The number of dairy farms in Wisconsin continues to decline every year. The state lost 360 dairy herds, or about 5 percent, in 2021, ending the year with 6,572 licensed producers.
But Wisconsin dairy farmers also produced more milk in 2021 than ever before. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Wisconsin’s total milk production was 31.7 billion pounds of milk last year. That surpassed the previous record set in 2020 by about 3 percent and continued a 16-year streak of annual production increases.
While the steady growth in milk production might seem counterintuitive given the decline in dairy farms, experts said it represents a number of trends driving the future of dairy.
Dairy farms are getting bigger
The consolidation of farms seen across agriculture is a big part of why the state has fewer licensed dairy producers, according to Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
“In many cases when farms sell out, most of their cows may go to other dairy farms. And so the remaining farms have gotten a little bit larger,” Stephenson said.
Stephenson said in 2005, the average herd size in Wisconsin was 82 cows per farm, and in 2020, that average climbed to 177 cows per farm. In other words, the average more than doubled over 15 years.
He said growth among the largest farms in the state is the biggest contributor to Wisconsin’s overall production increase.
But herds are trending bigger across the dairy industry, Stephenson said, and that means there are far fewer that fall into the smallest categories.
“In many cases, it’s because (a farm) kind of graduated from a smaller size category up to the next one.”
Wisconsin had 1.27 million milk cows on average throughout 2021, about 1 percent higher than in 2020.
Cows are producing more
Stephenson said the dairy industry has been using breeding for a long time to improve milk production, selecting the best milkers in their herds to produce the next generation.
“Dairy cows have just become genetically superior to be able to consume food like hay and corn silage … and turn that into milk. And our highest producing dairy cows are really at an astounding level — much, much above the average,” Stephenson said.
Milk production per cow reached a record high in 2021 at 24,884 pounds, almost 2 percent higher than the previous year.
Tera Montgomery, dairy and animal science professor at UW-Platteville, said farmers are also getting better at caring for animals that produce more milk as a result.
“She’s not just a production unit. She’s an animal, and we’ve got to care for her,” Montgomery said. “We want to take a look at what are we doing from a management perspective that allows these amazing animals to show us what they’re capable of.”
Just like an athlete, what cows eat makes a difference in their performance. Montgomery said producers have learned to better balance the sweet stuff like corn, which she said is like candy for cows, with healthy fiber like hay.
She said producers are also getting better at keeping animals healthy and reducing the need for antibiotics, which can decrease a cow’s milk production.
“If we can detect earlier in an animal when she is potentially going to be having a health event, then we can use some other preventative measures,” Montgomery said. “If we are going to use antibiotics, we use less antibiotics.”
She said preventing the use of antibiotics also saves farmers from having to throw out that cow’s milk. That’s a practice to prevent any medicine from ending up in the milk supply.
Not your grandpa’s milk parlor
Montgomery said farms are increasingly adopting new technology, which can make a big difference in increasing the milk production per cow and the overall health of herds.
Robotic milking machines have been getting better and cheaper for producers to add to their farms. With growing problems finding enough farm labor, Montgomery said more farmers are seeing them as investments in their future.
And she said they also grow production by allowing cows to be milked more frequently throughout the day, which she’s seen at UW-Platteville’s farm. There, some cows are milked with a robotic milking system and others in a traditional milking parlor, where a person attaches the milk equipment by hand.
“The cows are choosing to go through the robot more times per day than what they would if we were milking them in the parlor,” she said. “We milk the parlor cows twice a day, and the robot cows are averaging close to four times a day. Some go in as often as five or six times a day.”
Montgomery said research shows milking a cow more frequently throughout the day is easier on the animal, encouraging them to move around more and increasing their appetite. It also naturally increases their ability to produce milk.
She said other farms use technology to track individual animal’s health or use robots to keep feed within easy reach. Low-tech tools like waterbeds for cows also go a long way to increase animal comfort, encouraging animals to get up more frequently by lessening the impact on their joints.
Growing for the market
There’s no question dairy farms can produce more. But Montgomery said the reasons why they want to is more varied.
“I could talk to, you know, 100 farmers and I think that they would all have different reasons for it. Some want to produce more because they want to be able to have something for their kids to come back to,” she said. “In different parts of the state, there’s a demand for more cheese … And I think that there’s also just a desire to do better and a lot of people still think that more milk production means that you’re doing better.”
She said focusing on more efficient or more sustainable production might be a better choice for some producers.
Stephenson said prices also have a big impact on why farmers want to produce more. He said other dairy states like California did not see the same growth in milk production in 2021 because of the rising cost of feed. Wisconsin producers are able to save by growing their own feed, he said.
“What the farmer ultimately cares about is the difference between what they’re earning for the milk that they sell and what it costs them to produce that. Feed prices can be going up as they are now pretty rapidly, but milk prices are going up even a little bit more for them. So this does not look like a bad year for dairy farmers and profitability,” Stephenson said.
Combined with strong domestic and export sales in recent months, Stephenson said the market is signaling to dairy farmers that buyers want more milk.
But producers still have to walk that fine line between growing to meet demand and overproducing milk to the point where prices fall, like they did in 2015.
Amid calls for boycotts of companies still doing business in Russia, some companies have been announcing their positions on humanitarian efforts, as well as on doing business in both countries.
Danone to continue operations in Russia
French-headquartered global dairy giant Danone issued a statement by general secretary Laurent Sacchi on the conflict.
“At Danone, we are all deeply affected by what we are seeing every day since the invasion of Ukraine.
“Danone and all its employees express their solidarity with the people who are now suffering the atrocities of war.
“Since the beginning of the conflict, our first priority has been for the safety of our employees in Ukraine, with whom we remain in constant contact. We continue to be moved by their bravery.”
The company said one of its two factories has closed in Ukraine, the second was closed but has managed to resume operations.
“Our teams in Poland, Romania and several other countries have spontaneously offered to host their Ukrainian colleagues. We have received many messages of generosity and solidarity from “Danoners” all over the world who are asking how they can help. We will work to support them in their offers and expand on their actions and initiatives,” the company said.
Danone said if the war lasts for a long time it will lead to increasing difficulties for the population affected to get hold of basic goods.
“As a food company, and because of our raison d’être, Danone is well attuned to the importance of these issues.
“To support humanitarian aid, which is the immediate priority, we have made a donation of €500,000 ($544,000) to the Red Cross. This will be used to supply water, food and medicine. In addition, Danone will match fund every euro donated by our employees for humanitarian efforts. We are also working with the Red Cross to explore how we can bring a variety of basic necessities to Ukraine. Our teams in neighboring countries are actively involved in collecting and distributing goods to refugees.”
The company said it has suspended all investment projects in Russia, but currently maintains its production and distribution of fresh dairy products and infant nutrition, to “meet the essential food needs of the local population.
“We continue to monitor and assess, in real time, how the situation evolves and will, of course, apply the decisions of the French authorities with whom we remain closely coordinated.”
Valio stops Russian operations
Finland borders Russia, and its biggest dairy company, the cooperative Valio, has ceased operations in its neighbor to the east.
“We strictly condemn Russia’s attack on independent Ukraine. Ethically, Valio cannot continue operations in Russia; therefore, we are ending business operation in Russia,” said Valio’s CEO Annikka Hurme.
Valio has one processed cheese factory near Moscow, contract manufacturing partners and sales offices in St. Petersburg and in Moscow. Valio employs approximately 400 people in Russia. Annual sales of Valio in Russia have been approximately €85m ($92.5m). Valio’s subsidiary in Russia is 100% Finnish-owned by Valio.
“The exit process will start immediately. The decision to end the business and ramp down operations involves many details that we have been working on,” the company said.
Last week, Valio stopped all exports from Finland to Russia and Belarus. In addition, imports of ingredients and packaging materials from Russia to Finland were stopped.
Arla suspends operations in Russia
Arla Foods has initiated preparations to suspend its business in Russia. This will cover both its local operations and imports, which the company said were much reduced by the embargo put in place in 2014.
The company is continuing its work to be ready to provide food aid to Ukraine and its refugees in neighboring countries, working with the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations. Arla is also donating €1m ($1.1m) to the Red Cross.
CEO Peder Tuborgh said, “The impact and consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are tragic, I share the hopes of so many around the world, that a peaceful resolution is found quickly. We are now taking action to suspend our operations in Russia and are focused on how to support our 70 colleagues in Russia who are directly affected by this.”
Fonterra stops butter shipments but facilities stay open
New Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra has presence in Russia in both Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Simon Tucker, director global sustainability, stakeholder affairs and trade, told Dairy Reporter, “Our people’s safety is our top priority. We have seven people based in Moscow with Fonterra Russia and about 35 people based in Saint Petersburg with Fonterra’s joint venture Unifood. Both entities continue to operate at this time, however we are keeping an eye on the situation and will take actions as required. The businesses do not supply sanctioned individuals or entities, including Russian military or security forces.
“Fonterra exports a small amount of product to Russia, primarily butter, totaling about 1% of our annual exports. While food, including dairy, is generally exempt from international sanctions regimes and can be traded, we have suspended shipments of product to Russia while we continue to monitor developments. This includes assessing the impact on both payment infrastructure and our supply chain to Russia.”
Elopak paying Ukraine staff
Elopak said it is deeply concerned by the tragic developments in Ukraine and stands with all those who are suffering at this time. Elopak has wholeheartedly condemned the unprovoked attack by the Government of Russia and supports the resulting economic sanctions implemented by the EU and other actors.
Pic: Getty Images/omersukrugoksu
“This war has an enormous human cost. As a result of the ongoing and escalating conflict, Elopak is today announcing the suspension of all activities in Russia with immediate effect and until further notice. Elopak’s plant in Fastiv, Ukraine, has already been temporarily closed as we work to protect the safety of our colleagues and their families.
“We will continue to pay the salaries of our 336 employees directly affected until further notice. As part of the vital food supply chain, Elopak continues to monitor and evaluate the situation. We are assessing how best we can adapt our operations to support continued access to essential goods across the Eastern European Region.
“Our overriding priority remains the personal safety and security of our employees in Ukraine. We are in constant touch with our co-workers in Kyiv and Fastiv and have established a steering group that is working to support them and their loved ones.”
The decision is not expected to impact Elopak’s operations outside of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Farmers stand with all those suffering from the war in Ukraine
The European Milk Board calls for an immediate end to the war in Ukraine. “We strongly condemn the attack against the territorial sovereignty and people of Ukraine. Farmers stand with all those, in all countries, who are suffering from this war.
“We urge dairies in the EU to stop their exports to Russia and to send their products to Ukraine as emergency relief. Likewise, we urge the EU itself to make use of its position and stop exports to Russia.
“How can we help? In addition to participating in demonstrations calling for an end to the war – held in various countries – donating medicine, food and essential goods is also possible. We encourage you to donate to credible organizations in your different countries. We thank you for your support!”
Stora Enso stops production and sales in Russia
Stora Enso today announced it will stop all production and sales in Russia until further notice due to the ongoing invasion in Ukraine. Stora Enso has three corrugated packaging plants and two wood products sawmills in Russia, employing around 1,100 people. The company will also stop all export and import to and from Russia. A mitigation plan has been activated to secure availability of input materials from other sources.
