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Archive for Dairy Industry – Page 13

What is currently being done and what more can we do to reduce on-farm waste in the New Zealand Dairy Industry?

Monday, July 25th, 2022

Executive summary

We have seen cow numbers grow from 3.4 million in 2000 to 4.9 million in 2019 and the area being farmed for dairy has increased by 33% over this period.

Underpinning this growth has been continued intensification which has created significant opportunities and prosperity for those in the industry, however like any fast-paced intensification it has created negative impacts on our environment.

As a result, the NZ dairy industry has been challenged to be more environmentally and socially sustainable to ensure we are both proud and responsible within our farming practices. We are beginning to see change in a number of areas across the dairy industry with significant emphasis being placed on climate change, water quality, work conditions and animal welfare.

Despite some initial farmer objections, these developments are all beneficial to the NZ dairy industry, and will enhance our reputation as a world leader in quality produced dairy products.

An area that remains out of the spotlight is on-farm waste and what we are doing to be environmentally responsive. It was the objective of this report to discover current waste and recycling volumes within the NZ dairy sector as well as what is being done about improving waste disposal. The report also sought to determine what is being developed for greater future farmer engagement as well as what is currently being achieved with the recycling we are collecting from dairy farms.

At the commencement of the project the assumption was made that farmers continue to burn and/or bury their waste and that there is a lack of work being completed to address the increasing issue of on-farm waste on dairy farms.

This report has been able to determine that previous work has been undertaken around waste levels and current disposal across the rural sector in New Zealand, and that despite some improvements in disposal practices this is an ever increasing issue that requires immediate attention.

This report identifies several significant studies and the arrival of two key recycling providers into the industry, AgRecovery and Plasback, who have ensured the volumes of recycling collected from New Zealand dairy farmers has significantly increased. This has been further accelerated by Fonterra adding evidence of recycling as part of their “Co-operative Difference” payment scheme which has seen both AgRecovery and Plasback see significant surges in registrations.

Farm plastics were given additional focus in July 2020 when the Government named Farm Plastics as one of its six priority products. This has ensured that the rural sector now has a responsibility to be environmentally responsive with the plastic products generated within the sector. Following this announcement, the Ministry for the Environment (MFE) advised it would be working with the AgRecovery Foundation to produce the Green-Farm Product Stewardship Scheme.

This document has been designed to create a “one stop shop” to ensure farmers are able to deliver four key plastics streams to local collection centres by 2024. The proposal recommends that these services will be free to customers with any cost incurred generated through levies paid by plastic producers.

The Green-Farm Product Stewardship Scheme, which is yet to be accredited by Government, is a positive step for the industry. However, following further critical analysis and using frequency distribution data gathered from surveys of farmers across Taranaki, it has been found that this service alone will not be fit-for-purpose to service the needs of all farmers.

This analysis and data also suggested that both Plasback and AgRecovery have improvements to make in their service delivery to ensure they are meeting the needs of farmers. It is therefore recommended that these improvements alongside a collaborative approach from all providers will need to be delivered before any potential accreditation is approved.

Frequency distribution analysis of the survey data also indicated that farmers would like a choice in their provider, and a desire to feel that their contribution is valued. In order to achieve this the research demonstrated that offering additional profit based providers for greater convenience would see further engagement from farmers.

In addition, having accuracy around the amount of recycling collected on-farm would quantify the contribution an individual farm is making.

The data also found that household waste is an area where very little emphasis is placed, with significant quantities of household recycling currently being burned/buried or placed in “skip bins” due to a lack of convenient services. This is another area that improvements could be made and a recommendation is made in the report to assess the feasibility of “on-farm recycling stations”.

Finally this report analyses where our current recycling is being processed, whether this is sustainable at its current levels, and if it can sustain an inevitable increase from greater farmer compliance. This report concludes that currently up to 80% of our farm plastics are sent overseas and whilst we are utilising some of this product in New Zealand, this is limited to a few manufacturing companies. In order to be more environmentally responsive in future we need to deal with recycling internally and therefore greater sector and government collaboration is required to assist businesses within New Zealand.

Following the information gained from this report the following recommendations are made:

Establish An Accredited Inclusive Product Stewardship Scheme

1. The current Green-Farm Product Stewardship Scheme proposed by the AgRecovery Foundation is a great initial concept, however it requires further development before any potential accreditation is granted from the Ministry for the Environment.

The “One-Stop Shop” solution is a positive one for the rural industry, however, needs to be more inclusive of other providers including Plasback, for its ultimate success. The proposed scheme needs to better acknowledge the work that is already occurring within the waste sector and utilise these providers in any future scheme. Once these necessary amendments are made the proposal needs to be accredited and operational as projected, in 2024.

Utilise Local Service Providers

2. That local services are required to complement the Green-Farm Product Stewardship Scheme proposal which will both provide additional options for farmers, and service additional waste streams. These services could include on-farm collection as a user pay service that allows for greater convenience to farmers to ensure waste removal and improve recycling practices.

Farmers need the ability to choose the most convenient practice to meet their business needs and one solution will not meet this requirement.

Collection of On-Farm Recycling Levels

3. That volumes of waste and recycling collected needs to be recorded and collated at a farm level. This would allow farmers to accurately record the increased efforts that they are making and to hold those to account who are not making the required effort. This would also allow farmers to provide more accurate statistics across the complete rural sector.

Currently we are not recording this information as accurately as we could. Farmers need to know the difference they are making so showing key individual farm stats as to levels of recycling will be crucial to any future success.

Enhance Government Collaboration

4. That government needs to enhance the work it is doing alongside current businesses within New Zealand who are attempting to use recycling waste and to look to support and develop companies who are trying to operate in New Zealand. Currently up to 80% of our plastic recycling goes offshore to be processed and we therefore need to develop further businesses within New Zealand to service more of our own recycling.

Many of the products that are created from plastic waste are not high value therefore government assistance will be required to ensure companies are able to process these plastics and remain financially sustainable.

Source: ruralleaders.co.nz

Categories : Dairy Industry

The Future of Wisconsin Dairy Farming

Friday, July 22nd, 2022

Migrant workers make up the majority of the dairy workforce in Wisconsin. However, because there is no federal program for year-round agricultural work visas, most people producing milk across the nation are working illegally.

This connection between the U.S. dairy industry and workers from Mexico and Central America is at the center of journalist Ruth Conniff’s new book, Milked, which not only tells the story of the ongoing transformation of Wisconsin’s dairy industry but shines a spotlight on the people who put food on our plates and imagines a new future for rural Wisconsin.

Today, she joins guest host Douglas Haynes for a discussion about farming, migration, and reimagining a more sustainable food system.

Categories : Dairy Industry

Brazil targets being dairy super power

Thursday, July 21st, 2022

Brazil’s Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, Marco Montes, told this week’s National Dairy Forum that Brazil can be the world’s biggest supplier of dairy products, the way it currently is for soya, coffee and beef. His comments, carried in several Brazilian media outlets, referred to achieving this objective as the country has everything required to do so.

He referenced the countries 1.170m dairy farmers, who produce 35bn litres of milk annually, though 93% of farmers produce less than 200l per day. Irish and EU farmers will be interested to note that Minster Montes reported on a meeting with EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides and that the Brazilian government is also working on a plan to make the use of name “milk” applicable to only dairy products.

Timing of ambition

The timing of this announcement coincides with a time when production in the EU and New Zealand appears to have reached a plateau, as reported by Jack Kennedy in this week’s Irish Farmers Journal.

Brazil has the capacity to bring huge swathes of land into production, however this comes at the environmental cost of expanding into rainforest areas, though Brazil would point out that anything it does in relation to rainforest clearance is no different to what Europe has done over centuries.

Market potential

If Brazil achieves its ambition to grow its dairy industry, it will require huge investment in processing and infrastructure capacity. The beef industry, where it is the global leader in exports, has this in place already. However, if it gets the structure right, there is a global market waiting for its production, as the demand for dairy products is forecast to increase over the next decade. Additionally, Brazil has a strong global network for its beef, poultry and coffee products and has a promotion agency, not unlike Bord Bia, in place to assist with customer development.

Comment

It is also striking to note the ambition of Brazil’s agriculture minister to increase production and target growth in exports to the point of being world number one. This contrasts significantly with the EU approach of focusing on a type of production that isn’t compatible with expansion and an ambition to prioritise reduction in emissions and protection of the environment. Irish farmers are geared towards production and Ireland has the resources of grass and water necessary to facilitate sustainable production. It is one world, one atmosphere, but a multitude of policies at national and even regional level.

Source: farmersjournal.ie

Categories : Dairy Industry

Wisconsin’s dairy industry rebounding while its farmers continue to struggle

Thursday, July 21st, 2022

Many businesses have been challenged throughout the pandemic, Wisconsin’s dairy industry is no exception experiencing some big gains and losses along the way.

“Dairy contributes $45.6 billion every year to the state’s economy,” said Patrick Goeghegan, Vice President of Industry with the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

So, chances are when you have a glass of milk, it comes from Wisconsin, which has helped the dairy industry to remain robust during the pandemic.

UW Agricultural & Applied Economics Department reported Wisconsin’s milk sales increased throughout the pandemic.

In 2019 milk sales generated $5 billion in revenue; in 2020 $5.8 billion, and in 2021 $6 billion.

The Dairy Farmers of America attributes part of the dairy industry’s strong performance during the height of the pandemic to people being tethered to their homes.

“What we saw at the beginning of the COVID was a really strong economy for the dairy industry, there was strong demand, especially on the retail side as people began to work from home. So we saw very strong gains in cheese in fluid milk, they were very strong as well. So that is, that has been really a positive thing that that demand for dairy has continued through COVID,” said Goeghegan.

“We actually sold more milk than we ever have before,” said UW Dairy expert Mark Stephenson.

He also said the number of dairy farms has declined but they’re being absorbed into larger farms and that has kept the industry profitable.

“Our milk sales were up even though farm numbers were down. And as a result, the total revenue in first milk sales was up a little bit of this last year as well,” said Stephenson.

“$104.8 billion that’s generated by agriculture. The dairy industry is about half of that,” said Randy Romanski, Secretary-designee of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

While the dairy industry is thriving for dairy farmers the past few years have been challenging.

“Since the pandemic hit business has been rough,” said Joe Statz.

Longtime dairy farmer, Joe Statz of Statz Brothers Farm said soaring costs to maintain his dairy farm have made money matters worse.

“You got to pay $5 for gas and more for that for fuel and, and when you got to buy fertilizer that has tripled in price, and your seed has doubled in price,” said Statz.

He also said because of labor shortages some dairy farmers are being asked to dump milk again.

“They cannot find help to bottle on weekends and holidays and so they just shut them down and sometimes we have to dump milk on weekends and stuff, because nobody wants it,” said Statz.

Plants are being shut down and milk has to travel further leaving dairy aisles empty at times.

“Our milk, instead of going two hours away, has to maybe go four or five hours away. These poor drivers, you know, make it two loads a day, they can only get one,” said Statz.

Despite all the challenges, Statz said he’s proud to be dairy strong in America’s dairyland.

“I think Wisconsin is one of the nicest states around to be farming in. I’m glad Statz Brothers Farm is here,” said Statz.

Source: wkow.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Dairy Defined: Family Farms Drive Dairy

Tuesday, July 19th, 2022

The “decline of the family farm,” purportedly replaced by the “rise of the corporate farm,” for generations has been one of the most well-trodden – and inaccurate – tropes in conversations about U.S. agriculture.  It’s true, the number of dairy farms has declined. But that consolidation hasn’t diminished the dominance of family-run dairies. It’s meant that smaller family farms have generally become a bit larger, often to support additional family members coming into an existing operation.

Of an estimated 39,442 farms of all sizes with dairy cows in 2020 – a comprehensive number that’s higher than the number of licensed dairy operations — 38,286 of them were family-operated, according to USDA data. That’s 97.1 percent of dairies, an extremely high percentage that isn’t budging with consolidation. In 2016, for example, even though the overall number of farms with dairy cows was more than 48,000, the family-farm percentage that year was 97.3 percent – a remarkably consistent figure.

What’s going on? The same thing that’s been going on for generations. Dairy farmers sell their cows to fund their retirements. Farmers whose children don’t want to take over the farm sell to the farmer whose children will. A small number of “corporate farms” do exist, and because they tend to be larger, they produce a disproportionate (but still small) percentage of milk. But when dairy farms consolidate, as a rule, they consolidate into other family farms. And the fewer, larger farms that remain are still decidedly family operations.

Just as dairy itself isn’t dead, the family dairy farm isn’t either. But like everything else, it’s changed. A family dairy farm may be a bigger employer than before, and it may be a more sophisticated business. That’s been the direction of U.S. agriculture for generations, and that’s true whether a farm has 80 cows, or thousands. Just look at the average size of a U.S. dairy farm. It’s grown from about 50 cows in 1990 to about 300 cows today. Despite the realities of an ever-changing industry, the family farm remains the bedrock of U.S. dairy farming. And that shows no sign of ending, anytime soon.

Source: NMPF

Categories : Dairy Industry

Making the mooove: Oregon-based dairy expands to South Dakota

Tuesday, July 19th, 2022

Brent Bosma gave a tour of his family’s dairy, Orland Ridge, during the 2022 South Dakota Governor’s Agricultural Summit. Tri-State Neighbor photo by Melisa Goss

The decision to expand a dairy is never an easy one. As with every sector of agriculture, the dairy industry is constantly riddled with uncertainty.

That’s why it took the Bosma family eight years to finally settle on the right location for their newest dairy operation.

In the end, Madison, South Dakota called their name.

The Bosma family has been milking in Oregon and Washington since the 1970s, however, they’ve been in South Dakota for only the past two years.

The family opened Orland Ridge Dairy near Madison in part because the Agropur processing plant in Lake Norden announced an expansion in 2018 that tripled its production capabilities.

The Bosmas now have a close working relationship with Agropur. During the South Dakota Governor’s Agricultural Summit June 28, while dairy manager Brant Bosma gave one group a tour of the facilities, Deb Wehde, a field representative for Agropur, led another group, proving the company’s dedication to knowing the farmers they work with.

Orland Ridge was just one of several dairies that either expanded or relocated to South Dakota in recent years.

Bob Endres, a dairy inspector with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources credits the state’s increase in dairies to the availability of feed and clean water, along with the climate.

“Cows like it cold,” he said.

South Dakota is a perfect location for dairies in that regard in the winter months, but with the short summer months producing as much heat and humidity as some southern counterparts, dairies need some reinforcements.

Which is the reason Orland Ridge’s cross-ventilated barn has so many fans.

In the summer, they can have all the fans on and all the curtains open to maintain as much airflow as possible, Bosma said.

In the winter they have as few as eight fans running and close the curtains so the cows generate their own heat in the barn.

The temperature in the barn never drops below 32 degrees, the minimum temperature for the robotic milkers to operate.

Orland Ridge Dairy uses Lely robotic milking machines and other emerging technologies.

The tech is centered primarily on keeping the cows comfortable, though it also increases sustainability.

When cows are comfortable, they produce higher quality milk, a fact Bosma has seen proven true since switching to robotics.

Orland Ridge has 24 Lely Astronaut robotic milkers on 1,600 Jersey cows.

Bosma said the family switched from Holsteins to Jerseys roughly 15 years ago. In part, because the milk they produce is higher in butter fat and protein, but also because the cows have smaller frames and are easier to work with.

Bosma also likes the breed’s gentle disposition.

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“They’re like giant dogs,” he said.

The use of robotics allows the cows to decide for themselves when to eat, drink, relax or be milked. The cows enter the machines totally voluntarily.

Usually, a typical cow will come to the robotic milker three times each day. While she is in the milking machine, feed is rationed 4 ounces at a time. The amount of feed correlates to the quantity of milk the cow produces.

“They don’t come because they feel full, they come because they want feed,” Bosma said.

The dairy is working on an expansion that would double both the number of robots and herd size. However, it will only increase the number of employees by three.

Currently, the farm employs 10 people.

With milking robots, labor needs are significantly lower than on standard dairies.

With so many large machines in the barn, one might think it would be a noisy environment, but it’s actually quiet, which is another bonus of robotic milkers.

