA Brands Inc., sells Smart Balance Buttery Spread, which the company claimed in television advertisements “cooks like butter, spreads like butter and tastes like butter.” One ad claimed that Smart Balance “tastes most like butter — even better!”
Everyone knows that taste is subjective, GFA Brands responded, so the advertising was meant as “puffery,” a term used in advertising to mean a promotional claim that no one takes literally. The company argued that it was sensitive to the issue and had voluntarily stopped using the “even better” advertisement. The argument didn’t stick. The advertising bureau recommended that GFA discontinue ads claiming that Buttery Spread tastes like butter.
Posted: March 26, 2007 at 4:19 pm
By News Editor
Well folks, you learn something new everyday. I had no idea that the western part of our country prefer their butter sticks to be short and squat! Land O’Lakes is meeting this demand with their new “stubby” butter!
The new Western-sized butter from Land O’Lakes, which this week is finally changing the shape of its butter sticks - but only for the quirky West Coast market.
One of the regional curiosities of the butter business is that different regions prefer different butter packaging. Midwesterners like their butter in long and slim sticks, stacked two-by-two into a one-pound block. But on the West Coast, the “Western stubby” style is popular. That’s a butter stick only three inches long, but wider, and the sticks are packaged four abreast to make up a pound.
“It’s been the norm in the West for a long, long time,” explained Lydia Botham, a spokesperson for Arden Hills-based Land O’Lakes, which has the nation’s No. 1 brand of butter. Rather than fight regional tastes, Land O’Lakes finally decided, “They like it that way, so let’s do it,” Botham said. The Land O’Lakes Western stubby is now appearing in California and nine other Western states.
Posted: March 8, 2007 at 7:52 pm
By News Editor
Here’s a fact I didn’t know until today, the 29 members of the American Butter Institute (ABI) market almost 90 percent of the butter in the United States. And now, AMI has a new member, National Dairy Brands. ABI is a trade association for manufacturers, processors, marketers and distributors of butter and butter products.
National Dairy Brands manufactures and markets specialty dairy products under its own brand, and many others. The company’s product lines include specialty butter portions, flavored butter, European-style butter, butter solids, cups, bulk butter, continentals and readies. It also makes clarified butter oil that is shelf stable, as well as a 50-50 blend of butter oil and vegetable oil, Squeeze and Spread™ butter portion, steak toppers, and other products.
Posted: February 16, 2007 at 7:04 pm
By News Editor
Land O’Lakes announced Thursday a $44 million net earnings during the fourth quarter of 2006. This is good news for the company’s many dairy farmers across the country.
Land O’Lakes, the Arden Hills-based dairy cooperative, Thursday reported $44 million in net earnings during its fourth quarter of 2006, a considerable improvement over 2005’s small fourth-quarter loss. Sales were down slightly, to $1.9 billion, due mostly to lower dairy prices.
For the year, Land O’Lakes reported $88 million in net earnings on $7.3 billion in sales. While both are below the previous year, 2005’s annual earnings were inflated by a large one-time gain from the sale of the co-op’s fertilizer operations. Excluding that one-time gain, Land O’Lakes earnings in 2006 rose nearly 50 percent.
Within the co-op, the strongest results came from Land O’Lakes’ well-known dairy products — the company makes the nation’s No. 1 brand of butter — and from its seed business. Dairy foods contributed $47.2 million to the year’s earnings, while the surging seed business contributed a record $40.1 million. Earnings in its feed business also were higher.
Weaker results came from the agronomy unit, called Agriliance, a joint venture with Inver Grove Heights-based farmer cooperative CHS. That unit reported a pretax loss of $16.3 million for the quarter. Its troubled MoArk egg business showed some improvement, with $1.6 million in pretax earnings for the quarter, but a $40.8 million loss for the year.
Posted: January 8, 2007 at 10:29 pm
By News Editor
2007 marks the 91st Pa. Farm Show in Harrisburg, Pa. Opening weekend saw record crowds - the warm weather didn’t keep people away from the fun! “Growing Pennsylvania Agriculture to Feed and Fuel Our Future” is the theme - one that even the now infamous butter sculpture honors. Featuring Ben Franklin and the Liberty Bell, the buttery artwork will be on display until Sunday, January 14th. After that, the 800 pounds of butter (donated by Land O’Lakes), will become part of a research project to turn butter into biodiesel! Philadelphia-based Fry-o-Diesel, operates a pilot plant in north Philadelphia and has developed technology to convert waste greases from restaurants into high quality biodiesel.
Posted: September 28, 2006 at 6:51 pm
By Chuck Zimmerman
If you’d like to bid on some fine cheese, buttter or yogurt then World Dairy Expo is the place to be next Tuesday.
The World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest will hold an auction of all first place winners on Tuesday, October 3, 2006, 5:00 pm, Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison, WI.
The October 3 event will begin at 5:00 pm with a reception featuring a cheese fondue and special foods and pastries created by the MATC Culinary School utilizing the 2nd & 3rd place (cheese and butter classes) winners of the World Dairy Expo Championship Dairy Product Contest. Free beer and a cash bar will also be offered. At 6:00pm the auction will commence with Mr. Doug Wilson, Cooperative Resources International, serving as the featured auctioneer. All successful bidders will receive the product they bid on, plus a commemorative keepsake for their participation. A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Professional Dairy Producers of WI (PDPW) to support their efforts to assist current and beginning producers achieve success in dairy farming. The proceeds will also be used to help defray contest expenses.
Posted: May 29, 2006 at 1:10 pm
By Andy Vance
Milk powder, butter, and cheese are hot commodities for the kiwi exporter. The latest report from Statistics New Zealand indicates that the export value of these products was up $209 for the month of April, a 54.5 percent jump over 2005. In total, these three products make up $592 million exported, or 19.6% of total exports for the island nation.
These sales totals were the highest ever for an April month. The main contributor to the increase was milk powder, which was up $145 million (77.0 percent). The increase in exports of milk powder, butter and cheese was spread across many of New Zealand’s trading partners: Venezuela, the United Arab Emirates, the People’s Republic of China, the Philippines, Iran and Jordan all showed increases exceeding $10 million since April 2005.
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