“The war in Ukraine is unacceptable and we are fully behind all sanctions. We will now focus all our attention on supporting our customers and the well-being of our employees,” said Annica Bresky, president and CEO.
Stora Enso’s sales in Russia is approximately 3% of total Group revenues. The impact on Stora Enso’s sales and EBIT is not material.
Europe must equip its agriculture with a food shield to face the consequences of two major crises: the war in Ukraine and climate change.
Ekosem-Agrar AG suspends guidance for the 2022 financial year
The executive board of Ekosem-Agrar AG, which is the German holding company for the Russian milk producer EkoNiva Group, said it has decided to suspend the forecast for the 2022 financial year.
The company said this was due to “the currently considerable imponderables regarding the operating business as well as the financing possibilities due to the increasing restrictions in connection with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, resulting both from sanctions against Russia and from Russian countermeasures.”
For the year 2022, the company said it had previously assumed an increase in net sales of more than 20% for each of the three main areas of raw milk production, crop production and milk processing. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and cash EBITDA were expected to increase disproportionately compared to the previous year.
The board of management said it will publish an adjusted guidance “as soon as largely reliable parameters for adjusting the forecast are available.”
The company did not respond to Dairy Reporter’s questions about involvement in Russia.
Ukraine agriculture organization to join Copa and Cogeca
Agricultural group Copa and Cogeca held a coordination meeting with its members on the humanitarian situation arising from the war in Ukraine.
It said the solidarity of the farming community with the Ukrainian people is real and visible in all member countries.
It noted farmers are starting to welcome refugees to their farms, and the first convoys organized by farmers are on their way, along with food, supplies and financial donations. Copa-Cogeca will be publishing information for farmers, cooperatives and any citizen who wants to support the actions undertaken by the EU agricultural community on its website.
In the coming days, Ukraine’s agricultural organization UNAF (Ukrainian National Agrarian Forum) will join the European farming community by becoming a Copa and Cogeca partner.
Ramon Armengol, Cogeca president, said, “Welcoming our Ukrainian colleagues to Copa and Cogeca is the natural extension of this expression of solidarity that is taking place on the ground by farmers and their cooperatives. The European farming community is mobilising at all levels to provide concrete support to the Ukrainian people and refugees arriving in all member states.”
On the political and economic front, the organization said initial analyses show the importance of the reconstruction challenges that European agriculture will face in the short and medium term, noting the war will have worldwide repercussions for several years to come.
“Most productions will be directly or indirectly impacted. It is therefore essential to have a European response that equals the humanitarian and economic disaster,” Copa and Cogeca said.
“Exceptional situations call for exceptional measures. The speed of application of these measures is of crucial importance. Some sectors already heavily affected by the price increases resulting from the Covid and energy crises must be supported without delay, while other farmers need clear policy guidance as they start sowing.”
Christiane Lambert, Copa president, said, “Since the Russian government is using food security as a weapon, we must counter it with a food shield. As with energy, in agriculture we strongly believe that it is possible to strengthen our strategic autonomy while continuing to make progress on sustainability. Pitting these two dimensions against each other, as we have heard in Brussels in recent days, is unproductive. We need to rearm our agriculture today to face these two major crises at the same time: the war in Ukraine and climate change.”
Copa and Cogeca said food security is highly strategic and still very relevant.
“A paradigm shift is needed in the way Brussels thinks about agriculture, starting with the objectives set out in the Farm to Fork. Farmers and cooperatives are now waiting for concrete guidelines and actions as a solution to food, energy, climate, and environmental challenges. As the current President of the AGRIFISH Council, French Minister Denormandie, rightly declared at the end of the exceptional meeting of the Council on Wednesday, it is urgent to unleash the potential of European agriculture to mitigate the effects of this war.
“Copa and Cogeca are asking to be able to cultivate all available land in 2022 to compensate for the blockage of Russian and Ukrainian production. Everything must be done to prevent disruptions in supply chains, which will inevitably lead to shortages in certain parts of the world. This is an essential question of food sovereignty and democratic stability.”
AAK temporarily halts deliveries to, and sales in, Russia
Ingredient company AAK has decided to temporarily halt deliveries to, and sales in, Russia. Even though AAK is a supplier in the food sector, which is not subject to sanctions, the company said it has become very difficult to secure compliance to sanctions related to logistics and trade flows as well as third parties.
AAK has a sales office in Ukraine with approximately 10 employees, and the company said their safety is the main focus.
“We are in continuous dialogue with them and will do our utmost to ensure their continued safety,” AAK said.
Russia makes up for 3% of AAK’s volumes, as measured in metric tons, and Ukraine makes up less than 1%. AAK said it is continuously evaluating the situation and will respond accordingly.
Tetra Laval donates to Ukraine
Tetra Laval, the group which comprises Tetra Pak, Sidel and DeLaval, is donating €2m ($2.2m) to humanitarian support to Ukrainians in Ukraine and those that have been forced to flee to neighboring countries.
“We are deeply distressed by the war in Ukraine and join all parties calling for peace. To reflect our sense of values, we will do what we can to support local humanitarian efforts,” said Lars Renström, chairman of the Tetra Laval Group.
The company is donating €1m to UNICEF’s Drive for Ukrainian Children to support the more than half a million children already affected by the war, and a further €1m will be allocated to secure safe food distribution for refugee camps mainly in collaboration with Tetra Pak’s local customers.
Tetra Laval told Dairy Reporter, “Tetra Pak condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is deeply concerned by the war. It is tragic and terrible. The war is affecting our colleagues, friends, partners, suppliers, consumers, customers, and their families and friends. We stand with all of those who are impacted by the violence, and we join all parties calling for peace and an immediate ceasefire.
“Our priority right from the start has been to ensure the well-being of our employees, with whom we are in regular touch, helping them stay safe as best as we can.
“We are supporting humanitarian efforts and providing support to assist with the increasingly difficult refugee situation.
“In parallel, we will prioritize safe food distribution, whilst monitoring the impact of changing policies, sanctions and supply-chain issues on a daily basis. Disruptions to the production, processing, packaging and distribution of food will have a significant impact for all communities that rely on us for safe food. We are dismayed and greatly saddened that it is now increasingly impossible to make food safely available to individuals and households in Ukraine and that this may shortly also become impossible in Russia, which will impact individual consumers significantly. Out of concern for the people of Ukraine and Russia, we will seek to continue our operations as long as this is practically possible.”
In a statement sent to Dairy Reporter, Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope said, “We continue to condemn the war in Ukraine as a brutal and senseless act by the Russian state.
“Our business operations in Ukraine have stopped and we are now fully focused on ensuring the safety of our Ukrainian employees and their families, including helping with their evacuation where necessary, and providing additional financial support. We have also committed to donate €5m ($5.5m) of essential Unilever products to the humanitarian relief effort.
“We have suspended all imports and exports of our products into and out of Russia, and we will stop all media and advertising spend. We will not invest any further capital into the country nor will we profit from our presence in Russia. We will continue to supply our everyday essential food and hygiene products made in Russia to people in the country. We will keep this under close review.
“We join calls for an end to this war and hope that peace, human rights, and the international rule of law will prevail.”
Nestlé, which also has operations in Russia, did not respond to requests for comment.
PepsiCo to continue dairy operations
Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods is one of the biggest dairy companies in Europe, with a greater than 30% share of the dairy market in Russia. It is owned by PepsiCo.
PepsiCo sent Dairy Reporter a copy of an email CEO Ramon Laguarta sent to PepsiCo associates.
“As the tragic war continues in Ukraine, I wanted to update everyone on PepsiCo’s activities in the region,” Laguarta said.
“As many of you know, we have been operating in Russia for more than 60 years, and we have a place in many Russian homes. Pepsi-Cola entered the market at the height of the Cold War and helped create common ground between the United States and the Soviet Union. However, given the horrific events occurring in Ukraine we are announcing the suspension of the sale of Pepsi-Cola, and our global beverage brands in Russia, including 7Up and Mirinda. We will also be suspending capital investments and all advertising and promotional activities in Russia.
“As a food and beverage company, now more than ever we must stay true to the humanitarian aspect of our business. That means we have a responsibility to continue to offer our other products in Russia, including daily essentials such as milk and other dairy offerings, baby formula and baby food. By continuing to operate, we will also continue to support the livelihoods of our 20,000 Russian associates and the 40,000 Russian agricultural workers in our supply chain as they face significant challenges and uncertainty ahead.
“Our first priority continues to be the safety and security of our fellow Ukrainian associates. We suspended operations in Ukraine to enable our associates to seek safety for themselves and their families, and our dedicated crisis teams in the sector and region continue to closely monitor developments in real time.
“We are also continuing to provide aid on the ground to assist Ukrainian refugees in neighboring countries. Our business has donated food, milk and refrigerators to relief organizations, and we’re ramping up production of foods and beverages in neighboring countries to meet the increased need. We are also donating a total of $4m to the Red Cross in Poland, World Vision in Romania, the World Food Program, World Central Kitchen and Save the Children. And we continue to match up to $1m raised from PepsiCo employees through our Gift Matching Campaign. The number of associates expressing concern for our colleagues and a genuine desire to help has been truly inspiring, with some of you even volunteering to take refugees into your homes. Your kindness and generosity speak volumes about our company, and we will continue working to support your efforts.
“My heart goes out to all those who are caught in the middle of this deadly conflict. As it so often does, war is falling hardest on the innocent. War is never an answer, and we join all those calling for a speedy, peaceful resolution.”
The fund aims to support processors in these sectors to address the impacts of international trade agreements.
Through the program, processors of supply-managed commodities will have access to funding to improve their productivity and efficiency through investments in new automated equipment and technology. The fund leverages private investment in processing plants to accelerate adoption of automation to lower processing costs, address labor shortages and enhance product quality.
The two-step application process includes first submitting a project summary form, which will help determine a project’s eligibility and alignment with program criteria and priorities. Those successful at this stage will be invited to submit a full application. Projects from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be prioritized.
Work is under way with supply-managed sectors to determine full and fair compensation for the impacts of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement within the year.
“Dairy processors welcome the announcement of the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund, which will support the additional investments and innovations necessary for Canada’s dairy processing sector to transition to new market realities resulting from additional market access concessions granted in trade agreements with Europe and Trans-Pacific countries. By supporting investments in processing plants, the Fund will help boost the competitiveness, productivity and long-term sustainability of the Canadian dairy industry,” said Michael Barrett, chair of the Dairy Processors Association of Canada.
Building on the nearly C$2.7bn (US$2.1bn) already made available to compensate and support eligible dairy, poultry and egg farmers and the C$100m (US$78.4m) invested to help dairy processors, with today’s announcement, all CETA and CPTPP compensation programming has been launched.
In 2020, dairy and poultry processing activities alone contributed C$24bn (US$18.8bn) to Canada’s manufacturing shipments, equivalent to 20% of Canada’s total manufactured shipments of food and beverage.