Each cow wears a collar that holds data specific to that animal. When the cow enters the robotic milker, the robot scans the collar to determine if she is ready to be milked or not. If not, the gate opens and she returns to the barn.

The collar also monitors things like rumination time, the amount of time the cow spends resting, and overall health.

Once the cow enters the milking stall, the robot uses brushes on a robotic arm to clean the udder. Brush cleaning also stimulates the nerves moving through the spinal cord to the pituitary gland in the cow’s brain. Once clean, a laser scans her udder, assessing the location of each teat. It then attaches a milker to each teat, one by one.

When milking is complete, the teat cups are removed. The claw, each teat cup and the brushes are disinfected between each cow to prohibit cross contamination.

The milking process takes about seven minutes from start to finish.

Because the barn is quieter, the cows can come and go freely and remain with their herd during the milking process, the cows are generally more relaxed than those milked with traditional equipment.

A computer collects data from each milking and can send it to the farmer’s cell phone.

Small samples of milk are also taken each time.

Milkers aren’t the only automated machines at Orland Ridge.

Each alley in the barn has a large green box – an automated manure scraper. It slowly makes its way from one end of the alley to another, scraping manure into pipes just below the barn floor.

The manure flows through the pipes into the on-site manure pit where it’s separated. A pump sends the liquid back to the top to keep things flowing, storing it to be spread on fields later.

Dried manure fiber is moved through a separate pipe and stock piled outside the end of the pit.

The dried fiber is used as bedding for the cattle, though it must be used fairly quickly to avoid rot. It’s another way Orland Ridge Dairy is using a sustainable system, embracing technology and contributing to South Dakota’s growing dairy industry.

Source: agupdate.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Fresno dairy farm keeping pace with rising prices on both sides of the industry

Tuesday, July 19th, 2022

Bill Daugherty said milk prices have never been higher and Daugherty Farms in Fresno can’t produce enough to meet demands. However, inflation means everything that goes into running a dairy farm is also costlier than ever. 

The image of a farmer going to the barn at dawn with a stool and a pail is what many picture when thinking of a dairy farm, but it hasn’t been that way for decades on this six-generation farm that dates back to 1875. Bill’s father Martin, 91, still helps occasionally and Bill is grooming his son Kyle to one day take over. 

Many would be surprised by the technology used at the Daugherty farm. Robotic milkers installed two years ago streamline the process and makes it more efficient. Since April, the farm has had access to better internet service from the Coshocton County Commissioners broadband project with Ohio TT. Online access allows the Daugherty family to make changes in milking schedules and other aspects of operation. It also allows technicians to check equipment remotely if there’s an issue.

Operation basics

The Daugherty family owns about 1,100 acres of land and farm close to 1,600 acres across Coshocton County. They harvest corn, soybeans and hay. They own nearly 300 dairy cattle and are milking 245 cows with some being rotated in and out. 

Recently, they’ve been milking about 95 pounds of milk per cow per day, which can fluctuate depending on various factors like humid weather. They sell milk through Dairy Farmers of America, a cooperative. Milk from the farm currently goes to a bottler in Charleston, West Virginia. In the past, their milk has been used to make butter, cheese and more. 

Expanding operations with a new barn and technology the past few years will ensure a successful operation for decades to come, Bill said. They have space to add another barn and get up to 600 cows with six more robotic milkers, but it’s something Bill said the next generation will make the decision on. 

“We want the farm to be able to continue. We want our children to offer our grandchildren the same opportunities our children have had,” he said. “We knew with Kyle coming back for the next generation, we had to do something.” 

Previously, the family milked up to 132 cows in a 50-year-old milking parlor. Bill would get up at 3 a.m. to start milking. While machines did the milking, they had be attached and cleaned manually and the cattle led in and out of the parlor, still making the process very labor intensive.

Cows now enter and exit the robotic milking machine themselves, which makes the process more efficient and faster. They can now milk up to 250 cows per day with two less part-time workers. Along with Kyle, Bill and Bill’s wife, Caroline, they have one full-time employee and two part-time employees. Pounds of milk per cow per day also went up from 65 to 70 pounds to about 95 pounds. 

“It’s efficiency and cow comfort. The whole facility has aided in cow comfort and productiveness,” Bill said. 

Current market

Even with the increase in number of cows milked and pounds of milk produced daily, the Daughertys are still behind market demands. The June 2022 USDA/ERS Livestock Dairy and Poultry Outlook Report has the predicted 2022 milk price at $26.20 per hundredweight, which is 45 cents above the May forecast and $7.67 higher than the actual 2021 average price. 

“Milk prices are the best they’ve ever been right now,” Bill said. “Once the pandemic ended and people could actually buy things again, it just surged. And not just in our country, but exports have surged tremendously. Other parts of the world are grasping for food and America has been able to take advantage of that.” 

Yet, that doesn’t mean cattle farmers are raking in record profits. As the price of everything has gone up due to inflation and supply chains issues, expenses are also off the charts. 

“I say our prices have never been higher for milk, but our prices have never been higher for inputs either, be it fertilizer, fuel, chemicals or any of those things. They’ve been higher than they’ve ever been and that’s the downside,” Bill said. “Fertilizer is two and half to three times what it was a year and a half ago and we all know what fuel has done.” 

The story is similar in the other areas Daugherty Farms is involved in such as corn and soybeans. Everybody wants the product, but the cost to produce it and get it to market is astronomical.  

“There’s a lot of opportunity from the standpoint of selling agricultural goods, just you have to be very cognitive and very aware of the input side as well. You have to find the bargains wherever they are,” Bill said. 

Daugherty Farms can give be reached through its Facebook page and does give tours by appointment. Bill said about 6,000 people have visited the farm in the past two years. 

Source: coshoctontribune.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Dairy farmers struggling to keep heads above water amid fourth flood of year in Australia

Monday, July 18th, 2022

Farmers are struggling with another flood as crops are underwater for the fourth time this year, as primary producers become desperate for the governement’s $75,000 flood grant to keep their heads above water.

Categories : Dairy Industry

Dairy Farmer Says American Farmers, Ranchers “Going Out of Business” Under Biden Admin

Monday, July 18th, 2022

Breitbart News’s Amanda House spoke with Stephanie Nash, a fourth-generation dairy farmer from Tennessee, about how U.S. agriculture has suffered under the Biden Administration at TPUSA’s Young Women’s Leadership Summit in Grapevine, Texas.

Categories : Dairy Industry

U.S. Dairy Export Value Surpassed $900 Million in May as Cheese Volume Soared

Sunday, July 17th, 2022

Despite limited milk supply growth, U.S. dairy exports set new monthly records in volume and value in May, marking a positive break from the trend.

In the first four months of 2022, U.S. dairy export volume held steady to the records set in 2021 – never increasing or decreasing by more than 2%. Indeed, February, March and April were all within half a percent of prior year volumes. And while May did not deliver the runaway, double-digit growth of 2021, a gain of 5% in volume to set a new single-month record is a welcome change of pace.

Cheese exports led the way again – growing by nearly a third (+31%, +9,563 MT), according to FAS Global Agricultural Trade System (GAT) data released this week – thanks to increased cheddar and fresh cheese shipments to Japan, South Korea and Mexico. Whey products and lactose also broke out, climbing 4% (+2,401 MT) and 16% (+6,044 MT) year-over-year, respectively, likely boosted by delayed product leaving the country as port conditions improved.

The only major product to report a decline was nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder (NFDM/SMP), held back by lack of available supply (year-to-date U.S. NFDM/SMP production is down 11%) rather than lack of demand. May marked a sixth consecutive month of lower volumes, trailing 9% (-8,322 MT) compared to May 2021. Until milk production growth returns or available milk is shifted into Class IV, NFDM/SMP exports are unlikely to increase as the U.S. is already exporting more than 70% of its milk powder production.

Ultimately, May’s export figures highlight that even as U.S. milk production remains subdued, supplying the international market remains a top priority for the U.S. dairy industry.  

U.S. gaining market share in cheese, headwinds developing

The surge in U.S. cheese exports, particularly cheddar, in 2022 has been welcome news for the international market. With European and New Zealand cheese supplies tight due to lower milk production, the U.S. has stepped up to fill the gap and meet rising international demand. While EU27+UK cheese volumes fell by 4% through April and New Zealand exports trailed 10% through May, the U.S. increased its exports by 14% over the first five months of the year.

Increased cheese processing capacity in the U.S., a prolonged period of price competitiveness, and growth in demand from the United States’ largest markets are all facilitating the boom in U.S. cheese exports to record highs on an annualized basis.

Chart1 (2)-Jul-07-2022-09-43-46-00-PM

However, some headwinds are developing that could challenge the U.S. in maintaining this booming pace.

First, the price advantage the U.S. held in cheese for months has waned in recent weeks as New Zealand prices have come down to earth. (For context, New Zealand cheddar prices on the GDT surpassed U.S. CME prices at the peak of the food box boom in 2020.) Whether this reflects slowing international demand or simply a necessary price correction back towards parity with the rest of the world remains to be seen.

Additionally, despite the spot market reflecting much higher prices, May was the first month to show U.S. cheese export prices breaking out of what had been a relatively narrow price band between $4,000 and $5,000 per metric ton over the past 10 years. And the average price is likely to climb further in future data releases.

Effectively, the prices that importers are facing, particularly with a strong U.S. dollar, will test company and consumer budgets. This could impact U.S. exports if international buyers slow purchasing due to inflation or fears of a recession, reducing cheese consumption.

Chart2 (2)-Jul-07-2022-09-44-41-07-PM

Still, despite pricing headwinds, the underlying fundamentals for U.S. cheese exports to maintain significant growth remain. We see substantial opportunity for the U.S. to increase its market share given prolonged declines in European and Oceania milk production. In addition, international demand for cheese has yet to show signs of a pullback, particularly with Mexico and Central America reporting strong demand for imports (though recent price movements at the GDT and CME are worth monitoring).

Finally, any headwinds that have appeared in recent weeks are unlikely to show up meaningfully in the data until late Q3 at the earliest, but we’ll be on the watch for leading indicators in either direction in the months ahead.

SMP to Southeast Asia breakdown

Alongside Mexico, Southeast Asia (SEA) has been a critical market for U.S. dairy export growth in recent months, seeing gains to multiple products and markets. In May, exports on a milk solids equivalent basis were up 17% (+9,833 MT) year-over-year, particularly thanks to NFDM/SMP, which remains the primary export product to the region at over 330,000 MT in the last 12 months. And year-to-date, U.S. NFDM/SMP exports to SEA increased by 7% (+9,997 MT) with roughly the same pace in May (+8%, +2,740 MT).

Chart3 (2)-Jul-07-2022-09-45-25-12-PM

The growth we’ve seen in Southeast Asia in 2022, while not at the rate we saw in 2020, represents the steady progress of the U.S. commitment to the growing and highly competitive region. But rather than talking about Southeast Asia as a singular bloc, it is worth diving deeper by market.

First, the Philippines, which imported over 125,000 MT over the last 12 months and accounted for nearly 40% of all U.S. NFDM/SMP exports to the region. U.S. NFDM/SMP shipments to the Philippines were up 22% (+10,226 MT) through May.

Still, Malaysia showed the strongest growth so far this year (+72%, +11,490 MT) in NFMD/SMP imports from the U.S., with U.S. suppliers increasing their market share compared to Europe and New Zealand.

Aside from the substantial growth to the Philippines and Malaysia, NFDM/SMP shipments also increased to Indonesia (+9%, +2,926 MT). Indonesian imports are likely to climb higher given recent Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks in the country that have reportedly reduced local milk production. Exports to Vietnam, on the other hand, pulled back sharply in 2022 (-41%, -16,903 MT) even as volumes remain above pre-pandemic levels and U.S. market share holds steady. But regardless of erosion this year in milk powder sales to Vietnam, the regional picture appears quite positive.

Additionally, Southeast Asia represents more than just a region that takes a large volume of product – value is up as well. The value of U.S. NFDM/SMP exports to the region topped $140 million in May – a jump of nearly 50% compared to the year prior. On a unit value basis, U.S. NFDM/SMP exports to SEA are at the highest levels since 2014.

There remain some short-term questions moving forward about whether Southeast Asian demand will continue to grow as higher prices are passed onto the consumer, but for the long-term, the opportunity remains clear.

Provided by USDEC

Categories : Dairy Industry

Milk Production Dips Slightly in May

Friday, June 24th, 2022

Nationally, 18.8 billion pounds of milk was produced in the 24 major dairy states for the month of May. That was down 0.6 percent from 2021, but higher than the previous month’s production of 18.3 billion pounds.

California continues to have the highest total production with about 3.65 billion pounds. South Dakota had the greatest percent-increase in output as that state produced 348 million pounds of milk–about 15.2 percent more from the same period last year. Only six of the top 24 states had higher year-to-year production last month.

Meanwhile, the number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major states was 8.91 million head, 84,000 head less than May 2021, but 2,000 head more than April 2022. The average number of milk cows on Wisconsin farms for the month was 1.27 million head–unchanged from last month, but 1,000 less than last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,165 pounds, which up 20 pounds from last year’s figures.

Categories : Dairy Industry, Dairy Markets

Dairy industry looking gouda in South Dakota

Friday, June 24th, 2022

June is National Dairy Month, a time to celebrate and honor those working hard in the dairy industry.

South Dakota has become a popular destination for those looking to get their start in the dairy industry.

The Elliott family moved to Lake Norton from Northern Ireland in 2006 to pursue their dream of owning a larger dairy operation.

“We started with 1,400 cows and over the last 16 years we have gradually added and built more barns until now we are at 6,100 milking cows,” said Dorothy Elliott, owner of Drumgoon Dairy.

Now, Drumgoon Dairy is advancing, not only in size, but technology. They added a robotic barn in 2020, making the process of producing around 415,000 pounds of milk per day a little easier.

“It’s been a great learning experience here. I come from growing up milking in a tie-stall barn, to now overseeing the management of a robotic facility so that’s a drastic change, but it’s been very rewarding,” said Andrew Weber, herd manager.

Milk production is continuing to grow in the state, specifically along the I-29 corridor. South Dakota leads the nation in increased milk yield per year.

“South Dakota is unique because of the areas, you know, the size of the lands and even the connections with your neighbors. We have many many spaces, we have availability of resources,” said Maristela Rovai, SDSU extension dairy specialist and assistant professor.

One of the big factors drawing in producers is the dairy production facilities offered on the eastern side of the state, one of which is Valley Queen.

The factory was started in 1929, by Swiss immigrants Alfred Gonzenbach and Alfred Nef.

That year, they processed 3.2 million pounds of milk. Now, Valley Queen is processing 5 to 6 million pounds per day.

“Really it was slow and steady growth through the 50s, 60s and 70s. In the late 80s and early 90s there was a real growth in the I-29 corridor. Dairy has been embraced, we’ve seen dairies from Europe, dairies from Canada, dairies from the west coast from the 90s on moving to the I-29 corridor,” said Brian Sandvig, Chief financial officer, Valley Queen.

While many cheese factories have to travel hundreds of miles to get milk, Valley Queen works with 41 local dairies within 80 miles of the plant. The company also hauls the milk themselves and has employees on site at each dairy every day.

“We get to work with the dairies to improve their systems so they are able to provide us with the highest quality milk, with the best components that we can make our product out of, and then they ultimately benefit from that because we are paying for that milk not just on a volume basis but ultimately on a component basis,” said Sandvig.

This year, Valley Queen began breaking ground on its $195 million expansion project. This project will allow the company to add 140 jobs and bring in milk from 30,000 more cows, bringing production to 8 million pounds of milk processed per day.

“We are in the fortunate spot in between of being able to have increased supply, increasing demand, so we are actively working on a business plan to be able to keep up with that,” said Sandvig.

Those involved expect the dairy industry to continue growing throughout South Dakota in the next few years.

“I think that in a few years, we will be probably having double of the number of cows, we are around 160,000 cows right now. I can envision doubling it for sure,” said Rovai.

“But had someone said to us in 2006, you know by 2022 you’re going to be milking 6,100 cows, I would have been like ‘are you crazy? no that’s never happening’ but here we are today,” said Elliott.

