Canada is changing the rules used to classify milk that goes into making mozzarella cheese.
The new milk class, to take effect June 1, is expected to result in lower costs for Canadian-made mozzarella for restaurants that prepare and cook pizzas on site.
The battle to cut the cost of mozzarella for pizza restaurants has been fought for nearly 15 years, ever since frozen pizza makers — including frozen-food giant McCain — won an exemption from Ottawa that allowed them to buy cheese at the cheaper world market price.
It remains to be seen whether dairy processors will pass the savings from the new ‘3d’ classification on to restaurant owners.
A number of restaurant chains recently began circumventing hefty cheese tariffs by importing their mozzarella by way of pizza topping kits.
The case is currently before the Canadian International Trade Tribunal, and is seen as a serious threat to Canada’s farm supply management system.
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) applaud the United States’ decision to welcome Japan into Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade negotiations.
“Japan greatly enhances the potential value of the TPP to U.S. dairy producers and processors,” says Jaime Castaneda, senior vice president for strategic initiatives and trade policy, USDEC and NMPF. “Japan is the third-largest economy in the world and already a major dairy importer. Reducing excessive tariffs and removing non-tariff barriers to trade will significantly increase U.S. dairy export opportunities, which helps drive overall U.S. dairy industry growth.”
U.S. suppliers shipped $284 million worth of cheese, whey proteins, milk powder and other dairy products to Japan in 2012. It is the fifth-largest U.S. dairy export market, despite substantial market access barriers in many of the biggest dairy categories.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office officially notified Congress of the American government’s intention to enter into TPP trade talks in 2009. At that time, it did so with the idea that the TPP would eventually expand from the initial eight participants—Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam—to the entire Asia-Pacific, thus expanding the economic significance of the deal.
“The addition of Canada in 2012 and now Japan greatly raises the possibility of a positive overall TPP dairy package. But negotiators must now follow through on another promise made back in 2009: concluding a high-standard trade agreement,” says Castaneda. “We need to secure, in ongoing talks, effective disciplines on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, strong defense of common food names and meaningful competition policy changes in New Zealand’s dairy sector.”
Japan needs approval from all current TPP participants before officially joining the group. Although the United States has endorsed Japan’s participation now, we expect that the rest of the TPP partners will soon follow suit. The 17th round of negotiations takes place May 15-24 in Lima, Peru. Japan will join the actual negotiations 90 days after the United States notifies Congress of their intent to enter into negotiations with Japan.
The Irish Dairy Board has introduced Kerrygold Skellig, a sweet Cheddar cheese, to supermarkets and specialty stores across the U.S.
A popular Cheddar variety in the U.K., Kerrygold’s sweet Cheddar is a complex cheese with a firm yet creamy texture, a distinct nuttiness and sweet apple notes. The cheese is not “sweet” as sugar is sweet, but describes an intensely flavorful, high-umami quality.
Like all Kerrygold cheeses and butters, Skellig is made in Ireland with milk from grass-fed cows that are free of artificial growth hormones. The cows are raised on small family farms, with an average herd size of 60.
Kerrygold Skellig will be available beginning in March at major supermarkets and specialty stores.
Posted: February 18, 2013 at 8:37 pm
By News Editor
A great new video from FrieslandCampina called the ‘Story Of Milk.’ Check it out below
Milk is Mother Nature’s miracle. A magic gift we receive daily with pride and respect at FrieslandCampina. Every day our cows graze slowly, while the world changes at an increasing speed. The members-cattle holders of FrieslandCampina cherish their cattle. We honor the rhythm of Mother Nature. A rhythm our animals follow so they can create one of the richest nutrients that exist. The simple fact that cows can create milk, something no factory can produce, is magic in our eyes. Share the miracle.
Posted: December 10, 2012 at 3:21 pm
By Jamie Johansen
To kickoff Global 500′s first dairy breakout session last week, Alltech brought to the stage Charlie Moore, a consulting nutritionist specializing in ruminants.
He probably traveled the farthest to get to Lexington, Ky. as he calls South Africa home. Graduating from Stellenbosch University with a B.S. in Animal Science and Agronomy, he is currently a registered professional animal scientist. He mainly works with large dairy and cow/calf producers, trying to maximize the use of home grown feeds.
Charlie discussed what he feels are 10 ingredients for a successful dairy farm. For the past 20 years he has visited dairy farms and is confident that if you follow his advice your level of production will increase.
In his closing remarks he summed up his take home message by saying:
Look to optimize rumen health.
Keep an eye on cow comfort. Screen feeds for quality.
Use data already generated on the farm.
Develop an organized monitoring program.