U.S. dairy farmers are pushing back against Canada’s latest attempt to resolve a long-running dispute over milk and cheese imports, accusing trade officials of playing games and flouting treaty obligations.
Canada was forced to change the way it manages dairy imports after an international panel ruled Canada wasn’t making good on its promise to open up more market access under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement in 2020. Last week, Canada proposed a new import allocation systemin an effort to address the panel’s concerns. But United States producers and exporters say the proposal just swaps one protectionist policy for another.
“Enough is enough,” Jim Mulhern, CEO of the Arlington, Va.-based National Milk Producers Federation, said in a statement, adding that American farmers “are sick and tired of Canada’s game playing on dairy market access.”
A key U.S. achievement in the USMCA was getting Canada to slightly loosen its approach to supply management, a national system that has long antagonized trade partners because it uses prohibitive import tariffs to protect domestic dairy farmers.
Under USMCA, Canada agreed to increase the amount of dairy imports that are exempt from high levies. But U.S. officials argued that Canada violated the agreement by awarding the duty-free dairy — known as tariff-rate quota (TRQ) — almost exclusively to domestic dairy companies, which are more inclined to import bulk quantities of cheap cheese and repackage it into higher-value products for retail, if they use the quota at all. The problem, for U.S. exporters, is that the quota becomes less valuable when it’s used to bring in massive chunks of mozzarella to be shredded and resold as frozen pizzas, rather than fine goat cheese from Vermont.
Late last year, a dispute-settlement panel — the first of its kind under USMCA — found Canada’s TRQ allocation was in violation of the treaty and needed to change. Canada is now proposing a new system that would offer more quota access to distributors, rather than just processors. In the lucrative cheese category, for example, processors used to receive 85 per cent of the TRQs. Under the proposed new rules, 100 per cent of the cheese TRQs would be “allocated to processors and distributors” on the basis of market share.
Nicolas Lamp, a former dispute settlement lawyer at the World Trade Organization who now teaches trade law at Queen’s University, said the proposal appears to still cut out retailers and restaurants, both of which represent a major opportunity for U.S. cheesemakers.
“Why restrict it to distributors?” Lamp said. “Why not simply open it up to anyone who wants to buy U.S. cheese?”
The Retail Council of Canada said on March 8 that excluding grocers would add “unnecessary layers and costs” to the food chain at a time when food inflation is already the highest it has been in more than a decade.
Distributors are concerned that the proposal’s focus on market share means the bulk of the quota will still go to processors, as they control a much larger part of the domestic market. The International Cheese Council of Canada (ICCC), which represents importers, said imported cheese is “barely 10 per cent of total cheeses” sold in Canada.
“It’s geared to basically benefit the domestic processors,” ICCC vice-chair Joe Dal Ferro said on Tuesday.
In the U.S., dairy farmers and exporters are pushing President Joe Biden’s administration to “insist on real reforms” to Canada’s quota system. The proposed changes “will land us in virtually the same spot,” said Shawna Morris, senior vice-president of trade policy at the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
“You still have the same setup, whereby we’re effectively forced to primarily sell to our competitors,” Morris said. “That, in my view, is exactly what the Canadian goal is here, to make it look as if there have been changes made in response to the panel’s verdict without actually changing very much on the ground.”
Morris stressed that U.S. industry isn’t attacking the supply management system, but only wants to make sure that Canada delivers on its promise to provide American producers with a “very limited amount” of access to the dairy market.
“We had a deal,” she said. “We expect both parties to live up to that deal.”
The federal government is running public consultations on the proposal until April 19.
As they have been for generations, dairy farms are an important part of Florida’s fabric. And as always, dairy farms overwhelmingly are family businesses — 95 percent of U.S. dairies, in fact, are family-owned and operated, according to USDA statistics.
But what a dairy farm is also has been changing. The average size of a U.S. dairy farm has risen from less than 130 cows 20 years ago to more than 300 cows today. In Florida, family dairy farms are even bigger — while 150-cow operations still exist in Florida, the average Florida dairy has more than 1,300 cows.
My own farm is part of this story. My family’s farm started as a 27-cow dairy my grandparents financed after my grandfather returned home from serving in the Army. In the 1960s, 27 cows was enough to raise one family with three sons. My dad and uncle decided to stay on that farm, buying two more small farms with their parents in the mid-1980s. Those three farms — and their 400 cows — provided for three farm families and a few employees.
I grew up on one of those farms — I live next door to it today. When my grandfather retired after our fourth farm was built in 2003, the milking herd across all operations included 5,000 cows and employed 40 people. As my generation graduated from high school and college, the then-four dairy farms split into two businesses. Today, those farms support six farm families, including my own, and 36 employees.
That’s a lot of change in three generations. And those changes are why, as part of the next farm bill and in Congress this year, members of Congress need to remember the needs of dairy farms that are still family-owned, but much more complicated in how they’re run. We’re seeing missed opportunities from Washington to make a meaningful difference. We’re hoping that this year, with elections and the work beginning on the next farm bill, we family dairy farmers might be heard.
One example of missed opportunities is a benefit that’s being distributed across dairy country right now: The federal Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program. This program meant to make up for revenues lost during the early days of the pandemic because of a change to the federal formula on how milk is priced. The Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program spends $350 million compensating farmers for losses of $750 million.
My cousins own three of our original four farms. Because of the rules, they were able to capture up to three times the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program funds I received, despite the fact that my single-family farm produces more milk — and thus lost more money — than their three together. Given the average size and mixed demographics of a Florida dairy business, it’s easy to see how the effort falls short.
Another missed opportunity is climate change. U.S. dairy is a global leader in reducing agricultural emissions, with a target of carbon-neutrality by 2050. Federal policy could better help dairies of all sizes transition to an even more sustainable future. While smaller farms play an important role in sustainability, the fact is that larger ones can make a big difference. Farms like ours are already part of the solution — we graze our cows on grass pasture that’s sequestering carbon in our soil and absorbs carbon from the atmosphere 365 days a year. We also recycle all our water, and we re-use the manure from our cows as fertilizer. We could be an even larger part of the solution if policies catch up to our promise.
Farmers also need immigration reform. Our current immigration system forces many high-quality workers into the shadows, making it impossible for families and businesses to plan ahead. Immigration policy often gets caught up in emotional debates that have nothing to do with farming — but lower-hanging fruit could be harvested through changes to visa programs that would make a temporary foreign workforce more workable for dairy.
These are only some of the many challenges dairy farmers face — everything from animal care to environmental stewardship is part of what makes a family farm work. And there’s a lot of work to do. Family dairies are still doing what we do best — sustainably providing nutritious products to America and the world. Federal officials need to adapt to changes in how that’s done to make sure the dairy industry, and the communities they serve, continue to thrive.
Brittany Nickerson-Thurlow was recently elected vice-chair of Southeast Milk Inc., Florida’s dominant dairy co-op.
An international organic milk cooperative is offering membership to 80 small organic farms in the Northeast that were poised to lose the market for their milk, the Wisconsin-based Organic Valley cooperative announced Tuesday.
Organic Valley, based in LaFarge, Wisconsin, announced on Tuesday that 10 small Northeast farms already have been accepted into the cooperative.
Among the 90 farms are dozens in Vermont, including the Osgood Family Farm of Corinth, Vermont.
“A cooperative owned by small family farms is the perfect fit for us,” George Osgood said in a statement distributed by Organic Valley. “It gives us the chance to keep doing what we love.”
Last summer, Danone, the parent company of Horizon Organic, announced it would stop buying milk from 28 farms in Vermont and a total of 61 in Maine, New Hampshire and New York. The deadline was originally set for August, but it was later extended to February 2023.
Separately, a New York organic dairy announced it was terminating contracts with 46 organic farms in New York, officials said.
In addition to the 90 farms covered by Organic Valley, Stonyfield Farms, another organic dairy, will be extending offers to five farms, according to Stonyfield spokeswoman Kristina Drociak.
It’s unclear how many of the remaining farms are still without a market for their milk.
The news last year that scores of organic dairies were set to lose their markets left the farmers and state agriculture officials scrambling to find other places to sell the milk.
The Vermont Agency of Agriculture Food and Markets created a task force to seek a solution to the loss of the markets.
“Today’s action by Organic Valley is the outcome that we hoped for when we created the task force,” Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts said in a statement. “Now we must build upon this development and make sure we continue to secure a long-term market for farmers.”
Maine Gov. Janet Mills also praised the deal.
“This is outstanding and welcome news for Maine’s organic dairy farmers, many of whom have been worried sick about what comes next after Horizon pulled the rug out from underneath them last year,” Mills, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Organic Valley describes itself as the largest farmer-owned organic cooperative in the United States. It represents about 1,700 farmers in 34 U.S. states, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Organic Valley CEO Bob Kirchoff said that with the help of consumers and customers across the country they are helping to solve what many consider to be a crisis of disappearing small family farms.
“We are the only national brand still fighting for small family farms because we know that the best quality food is ethically sourced from small family farms,” Kirchoff said in a statement.
A cow laying on barn hay at Mesman Farm just east of La Conner let out a deep moo Wednesday as she worked to deliver her first calf.
Farm owner Ben Mesman hopped behind the barn gate to help his dairy cow, yanking her newborn calf by the hooves and welcoming it into the world.
The calf shivered in the cool March air as it let out squeaky moos, waiting for its mother to lick it clean.
Calf births are not out of the ordinary at Mesman Farm, as they ensure future generations of organic dairy cows.
The future of the fifth-generation family dairy farm and the dairy industry in Skagit County, though, is less certain.
“I just don’t know if there’s a future in dairy in Western Washington,” Mesman said.
Ben’s wife, Chelsy Mesman, said they love farming and raising cows, but the industry is so expensive that it’s hard to stay in it.
The majority of the county’s dairy farmers either break even or lose money, Ben Mesman said. Two dairies will be going out of business in the coming months.
Shrinking numbers
Jason Vander Kooy grew up on his family’s dairy farm.
Now, he owns the family farm, Harmony Dairy, west of Mount Vernon.
As Vander Kooy stood beside his home at his second farm location off McLean Road on Feb. 24, he reminisced about the various dairies in the area when he was a child.
He pointed out at the landscape, where small dairy farms once operated.
“All around you, there were these farms spotted throughout the farmland here,” Vander Kooy said.
Jason Vander Kooy poses for a portrait in the milking parlor at Harmony Dairy west of Mount Vernon. Vander Kooy learned how to be a dairy farmer from his father and is now doing the same with his son.
Harmony Dairy bought smaller farms that went out of business, leaving it the only dairy remaining in the area, he said.
The Washington State University Skagit County Extension shows 23 dairy farms countywide at the end of 2020, three less than at the start of the year.
There are currently 20 licensed dairies in the county, according to the state Department of Agriculture. Statewide, there are about 360 dairy farms, according to the Dairy Farmers of Washington.
Don McMoran, director of the county extension, said the dairy industry “feels like it’s sliding fast.”
For perspective, McMoran’s grandfather came to Washington in 1909 with dreams of operating a dairy. At the time, there were thousands of small dairy farms throughout the county.