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, in South Dakota the dairy industry has a nearly five billion dollar total economic impact on the state and creates more than 14,000 jobs.

Source: keloland.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Texas Poised to become Third Largest Dairy Producing State

Friday, June 24th, 2022

During June – National Dairy Month – Texas dairy farmers and Texas dairy lovers deserve to be toasted with an extra-large glass of milk. Our state is poised to pass Idaho to officially become the third largest dairy producing state in the nation, just over a year after we unseated New York to capture fourth place.

Certainly, Texas dairy farmers deserve to be thanked and honored for their 24/7/365 hard work that achieved this milk milestone. But, on behalf of the Texas Association of Dairymen, which represents those farmers, we recognize that it also wouldn’t have been possible without the consumers, whose love of and appetite for both milk and other dairy products keep our state’s dairy herds busy.

Texas dairy industry has come a long way in the past two decades. In 2002, it produced almost 613.4 million gallons of milk. Last year, milk production topped more than 1.8 billion gallons of milk. While we’ve sadly seen many dairies close, the remaining dairies are getting bigger and cows are producing 10% more than they did a decade ago, thanks to advances in nutrition, animal care and technology.

All that additional milk translates into jobs and a boost to local and state economies.

The news of Texas’ improved ranking is especially celebratory after the past two years. Like many individuals and businesses, Texas dairy farmers endured pandemic challenges, which for them included tough economics, low milk prices and a record winter storm.

Challenges still remain in 2022. While milk prices are up for dairy farmers, elevated costs of feed, fuel, labor and fertilizer are eating away at profits. Mother Nature also has done her part; so far this year dairy farmers have battled heat, wildfires and an ongoing and worsening drought. And a nationwide shortage of truck drivers threatens to impact the availability of transporters to get milk from farm to processor to retailer.

Still, the future generally looks bright for the Texas dairy industry. Milk output should continue to grow. We are currently producing more milk than processors in the state can handle, but new plants are in the planning stages or about to come online. Also, as technology has matured, more Texas dairies are exploring adding equipment to harvest methane gas from dairy waste, enhancing our industry’s commitment to be good environmental stewards.

Texas dairy farmers hope you agree that there’s much to celebrate during National Dairy Month 2022 and that you’ll enjoy our wholesome milk, ice cream, cheese and other dairy products during this special month and beyond.

 

Source: Darren Turley Executive Director, Texas Association Of Dairymen

Categories : Dairy Industry

Mexican dairy sector faces challenges

Friday, June 24th, 2022

US cheese, milk powder consumption, imports remain strong

Mexico’s dairy sector is facing challenges, according to this week’s USDA Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN report, including the rising cost of many inputs.

According to the report, consumers are grappling with growing food inflation and importers are affected by rising global commodity costs. However, cheese and milk powder consumption and imports, particularly from the United States, remain strong.

This report updates Post’s production, supply, and distribution figures from October 2021.

Source: thedairysite.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

World’s Biggest Dairy Exporter Forecasts Record Milk Prices

Thursday, June 23rd, 2022

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, forecast a record milk price for the new season amid strong global demand.

Auckland-based Fonterra on Thursday raised the midpoint of its 2022-23 forecast range by 50 NZ cents to NZ$9.50 ($6) a kilogram of milksolids, which would be the highest price it has ever paid to its 10,000 New Zealand farmer shareholders. It also issued earnings guidance of 30-45 NZ cents per share for FY23, up from 25-35 cents for the current year ending July 31.

“The strong earnings guidance for next financial year reflects an expected recovery in some of the Co-op’s key markets, which have experienced margin pressures this financial year, coupled with ongoing favorable Ingredients margins,” Chief Executive Officer Miles Hurrell said in a statement. “While the Co-op is in the position to be forecasting both solid earnings and a healthy milk price for the next year, significant volatility remains.”

If achieved, the 2022-23 milk price will surpass the Co-op’s forecast midpoint for the 2021-22 season of NZ$9.30. Fonterra normally confirms the season payout at its full-year results announcement in September.

Dairy prices have soared along with other commodities as the world grapples with supply constraints, while the weaker New Zealand dollar should also boost the nation’s export receipts. But higher prices also increase Fonterra’s input costs, putting pressure on its margins.

“Interest rates and inflation have lifted well above our assumptions, as have commodity prices in response to the continued strong demand for dairy,” Hurrell said. “These input cost increases are impacting the cost of our debt in the short term and have also pushed on-farm costs up.”

As the higher milk prices lift working capital, Fonterra’s overall debt position has the potential to trend higher, he said.

Source: bloomberg.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Wisconsin Milk Production Rose Slightly During May

Thursday, June 23rd, 2022

Wisconsin’s total milk production was up fractionally in May compared to the same period a year earlier. According to the USDA’s latest milk production report, Wisconsin farmers produced 2.75 billion pounds during the month, which was a slight 0.8 percent higher from last May, and higher than the 2.64 billion made in April 2022 (which had less days on the calendar).

Nationally, 18.8 billion pounds of milk was produced in the 24 major dairy states for the month. That was down 0.6 percent from 2021, but higher than the previous month’s production of 18.3 billion pounds.

California continues to have the highest total production with about 3.65 billion pounds. South Dakota had the greatest percent-increase in output as that state produced 348 million pounds of milk–about 15.2 percent more from the same period last year. Only six of the top 24 states had higher year-to-year production last month.

Meanwhile, the number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major states was 8.91 million head, 84,000 head less than May 2021, but 2,000 head more than April 2022. The average number of milk cows on Wisconsin farms for the month was 1.27 million head–unchanged from last month, but 1,000 less than last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,165 pounds, which up 20 pounds from last year’s figures.

Source: Wisconsin Ag Connection

Categories : Dairy Industry

Trying a different approach to dairying

Thursday, June 23rd, 2022

A North Waikato farmer who has always wanted to have a closer relationship with the people who consume his milk, is now doing just that.

Chris Falconer who milks 320 cows on his Waeranga dairy farm can now have that level of engagement after becoming the first North Island supplier of startup milk company Happy Cow Milk (HCM).

His 255ha farm is selling a small portion of his production under the HCM banner, while the bulk of his production goes to Synlait.

It’s a 12-month trial that allows him to sell that part of production directly to consumers. He says that kind of engagement was not possible in a system where farmers’ milk was collected and sold to a mass market because consumers do not know where their milk has come from.

“It’s homogenised – both literally and figuratively – so there’s no differentiation with any of the milks you buy. It’s literally all the same milk,” Falconer says.

“There’s not enough differentiation to make a real meaningful difference in terms of your product. My milk goes into the same vessel as everyone else’s milk.”

If his value proposition for his milk was higher than other suppliers in the district, then he would still be paid what those suppliers are paid, he says.

Falconer had been watching HCM founder Glen Herud’s early progress with interest.

Those principles, which are based on keeping calves with the cows and milking once a day (OAD), resonated with him.

About two years ago, he contacted Herud and started discussing the possibility of working with him.

“Glen was interested in farmers who had control of their own system and roughly aligned with what he was interested in.”

HCM’s original concept had Herud operating a mobile milking shed where he milked a small herd of cows, processing and distributing the milk himself.

Chris Falconer in his dairy shed
Chris Falconer is involved in a trial that involves supplying milk to Synlait and directly to consumers.

Herud says the system lasted for three years before folding because its processing and distribution system was too inefficient. The revamped version of HCM has resolved many of those issues, he says.

“It was a combination of growing fast and not being able to sort out that inefficiency problem and we ran out of cashflow and we shut down,” he says.

Followers of HCM were so upset by the shutdown that he managed to get $1 million in crowdfunding to relaunch. Falconer was one of those people who contributed to that funding.

That cash allowed him to solve those issues.

“Everything’s designed to be as efficient as possible. The setup that Chris’s got allows him to do with one person what it took us three people to do,” he says.

The conversations between Herud and Falconer continued until Herud needed a trial farm to properly test the system, which Falconer agreed to for the next 12 months.

Retaining his supply to Synlait allows him to manage risks around the seasonal fluctuations of milkflow. He says they have been very supportive of him supplying HCM.

Once HCM becomes more established, he expects as much as 1000 litres would be sent to HCM customers.

Any more than that would require careful management as he wants to be able to choose customers that are aligned with his values too.

“We want to be selling milk to people who are respecters of what we do. That is also helpful when coming to a commercial arrangement because they value that,” he says.

In order for a farmer to do that, he has to be able to offer a product with attributes people are willing to pay for.

To that end, he is very open about how he produces milk.

Dairy cow with calf in paddock
The Happy Cow principles are based on keeping calves with the mothers and milking once a day.

He milks his 320-cow herd OAD and starting in the new season, will be switching from split-calving to calving three times a year to maintain a steady year-round milk supply.

He uses no chemical fertilisers, instead applying 200-250 tonnes of chicken manure annually to his paddocks.

No supplementary feed such as palm kernel apart from homegrown baled grass silage and hay and a small amount of grain in the dairy shed, which is used to entice the cows to consume mineral dosages.

There’s no cropping or blanket spraying using chemicals. It is as close to organic as it can be without the certification, he says.

Falconer farmed organically in the UK for five of the nine years he spent in that country before returning to New Zealand and sharemilking. He and wife Sheila bought this farm eight years ago.

One of the drivers to switch to OAD milking was that Sheila works full-time as a nurse in Hamilton and that system freed them up so she could complete her nursing degree while they raised their three children.

“To be able to deliver the life that she wanted, the farm had to be able to deliver that as well,” he says.

“There’s no point in setting up a farm system where it drives what everyone does.”

He has slightly modified his milking shed to enable his milk line to bypass his vat and fill specially designed milk kegs that pasteurised the milk to fulfil HCM orders when required. MPI then inspected the shed in late April to make sure it met food safety standards, given that he was now selling a food product direct from his farm.

His first invoice arrived early May. Falconer says that was a special moment for himself and for Herud. There are lots of stories of startup businesses that sucked up investor money, but then failed to make a return. That invoice marked the beginning of the phase where HCM would start to earn revenue.

Chris Falconer in his dairy shed
Chris Falconer has set up his shed to bypass the main vat so milk is diverted to specially designed milk kegs that pasteurise the milk to fulfil HCM orders when required.

The in-shed system for HCM has an inline tap connected to his milk line in his 40-aside herringbone shed, which allows him to divert milk to a mini processing hub within the shed.

“It’s all self-contained. Once you fill the cans, you press a button and each of the cans has its own processing unit on top,” he says.

A smaller vat used for overflow or colostrum was removed and in its place was a cabinet housing the shelves where the HCM kegs are stored.

“Nothing changes except we have the Happy Cow tap at the dairy,” he says.

He also tests the milk in the same manner a tanker operator does when it enters the cans. He says the milk has around 5.4% fat and 4.4% protein, which is slightly higher on both percentages than standard blue top milk.

These cans resemble a beer keg with a stainless-steel water jacket on the outside of it and come in 60l and 180l sizes. It has an inlet and outlet pipe that heats the water so pasteurisation takes place before pumping cold water in the jacket to cool the milk.

The system is also connected to his internet, alerting him if there is an issue, such as a power failure.

“It’s remarkably simple and easy to operate,” he says.

The can is then stored in a chiller in the shed until it is transported to the customer. A specially designed pump and tap is connected to the can to allow the customer to pour the milk as required.

Things will get refined and get better, volumes will build and we’ll have a brand that we can leverage for other things.

Chris Falconer

Falconer controls that relationship with customers rather than HCM, which is the processor. It receives a 17.5% royalty payment for the milk Falconer sells. Its revenue model is based on a portion of his sales.

“There’s a clear distinction. We own the brand, we own the market and the customer relationship,” he says.

His first customer is St Paul’s Collegiate School in Hamilton, where he supplies milk for the school’s meals as often as required. The school uses about 200l a day, seven days a week, which is all of Falconer’s capacity as it stands.

“The great thing about it is that it’s a soft launch because we don’t have an individual customer interface,” he says.

The school’s timetable structure is well-signalled in advance, meaning he can easily plan when demand for the milk will be high.

The school was also a good fit with Falconer’s values. It has an agribusiness school, had policies encouraging students to learn about farming and provided those students opportunities to learn about how milk was made.

Aerial shot of Waikato dairy farm
The farm’s terrain has a mix of everything from flat areas, rolling hills to steeper country. It usually gets good pasture growth through winter.

He will also look further afield for other customers including cafés and restaurants. The 60l cans are ideal for cafés, while the larger cans would be suitable for customers such as St Paul’s.

The capital outlay to get and install the machinery in the shed is minimal because he is a trial farmer. All of the hours he has put into the venture is viewed as in kind, however, there will be a cost to expand beyond the trial, he says.

Falconer is transitioning his system to enable the calves to stay with their mothers starting in the new season.

Before he embraces that system, he wants to ensure the business proposition is sound.

“The proof has to be in the processing and the sale. We have to be able to prove the sales model before we go to that,” he says.

“Some are being kept with their mums as a trial, but we are not going boots and all until the processing is settled because that would be putting the cart before the horse.”

The one change he is making is modifying the gates in the holding yards next to the milking shed. The lower half of the gate will be changed so it can swing open to give the calves access if they choose.

He got the idea from watching gauchos on a farm in South America who used a half-gate in a corral out in a paddock to allow calves access to their mothers while keeping the cow temporarily confined.

“We did an experiment last year using half a dozen cows with calves and the experience was that if you try and make the calf do what you want it to do, you get an upset calf and an upset cow,” he says.

It should allow the cow to be safely milked while at the same time, letting the calf be present if it chooses to be without it being spooked. He will also create a space in the yards for the calves where they have access to food.

Every calf is different and this system respects that. Some wanted to stay close to their mothers, others did not and having this gate should allow enough freedom for the calves to come and go as they please in the yards, he says.

“We all know that animals have traits and personalities and we try to ram that round peg into a square hole every single time. Let’s not do that and let them choose,” he says.

Chris Falconer in paddock with calf
Falconer plans to split calving into three different periods in the new season to reduce the load of calves at foot and to make managing calves around the shed easier. No replacements are reared, only beef animals which are sold to the markets.

“Within reason, I’m happy for them to do what they want to do.”

He plans to split calving into three different periods in the new season, to reduce the load of calves at foot and to make managing calves around the shed easier.

It will see a different part of the herd calve in six-week blocks on August 1, mid-November and late March – the latter of which has just completed. In the past, calving ran for nine weeks using a split-calving system.

The herd is a crossbred herd and he does not rear replacement cows, instead buying in new cows when required.

He reduced it from 430 to 320 cows a few seasons ago. This has pushed up production on a per cow basis from 295-330kg MS, with the herd’s overall production at 105,000kg MS.

Instead, he mates all of his cows to beef genetics, farms the calves and sells them as yearlings to beef finishers.

Mindful of some customers’ perceptions of AI, he tried using bulls only for two seasons, but found they did not mate all of the herd and created health and safety issues on the farm.

Now around 85% of the herd are inseminated using Speckle Park and low birth EBV Hereford bulls for the remaining 15%, which are kept on the farm.

Most of the calves are weaned and sold 12-14 months into the store cattle market for beef finishers. The beef market really liked the Speckle Park calves, achieving top prices at every sale the calves are sent to. A small number are sold at 14 days old.

The farm’s terrain has a mix of everything from flat areas, rolling hills to steeper country. It usually gets good pasture growth through winter, with the toughest periods being February and March, which is why the district is sometimes called ‘Dry-renga’.

He cuts grass silage in spring, producing around 500-600 bales, which are fed out from January usually to March. This season has been so dry it forced him to keep feeding out the bales right through into May. A small amount of in-shed feed is used as an inciter for the cows to consume mineral supplements.

He is in the process of retiring 50ha of the back corner of the farm, which will be regenerated into native bush.

That process has started with the help of Waikato Regional Council.

“We started planting when we got here, we’ve planted around 15,000 so far and this will add another 60,000-70,000,” he says.

Chris Falconer in wetland on his farm
Falconer is in the process of retiring a 50ha of the back corner of the farm, which will be regenerated into native bush. So far, 15,000 natives have been planted.

The farm has excellent effluent infrastructure with all-year-round storage capability, allowing for targeted irrigation onto paddocks for optimal use.