Posted: November 29, 2012 at 8:37 pm
By News Editor
European Union dairy farmers staged a protest against milk prices in Brussels, spraying police with high-pressure hoses filled with milk.
According to Reuters, hundred of farmers blocked traffic with tractors along some of Brussels’ busiest streets and aimed hoses at the Parliament building. Naturally, police and passersby got showers they were not expecting. Afterward, the farmers set fire to barrels of hay and piles of tires. Says Reuters:
“The European Milk Board, which coordinated the two-day protest, said prices with current quotas were putting small farmers out of business. In Belgium, for example, the board said the wholesale price for a quarter gallon of milk was around 34 cents, but the cost of producing it is more than 50 cents.”
How much do you know about DeLaval? Want to learn more? Then sit in on this press interview with President/CEO, Joakim Rosengren. I conducted this interview along with several other ag journalists during the IFAJ Congress in Sweden. We were visiting the DeLaval Hamra Farm. After our tour of the facilities we had a wonderful meal under the roof of their big machines shed.
The first question was how Alfa Laval became DeLaval. From there we moved to what’s new in terms of equipment from the company. Prior to our interview we saw a number of these products on display in their show room. I hope you enjoy the interview.
Dairy farmer protesters from Europe, including Italy, Germany, Ireland and France, sprayed milk outside the European Parliament in Brussels on Tuesday, creating a “milk lake” to protest against low prices.
The protesters blocked off a square with tractors and statues of cows brightly painted in the national colors of EU member states.
One milk producer perched on a haystack and used an industrial-sized hose to spray the contents of a milk truck into a makeshift tarpaulin pool, splashing demonstrators, spectators and reporters.
The “milk lake” was intended to symbolize an oversupply of milk in the European market, with protesters ringing cowbells and denouncing moves to phase out production quotas, resulting in more milk on the market and lower prices.
European Milk Board members in flannel shirts and cowboy hats addressed the gathering. One lamented the excess milk production and how little farmers were getting paid, to loud cheers from the crowd. Another blamed the European Union’s executive Commission, to even more raucous applause.
Once the “lake” was full, the pool was opened, and the milk ran down the street into the gutter. Some farmers in rubber boots happily splashed around in the milk river.
Marc Tarabella, a socialist member of the Parliament, said the protesters had a just cause.
“Their fight is also ours,” he said.
“How can we accept that some workers are working at a loss? Working to lose money? We cannot close our eyes to this human and social drama.”
venture | dairy is a newly launched organization that will work with partners around the globe to build sustainable, thriving dairy enterprises that support healthy, prosperous communities. Founded by Trevor Tomkins, Ph.D., the recently retired chief executive officer of Milk Specialties Global and a 38-year veteran of the dairy industry. venture | dairy knows that thriving, sustainable, locally-owned dairy enterprises will have a profound impact on a developing community by generating income, improving nutrition-especially among children, involving women and improving the environment—truly creating healthy, sustainable communities.
“venture | dairy was founded to empower dairy entrepreneurs to establish sustainable business practices that can improve their lives and the lives of their families, and better their communities,” commented Tomkins. “This is the driving force behind our organization.”
Structured to produce measurable outcomes, venture | dairy is both a non-for-profit organization and a social investment fund. The non-for-profit operation prepares dairy enterprises to thrive by supporting technology advancement and training in dairy production, and coaching those involved through the fundamentals of business and value-chain development. The social investment fund provides access to affordable, patient capital in the form of loans or equity that can be used to procure equipment, purchase feed, build infrastructure and oversee operations. Combining the strengths of a non-for-profit organization and an impact-driven social investment fund, venture | dairy allows donors and investors to support the organization’s initiatives in ways that best meet their financial and philanthropic goals.
The organization’s inaugural project in Nicaragua is the formation of a Dairy Hub that will work with Nicaraguan farmers to improve milk production and farm profitability. The Nicaraguan dairy company, Centrolac, is one of the partners in the project, and will have the Tetra Laval Food for Development Office as an advisor. Currently,venture | dairy is also undertaking a feasibility study in Rwanda to determine whether its developing dairy industry can be helped by construction of a dairy processing plant.
Fonterra — the world’s largest exporter of dairy products is planning a public stock offering.
Fonterra was formed through the 2001 merger of the two largest co-operatives, New Zealand Dairy Group and Kiwi Co-operative Dairies, together with the New Zealand Dairy Board, giving it more might to compete on a global basis. Today, it has near-monopoly control of the New Zealand domestic and export dairy industries, sets the milk price for its loyal 11,000 farmer-shareholder base and has operations in 140 countries spanning Australia, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
Last year, 2011, was a record year in sales for Fonterra, enough to catapult it past the giant French and Dutch co-operatives, Lactalis and FrieslandCampina, and today it trails only its corporate competitors, Nestle S.A. and Danone S.A.