A generation later, during his father’s childhood, there were about 600 dairy farms countywide, and there were about 200 during McMoran’s childhood.
McMoran said some dairy farmers got pushed out after their banks stopped approving loans due to debt from the previous year.
The current dairy industry in the county consists of fewer large farms, such as Harmony Dairy, and more small organic farms, such as Mesman Farm.
There was a shift in the 1990s for dairy farmers.
“You either got big, got out or you went organic,” McMoran said.
A struggle to get by
Dairy farms are capital intensive and much of the equipment necessary is purchased at a fixed rate, meaning it costs the same regardless of how many cows a dairy owns.
Farmers with more cows will be able to absorb costs better than farmers with fewer cows.
“The scale of economics plays a big role in farming,” Vander Kooy said.
Along with upfront capital, the price of milk and the cost of cow feed are critical to dairy farmers.
For the past several years, milk prices were low at an average of $16 per 100 pounds, Vander Kooy said.
When the market was starting to look up, the COVID-19 pandemic brought it back down.
Vander Kooy said Harmony Dairy breaks even when milk prices are $18 per 100 pounds.
Now, milk prices are strong, Vander Kooy said. Milk is selling between $22 and $23 per 100 pounds.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has predicted higher milk prices nationwide in 2022. But the higher prices are coming with higher feed costs.
Because milk is a commodity, global politics and the global economy play a role in the price of milk for conventional dairy farmers.
Higher prices in other commodity crops can trigger milk prices to go up, said Dwayne Faber, owner of High Valley Dairy near Mount Vernon.
Dwayne Faber poses for a portrait Thursday at High Valley Dairy east of Mount Vernon.
Similar to Mesman Farm and Harmony Dairy, High Valley Dairy grows the majority of the feed needed for its cows, curbing the cost of purchasing and transporting feed from other farms.
Faber does what is called upcycling waste, turning potato and Brussels sprout scraps from local farms into nutritious feed for his cows.
Vander Kooy, who grows about 85% of the feed his cows need, said growing feed is still costly due to the equipment and land needed, but it provides security by keeping dairy farmers from having to rely on anyone else.
Dwayne Faber holds a handful of rolled corn Thursday at High Valley Dairy east of Mount Vernon.
The Mesmans grow enough grain and hay that they can sell some of it after feeding their cows, but last summer’s drought hurt their hay crop.
Usually, they sell about $30,000 worth of hay to other farmers, but this year they had to buy $50,000 in hay because of the drought.
The Mesmans have taken measures to cope with low milk prices and increasing costs of feed, labor and equipment.
They opened a farm store on their property to sell their organic meat and they bought a robotic milker, which saves money on labor and feed because the data it collects tells them exactly how much food the cows need.
A cow is milked using a robotic milker Wednesday at Mesman Farm east of La Conner. The fifth-generation farm is one of 20 dairies remaining in the county.
Despite the challenges they face, dairy farmers keep farming because it’s their passion, said McMoran, who grew up on a farm.
“I feel an obligation that, if anything were to happen to my parents, I would continue on their legacy,” McMoran said. “That’s what our ancestors have always wanted of us. Also, it’s in your blood, it’s a part of who you are, it’s ingrained in you.”
Vander Kooy is teaching his son how to be a dairy farmer, just as his dad did when he and his brother were young.
“I couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” Vander Kooy said.
Faber continues to dairy farm because he likes working with cows, the land and his employees, and he loves growing food for people.
He bought another dairy in Astoria, Oregon, to diversify his business.
The milk prices in Oregon were higher than Washington last year and labor costs are lower partly because state law doesn’t require farm owners to pay their workers overtime.
“It feels like the future is not in Western Washington,” Faber said.
Dairy farmer Stephanie Nash told “Tucker Carlson Tonight” about the impact rising energy and fertilizer prices will have on America’s agriculture industry.
STEPHANIE NASH: I think it’s a pivotal point in our country. You know, coming from California, I saw how Pelosi really attacked the agriculture industry and now their response to gas and diesel high inflation is, you know, we’re not going to let up on regulations. We’re not going to back off of our clean energy investment Americans. It’s an investment to them. It’s not about making the Earth a better place or our economy. They could care less about doing that. All they want is an investment money back in their pockets in Washington, D.C., and I think it’s really an idea and a subject that we don’t talk about in the largest industry and that is agriculture.
Dairy, chicken, turkey products and eggs are supply managed in Canada
Canada’s minister of agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau announced on Wednesday the launch of the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund, worth $292.5 million. The aim of the fund is to help processors of supply-managed commodities increase their competitiveness and resilience in the face of evolving markets.
According to a government press release, the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund is part of the government’s commitment to addressing the impacts of international trade agreements.
Through the program, processors of supply-managed commodities will have access to funding to improve their productivity and efficiency through investments in new automated equipment and technology. The fund uses private investment in processing plants to accelerate adoption of automation to lower processing costs, address labour shortages and enhance product quality.
“Dairy processors welcome the announcement of the Supply Management Processing Investment Fund, which will support the additional investments and innovations necessary for Canada’s dairy processing sector to transition to new market realities resulting from additional market access concessions granted in trade agreements with Europe and Trans-Pacific countries,” said Michael Barrett, chair of the Dairy Processors Association of Canada. “By supporting investments in processing plants, the fund will help boost the competitiveness, productivity and long-term sustainability of the Canadian dairy industry.”
In 2020, dairy and poultry processing activities alone contributed $24 billion to Canada’s manufacturing shipments, equivalent to 20 percent of Canada’s total manufactured shipments of food and beverage.
The Supply Management Processing Investment Fund was announced in Budget 2021 to support private investment in processing plants aimed at improving the competitiveness and maintaining the viability of Canadian agri-food processors of dairy, poultry and eggs.
Dairy farmers across New South Wales and Queensland are continuing to count the costs of severe wet weather, as stock losses and infrastructure damages mount.
A Dairy Australia spokeswoman said they estimated there were more than 100 farmers affected by the floods,70 of them severely.
“The Dairy Australia team are currently connecting with farmers to determine impacts and services required,” she said.
“Full estimates on total numbers of stock lost and farm damages are not yet available.
“However, they are expected to be severe.
“In addition to stock losses and damage to farm infrastructure, paddocks and fencing, farmers are also dealing with shortages of stock feed and fuel, phone and internet service outages and animal health issues such as lameness and mastitis.”
In NSW, a hotline set up to assist flood-affected farmers and land managers has received more than 800 calls from farmers requesting emergency fodder, aerial surveillance, and veterinary assistance for flood-affected livestock in less than a week.
More than 1,350 tonnes of fodder have been supplied and another 500,000 tonnes allocated to livestock owners who have requested assistance, with aerial fodder drops underway.
Significant dumping of milk has occurred where producers have been able to get back to milking but access for tankers is limited.
Dairy Australia is working with other industry bodies, government and emergency response services to provide assistance to farmers in the affected areas.
Dairy NSW regional manager Paul van Wel said while the Dairy NSW region, which covers an area from south of Kempsey to the Southern Riverina, hadn’t sustained losses as bad as those on the NSW North Coast, there had still been considerable impacts.
“I was talking to a farmer around Taree who has really low-lying country, probably about half the farm has had a significant amount of water over it for over ten days so that means the pasture will be dead, they are feeding out silage that they are not normally feeding out until April,” he said.
“For farmers within the Dairy NSW region, the main costs being incurred are things like crop and pasture loss but we’re not hearing the reports of significant stock losses and fences wiped out like there have been in other areas.
Mr van Wel said there were ongoing challenges around managing calving and dealing with issues like sore feet and mastitis.
“Obviously you don’t want cows grazing in pastures that are as water-logged as this as it will cause significant pugging,” he said.
“There’s a lot of feeding going on.
“We’re also really conscious that people on the Mid North Coast went through severe flooding a year ago and that those people need to be aware of the impact the wet weather conditions are having on themselves, whether it’s causing further stress and bringing up the memories of some of those past impacts.”
EastAUSmilk vice president and Gloucester-based dairy farmer Graham Forbes said the losses were still rising.
“The rains are coming back in and coming into other areas and starting to be fairly major into our area now… in the Manning and Hunter regions we missed having major catastrophes but we’re getting closer and closer to that sort of thing,” he said.
“I know of probably about 15 farms that were impacted in that Northern Rivers area catastrophically… it’s amazing that some of these people are still continuing on.
“Some of these people have had upwards of two metres of rain in 10 days.
“We’re hoping the government will come in and give some fairly large support packages to those people that have been really totally destroyed by this.
“We’re seeing very high inflationary pressures at the moment, we’ve seen fertiliser, fuel, wages, machinery and now we’re seeing grains inflating at a very quick rate because of the Ukraine war.
“The best community support we can have is the price of milk has to go up.”
The Iowa Senate has passed a bill to legalize the sale of raw milk at dairy farms.
It still would be illegal to sell unpasteurized milk at restaurants and farmers markets if the bill becomes law, but raw milk and other products like cheese, yogurt and ice cream that are made with unpasteurized milk could be sold legally at the dairy where it’s processed.
Senator Tony Bisignano, a Democrat from Des Moines, said the bill makes something legal that’s going on already. “I don’t think in this state people ought to be criminalized for things that they choose to do that don’t harm someone else,” Bisignano said.
Republican Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig said the vast majority of states now allow raw milk sales in some fashion. “If we do this, get it all the way through, there’ll be only five states left,” Schultz said. “…It’s not a political issue. This is just a (decision of): ‘Do we want to let the people who want this have access to it?”
Raw milk enthusiasts say milk that hasn’t been pasteurized has more nutrients and tastes better. Critics say raw milk contains dangerous bacteria. The Iowa Farm Bureau, the state’s diary industry and Iowa grocers oppose the bill. Senator Janet Petersen, a Democrat from Des Moines, said raw milk should have a warning label because pregnant women are at serious risk of becoming ill from Listeria if they consume it.
“A warning label to prevent stillbirth, miscarriage, death of a newborn and illness of a pregnant mom I don’t believe is too much to ask,” Petersen said.
Senate Democratic Leader Zach Wahls of Coralville said federal data shows at least 144 Americans had to be hospitalized between 1993 and 2012 after consuming raw milk.
“This idea that there’s no connections to hospitalizations or outbreaks is simply not true,” Wahls said.
Previous attempts to legalize raw milk sales in Iowa have stalled in the past two decades. The Senate bill on the subject passed on a 32-15 vote and goes to the House for review.
Dairy farmers across New South Wales and Queensland are continuing to count the costs of severe wet weather, as stock losses and infrastructure damages mount.
A Dairy Australia spokeswoman said they estimated there were more than 100 farmers affected by the floods,70 of them severely.
“The Dairy Australia team are currently connecting with farmers to determine impacts and services required,” she said.
“Full estimates on total numbers of stock lost and farm damages are not yet available.
“However, they are expected to be severe.
“In addition to stock losses and damage to farm infrastructure, paddocks and fencing, farmers are also dealing with shortages of stock feed and fuel, phone and internet service outages and animal health issues such as lameness and mastitis.”