“We’re never forced to spread. We tend to spread in November because that’s when you get the most uptake of nutrients,” he says.

Falconer likes to see regulations in the rear-view mirror rather than getting in a cycle of having to adjust when they land.

Regulations work so slowly that by the time that adjustment has been made, society has moved on, requiring a further adjustment to be made.

“We invest for 10-20 years on the farm and you don’t want to invest just to get to the line only for the line to change in two to three years’ time because then you’re chasing it,” he says.

As a result, he keeps a close eye, but does not obsess over his carbon and nitrogen footprints. The latter currently sits at around 14kg N/ha/year, which is similar to a sheep and beef farm.

His carbon footprint is 7.2 carbon dioxide equivalents per kilogram of milksolids.

He says he is more concerned he will end up subsidising other farmers under the He Waka Eke Noa climate change plan.

“Farmers say there are a lot of regulations coming down the pipeline, but so many of them are linked. There’s a lot of crossover and I have never made a single decision for climate change on this farm. But I make decisions for soil, for water and for stocking rate,” he says.

“What spits out at the end just happens to be good for climate change, but it never drives it. If it drove it, I’d plant the whole thing in pines.”

For now, he is taking a steady as it goes approach to HCM as it gets bedded into the farm system.

“Things will get refined and get better, volumes will build and we’ll have a brand that we can leverage for other things. We have veal that we can sell directly to restaurants and we’re looking at finishing a small number of beef animals to go out to restaurants as well,” he says.

“And because we have our own label established for our milk and that’s going to be our overarching label for all products selling directly off the farm.”

Herud says they want to make sure everything is working as it should on Falconer’s farm before possibly taking on other farmers.

While there are a handful of other farmers interested in NZ, much of the interest has come from overseas.

“We have a farmer in California waiting, we have a farmer in Australia waiting and some in the Netherlands and Sweden,” he says.

“We’ll raise some more capital later this year and then basically fulfilling all those farmers overseas and New Zealand who want it.”

Farm fact box

Owner: Chris Falconer, Pukerua Farm
Location: Waerenga, North Waikato
Farm size: 255ha
Herd: 320 cows, crossbreed
Production: 2021-22 105,000kg MS
Target: 2022-23: 105,000kg MS

Source: farmersweekly.co.nz

Categories : Dairy Industry, Management

Illinois dairy farm heritage spans multiple generations

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022

Twice each day, dairy cows line up 12-at-a time to be milked at Rolling Lawns Farm in Greenville. As the animals enter the milking parlor, caretakers clean and sanitize each cow’s udder before attaching an automatic milking unit.

The entire milking process takes about 8 minutes per animal, with milk going from the cow to a customer’s glass in fewer than 6 hours.

“Cows look forward to the milking process,” says Michael Turley, owner and operator of the Bond County farm. “You have your early arrivers, who are first in line, and your cows who are last in line but they’re always in the same place every day.”

Michael Turley, a fourth-generation dairy farmer in Bond County, says high-quality care keeps cows like “Lovely” happy at Rolling Lawns Farm in Greenville.

The farm has been home to purebred Holsteins for more than 100 years, starting when Turley’s great-grandfather founded the dairy. Pedigrees and registration documentation help track each animal’s ancestry.

For example, Baltimore Barb represents the 29th generation in her family at the farm. Her predecessors came over from the Netherlands in 1882, when many U.S. farmers began using European genetics to grow the dairy sector.

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With 120 cows at Rolling Lawns Farm, there’s a lot of personal interaction between each animal and their handlers.

“We see each animal every day and can pretty much tell when they’re having a good day or an off day – just like people,” Turley says.

Each cow has her own personality, too. Lovely, a 7-year-old cow whose family has been on the farm for 75 years, is the biggest and most playful. Turley says she’s also the most spoiled.

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“She’s seen me pretty much every day of her adult life and she knows she’s going to get cared for,” he says. “She exemplifies the type of care that we try to give our cows every day. There’s a lot of trust and interaction between the animal and the owners.”

In 2017, Turley expanded his business to include a processing, bottling and retail facility 8 miles down the road from the farm. Customers at The Milk House can choose from a selection of white and flavored milks, as well as homemade ice cream. They can also watch fresh milk from the farm undergo pasteurization, which includes heating to remove bacteria, before it’s turned into dairy treats.

Cows get milked at 3:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day at Rolling Lawns Farm in Greenville. Handlers clean and sanitize each animal’s udder before attaching an automatic milker unit, which collects milk for about eight minutes.

Turley says his goal with adding transparency to how dairy products are made is to demystify any misconceptions shoppers might have. That includes answering questions about how his family and employees raise cows and the use of practices such as antibiotics.

“I love answering those types of questions because we can assure them about the safety of the product,” he says. “There are no antibiotics [in milk] because of the rigorous testing that not only our farm does, but every dairy farm in the United States undergoes. There isn’t a more heavily regulated product than milk.”

Source: lincolncourier.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

‘It felt like wringing a dry sponge’: India’s dairy farmers face searing heat

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2022

Kailas Ramasamy gently guides his cows into a hangar-sized shed, tethers them to their posts, lays out their fodder and cleans the floor. Then, as he steps out, he flips a switch: ceiling fans begin to blow air on the cattle.

Ramasamy’s dairy farm is an hour outside southern India’s Bengaluru city. Usually known for its moderate weather, the region has witnessed a sharp rise in temperature compared with earlier decades. Elsewhere in India, temperatures have reached 50C (122F) this year.

That is bad news for India’s dairy industry, with heat stress leading to reduced appetite, lower weight gain and decreased fertility in cattle. Rising temperatures could reduce milk output by up to 25% in India’s hotter areas by 2085, according to recent research published in the Lancet.

Heat stress is a global problem, with thousands of cattle reported to have died last week in the US state of Kansas as temperatures of more than 37C were compounded by high levels of humidity.

But for India, any significant decline in milk production could be devastating for food security if it ends self-sufficiency in dairy in the world’s second most populous country.

Fans keep the cowshed cooler and protect against heat stress on Kailas Ramasamy’s farm.
Fans keep the cowshed cooler and protect against heat stress on Kailas Ramasamy’s farm. Photograph: Samyukta Lakshmi/The Guardian

The consequences would also be devastating for 80 million Indians employed across the dairy industry.

These are problems that Ranganatha Reddy knows well. Temperatures on his dairy farm in Anantapur, 120 miles (200km) from Bengaluru, hit 43C in May.

“My cows usually have an internal alarm clock and start mooing when it’s meal time because they’re always hungry,” he says. “But during the heatwave I had to almost force-feed them.”

His farm’s milk output dropped by 30% month-on-month. “It felt like I was wringing a dry sponge.”

India map

While climate change is a global phenomenon, the large number of small dairy holdings in India and a growing dependence on breeds that are vulnerable to heat stress could affect the country more than other big dairy producers such as the US or Brazil.

In the 1970s, India began crossbreeding imported, high-yield varieties of cattle with local species, helping turn the country from running a dairy deficit to producing 22% of the world’s milk.

India’s most recent livestock census found that the population of crossbred cattle had increased by 26% since 2012, while indigenous varieties decreased by 6%.

It makes financial sense to switch to crossbred cows as they produce “much more milk”, says Ramendra Das, a veterinary scientist who has studied the impact of warming temperatures on different breeds – but they are more vulnerable to heat stress than indigenous varieties.

Milk production of indigenous breeds is more robust than crossbred cows in heatwaves.
Milk production of indigenous breeds is more robust than crossbred cows in heatwaves. Photograph: Samyukta Lakshmi/The Guardian

Ramasamy, who buys and sells milk from local farmers through the company Vrindavan Dairy, is trying to promote the use of indigenous cows by paying more for milk from Indian cows (42p a litre) than from crossbreeds (32p).

Solutions to ward off heat stress include specially designed sheds with fans and sprinklers to keep cattle cool, but that comes at a high cost. “Only big, intensive dairy farms can afford such infrastructure,” says Girdhari Ramdas Patil, a former joint director at the National Dairy Research Institute. Almost two-thirds of India’s milk is produced by small-scale farmers.

Gyr cows slake their thirst at Vrindavan dairy farm near Bengaluru. The Gyr breed is sturdier and more resilient to climate change.
Gyr cows slake their thirst at Vrindavan dairy farm near Bengaluru. The Gyr breed is sturdier and more resilient to climate change. Photograph: Samyukta Lakshmi/The Guardian

Philip Thornton, a scientist at the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers and lead author of the Lancet study on heat stress milk yield losses, says that crossbreeding climate-resilient cattle varieties and higher-yielding cows might help in the long run.

For Ramasamy, the answer has been to seek better indigenous breeds. He has started breeding Gyr cows from northern India that give more milk than other breeds while also consuming less food and water than crossbred varieties.

Does he think the lower maintenance costs and risks of heat stress will persuade more farmers to turn to Indian breeds? “It’s going to be difficult, but I’m convinced that is the future,” he says.

Source: theguardian.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Global milk production slowing, weakening demand on horizon

Tuesday, June 21st, 2022

Rabobank’s latest global Dairy Quarterly report said expectations of a weakening demand for dairy would lead to moderate price declines in late 2022.

On the other hand, global milk production is still declining for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Milk production in the ‘big seven’ dairy export regions (the European Union, United States, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) has been contracting year-on-year for the past three quarters.

Rabobank forecasts this downward trend will continue for the Q2 2022 period — creating a four-quarter-long, back-to-back run of constricting milk supply — something that hasn’t been seen since 2012-13.

“The current slowdown in global milk output is directly related to higher costs of production and weather events,” the report said.

“In the past, production has recovered and surpassed previous peaks, but now there are structural issues that could limit a significant rebound in production from some key exporters.”

Australia

At home there is widespread milk decline across all regions, but the record opening milk prices and revisions are providing cash flow and confidence to farmers.

Rabobank senior dairy analyst Michael Harvey said these milk prices were important as dairy farmers face cost headwinds.

“The cost of home-grown feed and supplementary feed will be more expensive, among other inflationary pressures,” Mr Harvey said.

“Against this backdrop, labour availability remains a handbrake on expansion. There is a likelihood that farm margins will be lower in the new season not higher, despite a circa 15 per cent lift in milk prices to record levels.”

Mr Harvey said there were bright spots on the horizon.

“Seasonal conditions remain supportive for spring pasture growth, and water market conditions are good for irrigation farmers,’’ he said.

“Non-milk incomes remain elevated, supported by a very firm beef market.”

New Zealand

Kiwi farmers are anticipating another profitable season, but higher input costs will chew into margins.

South America

Herd reduction continues as drought and high costs push farmers. Any rebound from the South America trio (Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) will be slow as production costs remain high.

United States

Limited growth in the milk pool has pushed domestic milk prices high, but demand at these levels is showing signs of hesitation, adding volatility to the market.

Inflation is another issue to be watched.

European Union

Rabobank doesn’t expect the EU milk pool to grow until the second half of the 2022 year due to low year-on-year comparables.

China

China’s carryover stocks and strong milk production growth overhands weak demand due to COVID-19 lockdowns, ill-boding for 2022’s import outlook

Source: sheppnews.com.au

Categories : Dairy Industry

China’s Raw Milk Production Expected to Reach 39.6 MMT in 2022

Tuesday, June 21st, 2022

According to a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, China’s raw milk production will reach 36 million metric tonnes (MMT) in 2022. According to the report, the 4.5 percent increase over 2021 is due to a larger dairy herd and improved efficiency. However, raw milk price declines, higher feed costs, and market uncertainty caused by China’s COVID-19 policies will put a damper on raw milk production in 2022.

Domestic fluid milk distribution is expected to reach 40.95 MMT in 2022, driven by consumer demand for dairy products in the retail and food processing sectors. Import growth is expected to slow to 1.3 MMT in 2022 due to higher global prices and competition from domestic production.

Production of Whole Milk Powder (WMP) is expected to rise slightly to 1.02 MMT as producers convert seasonal surplus raw milk to WMP. The bakery sector and manufacturers of dietary supplement beverages are expected to drive consumption to nearly 1.9 MMT.

Its use as an ingredient in infant formula, however, is declining as the country’s declining birth rate reduces demand for infant formula. The import estimate for WMP in 2022 has been reduced from 849 TMT in 2021 to 820 TMT in 2022.

The production of Skimmed Milk Powder (SMP) is estimated to be 24 TMT. Production is expected to remain low as China does not produce enough cream or butter to support a significant increase in SMP.

Total domestic consumption is expected to be 423 TMT, a 5% decrease year on year due to a greater supply of WMP in the market, according to Post officials. Due to lower market demand, imports are also reduced to 400 TMT.

As local producers expand production at the same rate as in 2021, China’s cheese production is expected to reach 20 TMT in 2022. Due to the impact of China’s COVID-19 restrictions, postal officials have reduced consumption estimates to 190 TMT from 194 TMT in 2021.

Food service is a major channel for cheese distribution and consumption, and 2022 lockdowns and continued restrictions on food service, including in affluent cities like Shanghai and Shenzhen, hurt consumption.

According to the report, any prolonged lockdowns will result in further declines in cheese consumption and HRI spending in 2022. China’s butter production is estimated to be 12 TMT, while imports are estimated to be 150 TMT, an increase of 8% from 2021.

Domestic butter production is more expensive than imported butter due to higher raw milk costs, but growth is expected in 2022, driven by an immediate need for butterfat as an ingredient in value-added products. The bakery and food service sectors, which rely on imported butter products, are estimated to consume 160 TMT of butter. China Customs data is used to calculate butter imports.

Source: eDairyNews

Categories : Dairy Industry

New Zealand Farmers Continue to Deliver, Despite the Odds

Tuesday, June 21st, 2022

Today’s primary sector report shows New Zealand dairy farmers have overcome the odds – despite rising input costs, labour shortages, fewer cows and less production they have still delivered for our national economy.

DairyNZ chief executive Dr Tim Mackle said MPI’s Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report projecting the dairy sector will be worth $21.6b this year – trending toward $24b by 2026 – is a significant milestone for farmers.

“Farmers really are being challenged right now. Input costs and staff shortages are testing our farmers as we head into the busiest part of the year, when the impacts of stress will be felt the most. Farmers are also delivering on environmental work and implementing policy changes on farms too,” said Dr Mackle.

“So to hear that their work is truly delivering for New Zealand – and there’s a bright future for our food products – will buoy farmers as they refine their farm systems to continue delivering product that’s in demand.”

The report said farm management and advancing technology will help deliver increased on-farm productivity.

“Cow numbers are falling but the work being done by farmers to improve dairy cow genetics and adopt new technologies is expected to pay dividends. It’s a signal that our on-farm productivity can continue to thrive, thanks to advances in farm management practices.

“Importantly, this bodes well for work to be done for climate change solutions. We are actively exploring technology solutions and today’s report sends a positive message just how well our sector does that.”

More importantly, Dr Mackle said the report is a reminder of the value of New Zealand’s primary industries to our national economy.

“The work our farmers do daily to deliver a world-class product that is low carbon footprint continues to be sought-after,” says Dr Mackle.

“We know the primary sector is important to New Zealand communities and as a nation for our quality of living. Our food and fibre products are in demand – and today’s report suggests this will only increase.”

Source: dairynz.co.nz

Categories : Dairy Industry

Cognitive Dissonance in America’s Dairy Land

Tuesday, June 21st, 2022

At “dinner” time—in the middle of the afternoon—the dairy farmer, his wife, a brother-in-law, and a couple of friends gathered around the big kitchen table. There was a ham, and a turkey, and gigantic bowls of potatoes and vegetables, and two pies on the kitchen counter. 

Two of the men were missing one finger each. “Caught it in a grain screw,” one explained. I was there to report a magazine story. The guests had come to work on the farm for a day, and the big meal was one of the perks. 

Milked: How an American Crisis Brought Together Midwestern Dairy Farmers and Mexican Workers
By Ruth Conniff
New Press, 313 pp.

The farmer needed the help. This was 1997. A wave of farm consolidation had been building across the country, and, as the farmer said to me, “We had to get big or get out.” That became a mantra across farm country, and especially on dairy farms. 