Posted: February 13, 2012 at 2:38 pm
By News Editor
A new report from Rabobank’s global Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory department titled “Global Dairy Outlook: Show me the money,” Rabobank says that the global dairy market will offer strong growth prospects in the coming five years, but the uneven spread of this market expansion and an era of elevated pricing will create as many challenges as opportunities for key players along the dairy supply chain.
Growth will be highly skewed to emerging markets, with countries like China, India and South East Asiaexpected to account for more than 80% of market volume growth, while western markets continue to mature. “Tapping into emerging market growth will present a particular challenge for many of the world’s dairy processors, most of which are domiciled in, and still focused on, the EU and U.S. markets,” saidTim Hunt, Global Dairy Strategist for Rabobank.
Opportunities will also be uneven across product categories. Economic, demographic and dietary trends are likely to see cheese sales underperform the broader dairy market. With sales of higher end whey product set to track a much faster growth path, the strategic value of whey pools is rising rapidly. “The divergence of cheese growth and whey demand represents a major structural shift in the market, and justifies a re-evaluation of ingredient production and sourcing strategies,” said Mr. Hunt.
Rabobank forecasts that solid market growth, supply constraints and a structural shift in the costs of producing milk will sustain high milk and dairy commodity prices over the medium term. But this won’t translate to increased profits for all.
Posted: February 9, 2012 at 7:24 pm
By News Editor
The Lactalis American Group, a division of the French conglomerate Groupe Lactalis has announced plans to build a 61,300-square-foot plant that will produce fresh mozzarella in Nampa, Idaho. The plant will be operating by spring 2013.
“This is a great day for Lactalis, particularly for the Nampa team,” said Jean Paul Quiblier, vice president of manufacturing and purchasing for Lactalis American Group.
Fresh mozzarella is a relatively small sideline of the existing Nampa plant, with 40 workers producing around 7 million pounds of the cheese per year, officials said.
That output will increase to 40 million pounds per year of Galbani brand cheese when the new plant opens, taking on the existing 40 workers and hiring about 70 more, said Lenny Bass, who will manage the fresh mozzarella operation.
The existing plant will continue its focus on producing string cheese, plus bulk and shredded mozzarella, he said.
A $50 million whey-drying tower, completed in 2010, turns the liquid left over from cheese-making into a protein powder used in animal feed and protein drinks.
The existing plant goes through about 4.2 million pounds of milk a day, and about 80 percent comes from Treasure Valley dairies, other milk comes from the Magic Valley.
Posted: January 16, 2012 at 7:46 pm
By News Editor
Nestlé is helping China accelerate the development of its milk industry with the construction of a new dairy farming institute in Shuangcheng in Heilongjiang province.
The institute, with its series of training farms, aims to be the country’s leading dairy training centre, offering teaching courses from national and international experts. Dairy farm owners and workers from Shuangcheng and other Chinese regions will be able to improve their farm management skills and learn how to use the latest agricultural technology.
They will gain practical experience in expanding their farm businesses, improving productivity and sourcing high quality milk sustainably. Local partners will be encouraged to help create an investment fund of 2.5 billion RMB for the project.
Nestlé has agreed to work with the Shuangcheng government to increase levels of training and technical assistance already provided to local farmers. In partnership with the authorities, Nestlé has distributed 1,000 free milking machines to farmers to ensure no farmers in the region have to continue milking by hand.
Dairy farms in the eastern Bay of Plenty in New Zealand have been cut off from milk pickup due to flooding. The Bay of Plenty has been inundated with up to 300 millimetres of rain since Thursday.
Fonterra is using alternative routes and extra trucks to collect milk from the farms but says it was unable to collect milk from about 90 farms on Sunday and those without adequate storage had to dump their milk.
But Fonterra’s Edgecumbe operations manager Paul Rennie says they have now managed to get access to all their suppliers after roads reopened or detours were found. He says Fonterra is having to use some back roads to gain access so the milk collection is taking a bit longer, and it’s using two extra trucks to ensure coverage.
Mr Rennie says farming areas worst hit by flooding included Whakatane, Opotiki and Waimana. The president of Federated Farmers for Bay of Plenty says about 20 farms in the region are under water on Monday. John Scrimgeour says some farmers are worried about what land damage they will find once the water has receded.
“It’s certainly not the start to the new year that they were hoping for. They are used to dealing with floods on a regular basis, and while they’re disappointed by it, they will just get on and clean up and carry on.”