In NSW, a hotline set up to assist flood-affected farmers and land managers has received more than 800 calls from farmers requesting emergency fodder, aerial surveillance, and veterinary assistance for flood-affected livestock in less than a week.
More than 1,350 tonnes of fodder have been supplied and another 500,000 tonnes allocated to livestock owners who have requested assistance, with aerial fodder drops underway.
Significant dumping of milk has occurred where producers have been able to get back to milking but access for tankers is limited.
Dairy Australia is working with other industry bodies, government and emergency response services to provide assistance to farmers in the affected areas.
Dairy NSW regional manager Paul van Wel said while the Dairy NSW region, which covers an area from south of Kempsey to the Southern Riverina, hadn’t sustained losses as bad as those on the NSW North Coast, there had still been considerable impacts.
“I was talking to a farmer around Taree who has really low-lying country, probably about half the farm has had a significant amount of water over it for over ten days so that means the pasture will be dead, they are feeding out silage that they are not normally feeding out until April,” he said.
“For farmers within the Dairy NSW region, the main costs being incurred are things like crop and pasture loss but we’re not hearing the reports of significant stock losses and fences wiped out like there have been in other areas.
Mr van Wel said there were ongoing challenges around managing calving and dealing with issues like sore feet and mastitis.
“Obviously you don’t want cows grazing in pastures that are as water-logged as this as it will cause significant pugging,” he said.
“There’s a lot of feeding going on.
“We’re also really conscious that people on the Mid North Coast went through severe flooding a year ago and that those people need to be aware of the impact the wet weather conditions are having on themselves, whether it’s causing further stress and bringing up the memories of some of those past impacts.”
EastAUSmilk vice president and Gloucester-based dairy farmer Graham Forbes said the losses were still rising.
“The rains are coming back in and coming into other areas and starting to be fairly major into our area now… in the Manning and Hunter regions we missed having major catastrophes but we’re getting closer and closer to that sort of thing,” he said.
“I know of probably about 15 farms that were impacted in that Northern Rivers area catastrophically… it’s amazing that some of these people are still continuing on.
“Some of these people have had upwards of two metres of rain in 10 days.
“We’re hoping the government will come in and give some fairly large support packages to those people that have been really totally destroyed by this.
“We’re seeing very high inflationary pressures at the moment, we’ve seen fertiliser, fuel, wages, machinery and now we’re seeing grains inflating at a very quick rate because of the Ukraine war.
“The best community support we can have is the price of milk has to go up.”
Conrad Loveall will be the fifth generation of the family to run the Blue Point Diary near Colville, Washington. His parents worry about the ability of their son to stay in business given a plethora of problems threatening the viability of family farms in the U.S. Photo courtesy of Julie Loveall.
The expected shortage of fertilizer from sanctions imposed on Russia for the invasion of Ukraine is just one of many problems now plaguing the agriculture industry, says Julie Loveall.
She is president of the Stevens County Farm Bureau and co-owner of Blue Point Dairy near Colville.
Julie and her husband, Bruce, a fourth-generation farmer, care for 120 cows and farm enough hay to feed their herd.
They are proud to be one of over 400 dairy farms in the state that make Washington among the top 10 milk producers in the U.S. The state gains $5.2 billion from the dairy industry each year.
There are 480 dairy farms in the state, according to the Washington Department of Agriculture
But times are growing tough for not only dairies but all farmers, Loveall warned.
“Every American farmer right now has a dozen glass plates that he’s tossing in the air every day and none of these plates can hit the ground,” she said. “Any of them that you let hit the ground can be the thing that puts you out of business.”
In addition to the fertilizer crisis, she said the cost of crude oil is at a seven-year high, up more than a dollar from a year ago, which will dramatically boost operation expenses.
Additionally, state and federal regulations have more farmers spending time on paperwork than in their fields, Loveall said.
It is no wonder, she said, that the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that smaller family farms are declining by about 2% per year.
“Our food security is at higher risk than ever before,” she warned.
Loveall said the dairy industry took a big financial hit in 2020 when many states shut down schools and restaurants to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Then an extreme drought in 2021 drove up hay prices to unaffordable levels for many farmers, especially those who were younger and had taken out loans to establish an operation.
“The average age of a farmer in the U.S. today is 59 – so we need the younger generation to succeed,” she said.
The Lovealls have been in the business for more than 30 years, so their family has been able to ride out tough times in the past.
However, even the Lovealls are worried about the cataclysmic chain of events in 2022.
The World Bank reported a 66% increase in 2021 fertilizer prices and is forecasting prices to rise as high as 80% during the current growing season.
The cost of fertilizer is now outpacing crop prices, which means that farmers will plant less to keep expenses down, said Loveall.
She said there is also expected to be a severe shortage of fertilizer due to multiple disruptions in the supply chain.
Russia is the world’s biggest exporter of all major fertilizers, so sanctions are expected to create a vacuum in production. Russia produces high volumes of potash, a potassium fertilizer commonly used by farmers because it increases disease resistance and drought tolerance, and makes plant stems stronger.
Lovell said nitrogen supplies were already low before sanctions were imposed on Russia.
Natural gas is an input of this fertilizer and a sharp increase in its price last year shuttered many European plants. Nitrogen enables plants to capture sunlight energy by photosynthesis for more rapid growth and yield.
Loveall said China’s ban on exports of phosphate are also a problem for U.S. farmers. Major fertilizer companies in China are retaining supplies to ensure an adequate domestic supply. Their ban is expected to continue until at least June 2022. Phosphorus hastens food production by aiding in cell division and promoting root growth.
“Without fertilizers, we’re done,” said Loveall.
Crop yields without fertilizer will be too low for many farmers to cover the expenses of harvest, she said. Options are limited for farmers to raise prices to cover these expenses, because for the most part farmers are what economists refer to as “price takers.”
However, machinery and other farm equipment will be much higher is not subject to the same price limitations.
In the past several years, Loveall said the Washington Legislature has boosted minimum wage, mandated overtime pay for farmworkers, and established family leave and sick leave laws. All have made it more difficult for farmers to operate, let alone make a profit.
“It’s a good feeling for a lot of people to support these laws, but it’s not reality,” she said. “It’s fantasy and it doesn’t work on the ground.”
She said the clear disconnect between the 2% of the nation that grows food for 330 million people and beyond can be clearly seen in these policies.
Even worse, she said, are movements pushed by activists to give livestock the same rights as humans, or to force an American diet free of animals and their byproducts.
“We feed the world, this isn’t child’s play, this isn’t political bantering over a cup of coffee, this is serious stuff,” said Loveall.
It used to be that farmers were seen as rugged individualists who exemplified the American dream. However, increasingly they are viewed as a corrupt element society that needs to be brought under control, she said, and pushed back against this notion.
“The American farmer does more with less than any other country,” she said. “We are good stewards of the land because, if we weren’t, we wouldn’t stay in business.”
Loveall said state and federal legislators need to consider the economic consequences of damaging the nation’s agriculture base, if nothing else.
Agriculture feeds $9.5 billion into the state’s economy, according to the Washington Department of Agriculture.
The agency reports that Washington is the largest producer of red raspberries in the U.S. and is also a leading supplier of seed peas, apples and grapes.
“We need to turn things around,” said Loveall. “Food security is national security.”
One week after Russia launched a large-scale military invasion of Ukraine, the United Nations estimates that more than one million people have fled the Eastern European country.
As the war continues to escalate after the Feb. 24 attack, one segment of the Ukrainian population has found that the decision to flee isn’t that easy.
Despite the dangers posed by constant shelling and destruction, the country’s dairy farmers have largely remained on their farms and the threat of a Russian attack isn’t enough to sway them to leave, according to Taras Vysotsky, deputy minister for development of economy, trade and agriculture of Ukraine.
“In most cases, they’re on the farms. Only a few have been abandoned so far,” Vysotsky said during a phone interview with Lancaster Farming. “They’re staying on their farms. They’re going to protect it. They will fight for their farms and their animals to the end.”
The dairy sector is the number two agriculture industry in Ukraine, second behind grain and oilseed production. Vysotsky said agriculture accounts for 20% of the nation’s GDP.
Keeping the industry intact during a war, however, is difficult — especially when it comes to dairy.
Vysotsky said it’s going to cost billions of dollars to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure after just one week of war, and that figure will rise as the fighting continues. Included in the damage is the nation’s once-vibrant dairy industry, even as farmers remain behind to manage their operations. Supply chains have been severely impacted, he said, and raw milk sold from farms has been cut by 50%.
Vysotsky said in many cases, processors can’t come to farms to pick up milk, nor can they stock it for consumers. As a result, the volume of milk being sold and processed has been greatly reduced.
“As for now, lots of farmers… they keep their cattle but they can’t sell raw milk,” he said.
In recent years, Ukraine has been a net exporter of dairy — mainly dry milk and butter — but that component has been diminished as well. According to Vysotsky, there were no exports of dairy products during the last week, and he cautioned the situation could cause shortages and price increases on the global dairy market.
But for now, during the perils of war, Ukraine’s dairy farms remain operational even though the long-term outlook is grim.
Currently, the dairies have enough feed, mainly silage, already stockpiled from last year’s harvest to continue feeding cows, Vysotsky said. He added that dairy farms have enough veterinary supplies on hand for now.
“It’s not critical right now, but if the situation continues, in 10 days it can become critical with a serious shortage of veterinary medicines on farms,” Vysotsky said.
Compounding the matter is the approaching planting season, which Vysotsky said will begin in a few weeks. As of now, he added, there isn’t enough supplies of seeds and pesticides for planting, and it can severely limit a farmer’s ability to replenish feed stockpiles for the following year. Even the upcoming winter wheat harvest will be compromised if the war continues, Vysotsky said.
“It’s possible to manage it if the war ends today or tomorrow. If the war is going on for two or three more weeks, then there will be a risk if they can’t plant so much this spring,” he said.
Despite the current crisis and the uncertain outlook, Vysotsky said the Ukrainian government remains committed to saving the country’s agriculture industry, especially dairy. Aid will be needed in terms of money, veterinary medicine and other supplies necessary to operate a dairy farm, he added, but the nation’s farmers aren’t giving up.
“Our main goal is to save the cows and calves, save the cattle,” Vysotsky said. “In the current conditions when the farmers can’t sell the milk but still have to keep feeding the cattle, we’re going to need support to keep the cattle healthy and in good condition.
“It’s going to be a big task because so much has been destroyed.”
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, one of the largest dairy co-ops in the U.S., said today the proposed changes by the Canadian government to how it administers its tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for U.S. dairy would continue to block key export opportunities. Edge urged U.S. officials to work with the country to bring about fair reforms.
A dispute settlement panel earlier had found Canada was noncompliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its use of the quotas, unfairly limiting export opportunities for America’s dairy farmers and processors. Among other things, the proposed changes, released this week, would not allow U.S. exporters to ship directly to the lucrative retail sector ― a major concern for Edge’s members throughout the Midwest.