Free market economics demanded it. As old New Deal supply-demand price management gave way, and as every link in the supply chain all the way to the retail shelf consolidated—think Walmart and Kroger behemoths—the price of milk and dairy products dove lower, cutting margins for farmers. They had to scale up to force per-unit prices down. Herds of 100 cows became herds of 300, then 1,000, then 2,000. So even as farms disappeared—in 1987, there were 146,685 farms with dairy cows in the United States; by 2017, there were 54,599—the industry produced more milk than ever. 

You could celebrate this as “efficiency,” without considering the cost in the destruction of communities and the price paid by farmers, who now die by suicide at one of the highest rates of any occupation. Or you could read Milked, Ruth Conniff’s illuminating, distressing, yet oddly optimistic exploration of America’s Dairy Land. 

Back in 1997, the farmer outside La Crosse, Wisconsin, had not hired any Mexican labor. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do—but he knew he had to do something. He could start his 14-hour day at 4:30 a.m., work as farmer, vet, mechanic, biologist. His wife could be accountant and business manager. But they could not run the place alone.

Their son had just started high school. The farmer hoped the boy would take over one day. The boy, having worked on the farm, and seen his father’s brutal schedule, didn’t want to take over, though he hadn’t told his father yet. He wanted to get as far away from a dairy farm as he could possibly go.

Conniff, a Wisconsin native and the editor in chief of the Wisconsin Examiner, writes a vivid tale. She writes about quinceañeras—the celebration of a Hispanic girl’s 15th birthday—in a land of Trump-voting farmers; about illegal immigration and economic necessity; about the gumption of both farmers and laborers. These are sources of optimism in what is sometimes a perverse story. Farmers respect hard work, family, devotion. With few exceptions, the Mexicans they hire share these qualities. 

Mexican fathers milk cows while trying to parent misbehaving sons living 2,000 miles away with their mothers. Immigrant hands send wages home to build houses they hope to move into one day when they can return to their country. They work six- and seven-day weeks for years on end, doing jobs no American will do for the low wages the farmers pay. They navigate life in small-town America with limited English, occasional harassment, and fear of deportation.

Conniff’s farmers marvel at all this. Some come not only to respect the immigrant laborers, but also to love them. The farmer John Rosenow employs two Mexicans named Fermin and Roberto. Conniff writes, 

Maybe the two men will want to take part ownership in the farm. John hopes so. He doesn’t have any children of his own, and he wants this to be his legacy: helping the next generation of immigrants take their place in the history of the valley.

But Conniff also makes the perversity clear, both explicitly and by implication. Farm owners twist in the convoluted political gymnastics that enable them to vote for Trump in 2020 while also supporting their workers’ ability to live in the United States despite being here illegally. 

Bill Traun, for example, employs Lupe and Blanca, who give names to all of Bill’s cows. He loves that—and them. According to Conniff,

Bill didn’t like it when Donald Trump started saying bad things about immigrants. “It scared them, and it scared me,” he says. But over time, he felt that Trump’s anti-

immigrant rhetoric kind of faded out. And the border wall didn’t stop Mexican workers from coming to the farms in the area. During the pandemic, he notes, Trump sent a lot of aid to farmers. 

Indeed, the farmers seem to admire the guts it takes to trek from rural Mexico to rural Wisconsin; that moxie contributes to their admiration of their Mexican employees. 

This past March, a teenage girl fell from the new, higher border wall near San Diego and fractured her skull, neck, and back. On April 11, a woman died after becoming entangled in climbing gear while trying to scale the border wall near Douglas, Arizona. And on May 6, a man died while trying to scale the wall near San Diego. Two women, one in her 30s and one in her 50s, were seriously injured. 

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported on April 29: 

In 2016 … UC San Diego Health admitted border-wall injury patients at a rate of about 49 people per 100,000 local Border Patrol apprehensions. By 2021, that rate grew to about 449 people per 100,000 apprehensions.

The border wall does not stop people from coming to the United States. It never has. It only makes it more dangerous for immigrants to provide labor for Wisconsin farmers. 

Some of Conniff’s farmworkers are robbed by gangs or abused by smugglers on their way to America. Some are raped. Some die in the desert. The suffering their laborers endure seems not to trouble some of the farmers. But they are in a bad spot, too. Millions of dollars might flow through their mega farms, but their profits are often low, after accounting for loan payments, seed, feed, equipment, and other expenses. And they can’t find American labor to muck out pens and assist in a calf delivery at three in the morning. 

The problems Conniff explores require systemic reform. She suggests changing the current H-2A visa program, which covers agricultural workers. Now, these workers have to return to their home countries within a year. This doesn’t work for dairy farms, which operate around the clock, every day of the year. No farmer can afford to have workers leave for extended periods. Democrats offered legislation to put H-2A workers on a path to citizenship, but the bill failed. 

Congress, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice could crack down on the ever-increasing consolidation that has put farmers in this position in the first place. There are signs that this is beginning to happen. 

But there’s much more involved than immigration law and antitrust policy. Conniff touches on the effect of International Monetary Fund austerity demands on Mexican agriculture, NAFTA, and other big-picture forces that could generally be grouped under the label of economic neoliberalism. These forces have conspired to create the situation in which farmers and workers now find themselves. Those of us who are subject to America’s increasingly bizarre food system are, of course, affected as well.

I would have enjoyed seeing more of this kind of context in Milked. Even so, Conniff’s great gift is in placing individual people and their lives at the center of what could otherwise come across as a big, complicated snoozer of a story.

The residents of rural America used to vote for Democrats. And one farmer told me recently, “I don’t see how anybody who farms couldn’t vote Democratic.” The voices Conniff brings to life evoke the days of New Deal programs like the Agricultural Adjustment Act, rural electrification, and antitrust enforcement, all of which were boons to rural America. 

There are still rural votes to be had, and in a cockamamie electoral system that overweights land area, no political party can afford to ignore them. It’s vital to listen to what people in those areas are saying, thinking, and doing, and to learn how they’re coping and fighting small-scale battles of their own—not only for Democratic electoral success, but also for the health of the nation.

 “Bill didn’t like it when Donald Trump started saying bad things about immigrants. ‘It scared them, and it scared me,’ he says. But over time, he felt that Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric kind of faded out … During the pandemic, he notes, Trump sent a lot of aid to farmers.”

John Rosenow, one of Conniff’s main subjects, views the land with near-religious reverence. He’s also something of a liberal, which makes him a minority among his fellow farmers. But other, more conservative farmers join him on trips to Mexican villages. These trips are organized by a local woman, Shaun Duvall, a Spanish speaker who acts as translator and cultural interpreter between the farmers and the laborers. Once in Mexico, the American farmers meet the families of the people who work for them. They see the houses that are paid for by the wages workers send home. In the process, any Fox News–stoked fear dissolves and the farmers see parallel images of themselves. They reflect on how immigrants, many of them undocumented, have transformed small American towns—in some cases saving them from oblivion—by opening grocery stores, restaurants, and barbershops. 

Most tellingly, the Americans find themselves admiring the farms and communities their current and former employees enjoy in Mexico: some fruit trees, a few animals, lots of family, and many celebrations. The Mexicans, in turn, seem to feel a little sorry for the Americans: They may be richer, but they’re not happier.

Source: washingtonmonthly.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Brexit bill spells uncertainty for Northern Irish dairy farmers

Tuesday, June 21st, 2022

Philip Haffey rustles a feed bag and the cows come trotting towards him. The fourth generation dairy farmer in the county of Armagh, Northern Ireland produces 1.4 million liters of milk per year. The grain his cattle eat, when not eating grass or silage, is imported from Great Britain.

But those grain imports could become a nightmare for him under Boris Johnson’s new bill to unilaterally rewrite Brexit trade rules for the region. Farmers say the Prime Minister’s initiative threatens the dairy sector, which is worth £1.5 billion a year in Northern Ireland and part of the largest integrated industry on the island.

The bill provides for a dual regulatory regime, whereby goods entering the region can be produced to UK or EU standards. But if the rules diverge and the grain Haffey feeds his cattle is grown with pesticides not allowed in the EU, he could no longer send his milk to the Republic of Ireland for processing.

That would do more than just harass a farmer who was happy to vote for Brexit. The region doesn’t have enough factories to process all the milk it produces, meaning the 800 million liters a year produced by Northern Irish farmers processed south of the border – a third of the region’s production – had nowhere to go except Great Britain.

Milk from the north and south is also blended together so that butter, cheese, Baileys Irish Cream liqueur, baby food and other products are made with supplies from both jurisdictions.

Haffey objects to customs controls in the Irish Sea for British goods entering the region under the post-Brexit trade arrangements known as the Northern Ireland Protocol. “We are part of the UK so business should flow just as freely to Northern Ireland as it does to Wales,” he said. “I think pressure needs to be put on the EU.”

But even he isn’t calling for the protocol — which London says poses “danger” to social and political conditions in the region — should be scrapped altogether for one simple reason. As Alan Cleland, a farmer in County Down put it, “A lot of bits and pieces of protocol are problematic. But from our milk standpoint, it seems to be working.”

Alan Cleland, a dairy farmer from County Down: ‘From the point of view of our milk, [the Protocol] seems to work’ © Paul McErlane/FT

London’s bill to give ministers the power to tear up parts of the protocol is already undermining the industry’s image, said Gerry O’Reilly, a dairy farmer south of the border in County Cavan and a shareholder of Lakeland Dairies, a large processor.

Northern Irish milk, also from Haffey, keeps Lakeland stocked, especially at the end of the year when herds like his aren’t producing, he said. “In fact, damage has already been done,” O’Reilly said. “If you’re an international buyer, you’d say, ‘I want a steady supply for five to ten years, but you’ve got all this political nonsense’. It immediately weakens us.”

In order to preserve the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which ended three decades of conflict, the protocol left the region within the EU’s internal market for goods and subject to EU rules and supervision, rather than customs controls on on a land border that is now largely invisible.

But union officials say the customs controls imposed in the Irish Sea are instead undermining the region’s status as part of the UK. The Democratic Unionist party has paralyzed local political institutions to push through its demands for the abolition of the border with the Irish Sea.

Trading on its image of rolling pastures, dairy has become one of the most emblematic industries on all the islands in the quarter of a century since the Good Friday Agreement.

“Dairy is Ireland’s flagship product,” said Conor Mulvihill, director of Dairy Industry Ireland, a trade association. The industry is worth €13 billion to the Republic of Ireland and employs 85,000 people on both sides of the border. “It’s mental what is presented.”

Whiskey is another industry with north-south supply chains that has boomed since the Good Friday Agreement, from just twenty-four years ago to 42 distilleries. Malt and grains cross the border every day, as does newly distilled spirits to mature.

“It’s very important that we have one set of rules,” said William Lavelle, director of the Irish Whiskey Association. “If the protocol is in any way undermined or disapplied . † † it would just bring a whole new set of headaches.”

But other industries complain that the protocol creates costly bureaucracy, making it difficult for some products, such as sausages, to be sold in Northern Ireland.

This week’s bill aims to introduce a “green lane” without customs controls for goods from Britain residing in Northern Ireland and end scrutiny of the rules by the European Court of Justice.

Mike Johnston, head of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, welcomed London’s recognition that there is no “one size fits all” approach.

But he said the law could mean in the worst case scenario that “we should just stop buying grain” from Britain. The industry buys 400,000 tons a year, so “British grain farmers could lose . † † a lot depends on this.”

British officials were divided on the extent of the potential crisis. One said there were “misconceptions” and that industries selling to the bloc would go ahead with EU regulations.

But another said: “There is clearly no solution. They are full. The dual regulatory regime can never work for agri.”

Dairy farmers said the risks were very real. the UK in 2021 authorized the use of an insecticide banned by the EUthough London says it was ultimately not used, and UK gene editing standards deviate from EU rules.

Charlie Weir, another farmer in County Armagh, regretted voting to leave the EU “because it was one lie after another” from London. “Why, if the protocol is so bad, is Northern Ireland the only region in the UK to grow in the first quarter?” he said.

“We could be left with higher costs and lower prices,” said another Armagh farmer who voted to stay in the EU and declined to be named because of the deep, lingering divisions in the region.

“The protocol is incredibly good for Northern Ireland – it’s just the best of both worlds,” he said.

Source: nydailypaper.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Gloriavale seeks High Court injunction forcing Westland Milk to continue collecting from its dairy farms

Tuesday, June 21st, 2022

Gloriavale has sought a High Court injunction forcing Westland Milk to continue collecting milk from the community’s dairy farms.

Westland Milk announced it would stop collecting milk from the reclusive West Coast Christian sect’s farms after the Employment Court ruled members of the community who worked up to 70 hours a week were not volunteers.

The collection was set to end on Monday to coincide with the end of the milking season.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Westland Milk confirmed that Gloriavale’s Canaan Farming Dairy Ltd had filed an application for an interim injunction against Westland.

“Westland has been advised that the injunction application will request that Westland be compelled to perform the terms of its milk collection contracts with Canaan, specifically to require Westland to continue to collect milk from Canaan’s three farms.

“Both parties have agreed that Westland will continue to collect Canaan’s milk until the court has determined Canaan’s application for an interim injunction.”

Gloriavale has been approached for comment.

Westland Milk is not the only company to act following the Employment Court ruling.

Meat company ANZCO Foods has given notice to Gloriavale that it will end business with its offal processing company Value Proteins and last month Silver Fern Farms said it would no longer supply offal to Value Proteins.

Alliance Group is still reviewing its relationship with the firm.

Source: newshub.co.nz

Categories : Dairy Industry

Farmer’s pain at TB loss of 500 cow herd

Monday, June 20th, 2022
“There’s nothing worse than seeing a dairy farm sat empty,” says Gwyndaf Thomas

A farmer has spoken about the toll on him and his family after losing his entire dairy herd of 500 to bovine tuberculosis (TB).

Gwyndaf Thomas, who farms near Meidrim in Carmarthenshire, has had to rebuild his farm after the loss five years ago.

He now milks 260 cows but said the Welsh government had to do more.

The Welsh government called TB a “huge challenge” but said there had been “good progress” since establishing the TB eradication programme in Wales.

Bovine TB is mainly a respiratory disease and can be passed between infected cattle, and there is a risk people can also catch it.

“Within six months, the entire herd was cleared off the farm and there’s nothing worse than seeing a dairy farm sat empty,” said Mr Thomas.

“It was a very difficult time and for the children as well. I remember the youngest girl here crying at night wondering what was going to happen to the pet dog and the pet cat.

Gwyndaf Thomas' childrenGwyndaf Thomas
Gwyndaf Thomas’ children feared what would happen after the outbreak

“And then having to go to the hospital… to have their BCG vaccination (used against TB), which I was unaware of at the time, but they stopped doing BCG injections for school kids many years ago.”

He described his children feeling like “outcasts” at school when classmates asked what the marks on their shoulders from the jabs were, and after turning to a local MP for help, getting only an offer to use a food bank for three weeks.

‘Shambles’

“It was just pathetic to be honest,” he said.

Mr Thomas described the Welsh government’s approach to trying to eradicate TB in Wales as “a shambles”.

A Welsh government spokesman said: “TB in cattle is a huge challenge, and distressing for farmers who have to deal with it in their herds.

“We have seen good progress since our TB eradication programme was first established, with long-term decreases in incidence and prevalence.

“Part of the solution to the problem is the willingness of people, both in government and the industry, to work together. Farmers are at the centre of what we’re trying to achieve and we are, of course, listening to them.

“We have been clear we can’t tackle this disease alone and we all have an important role to play.”

Cows
Gwyndaf Thomas now has a much smaller herd

Welsh government figures show a decline in dairy farms from 3,372 in 2010 to 2,495 in 2020 – a fall of 877. But over the same period the average size of the dairy herd has increased from 66 to 101.

The price of milk has also been frustrating for many dairy farmers for the past few years.

Although the price has increased significantly recently, the increase in feed, fertiliser and energy costs has had a significant immediate impact on dairy farmers.

Cutting out the middle man

Dairy farmers are still projected to make a loss of 0.3p per litre for the price of milk they are getting from big suppliers.

It has led to some in the industry taking things into their own hands and cutting out the middle man.

Mathew Jones, dairy farmer and owner of Y Stand Laeth
Mathew Jones is looking at alternative ways to sell milk

At his farm on the outskirts of Carmarthen, near Nantgaredig, Mathew Jones has just opened a new milk vending machine.