World Wide Sires, LTD. teamed up with Accelerated Genetics to host a World Dairy Expo International Reception and Dinner. Here’s John Schouten, World Wide Sires CEO (center) with some of the guests. The organization is owned by Accelerated Genetics and Select Sires.
World Wide Sires, Ltd. is the world’s leading cattle genetics marketing organization representing the majority of the U.S. Artificial Insemination Cooperatives. In an atmosphere of trust and cooperation, World Wide Sires brings together suppliers and customers to promote efficient global livestock production. Quality genetics, high integrity, personal contact and superior customer service are the cornerstones for ensuring continued market leadership.
I talked with John before the evening’s activities got underway. He says World Wide Sires is celebrating forty years and he’s been with the company for twenty five of them. He does a little bit of travel as the territory they serve has grown. “Traditionally, our key markets have been located in western Europe as the company got started but today we have new and exciting markets in places like China, India and Russia.” He’s proud to represent the best genetics in the world to their customers. He’s very optimistic about growth in trade even in countries where we currently have marketing challenges. I asked him the thing he’d like his customers to think of when they think of World Wide Sires. He says, “Service with a smile.”
One of the international visitors to World Dairy Expo was Dr. Gonzalo Maldonado, Tri-State S.A.S, Colombia. I met him at the Accelerated Genetics and World Wide Sires International Reception and Dinner. Dr. Maldonado has been working with them for 43 years!
Dr. Maldonado says that when he got started the idea of artificial insemination was a tough sell. He basically had to conduct training sessions and educate dairy farmers about the benefits of improved genetics. Since then he says production has increased. He’s optimistic for the outlook for even more improved production in Colombia. Training and specialized advice is still very needed though.
Robotics is a word I’ve been hearing a lot around the media room at this year’s Expo. That’s probably because of several announcements like this one from DeLaval. At this year’s show they’re debuting the AMR automatic milking rotary system. I interviewed Thierry Perrotin, Marketing Implementation Manager, who is based in Sweden. You can see the unit in action in the video interview below.
The DeLaval AMR™ is the world’s first automatic milking rotary system. Winner of the EuroTier 2010 Gold Medal for innovation, the DeLaval AMR has been tested on farms in Sweden and Australia. The DeLaval AMR is the most advanced milking technology available – providing an automatic milking solution flexible enough to operate in different farming practices, from free stalls and loose housing to pasture-based dairying.
“The AMR meets the changing needs of our customers in North America,” said Christian Poggensee, Regional President North America. “As herd sizes continue to grow, the AMR is set to revolutionize high capacity automatic milking while offering dairy farmers better profitability, farm management and flexibility.”
The main components of the DeLaval AMR are teat preparation, attachment and teat-spray modules, two touch screens to operate the system, automatic cup back flush, automatic floor cleaning and safety systems. The first AMR systems will have up to 90 cow/hour capacity, depending on the number of robots installed. As many as five robots can be attached to the rotary.
Additionally, the DeLaval exhibit at World Dairy Expo will feature the United States’ public debut of Herd Navigator™, an advanced analysis system focused on proactive herd management.
Posted: October 3, 2011 at 8:04 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
After more than four years in limbo, trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama have finally been sent to Congress by the White House and could be voted on by next week.
“The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports,” President Obama said in a statement.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said completing the agreements “will level the playing field and secure markets for America’s farmers, ranchers, growers and producers ahead of competitors in the global marketplace.”
Once the agreements were finally sent to Congress, the dairy industry began urging for immediate passage. Both the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) note that the FTAs have the potential to expand U.S. exports and create thousands of export-supporting jobs in the U.S. dairy industry, in particular.
Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of NMPF, says the South Korean agreement is especially significant. “hese agreements will not only expand export sales for such products as cheese, whey, skim milk powder, and other dairy products, they will also prevent our competitors from taking market shares that we currently have in those countries,” said Kozak.
Tom Suber, president of USDEC, agreed, pointing out that the industry estimates that as many as 10,000 additional U.S. jobs, both on and off the farm could be created by the Korea agreement alone. “The growth in exports of dairy products from these agreements will not only help bolster milk prices for America’s dairy farms, it will also expand jobs in the dairy processing and transportation sectors,” he said. “The FTAs represent a big win-win for all elements of the U.S. dairy industry.”
The dairy organizations noted that the export benefit from the Korea FTA to the U.S. dairy industry in the first few years after implementation will be approximately $380 million per year, on average, and the gains from the Colombia and Panama FTAs will add another $50 million annually.
“The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports,” President Obama said in a statement. 
Once the agreements were finally sent to Congress, the dairy industry began urging for immediate passage. Both the