Background:“It’s clear that Canada is not seeking to provide actual market-based allocations,” Edge President Brody Stapel, a Wisconsin dairy farmer, said. “With passage of the USMCA, Edge was hopeful that the expanded quotas for dairy would get us closer to having real access to the Canadian market, including for high-value retail products. Excluding retailers from the new proposal will continue to keep out an important and growing segment of U.S. dairy. We urge the U.S. government to continue to work with Canada in seeking meaningful reforms that bring our important trading partner into compliance with its USMCA obligations.”
Under the USMCA, U.S. dairy producers were granted increased market access to Canada by way of preferential tariff rates for in-quota quantities of certain products. Less than a year after implementation of the agreement, the Biden administration requested a dispute settlement panel be established to consider Canada’s failure to comply with the dairy TRQ provisions.
The panel determined that Canada’s implementation of the TRQs restricted access of U.S. dairy products by setting aside quotas specifically for Canadian processors. Per the findings of the panel, Canada is required to come into compliance, and the country submitted the proposed changes to the U.S. government on Feb. 2. The proposal was not made public until this week.
The U.S. government is in the process of deciding whether the proposal brings Canada into compliance and has not indicated when there will be a decision on next steps.
China’s major dairy producers registered robust growth in output last year, official data shows.
In 2021, major dairy producers saw their output rise 9.4 percent year on year to nearly 30.32 million tonnes, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
In December alone, dairy production stood at 2.81 million tonnes, increasing by 11.8 percent year on year, the figures show.
Major dairy producers are companies with annual revenue of more than 20 million yuan (about 3.16 million U.S. dollars).
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) this month celebrates a mini-milestone on the path to normal: A return to our in-person March board meeting for the first time since March 11, 2020, when we met at the same moment that lockdowns and cancellations engulfed the country.
We expect smoother sailing this time around. But of course, much of our work is informed by the lessons of the past two years, which have been challenging for our industry, to say the least. That experience is a major – but far from the only – motivator behind a significant undertaking of 2022: Working to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system.
FMMOs, the bedrock of orderly milk marketing, showed signs of stress during the pandemic and are ripe for review after more than two decades without any significant updates. NMPF is the natural leader of this discussion and the logical place to formulate a plan. But it’s critical, as serious discussions get underway for what would be the first major changes to FMMOs since 2000, to understand what the conversation needs – and what it doesn’t.
First: We support federal marketing orders, which have promoted orderly milk markets for nearly a century. A well-functioning federal order system at its best works as a model of the industry itself, providing a fair and transparent program that benefits producers and consumers, and that accounts for the unique needs of producers and cooperatives through a referendum process to approve any proposed changes.
And just as the industry changes, the FMMO system must adapt to reflect the new realities in today’s milk markets. The reasons for modernization are many. The current Class I mover needs to be reviewed, as $750 million in farmer revenue losses during the second half of 2020 compared to the previous mover formula attests. Make-allowances that address the cost of processing milk into manufactured products haven’t been changed in years and may need adjustment, as suggested in a recently released, USDA-commissioned study. The average fat and protein levels in milk from the farm are higher today than they were in 2000, but current federal pricing formulas don’t accurately reflect this increased component content.
These are only a few top-line concerns from a much longer list. Many recent headaches for farmers over the past several years, from the block/barrel spread to negative PPDs and the resultant widespread de-pooling were in part an effect of federal orders, but not caused by them; and tweaks to the program could have positive impacts that ameliorate these types of issues in the future.
In response, NMPF has been taking the lead in delving deeply into these and other issues, convening its Economic Policy Committee and Board of Directors to examine the critical issues and determine those best addressed through a national marketing-order hearing and which may be separate issues or ones best addressed through regional order hearings. We’ve spent the past several months soliciting farmer and co-op insights and creating a task force of co-op technical experts who have been delving into marketing orders from top to bottom.
The one thing everyone can agree on is, a lot of suggestions can be laid on the table. That’s the easy part. But once that happens, conversations quickly become more complicated. That’s where we’ll need patience, and a heaping amount of good faith engagement, in the months ahead.
Dairy is a complex industry. Sometimes farmer and processor interests diverge; at other times, through a cooperative, the farmer and the processor is the same person. Industry structures vary widely by region. A strength of the marketing-order system – and a compelling reason to keep it robust – is that it’s decentralized, with different regions customizing their orders to meet their unique needs.
But that local strength inevitably complicates a national effort. That’s why it will be incredibly important to avoid zero-sum thinking throughout this process – the moment one party sees someone else’s gain as guaranteeing their loss, consensus becomes impossible. There are many ways to create win-wins that benefit all farmers or find solutions that balance any tradeoffs by bringing benefits in various ways. This is Compromise 101 – it’s basic, but also very difficult. It’s also central to succeeding in national marketing-order hearings. Without it, everyone could save time and turmoil by avoiding tough talks altogether.
And that brings up a second point. FMMO discussions need to focus on seeking solutions rather than on posturing for undefined “change” that doesn’t materialize when it’s time to make complex decisions.
In the past year, a few industry observers have talked up the need for “reform” or “simplifying” federal orders without offering specifics of what that may mean. If the net effect of federal order reform is to lower prices, that’s hardly the kind of change we’re interested in advancing. Individual initiatives certainly have their place – you can’t craft the best policies if ideas aren’t proposed in the first place. But proposals that merely benefit the proposers, without careful consideration of broader implications, won’t translate well when offered across the full range of dairy farmers. And calls for change are quickly reduced to grandstanding if specifics don’t materialize in a reasonable amount of time.
This is where NMPF and its members become indispensable to any solution that works for dairy farmers.
As the one dairy organization that truly represents dairy’s full diversity – farmers of all sizes, all regions, and all marketing orders – we are bringing the broadest array of serious voices to the table to craft the nationwide consensus needed to make pricing improvements a reality. Our goal is a presentable plan to modernize the FMMO system. When that occurs, it won’t be loved in all ways, by all producers. But we can guarantee it will bring progress, with tangible gains for dairy farmers, and be a plan that advances the needs and interests of the dairy community.
It’s a big job, but together we can do it. We’ve been through a lot together, and we’ve learned a lot. It’s time to take these lessons and build a better future for dairy, with the consensus that always brings out our best.
Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) CEO Barbara O’Brien provided an overview of four “bold moves” the checkoff has made with farmer and importer directors representing DMI, United Dairy Industry Association and National Dairy Promotion and Research Board at their recent meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
O’Brien, who assumed the CEO position in October, spent the last four months gathering input from hundreds of farmers and other stakeholders about the checkoff’s vision and strategy. She said this feedback helped direct these four moves.
“We’re looking through the windshield, not the rearview mirror,” O’Brien said. “I used the input as inspiration and guidance in crafting our vision and priorities. With farmer leadership and strong support, I feel empowered to define what’s next for checkoff and what checkoff needs to be over the next 10 years.”
The four moves focus on:
Dairy 2030 and transformation
O’Brien described future-focused initiatives that will move from concept to research and development. O’Brien said DMI will “double down” on two market-changing areas, including metabolomics, which includes the science that analyzes the molecules in milk in discovering future health and wellness benefits and claims. The other is encapsulation, which is a new technology that has the potential to deliver concentrated dairy ingredients and nutrients in products.
“Bringing technology to our work and digitizing the science will accelerate the claims process, messaging and new product development,” O’Brien said.
GENYOUth strategic focus
O’Brien said many farmers don’t understand GENYOUth’s role or how its work benefits them and dairy. She met with incoming GENYOUth CEO Ann Marie Krautheim to review strategies to determine the organization’s future focus.
Krautheim has spent 10 years with American Dairy Association Mideast and 10 more with the National Dairy Council before becoming GENYOUth’s chief wellness officer for the last decade. “Let me assure you, dairy flows through Ann Marie’s veins,” O’Brien said. “This is about the right leadership at the right time. I am excited about Ann Marie bringing a renewed focus and keeping dairy farmers and dairy front and center in the work she does every day.”
Growing importance of exports
While O’Brien said exports is certainly not a new checkoff priority, “We’re taking steps now to ensure we’re positioned to win in the future.” Part of that effort includes creating a fifth operating committee of the DMI board that consolidates oversight of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, DMI’s Global Innovation Partnerships team and the “Next 5%” plan to increase exports.
“There are numerous checkoff, non-checkoff and proprietary entities that assure the success of U.S. dairy in the global marketplace,” O’Brien said. “The key now is to make sure that work is quantified and coordinated to ensure a positive, consistent U.S. dairy experience for international customers and consumers.”
Move to three-year planning, budget cycle
O’Brien said moving from a one-year cycle will allow the checkoff to be “more intentional” in the planning and execution of the unified marketing plan with other checkoff companies.
“We’ll be more focused, and spend less time planning and more time doing,” O’Brien said. The three-year plan “allows us to be strategically patient and tactically nimble based on learnings that come from our execution of in-year programs.”
Farmer priorities drive industry focus
O’Brien shared DMI’s engagement with other organizations, including the International Dairy Foods Association and MilkPEP, as well as the checkoff-founded Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. She said a shared set of priorities, including health and wellness, environmental stewardship, innovation and technology, and workforce, is moving U.S. dairy into the future and redefining its place in people’s lives and in society overall.
O’Brien, who also serves as president and CEO of the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, said the unanimous endorsement of its strategic plan refresh by the 30-plus board directors in late January is testament to the commitment of dairy farmers, cooperatives, companies and organizations to work together in these areas of shared importance.
“This is truly a moment on our timeline to be noted and celebrated,” said Innovation Center Chair Mike Haddad. “This is a milestone meeting and a direct reflection of farmer priorities being driven through the industry. It’s clear dairy farmers’ priorities are the dairy industry’s priorities.”
We live in a time where pretty much anything can be seen and heard in real-time. With instant messaging and 24/7 news updates, it is easier than ever for the dairy industry to fall into making stereotypical assumptions based on a person’s gender, culture, religion, or physical attributes. The global dairy business has never been so in-the-screen-faces of their dairy consumers and their own competitors. When the supply chain is disrupted, you know it. You see the empty food shelves? You see the protests. When animals are mistreated, it is shown in shocking close-ups. Gender equality is instantly highlighted in the news. Instant data inspires instant analysis. But to be fair, instant analysis can also be instantly misleading.
Dairy Miss-Information Versus Historical His-Information
Dairying is not a male or female thing. Everyone reading this article can point to numerous recent Blogs, Seminars, Magazine articles and Research papers to support their position. I bring this up because of the “rock and hard place” situation many of us find causing division in our own workplace. His-story versus Her-story. Must the work of dairying be one gender or the other? Although it is easy to acknowledge the progress of positive examples, it is impossible to eradicate bias completely. We have all been raised with some form of gender bias. If we must play the gender card, we have already fallen into the gender trap. We either “act” like a boss knocking at the door or is the door being opened to all. Is there a welcome mat or a doormat?