“It’s proving very popular so far and we’re still getting new customers through the door, which is nice to see,” he said.

‘We’re still in the same boat’

“Something needed to be done, unfortunately with the prices of energy, feed, fuel going up.

“The price of milk has risen with it but we’re still in the same boat, we’re not gaining anything.

“We needed to do something different, because we were getting up every morning, milking the cows, doing the same routine and getting the same outcome. Hopefully it will secure a bit of extra income at the end of the year.”

Happy customers
The vending machine has proved popular with adults and children

He added it was “no great shock” to hear of the decline in dairy farms and he could see “a lot more leaving the industry”.

“You only have to look on Facebook and see all over the country, there are two or three dispersal sales each week. So it is a concern,” he added.

Referring to the support currently available for farmers in Wales, a Welsh government spokesman said: “We are committed to continuing to support the Welsh dairy industry to ensure it has a strong future.

“We have provided £6.5m funding from the Rural Development Programme to support the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board’s Dairy Improvement Programme to increase efficiency and resilience of the dairy sector.

“Although there has been a reduction in the number of dairy farms, this has not been matched by the number of dairy cows in Wales.”

Source: bbc.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

800m litres of milk with ‘nowhere to go’ if UK overrides protocol

Monday, June 20th, 2022

Any move by the UK government to bring forward legislation to override the Northern Ireland (NI) protocol will be a “travesty” for the all-island dairy sector, according to Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) director Conor Mulvihill.

Mulvihill warned that the approximate 800m litres of milk produced on NI dairy farms which comes south of the border into the Republic of Ireland (ROI) for processing annually will have nowhere to go if the UK government continues with its intentions to renege on the protocol agreement.

He said the decision will create a “devastating” economic impact both sides of the border and an “environmental hazard”.

He also described how it is not only the flow of milk from NI to ROI for processing that will be affected, but also the movement of Irish dairy products to NI for further processing and packaging.

Reputation ‘shredded’

The Irish representative of dairy processors said overriding the protocol will leave the reputation of the island’s “symbiotic” dairy sector “shredded”.

While noting that the UK government could be playing a “game” and that it could be a while before the proposed legislative intervention by Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will become law, he described how even talk or suggestion of overriding the protocol creates major implications for how those in other markets view Irish milk.

The move by the UK government on the NI protocol will create a “travesty” for the dairy sector. / Donal O’ Leary

Mulvihill said that 30% to 35% of all dairy products produced in Ireland have “some element of NI or mixed product” and said it is “integral that we maintain that all-Ireland dairy economy”.

He said that in export markets abroad, milk produced on the island of Ireland, both sides of the border, is seen on an all-island basis, from “one epidemiological unit”.

In these markets, he said “food safety is number one”.

He described how it will be “very easy” for competitors from other dairy-producing countries to contrast their own food security regulation with any question of a “dual regulatory system” with ROI and NI milk.

He said such competitors will easily ask ‘that Irish stuff you’re buying, is it really Irish?’

Mulvihill said: “The European Union (EU) will not allow a dual regulatory regime. They’ve already compromised (on the protocol) in a huge way.”

‘Mind boggling’

The DII chief said the moves from the UK government on the NI protocol put Brexit “back to zero again”.

He said the protocol was “implemented and agreed with the British government” and that Monday’s developments in Westminster are “a joke”. He asked: “How do you have credibility in that scenario?”

“I feel like we’ve been banging our head against a wall for the last five years. To be dealing with a [UK] government that is going out with the intention of breaching an international agreement is mind boggling for us.”

Mulvihill called on the UK government to “cop on and go to the negotiating table”. He said: “The EU will not accept this double standard.”

Source: farmersjournal.ie

Categories : Dairy Industry

800m litres of milk with ‘nowhere to go’ if UK overrides protocol – DII

Friday, June 17th, 2022

Any move by the UK government to bring forward legislation to override the Northern Ireland (NI) protocol will be a “travesty” for the all-island dairy sector, according to Dairy Industry Ireland (DII) director Conor Mulvihill.

Mulvihill warned that the approximate 800m litres of milk produced on NI dairy farms which comes south of the border into the Republic of Ireland (ROI) for processing annually will have nowhere to go if the UK government continues with its intentions to renege on the protocol agreement.

He said the decision will create a “devastating” economic impact both sides of the border and an “environmental hazard”.

He also described how it is not only the flow of milk from NI to ROI for processing that will be affected, but also the movement of Irish dairy products to NI for further processing and packaging.

Reputation ‘shredded’

The Irish representative of dairy processors said overriding the protocol will leave the reputation of the island’s “symbiotic” dairy sector “shredded”.

While noting that the UK government could be playing a “game” and that it could be a while before the proposed legislative intervention by Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will become law, he described how even talk or suggestion of overriding the protocol creates major implications for how those in other markets view Irish milk.

The move by the UK government on the NI protocol will create a “travesty” for the dairy sector. / Donal O’ Leary

Mulvihill said that 30% to 35% of all dairy products produced in Ireland have “some element of NI or mixed product” and said it is “integral that we maintain that all-Ireland dairy economy”.

He said that in export markets abroad, milk produced on the island of Ireland, both sides of the border, is seen on an all-island basis, from “one epidemiological unit”.

In these markets, he said “food safety is number one”.

He described how it will be “very easy” for competitors from other dairy-producing countries to contrast their own food security regulation with any question of a “dual regulatory system” with ROI and NI milk.

He said such competitors will easily ask ‘that Irish stuff you’re buying, is it really Irish?’

Mulvihill said: “The European Union (EU) will not allow a dual regulatory regime. They’ve already compromised (on the protocol) in a huge way.”

‘Mind boggling’

The DII chief said the moves from the UK government on the NI protocol put Brexit “back to zero again”.

He said the protocol was “implemented and agreed with the British government” and that Monday’s developments in Westminster are “a joke”. He asked: “How do you have credibility in that scenario?”

“I feel like we’ve been banging our head against a wall for the last five years. To be dealing with a [UK] government that is going out with the intention of breaching an international agreement is mind boggling for us.”

Mulvihill called on the UK government to “cop on and go to the negotiating table”. He said: “The EU will not accept this double standard.”

Source: farmersjournal.ie

Categories : Dairy Industry

California Pilot Project Delivers 190,000lbs of Cheese to Feeding Programs

Friday, June 17th, 2022

With one in five Californians currently struggling with food insecurity, partnerships between farmers and food banks are an essential tool in fighting hunger. In commemoration of World Milk Day and June Dairy Month, the California Milk Advisory Board (CMAB) announced a partnership with Feeding American and the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB) to provide access to nutritious dairy foods at sites serving families in need throughout the state.

A pilot program announced during a June 1 donation event at Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services in Sacramento, will provide five truckloads of cheese shreds in one-pound packages for distribution at 11 Feeding America and California Association of Food Bank sites. That’s more than 3 million servings or 3.6 million grams of protein to nourish families. Part of the CMAB’s #CADAIRY4GOOD, the pilot is phase one of an ongoing partnership with Feeding America that will deliver over $1 million in resources to food banks and feeding programs to source California dairy foods including cheese and fluid milk, one of the most requested and least donated items at food banks.

California Agriculture Secretary, Karen Ross, was onsite to help make the announcement, stating: “California dairy farmers have a long history of supporting the communities where they live and work. I’m pleased to join Real California Milk, Feeding America, and the California Association of Food Banks during dairy month to launch this partnership that provides products like cheese, a rich source of protein and other essential nutrients, to programs that serve families throughout the state.”

“Farmers feed people, it’s core to their personal values,” said John Talbot, CEO of the CMAB. “California dairy farmers are passionate about nourishing communities everywhere with the wholesome goodness of milk. We’re grateful to Feeding America for support to expand the reach of these essential resources.”

The California cheese donation will be distributed to 11 food banks – Sacramento Food Bank & Family Services, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Feeding San Diego, Orange County Food Bank, Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank, Second Harvest Santa Cruz County, SLO Food Bank, Food Share of Ventura County, Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano, Central California Food Bank and Second Harvest of the Greater Valley. These food banks have 3,095 community partner distribution organizations, including soup kitchens and pantries, and collectively distributed nearly 360 million meals in 2021 alone.

“Many of our neighbors are forced to make difficult decisions between paying for food or other essentials including housing. Low-income households spend one-third of their budget on food which means rising food costs can have a dramatic effect on food security,” said Sam Schwoeppe, Senior Account Manager, Agri Sourcing Partnerships for Feeding America. “Public-private partnerships like this are an essential way to support the vulnerable members of our community and allow us to stretch resources to increase access for all members of the community.”

“Our food banks continue to serve more than 1.5x pre-pandemic demand and we don’t anticipate that stopping any time soon,” said Maria Houlne, Director of Farm to Family for the California Association of Food Banks. “Food donations and grants from famers and organizations like CMAB, coupled with public initiatives like the state’s CalFood program that allows food banks to purchase California-grown foods, are essential for food banks to meet that demand. Access to food is a basic human right.”

The #CADAIRY4GOOD platform focuses on increasing access to nourishing dairy foods for families throughout California. In 2020 the CMAB provided more than 1 million servings of milk through grants to food banks in the state and in 2021 delivered 14 refrigeration units to school milk pantries in the Central Valley. Phase two of the 2022 program will focus on fluid milk with community milk drives and grants for food banks during September Hunger Action Month.

California is the number one dairy state. Its 1,100 family dairy farms are focused on delivering the wholesome goodness of California milk while creating a greener, more sustainable future for dairy in the state.

Provided by California Milk Advisory Board

Categories : Dairy Industry

Significant slowdown in global milk production expected

Thursday, June 16th, 2022

Global milk production could contract for a fourth consecutive quarter in Q2 2022, a scenario that hasn’t happened since 2012-2013, new analysis suggests.

According to the latest dairy report from Rabobank, milk production is set to decrease for at least four consecutive quarters, from Q3 2021 to Q2 2022.

This is due to weakening demand expectations, creating a scenario for moderate price declines in dairy commodities during the second half of 2022.

Milk production in the ‘Big-7’ dairy export regions – the US, the EU, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay – contracted year-on-year for three consecutive quarters.

Rabobank forecasts that Big-7 production will contract for a fourth consecutive quarter in Q2 2022, something not seen since 2012-2013.

Milk output is expected to decline by 1.1% YOY in Q2 2022 after declining by 1.9% in Q1 2022. But production is expected to recover modestly in coming quarters.

Positive year-on-year growth is anticipated in the second half of 2022, resulting in an estimated 0.5% loss for 2022. Preliminary forecasts for 2023 suggest a below trend gain of 0.5%.

“The current slowdown in global milk output is directly related to higher costs of production and weather events,” explains Andrés Padilla, senior analyst at Rabobank.

“In the past, production has recovered and surpassed previous peaks, but now there are structural issues that could limit a significant rebound in production from some key exporters.”

Dairy herds in New Zealand and Europe have limited scope for growth and are more likely to contract under current and proposed regulations and environmental pressures.

In South America, competition from grains and oilseeds for land and capital continues to intensify, limiting dairy expansions.

Milk producers around the globe are facing higher corn and soybean prices, and weather disruptions are affecting certain regions, especially Oceania and South America.

Overall inflation pressures in energy, fuel, and wages are also impacting profitability across the Big-7. “Despite higher milk prices, milk production growth and the feed costs scenario remain challenging,” says Padilla.

Lower demand across most regions is also expected, as consumers are feeling the significant impact of inflation on their purchasing power.

In the US and the EU, inflation is at a 40-year high, shocking consumers and impacting lower income families disproportionately.

In emerging markets, inflation is not new, but the severity of the current rise in prices, especially for commodity-importing countries, has been amplified by the effects of the war in Ukraine and a very strong dollar.

However, according to Padilla, high oil prices could support dairy import demand for some oil export countries, as seen in previous commodity cycles.

Weakening consumer purchasing power is making it difficult for milk processors to pass increased production costs on to consumers.

In some regions, like the European Union, some retailers continue to resist additional price hikes for some low-margin products.

China is lowering its imports, due to strong domestic milk production coupled with weaker consumer demand related to Covid-related measures, and high inventories.

Overall LME (liquid milk equivalent, excluding whey) imports are already 4% lower for the first four months of the year with some categories down sharply (whey -40%).

Looking forward, China’s non-whey import demand is expected to decrease by 34% YOY in 2022.

Source: farminguk.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

Cow’s milk tops the list of most cultivated global ag products

Thursday, June 16th, 2022

FOOD BASKET: Where the big helpings of global food come from.

COW’S milk is the most widely cultivated agricultural commodity in the world, corn the most produced crop and wheat, rice, soybeans and bananas among the most exported.

China’s ag production exceeds $1.1 trillion – which makes Australia’s two year’s of $80b look a tad light on – and Russia’s cereal output feeds over two billion people worldwide alone.

Half of the world’s sugarcane comes from Brazil, the Netherlands exports the most eggs and the 70 per cent of Australian beef production that is shipped overseas is but a drop in the ocean of global food exports.

These are just a handful of the fascinating findings from a new report from the United States’ private University of Potomac in Washington, which ranked the most produced agricultural commodities by country and the world’s largest food producers and exporters, drawing on United Nations data and government and banking economic statistics from throughout the globe.

A worldwide pandemic topped off with the war in Ukraine involving two countries which are among the largest agriculture producers in the world has shone a torch on where food comes from in a way never before seen.

Underpinning the disruption to world food markets is elevated climate change concerns, and demands.

This work aimed to address some of the uncertainty about the future of food production and in the process revealed some very interesting insights for those in the business of farming.

Key findings

The most widely cultivated agricultural commodities worldwide are cow’s milk, sugar cane, corn, wheat and rice. Cow’s milk is the top agricultural product in 37 countries, while wheat is top in 14 countries.

Ukraine and Russia together account for about 30pc of the global wheat trade, thus the panic about the world’s breadbasket region being in tatters with the ongoing war.

Russia cultivates over a third of global sunflower seeds – a crucial ingredient in food factories – while a quarter of the total production comes from Ukraine.

Corn is the most produced crop globally at 1.1 billion tonnes, followed by wheat at 760.9 million tonnes and rice at 756.7t.

China, the United States, Russia, Brazil and India, five of the world’s most dominant food producers, are also among the top ten countries in terms of global agricultural exports.

Brazil is the world’s main producer of soybeans as well as the biggest exporter of it, followed by the US and then Paraguay.

China is the top producer of rice in the world and exports 2.2m tonnes of it a year. Still, the majority of what it grows meets it’s own population’s demands.

IN OTHER NEWS:

In 2020, China was the lead producer of more than 30 crops, including wheat, rice, tomatoes and potatoes.

In 2020, half of the global agricultural production came from Asia, with China and India being key players. Europe harvested one-tenth of the world’s agricultural production, with Russia, Ukraine, Spain, and Germany among the biggest producers.

While the hamburger-famous US makes the most beef, it makes more chicken, pig meat and cow’s milk than beef – and far more soybeans and sugar beet.

Spain is also the world’s top producer of olives, with over 8.1m tonnes produced in 2020.

Shrinking world

The report’s authors say that more than two-thirds of agricultural products in national diets worldwide originate from a far-away region.

The rise of technology in agriculture has accelerated that trend, they say.

For example, tomatoes originate from Latin America, yet they are a staple food in many cuisines around the world and today the biggest producers are China, India and Turkey. At the same time, the Netherlands is the biggest exporter of tomatoes, the report says.

“As we see, the origin of food plays a small role in the food we get on our table. Today, countries worldwide have domesticated crops from far away regions which have directly contributed to the food security for communities,” the report says.

Categories : Dairy Industry

Trade dispute: U.S., Canada at odds over dairy tariffs

Wednesday, June 15th, 2022

Going back to the 1960’s, Canada has employed a protectionist approach for its dairy supply management system, imposing hefty tariffs on any over-quota milk production and foreign imports. For years, Canada maintained tariffs on dairy goods ranging from 241% for liquid milk to 298% for butter.

With its passage, the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement, or USMCA, was lauded, in part, for provisions that alleviated tariffs and opened Canadian dairy markets for American producers. Prior to 2018, American producers exported five times the amount of dairy products as they imported from Canada, or about $792 million annually, a number that looked only to climb with the new deal.

In theory, at least. While the rhetoric is there, Canada has proven less than cooperative with its side of the USMCA agreement, said Mark Stephenson, a dairy market analyst and director of the UW-Madison Dairy Profitability Center. The USMCA, coupled with other Canadian trade agreements with the Trans-Pacific Partnership or the European Union, means dairy producers north of the border are in a state of flux.

“They’re definitely dragging their feet on this,” Stephenson said. “The simple fact is that, without these protectionist policies, many Canadian dairy farmers would be selling at a loss. It isn’t just the new deal with the U.S., Canada has been making new trade agreements with different countries across the globe, so for Canadian farmers, it feels like death by a thousand cuts.”

The main sticking point between Canada and the United States is how Canada has handled its allocation of Tariff Rate Quotes, or TRQs. Under the USMCA, Canada agreed to eliminate TRQs equal to 3.6% of the Canadian dairy market.

“We know this is a sensitive market, but we saw (the USMCA) as a victory,” said Cassandra Kuball, a public policy expert at Michael Torey Associates in Washington, D.C., and Dairy Edge Cooperative.

“When you have a TRQ, it’s complex. You have an allocation — which depends on markets and products — which are allocated at certain times. Watching how they allocate TRQs, targeting only certain products for processors in Canada, that was concerning.”

In practice, Canadian officials have structured their TRQs in a way that favors homegrown Canadian companies. This approach largely permits lower-value products from abroad, while still curbing the import of finished consumer products from the United States. The United States has argued this isn’t in keeping with the USMCA.

In response, the United States has imposed trade sanctions on Canada while the issue is arbitrated. Stephenson noted that dairy is only one part of an enormous USMCA trade agreement, with a host of different industries and different interests at play.

For example, he added, Canada and the United State’s working relationship with a different industry — such as, say, auto parts — could be used as a leverage point in this dispute as the two partners hash it out.

“Trade deals are huge agreements that tie economies and entire industries together. There’s a lot of moving parts, there’s a lot going on,” Stephenson said. “We’ll have to see how it’s resolved. It could be something that they kick back and forth for years, or it could be resolved very quickly. It’s hard to say.”

Kuball noted that dragging other industries into the dairy dispute, or vice-versa, is an escalation everyone involved would like to avoid.

“You don’t want your issue married up to another issue,” Kuball said. “You want it separate. You want your issue dealt with and resolved on its own, but often what happens is trading — trading on threats, trading on resolutions for issues. I don’t think we’re there yet.”

It’s worth noting that increased market share for American companies in Canadian markets does not necessarily benefit American farmers and workers. For example, overproduction and low pricing remains an issue, as Wisconsin alone annually produces more milk than Canadians consume.

Studies by Charles Nicholson, a former Cornell University ag economist now employed by UW-Madison, indicate that the benefits of expansion are minimal, with an increase of only $0.10 cwt per 1% in increased product exports.

Source: The Country Today

Categories : Dairy Industry

Outnumbered by cows: Does New Zealand dairy have a future?

Wednesday, June 15th, 2022

Climate Change Minister James Shaw announces emissions reduction plan measures.

It’s raining hard in south Waikato. Absolutely pouring. What a beautiful sound.

“It’s very good,” dairy farmer Pete Morgan​ agrees.

Does New Zealand really have too many cows?

RICKY WILSON/STUFF

Does New Zealand really have too many cows?

Four of the last five summers have been unusually dry where he is. No-one needs to tell Morgan and others like him about climate change. It’s a daily reality.

The official reason to be on the phone with Morgan, who talks thoughtfully and at length about farming’s challenges as well as its appeal, is that he is one of the speakers at an event in Canterbury on June 17 called Dairy 2032.

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* More proof that cattle fed seaweed emit less methane

As the name suggests, it is about the future of dairy farming. The pitch from the organisers is that while dairy contributes nearly one in every three dollars earned from total goods exports, the sector is beset by multiple problems.

There is pressure to farm more sustainably and meet environmental standards. There are acute labour shortages and mental health concerns.

And while the organisers do not mention it, dairy farming is more political than it has ever been in New Zealand. Town and country are increasingly polarised, driven by groups purporting to speak for both sides, whether it is Greenpeace in the cities or Groundswell in the country.

Responses to this week’s release of the He Waka Eke Noa proposal, in which farmers could begin calculating their own emissions from 2025 in an alternative to the Emissions Trading Scheme, are typical of recent polarisation.

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/Stuff

A tractor leads a Groundswell protest in Christchurch in 2021.

Green Party agricultural spokesperson Teanau Tuiono​ dubbed it “He Waka Eke Nowhere” on social media. His ideological adversary, Groundswell, also opposed it, due to the costs it adds to farmers.

In the political centre, Tuiono’s own co-leader, James Shaw​, in his role as Climate Change Minister, welcomed the progress made by farmers in a joint statement with Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor​.

Only a week earlier, Victoria University senior researcher Mike Joy​ shocked Cantabrians with a claim that to continue dairy production and have healthy water “would require either 12 times more rainfall in the region or a 12-fold reduction in cows”.

The idea of a mass cull is appealing to some. Greenpeace, which called He Waka Eke Noa “an absolute lemon”, is promoting a petition to halve the national dairy herd, which has nearly doubled in three decades.

In 1990, we had 3.5 million cows. Now New Zealand is home to 6.3m of them.

If we used to joke about being outnumbered by sheep, now we can add cows to the list.

With this bad press, and controversial calls that only going vegan can truly combat the effects of climate change, some may wonder if dairy has any future at all.

SUPPLIED

Responsible Waikato farmer Pete Morgan says emissions are the central focus.

The middle ground

But loud voices on both sides conceal a vast middle ground, or quieter majority.

When a 1News poll asked if New Zealand should reduce the number of dairy cows to meet climate change targets, 34% agreed but 54% said no.

In the same story, O’Connor called the Greenpeace proposal “economically devastating”. Shaw called it “simplistic”.

Morgan is one of those farmers who is trying to do the right thing and is dismissive of the extremes on both sides. He and his partner, Ann Bouma​, were joint winners of the Responsible Dairying Award in 2021.

“The central theme, beyond water, beyond labour, beyond anything else, is us adapting to our need to reduce emissions,” he says. “We have that as a very central focus. There is not one bit of our business that isn’t reasonably clear what that longer-term picture needs to look like.”

The 2032 date is just one among many. There is 2025, when the self-reporting proposed by He Waka Eke Noa would start. There is the big 2030 climate target.

Given the speed of change and global instability, a decade must sound like a vast stretch of time, almost science fiction. Few would have picked labour shortages, inflation and Covid-19 a decade ago.

“We’ve already become accustomed to change,” he says. “Ten years might sound like a huge amount of time. But in a farming career, 10 years is the day after tomorrow.

“There’s been some fantastic advances in our understanding.”

And, he concedes, reducing herd numbers may still be part of the answer. He has reduced his own stocking rates over 20 years and stayed profitable.

But some opinions get him warmer under the collar, especially when they are repeated uncritically. One is the idea that dairy in New Zealand is akin to coal in Australia, in terms of both economic size and environmental impact.

That comparison ignores the changes and mitigations dairy can make.

As for Mike Joy, “what he’s got wrong is he’s paying very limited attention to where the majority of the industry is wanting to go. He’s using historical data to make assumptions about what the future is going to look like.”

Morgan thinks Joy is “being selective in the way he uses the statistics, for example the volumes of water he’s using, extrapolating those across all of New Zealand”.

The research was from five Canterbury farms, in 2017 and 2018, but those not paying close attention might have seen it as a snapshot of dairy across New Zealand in 2022.

Still, the arguments are welcome, Morgan says.

“I’d rather have someone out there nudging our comfort zone, testing our integrity and being part of the conversation, so we do get challenged and get the chance to show what the truth is. We should never shy away from that.”

Chris Skelton/Stuff

Political scientist and climate advocate Bronwyn Hayward says we must avoid inflaming differences.

Social cohesion

We live in times when social cohesion is strained and even fraying. The city-country polarisation is just one example, as University of Canterbury political scientist and United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) co-author Bronwyn Hayward​ has observed.

“We told everyone to invest in dairy,” she says. “It’s what we wanted as a country. And now it’s a problem that we have so many cows and need to reduce methane emissions.

“Yes, there was a large amount of money made, but there was a large amount of debt, and people were actively encouraged to do that. Thinking about it as a shared problem is important.”

Hayward says she has been disturbed listening to young teenagers who are growing up on farms, especially dairy farms, and who are feeling victimised or anxious about how their family and their role in the environmental crisis is seen by others.

“They feel it in classrooms and general conversations, and they feel torn, defensive of their parents and proud of the work they do, and wanting to make a difference in farming for a better, more sustainable future.

“I think we have more opportunities to connect across our communities than we are doing at the moment. We also have to be very thoughtful and targeted about this, because it’s too easy to inflame our differences.”

When it comes to He Waka Eke Noa, she wonders whether the farm-level reporting model could add strain to already strained relationships. That means “the accounting has to be transparent and the action far-reaching”.

Emissions are not just farming’s problem: “It is similarly hard to reduce urban transport emissions.”

Morgan agrees we need to be collectively moving forward. Individual choices must be balanced with collective need.

“When it comes to Groundswell, while I defend anyone’s right to express how they feel, given the pace of change that is needed to meet these challenges, it has never been more critical than now that we do that collectively.

“I do not demonstrate. I have conversations with my peers, and with anyone that would like to explore the differences we have, within and without the dairy industry.”

He goes to conferences, he hears from experts, he listens to evidence. He was recently at a dairy environment leaders’ conference during which Environment Minister David Parker​ spoke, and “some really frank conversations” followed about “the three biggies”, nitrogen, water and emissions.

“That’s how I choose to move forward,” he says. “That’s my approach, rather than driving a tractor down the main street. But it’s not up to me to judge how anyone else does it.”

SUPPLIED

Halter CEO and founder Craig Piggott says we have to be better.

The holy grail

Technologies to mitigate methane and other emissions cannot come on stream fast enough. This is the holy grail, or the promise of the near future.

The Government committed $339m towards research and development in the Emissions Reduction Plan last month and established the Centre for Climate Action on Agricultural Emissions.

“Farmers are crying out for solutions to help them lower their agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, so any new investment and impetus in the area of research and development is welcome,” as AgResearch senior scientist Robyn Dynes​ said at the time.

Areas of research include methane inhibitors, methane vaccines and low-methane feeds.

“There is a shift at the moment,” Halter founder and CEO Craig Piggott​ says. “Farmers know they can’t just do nothing. They have to be better. There is a macro tailwind on technology adoption.”

Piggott, who is only 27, is one of the rising stars of the agriculture tech sector in New Zealand. From a Waikato farming background, he founded Halter five years ago after a year at Peter Beck’s Rocket Lab​.

Halter now employs 130 people, and operates in Waikato and Canterbury, while head office is in Auckland, “from a talent perspective”, he says, almost apologetically.

The company puts solar-powered, GPS-enabled collars on cows, enabling them to be managed remotely while collecting data about their behaviour. Farm work becomes less tedious and more varied.

Farms become fenceless, optimising pasture without being constrained by paddock size.

“Who’s to say a paddock is the perfect amount of food a bunch of cows need for that day?” Piggott asks.

As for the collar, “it’s a bit like Pavlov and his dog,” Massey University professor of animal health Scott McDougall​ explains. “It trains the cow with sound and physical stimuli.”

The technology is only scratching the surface, McDougall says. The promise is that it will collect health data as well.

As Piggott says, if there is one farmer for every 200 or 300 cows, it is not always easy to detect when a cow is sick or behaving strangely. Heat detection could also pick up on which cows are in oestrus.

It may be labour-saving, but are there environmental benefits?

“To give you an example, animals that are not well expend energy in fighting infections and are less efficient,” McDougall says. “The impact on the environment of a sick animal is bigger than a well animal.

“If we can reduce the disease burdens on animals, we can actually produce food more efficiently, with less welfare costs and less environmental impacts as well.”

Morgan, Piggott and McDougall will all be presenting at Dairy 2032, along with agribusiness academic Hamish Gow​, environmental consultant Charlotte Glass​ and Ngāi Tahu Farming general manager Will Burrett​, at the Ngāi Tahu Farming Dairy Hub, just north of Christchurch.

Given the money and urgency involved, is there a technology arms race to solve the methane problem?

“It’s not zero-sum,” Piggott says. “There could be five different approaches that cumulatively add together. For instance, we know that the genetic variation between how much methane a cow emits is large, so breeding for methane is very doable. But that doesn’t mean you also can’t be more efficient with your feed, or you can’t be intentional about where they urinate.”

As for the political polarisation over farming, Piggott is diplomatic and neutral.

“I think there are valid views on both sides,” he says. “Most of these are a bit nuanced. I think we have to be better. The science on climate, emissions, even the labour shortage. We have to solve that.”

Supplied

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promotes New Zealand farming in New York in May.

Feed the world

The paradox is that agriculture is responsible for 48% of New Zealand’s emissions, with dairy cattle producing nearly half of those, yet our milk production has the lowest carbon footprint in the world.

But image matters and consumers notice. Dairy farmers must answer to global markets.

Or local critics. Try having 20-something-year-old children, Morgan says.

“Two of mine are environmental scientists and one of them was lectured by Mike Joy for a number of years. She’d come home, challenging us, which doesn’t do any harm at all.”

Speaking again of Joy, Morgan took issue with a comment during a recent RNZ interview. It was a dismissive remark about New Zealand milk powder mostly ending up as “cheap junk food filler”.

Morgan has been to markets in South America, the Middle East, Australia and the US. He has read the fine print in supermarkets. He has seen our milk powder go into high-quality feta in Saudi Arabia or into millions of affordable milk sachets in North Africa. Junk food? That line really bothers him.

“I could not disagree more, based on some very strong evidence.”

For Morgan, as for many others, there is even a sense of mission about farming. He sounds almost lyrical as he describes it.

“There are very few things more fundamental to humans than caring about people, animals and environment, producing food, which is so critical, and ensuring security of food supply into the future.

“That is what it means to be a farmer as an identity, our whole careers. We’ll ride through any ups and downs. It’s not just about the profitability, although it’s an important part of the performance, to be sustainable.

“But we really love what we do. How meaningful it is to be actually producing food.”

Source: stuff.co.nz

Categories : Dairy Industry

U.S. Dairy Exports Post Record April

Monday, June 13th, 2022

U.S. dairy exports (milk solids equivalent, or MSE) grew 1% in April, setting a new volume record for the month. While the increase was modest, it marked the first year-over-year MSE gain of 2022 and built on a very strong March performance.

April was only the fifth time U.S. dairy exports topped 200,000 MT MSE—the others being March 2022 and March-May 2021. The past two months are encouraging, given that they came in the face of ongoing supply chain challenges, COVID lockdowns depressing Chinese demand, and rampant global inflation.

Year-over-year U.S. export value soared 22% to $845.6 million, second only to March 2022 for highest monthly U.S. export value.

Cheese continues to be the U.S. export star in 2022. After shipping a record 41,693 MT of cheese in March, U.S. suppliers repeated the performance in April with 41,375 MT in exports. It was the first time the United States ever exported more than 40,000 MT in two consecutive months.

Central America led growth in April (+40%, +1,189 MT) but volume gains were geographically widespread. April U.S. cheese shipments to Mexico rose 8% (+785 MT); exports to the Caribbean soared 56% (+763 MT); volume to Japan jumped 17% (+738 MT); and exports to the Middle East/North Africa rose 18% (+421 MT).

The gains were more than enough to offset year-over-year shortfalls to Australia, Korea, China and South America.

New U.S. cheddar capacity is helping to fuel the gains. Year-over-year U.S. cheddar exports more than doubled in April to 9,231 MT, with a big portion destined for Japan (likely for further processing). April U.S. cheddar shipments to Japan soared 271% to 3,409 MT.

International cheddar prices continue to favor U.S.-origin product. Even with this week’s dip in Global Dairy Trade cheddar prices and even with CME block cheddar sitting $2.28/lb. (US$5,026/MT) as of Tuesday, U.S. cheddar continues to enjoy a significant price advantage over competitors, suggesting further solid numbers could be in the offing.