PROBLEM? DISPARITY OR LACK OF CLARITY
Throwing out the Ladies and the Boys’ Club with the Bathwater
Sometimes the easy question asked by women is, “Are we are own problem?” The easier answer is: “We are all part of the problem.” Female decision-makers are just as biased as men. It follows then that we are all part of the solution. Men are in positions of power where they can (and do) help the women in their organizations rise to the top. Helping anyone rise isn’t measured by a pat on the back or a verbal, “way to go!” Sometimes the most help is a informative analysis of the job requirements accompanied by the strengths and weaknesses of the person. This opens the opportunity to improve and grow in the position. Clarity isn’t just positive, sometimes it requires recognition of what may hold the person back. Regardless of gender, workers need to be clear about qualifications, on job training, reimbursement, and incentives. The real pros and cons are not pro gender or con gender. The more we can work together to create positive change, the faster that change will happen.
THE POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE POWER OF THE GENDER GAP
We all have been conditioned to jobs that are Ma’am power or man-power. When you see a dairy job discussed, do you have an automatic gender response?
Calving
Bookkeeping
Team boss
Board representative
Expert nutritionist
Genetic Advisor
Dairy Cow Vet
Beyond the Glass Half Full
There was a time when we didn’t talk frequently about Glass Ceilings in the workplace. Now we have added the Glass Cliff. Glass Cliff refers to the phenomenon of women in leadership roles, such as business executives in the corporate world and female candidates for political office, being more likely than men to be promoted to leadership roles during periods of crisis or downturn, when the chance of failure is highest.
We might live happily with the “Glass Half Full” but now we have “Glass Walls” and “Glass Elevators” which refer to institutional barriers that isolate some employees — traditionally women and minorities — into jobs that don’t lead to executive advancement within a business.
IS DAIRY MOVING OUTSIDE THE GENDER BOX OR TO FEMALE HEADLINES?
Headlines about the success of dairy women are nice to see and I must admit that seeing the listing of female judges at cattle shows was partially responsible for the writing of this article. The announcement noted that “An all-female line-up of Judges from the US, UK and Canada will judge his year’s UK Dairy Expo!” For those of you who follow The Milkhouse, you may have seen the comments by a reader who noted, “A good judge is a good judge. Why are we discussing a M vs F as some difference? Kinda sad. These women are no better or worse than anyone else. They can handle the task obviously so let them and let’s stop putting them in a box.” Dairy recognizes ability … in the barn, in the board room and in the show ring.
“OLD BOY BOYS CLUBS AND GIRLS ONLY) JOB SILOS HOLD GROWTH DOWN”
Does your dairy put employees into silos? What about other on or off-farm dairy interactions which you keep in their individual silos. Now you have silo disadvantages such as:
There is limited interaction with people outside of the silo.
Silos can lead to resistance to change.
People within silos may avoid cross-department collaboration.
Information silos, which exist when information isn’t shared between the barn, board rooms, and suppliers, can hamper dairy growth and efficiency.
Think of support staff like veterinary, nutrition and feed suppliers. Silos in these areas can cause duplication of effort, lack of synergy and missed opportunities.
Women are the best advocates for the dairy industry. Is this progress or another silo?
Silos can turn into a big problem for dairy workplace cohesion and employee engagement. They can result in weakened trust in the company’s leadership and deaden motivation for employees who end up feeling incapable of changing the culture and are left wanting more.
ONE STATISTIC ABOUT DAIRY WOMEN OWNERS
The salaries of women who own dairies has been reported to be 80% of the salary of male dairy farm owners. So let’s ask the second question. “Do male dairy farmers make more or less than the salaries of owners in non-agricultural businesses?” It was not easy to find a statistic to answer this question. Is this bias as well or something more?
IS DAIRYING DRIVEN BY MAKING MORE?
We think we know the solution to getting the best work done in the dairy industry. Clearly, it all boils down to “more”. But what are we adding up to get the success sum? More money on each dairy barn or business bottom line? More money from the government? More perc money, trips or gifts from suppliers or customers? To remain more relevant more money is definitely a priority.
But what must happen BEFORE more money?
In dialogue with THE BULLVINE readers and our networks of dairy farmers and dairy research and business connections, we are hearing that, while the above list of things is nice, more is actually referring to three things: more workers – more workers and -more workers. Every sector needs to have proactive productive staff ahead of everything else!
WHAT’S GENDER GOT TO DO WITH MORE?
It’s simply undeniable that in virtually every hiring decision, discrimination is still quite common. There are simply too many studies out there on virtually every type of decision — hiring, housing, loan approvals, etc. showing that, if the person making the decision knows the gender or the race of the person applying, the likelihood of discrimination goes up, even when the applications are identical in every relevant way. That is largely because of our implicit biases, something that even the most enlightened among us can easily fall into without even realizing we’re doing it.
FOR FURTHER READING:
Before we wrap this article up, it might be useful to take note of other sources that are discussing this topic:
TECHNOLOGY: DO SUCCESSFUL DAIRIES HAVE THE REMOTE-EST IDEA?’
While looking for the correct solution, you might think that technology is a non-gender answer. But that may not be factually true either. Who takes up new technology faster? Men or woman? Where’s the proof of that? If technology has a huge effect on money-making, there might be a corresponding shift in who manages it or who is allowed to manage it. The competition for productive effective labour is intensifying. It encompasses many gender issues such as:
Gender-neutral parental leave.
Access to training
Paid time for training.
Diversity hiring applied to actions.
These things are becoming true success differentiators.
THE BALANCE BETWEEN HUMAN WORKERS AND INTELLIGENT ROBOTS
We now have increasingly capable robots and artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can take on tasks that were previously only done by humans. This leaves employers with some key questions: how do we find the balance between intelligent machines and human intelligence? What roles should be given over to machines? Which roles are best suited to humans? There’s no doubt that automation will affect every industry, so dairy leaders must prepare the people and technological environments in their dairies and dairy support organizations for the changing nature of work. Change is here. What do you fear?
The Bullvine Bottom Line
There will always be reasons to be afraid. You could find yourself paralyzed with fear because you think your business is on the line, or you could be afraid of making a mistake and feeling ridiculed, disliked, misunderstood or just plain stupid. These fears, while normal and understandable, can also be quite destructive to growing your dairy business. Some of the most inventive and game-changing ideas have been born out of errors. Original ideas come to life when you dare to be different, keep an open mind, and have no fear of crashing and burning. This is true regardless of the gender of your team.
Wisconsin Brings Home More Awards than any State or Country.
Seven Wisconsin cheeses rank in the world’s top 20 at the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest displaying Wisconsin cheesemakers’ premier expertise.
Results from the contest confirm Wisconsin continues to create innovative and high-quality cheeses. For the first time ever, fourth generation Wisconsin cheesemaker, Chris Roelli of Roelli Cheese Company earned a spot in the top-20 with original creation Red Rock: a cave-aged cheddar with a hint of blue. Emmi Roth once again entered the finals with their Best of Class Grand Cru Surchoix that was named World Champion in the 2016 competition.
Other Wisconsin cow’s milk cheeses securing top spots are Land O’ Lakes cheddar aged 1–2-years, Klondike Cheese Company Odyssey peppercorn feta, BelGioioso creamy gorgonzola and Arla Castello smoked cracked pepper gouda.
“Congratulations to all the winners from across the country. We are so proud of all our Wisconsin cheesemakers not only because of the many awards they brought home this week, but also because of the passion and innovation they put into their craft every single day,” said Suzanne Fanning, Chief Marketing Officer for Wisconsin Cheese and Senior Vice President at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin. “Because of our many amazing makers, Wisconsin really is the State of Cheese®.”
The 34th biennial three-day contest brought together the world’s finest dairy products for technical evaluation and to compete for global recognition. Of the prestigious awards, Wisconsin earned more top-finalist placements than any other state or country.
Key wins from the State of Cheese® include:
39 Best of Class awards, 35 Second Awards and 36 Third Awards
46 Wisconsin cheese and dairy companies won one or more awards
Wisconsin cheese and dairy companies swept 12 classes (took the top three places)
Wisconsin’s cheesemaking heritage goes back more than 180 years, integrating art and science in a tradition so rich you can taste it.
Wisconsin is a world of cheese in just one state crafting more than 600 different varieties, types, and styles of cheese making up 50% of the nation’s specialty cheese.
About Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin: Funded by Wisconsin dairy farmers, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin is a non-profit organization that focuses on marketing and promoting Wisconsin’s world-class dairy products. For more information, visit our website at Wisconsin Dairy.
About Wisconsin Cheese The tradition of cheesemaking excellence began more than 175 years ago, before Wisconsin was recognized as a state. Wisconsin’s 1,200 cheesemakers, many of whom are third- and fourth-generation, continue to pass on old-world traditions while adopting modern innovations in cheesemaking craftsmanship. For more information, visit Wisconsin Cheese or connect on Facebook.
In response to the U.S. Trade Representative’s release of the 2022 Trade Policy Agenda today, USDEC and NMPF released the following statements.
Jim Mulhern, National Milk Producers Federation president & CEO:
U.S. trade policy is a three-legged stool. USTR’s 2022 Trade Policy Agenda prioritizes two important legs: enforceable commitments from our trading partners and forward-leaning trade strategies to uproot barriers to U.S. products. Yet comprehensive trade agreements – the most powerful weapon in our trade arsenal – remain missing from this forecast. We are thankful for the exceptional dedication of USTR in representing American interests and look forward to partnering with them on the areas outlined in today’s Trade Policy Agenda including the continued focus on ensuring Canada abides by its U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement commitments. To most effectively fight for American dairy farmers, manufacturers and workers, however, we must build on those efforts by using the full suite of trade policy tools to tackle market access barriers to American-made products.
Krysta Harden, U.S. Dairy Export Council president & CEO:
Last year dairy exports reached a record $7.75 billion – sales that support dairy farming and manufacturing jobs all across America. We thank the Administration for its efforts to help U.S. agriculture. Yet to remain competitive as other countries pull ahead with trade agreements, we cannot forget the pursuit of them ourselves. Comprehensive free trade agreements are a cornerstone of trade policy for U.S. exporters and must not be left on the cutting room floor in 2022. Today, milk from one in six trucks leaving American dairy farms ends up in products and ingredients sold overseas – largely as a result of such free trade agreements. We look forward to working closely with the Administration on the outlined Trade Policy Agenda and believe additional trade negotiations would strengthen it further.
On her 1st anniversary as president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, Krysta Harden examines past growth and future opportunities.
One year ago today, I was named president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
If I had to choose a single word to describe my first year, it would be “growth.”
I grew as a leader. USDEC grew as an organization. The U.S. dairy industry grew in collaborative unity as we persevered through COVID and an unprecedented export supply-chain crisis creating traffic jams at our ports that kept many of us up at night.
As you may know by now, 2021 also was the most successful year in the history of U.S. dairy exports, with records set for both value and volume.
Overall 2021 U.S. dairy exports were up 18% in value and 10% in volume compared to the previous year, setting all-time records while displaying impressive geographic growth across key markets.
After just one year on the job, it would be audacious for me to take the credit. My mother and father — Georgia peanut farmers who I still respectfully refer to as “Mama and Daddy” — taught me to give credit where credit is due.
Kudos go to:
Our USDEC member companies — building on past successes to find increasingly innovative ways to serve the needs of their global customers.