Source: U.S. Dairy Export Council 

Categories : Dairy Industry

Why New Zealand is right to call out Canada on its dairy industry

Monday, June 13th, 2022

When it comes to dairy and free trade, Canada wants it both ways. New Zealand’s dairy dispute with Canada reveals the ongoing tensions within Canada’s trade agenda.

On May 12, New Zealand requested consultations with Canada over its administration of dairy Tariff Rate Quotas, known as TRQs.

TRQs are the reserved amounts of a good that are free from existing tariffs. Canada maintains high tariffs on dairy products to insulate its industry from foreign competition — but TRQs are exempt from these. These TRQs are broken down into different categories, like butter or milk powders.

Under the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Canada allows other countries to sell their dairy products at low tariffs for a set amount. The challenge is how to administer these amounts or TRQs. New Zealand maintains that Canada’s administrative methods are undercutting its CPTPP commitments to freer trade among signatories.

The problem for Canada is that New Zealand’s case is strong.

New Zealand’s case against Canada

New Zealand’s trade dispute alleges that Canada’s TRQ administration is reducing its market value by underfilling its dairy TRQs. As a result, New Zealand is not getting enough of its dairy products to Canada, and the products Canada does import are of lower value. New Zealand attributes this to Canada’s exclusive “pooling” of TRQs to processors.

Since 1995, Canada has administered its TRQs in pools that separated by their location in supply chains. For example, 85 per cent of Canada’s milk TRQs under the CPTPP are reserved for dairy processors that make products like cream and dairy powders.

Canada’s TRQ administration is skewed, given the vast majority of dairy products are allocated to processors instead of retailers. This means the countries that are a part of the CPTPP cannot get their products directly onto Canadian store shelves.

Sealtest blue and red cartons and bags of milk on grocery store shelves.
Canadian milk and dairy products line a grocery store shelf in Aylmer, Que. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

This is a major problem for a couple reasons. First, Canada’s allocation of dairy TRQs make it more difficult to maximize what the agreement allows for imports. In other words, it undermines efforts by countries like New Zealand to sell their products in Canada. Early signs seem to show this is the case.

Second, processors are more likely to buy cheaper products as inputs to more expensive goods. For example, an ice cream sandwich is a product manufactured using other — usually cheaper — dairy products. This could mean lost profit for New Zealand producers.

Fortunately for New Zealand’s case, the CPTPP is more thorough than other agreements. It specifies that TRQs are to be “no more administratively burdensome than absolutely necessary.” The agreement adds that countries cannot “allocate any portion of the quota to a producer group” or “limit access to an allocation to processors.”

Canada has lost before

If Canada loses the panel decision on the matter, it wouldn’t be the first time. The United States successfully advanced a similar request for consultation under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.

The American dispute also identified Canadian pooling as unfair and inequitable. Canada argued that a processor pool does not constitute an allocation under the agreement. Canada added that the Americans were aware of its TRQ administration and therefore tacitly accepted it.

These arguments failed to convince the panel and Canada has yet to comply with this ruling. It seems doubtful Canada would succeed under CPTPP either, as both agreements have similar TRQ stipulations.

The better question is why Canada put itself in this position in the first place.

Dairy cows poke their heads through metal bars to eat hay in a barn.
Dairy cows are seen at a Québec farm. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

Canada’s trade agenda

Since Canada’s first trade agreement, there has been clear tension because even though Canadian policymakers want free trade, they also want some sectors to be exempt. Canada is not unique to agricultural exceptionalism, but it is among the world leaders of this practice.

While early trade agreements navigated this tension, recent agreements have struggled to do the same. Canada’s last three major trade agreements have each conceded more access to the Canadian market for foreign dairy producers. In return, Canada has offered direct compensation to dairy farmers and processors.

This shift in trade policy comes at a moment where free trade is under greater scrutiny. While trade partners like the United States are backing away from trade agreements, Canada is stepping forward.

This is part of Canada’s new trade strategy, the Inclusive Trade Agenda. This agenda aims to bring historically marginalized groups into trade. Women, Indigenous Peoples and the middle class are among these groups.

Global Affairs Canada adds that “communicating the benefits of trade and investment” is a key goal of the agenda, which seeks to curb “a perception of negative or divergent effects of trade and investment.” But this is more than a perception.

The Inclusive Trade Agenda is as much substantive trade policy reform as it is a re-branding effort. The agenda communicates Canada’s renewed commitment to free trade.

Selective free trade

The problem is that Canada is selectively embracing economic liberalization. Canada wants free trade only for some aspects of its economy. Canada’s trade policy is torn between two pathways.

There is nothing inherently wrong with insulating the dairy industry from foreign competition. Good arguments can be made in favour of exempting it.

But Canada can no longer have it both ways. Canada cannot concede on dairy then backtrack on those commitments while advocating for rules-based agreements.

The contradictions in Canada’s trade agenda have never been more evident. New Zealand’s dispute is a reminder that Canada must make difficult choices.

Canada can either promote a restrained trade agenda with few concessions, or fully embrace liberalization. Trying to do both will accomplish neither.

Source: The Conversation

Categories : Dairy Industry

Dairy Farmers of Canada asks Canadian Dairy Commission for advance price adjustment

Monday, June 13th, 2022

Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) has made a request to the Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) for an advance price adjustment in the farmgate price of milk.

“In terms of dairy farmers, we’re feeling the same inflation pressures that all other Canadians are,” said DFC Vice President David Wiens. “We’re seeing the kind of inflation here that we haven’t seen in almost a generation. What we’ve seen here over the past, especially year, but it seems to actually have accelerated it, is that there’s more supply chain disruptions, which already began with the pandemic. We’ve had the extreme weather events both in Manitoba and other parts of the country…We’re seeing price increases for the goods and services that we need to produce milk for. As an example, costs have increased for fertilizer 44% since last year and fuel has gone up 32% and animal feed has gone up by 8%. Those are pretty significant cost factors on a dairy farm.”

Normally the CDC adjusts dairy farmgate prices once a year to reflect changes in the production cost.

A previous adjustment of 8.4% was implemented in February.

Source: discoverwestman.com

Categories : Dairy Industry

UK lost 160 more dairy farms over the last year

Friday, June 10th, 2022

AHDB’s recent survey of major milk buyers suggests that in April 2022 there were an estimated 7880 dairy producers in GB – a reduction of 160 producers compared to this time last year.

This is a slower rate of exit than previous few years, despite the high cost pressures farmers have been under since last summer.

The latest figures suggest that the average volume per farm in GB is 1.57 million litres, level with October 2021 and very slightly up on April 2021.

Getting a true picture of the number of dairy producers in the country is often difficult due to the different reporting methods used.

The Food Standards Agency produces figures for England and Wales, based on the number of farmers registered to produce milk. However, de-registering is voluntary, and therefore unlikely to be top of the ‘to do’ list for a farmer leaving the industry.

The FSA will often only capture this cessation when a regular check is carried out. These checks occur on a 10-year basis (for those registered with Red Tractor) or a two-year basis otherwise. This means FSA numbers will often over-state the number of dairy farmers in the country.

Defra carry out a survey on the number of dairy holdings across the UK, which returns a figure considerably higher than the AHDB estimate. This is because it includes all farms with a dairy cow over two-years-old with offspring. Around a third of those holdings had fewer than 10 cows, meaning they are unlikely to be commercial dairy farms, and would be excluded from this estimate.

SOURCE:  thescottishfarmer.co.uk

Categories : Dairy Industry

Cow and sheep burps to be taxed by New Zealand in world first

Thursday, June 9th, 2022

The draft plan to tackle greenhouse gas emissions may be hard to stomach as costs are likely to lead to higher meat prices

Cow and sheep burps are to be taxed by New Zealand in a world-first draft plan to put a price on agricultural emissions in a bid to tackle one of the country’s biggest sources of greenhouse gases.

The proposal would make New Zealand, a large agricultural exporter, the first country to have farmers pay for emissions from livestock, the ministry for environment said.

New Zealand, home to 5 million people, has about 10 million cattle and 26 million sheep.

Nearly half its total greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, mainly methane, but agricultural emissions have previously been exempted from the country’s emissions trading scheme, drawing criticism of the government’s commitment to stop global warming.

Under the draft plan, put together by government and farm community representatives, farmers will have to pay for their gas emissions from 2025. Short- and long-lived farm gas will be priced separately, although a single measure to calculate their volume will be used.

The costs are likely to be passed down to consumers, potentially raising the price of meat. 

Massive regulatory disruption to farming

“There is no question that we need to cut the amount of methane we are putting into the atmosphere, and an effective emissions pricing system for agriculture will play a key part in how we achieve that,” said James Shaw, climate change minister.

The proposal includes incentives for farmers who reduce emissions through feed additives, while on-farm forestry can be used to offset emissions. Revenue from the scheme will be invested in research, development and advisory services for farmers.

“Our recommendations enable sustainable food and fibre production for future generations while playing a fair part in meeting our country’s climate commitments,” said Michael Ahie, chairman of the primary sector partnership, He Waka Eke Noa.

The proposal would potentially be the biggest regulatory disruption to farming since the removal of agricultural subsidies in the 1980s, said Susan Kilsby, agricultural economist at ANZ Bank.

A final decision on the scheme is expected in December.

The UK has also discussed including agricultural emissions in its own emissions trading scheme as part of the first step to imposing carbon border taxes that could protect British producers from cheaper imports. 

Source: Telegraph

Categories : Dairy Industry

Wisconsin farmers are experiencing record high milk prices, but for how long?

Thursday, June 9th, 2022

Dairy farmers in Wisconsin and across the country have been enjoying record high milk prices this spring. But some market experts say producers should already start thinking about the next market downturn.

The milk used for making cheese, which is called Class III by the Federal Milk Marketing Order and establishes a minimum milk price, saw its price hit an all-time high in March. At $25.21 per hundredweight, or 100 pounds of milk, last month’s price was $6.25 higher than May 2021 and 61 cents higher than the previous record high price set in September 2014.

Bob Cropp, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said high demand for milk is what drove prices up in 2014. But he said this year’s record prices are due to farmers cutting back on production. 

“Milk production for several months, starting actually the last quarter of last year, has been running below a year ago,” Cropp said. “Cow numbers have declined and production per cow has been below normal, so we have resulted in a tightness of the supply-demand situation.”

He said farmers are decreasing their herds because the cost of feed and other essentials has gone up due to inflation and supply chain issues. That also means producers are cutting back on things like feed additives that help cows produce more milk, causing production per cow to decline.

“The higher costs are definitely cutting into the profits,” Cropp said. “Margins are improving a little bit here with these $25 milk prices, so that looks good.”

Cropp said he thinks higher milk prices will continue in the coming months. Milk production typically declines during the hottest summer months, so he said supply could become even more limited. In the fall, production of butter and cheese starts to ramp up in anticipation of the holiday season, when Americans tend to consume more dairy. If milk production starts to increase with more demand, Cropp said, prices could start to taper off by the end of the year. But he’s not anticipating prices to fall dramatically any time soon.

“The bigger uncertainty is really what’s going to happen to the cost of feed and some of the other inputs,” he said. “With the price of diesel fuel at $5 or $6 a gallon, that’s really going to add to the cost of harvesting. So that type of thing will cut into farmers’ profits.”

And that’s exactly why Kevin Bernhardt, agribusiness professor at UW-Platteville, is warning dairy farmers to start preparing now for the next period of low prices.

“This is the pessimistic side of me, the glass-half-empty side of me, that gets nervous whenever you hit record high prices,” Bernhardt said. “Because when you’re talking about a commodity, whether it’s milk or corn or oil or anything else, those record high prices tend to be followed by, perhaps not record lows, but a fairly serious crash to lower prices.”

He said on average, milk prices hit a high point every three and a half years, with a decline to a low point and increase back to the top happening in between. But the timing of that price cycle isn’t guaranteed anymore. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to change supply chains and markets. And right before the pandemic started, the dairy industry went through an almost six-year period of low prices that turned the normal price cycle on its head.

“Right now, it’s anybody’s guess (what the average price cycle will be),” Bernhardt said. “But that cyclical pattern will continue, I feel confident of that. Probably, the amount of change in terms of dollars per hundredweight from peak to low will also stay the same. In fact, it might grow.”

Bernhardt said the best thing producers can do before prices start to fall is catch up on business items they’ve been putting off, whether it’s making repairs or upgrading systems and machinery. He said farmers should also work on paying down what he calls “dead-weight debt,” which was taken on when farmers couldn’t use normal revenue to pay their bills. 

There are signs that farmers are already working on this.

A survey of agricultural lenders by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago found 59 percent of respondents said repayment rates for farm loans were higher in the first quarter of 2022 than they were a year ago. Thirty-two percent of surveyed bankers reported renewals and extensions of those loans were lower than the previous year.

Bernhardt said having available credit could become even more important if milk prices decline faster than the cost of fuel and other inputs for a farm.

“What happens if milk prices drop by $7, $8 per hundredweight, but the input costs drop $3? (In) that scenario, that math doesn’t work,” he said.

With so many factors impacting the market, from the war in Ukraine to the national inflation rate, Bernhardt said farmers need to plan ahead now while their operations are profitable.

Source: wpr.org

Categories : Dairy Industry

Here’s how much milk costs in 30 cities across the US

Tuesday, June 7th, 2022

Ever wondered if the people in the next state over are paying the same price for milk that you are? Grocery prices in general have been rising nationwide and that includes the white stuff that’s been an American kitchen staple for generations.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the average price for a gallon of conventional whole milk is now $4.33, while the average cost for 2% milk is $4.28 per gallon. If you shop organic, you can expect to pay $9 a gallon for organic whole or reduced-fat 2% milk.

While these are average prices for the entire country, the cost of a gallon of milk can vary greatly depending on where you live.

To figure out the prices for various regions of the country, federal milk-order market administrators conduct a survey in selected cities or metropolitan areas one day every month. They check milk prices at the largest grocery chain, second-largest grocery chain and the largest dairy/convenience store chain in each city or metro area. The same stores are surveyed each month for consistency.

The prices are for the most common brand and don’t represent temporary special prices, discounts or coupons. Listed here were the average prices for whole milk in 30 U.S. cities in May 2022 based on the USDA’s Retail Milk Prices Report. They are listed in alphabetical order.

  • Atlanta, Georgia: $3.78
  • Baltimore, Maryland: $4.27
  • Boston, Massachusetts: $3.83
  • Chicago, Illinois: $4.44
  • Cincinnati, Ohio: $3.41
  • Cleveland, Ohio: $3.57
  • Dallas, Texas: $3.68
  • Denver, Colorado: $3.78
  • Detroit, Michigan: $3.60
  • Hartford, Connecticut: $4.19
  • Houston, Texas: $3.96
  • Indianapolis, Indiana: $3.42
  • Kansas City, Missouri: $5.55
  • Louisville, Kentucky: $2.49
  • Miami, Florida: $4.15
  • Milwaukee, Wisconsin: $4.43
  • Minneapolis, Minnesota: $4.31
  • New Orleans, Louisiana: $4.55
  • New York, New York: $4.74
  • Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: $3.82
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: $5.55
  • Phoenix, Arizona: $3.34
  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: $4.87
  • Portland, Oregon: $3.54
  • Sacramento, California: $4.50
  • Seattle, Washington: $4.02
  • St. Louis, Missouri: $4.01
  • Syracuse, New York: $4.02
  • Washington, D.C.: $4.60
  • Wichita, Kansas: $3.16

People shopping in Kansas City and Philadelphia paid the highest prices for milk in May, at $5.55 a gallon each. Louisville’s average milk price was lowest, meanwhile, at $2.49. As you can see, that’s less than half the average price being paid in the most expensive areas.

The amount of milk Americans drink has declined over the past half-century. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average person consumes about 141 pounds of milk every year. In 1975, Americans consumed nearly 250 pounds of milk per year.

While consumption has decreased, that’s still an average of about 3/4 cup a day per person. For a family of four, that’s 564 pounds of milk per year. So that’s a little more than 65 gallons, which is more than a gallon a week.

Source: dontwasteyourmoney.com

Categories : Dairy Industry
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