Our U.S. dairy farmers — providing the abundant supply of milk required to create and ship 2.3 million metric tons of milk solids across our borders.
Our USDEC staff — working from their homes because our Arlington, Virginia, office has been closed due to COVID. They are the experts on exports, removing barriers and expanding markets for our members.
OurUSDEC international offices in China, Southeast Asia, Mexico, South America, Korea, Vietnam, Japan and the Middle East — providing on-the-ground insights and ongoing connections when COVID restrictions made international travel difficult.
The dairy checkoff — funding most of USDEC’s budget through our parent organization, Dairy Management Inc. In recent years, state and regional checkoff organizations have made additional long-range investments in new people, partnerships and programs, including USDEC’s state-of-the-art U.S. Center for Dairy Excellence in Singapore, serving Southeast Asia.
Numbers tell the 2021 growth story. Year-end export data showed total sales (value) rose 18% over the previous year, to a record $7.75 billion. Export volume was 10% higher, quite an accomplishment when you consider that 2020 also was a record-setting year.
Growth wasn’t just strong. It was strongacross products and geographic markets. We saw increases (volume) of 2% in Southeast Asia, 16% in Mexico and 30% in China.
We don’t put our milk into just one market. Diversification has been part of USDEC’s strategy to mitigate risks.
When exports to Mexico went down in 2020 due to COVID’s negative impact on the economy, U.S. total exports still went up because growth in Southeast Asia and other markets more than made up for it.
In 2021, when port issues limited U.S. export growth to Southeast Asia, we regained business in Mexico as we increased sales to the Middle East/North Africa, South and Central America, and China.
Today the milk from more than one 1 of 6 tankers leaving American dairy farms ends up in dairy products and ingredients shipped across our borders. Over the last two years, 75% of “new” milk has gone to exports.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Business is about taking calculated risks. With continued funding from our farmer-funders, state and regionals and members, the U.S. dairy industry is placing a smart long-term bet on exports. USDEC paves the way.
One of my first-year goals was to work with my senior leadership team to develop a new and bold USDEC mission statement. Here it is: “As the leading U.S. dairy export success accelerator, we aim to enrich the well-being of people, communities and the planet.”
We work for a noble cause. Looking ahead, we can continue to do well as we continue to do good by providing healthy and nutritious milk and dairy products to the world.
On my first anniversary, that’s a good reason to celebrate.
As predicted in a previous article published here, Texas finished the year 2021 barely surpassing New York state in milk production (Figure 1). Challenges for the beginning of 2022 include significant increases in feed costs, farming input costs and labor shortage, to name a few. In addition, winter is a challenging season that requires additional effort from dairy farmers and personnel to manage their cows during cold weather conditions. An age group that deserves particular attention when temperatures drop are newborn calves. This article will cover the effects and importance of preventing cold stress in newborn calves.
Dairy farmers and personnel know winter brings significant challenges. They need to prevent and face issues like equipment not working properly due to freezing temperatures, slippery alleyways and frozen water troughs. Extreme weather conditions, such as winter storms like Goliath in December 2015 and Uri in February 2021 aggravate the challenges with cold stress and pose new ones. In the Texas Panhandle, dairy farmers make sure they reinforce existing wind breaks to protect their cattle (e.g., by piling up square bales of hay as protection from the north wind), feed extra the day prior to the storm, etc. The most sensitive age group that requires particular attention are newborn calves.
When do calves experience cold stress?
Calves are much more vulnerable to cold stress than cows. To put it in perspective, a lactating dairy cow producing about 66 pounds of fat-corrected milk may start experiencing cold stress roughly at minus 16 degrees (range negative 35 to 3 degrees) while calves might start experiencing cold stress in temperatures at 59 degrees . However, wind speed, ambient humidity and calf factors may change this threshold. Newborn calves are soaked in fetal fluids after calving, which increases body heat losses and makes them particularly vulnerable to cold stress and hypothermia during the winter season.
What are the consequences of cold stress?
Cold stress in newborn calves significantly delays the onset and decreases the rate of absorption of immunoglobulins (antibodies) after colostrum feeding5 . In cases of severe hypothermia, when the body temperature significantly drops, death may occur. Calves generate heat by increasing their metabolism and shivering, and conserve heat by reducing skin blood flow and piloerection to restrict heat transfer to the environment. Particular attention should be given to calves that had difficult births, as they have impaired mechanisms to maintain body temperature compared to calves from uncomplicated births6 .
What are the best management practices for newborn calves born in winter?
Checking pre-fresh pens frequently is paramount during the winter, and this frequency needs to be increased in severe weather events to limit a newborn calf’s exposure to cold temperatures. If possible, bringing cows that are close to labor to maternity facilities would allow personnel to more quickly dry off and warm calves after calving, decreasing the risk of cold stress and hypothermia. Ensure that your maternity employees have the right equipment, including winter clothes, PPE and utility tasks vehicles to transport calves. Once in the nursery area, feed the calves colostrum immediately. If a calf is reluctant to consume colostrum from a nipple bottle, tube feeding should be considered. Approximately one gallon of clean, quality colostrum should be delivered within one hour after calving. Colostrum will contribute to heat production . Calves should be kept in a clean, warm and dry environment. The use of calf jackets or infrared lamps can create a warm microclimate .
Nursery facility designs vary depending on the dairy. Examples include completely enclosed constructions with insulated walls and heating system, to facilities not completely enclosed but that still provide protection from the wind and precipitations. Regardless of facility design, calves should have:
Abundant, clean and dry straw bedding material.
Protection from wind and precipitation.
Provision of clean, warm and high-quality colostrum.
Use of calf jackets and/or heat lamps should be considered.
References
1 Piñeiro, J.M. Will Texas become the #3 dairy state in the country? December 2021.
2 U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2020 and 2021 monthly reports. Milk Production.
3 Kadzere, C.T., M.R. Murphy, N. Silanikove, and E. Maltz. 2002. Heat stress in lactating dairy cows: a review. Livest. Prod. Sci. 77:59–91.
4 Nonnecke, B.J., M.R. Foote, B.L. Miller, M. Fowler, T.E. Johnson, and R.L. Horst. 2009. Effects of chronic environmental cold on growth, health, and select metabolic and immunologic responses of preruminant calves. J. Dairy Sci. 92:6134–6143.
5 Olson, D.P., R.C. Bull, L.F. Woodard, and K.W. Kelley. 1981. Effects of maternal nutritional restriction and cold stress on young calves: absorption of colostral immunoglobulins. Am. J. Vet. Res. 42:876–880.
6 Vermorel M., Vernet J., Dardillat C., Saido, Demigne C, and Davicco M.J. 1989a. Energy metabolism and thermoregulation in the newborn calf. Effect of calving conditions. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 69: ll3-122
7 Vermorel M., Vernet J., Dardillat C., Saido, and Demigne C. 1989b. Energy metabolism and thermoregulation in the newborn calf; variations during the first day of life and differences between breeds. can. J. Anim. Sci. 69: 103-111.
8 Borderas, F.T., A.M.B. de Passillé, and J. Rushen. 2009. Temperatu
Editor’s Note: This article reproduced from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Texas Dairy Matters with permission.
Milk production in Wisconsin during January of this year totaled 2.67 billion pounds, down slightly from the previous January, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Milk Production report.
The average number of milk cows during January, at 1.27 million head, was 2,000 below last month but up 11,000 from January 2021. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,095 pounds, down 25 pounds from last January.
Milk production in the 24 major states during January totaled 18.2 billion pounds, down 1.4% from January 2021. December revised production, at 18.0 billion pounds, was down 0.8% from December 2020.
The December revision represented a decrease of 35 million pounds or 0.2% from last month’s preliminary production estimate.
Production per cow in the 24 major states averaged 2,053 pounds for January, 14 pounds below January 2021.
The number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major states was 8.88 million head, 63,000 head less than January 2021, and 5,000 head less than December 2021.
The annual production of milk for the United States during 2021 was 226 billion pounds, 1.3% above 2020.
Revisions to 2020 production increased the annual total 89 million pounds. Revised 2021 production was down 18 million pounds from last month’s publication. Annual total milk production has increased 12.8% from 2012.
Production per cow in the United States averaged 23,948 pounds for 2021, 171 pounds above 2020. The average annual rate of milk production per cow has increased 10.2% from 2012.
The average number of milk cows on farms in the United States during 2021 was 9.45 million head, up 0.6% from 2020. The average number of milk cows was unrevised for 2021. The average annual number of milk cows has increased 2.3% from 2012.
The price New York farmers received for milk rose again in the final month of 2021 and is now significantly higher than it was at the same time the prior year.
According to the latest figures provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average milk price received by New York farmers in December 2021, at $22 per hundredweight, was up $0.70 from November 2021 and up $3.70 from November 2020.
The number of milking cows in the state in January, at about 620,000, was 5,000 fewer than in January 2021, and milk production in New York in January totaled 1.305 million pounds, down 0.6 percent from December 2021.
The Department of Agriculture Wednesday announced an additional investment of $80 million in the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives.
In November 2021, the program awarded $18.4 million to three current initiatives at the University of Tennessee, Vermont Agency for Food and Marketing and University of Wisconsin, and $1.8 million to a new initiative at California State University Fresno. Under the existing program, which was previously announced through a FY21 Request for Applications, each initiative can submit additional proposals for up to $20 million in American Rescue Plan funding. The funds can further support processing capacity expansion, on-farm improvements, and technical assistance to producers.
Since its inception in 2019, the initiatives have provided valuable technical assistance and sub-grants to dairy farmers and businesses across their regions, assisting them with business plan development, marketing and branding, and increasing access to innovative production and processing techniques supporting the development of value-added products.
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) rejected a proposal issued late yesterday by Global Affairs Canada that outlines the Canadian “changes” to their current scheme for allocating U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dairy tariff-rate-quotas (TRQ).
In January the United States Trade Representative’s office announced that it had won USMCA’s first-ever dispute settlement panel by prevailing in its case against Canada regarding how Canada’s USMCA dairy TRQ allocation process violated the agreement. Ambassador Tai noted at the time that, “This historic win will help eliminate unjustified trade restrictions on American dairy products and will ensure that the U.S. dairy industry and its workers get the full benefit of the USMCA to market and sell U.S. products to Canadian consumers.”
“Enough is enough. U.S. dairy producers are sick and tired of Canada’s game playing on dairy market access. From their irrelevant celebration that the panel upheld Canada’s right to retain a supply management system, a fact that no one has challenged and was not at issue in the USMCA case, to the continual efforts to undermine established trade commitments in order to favor Canadian dairy farmers, this pattern of behavior has gone on too long. All that American dairy farmers want is fair and good-faith implementation of USMCA’s dairy provisions. That doesn’t seem like a high bar, yet it appears to be insurmountable for Canada based on yesterday’s proposed dairy TRQ scheme changes,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We urge the administration to demand that Canada go back to the drawing board until it can genuinely deliver on providing the U.S. dairy industry the full benefit of USMCA.”
“U.S. dairy farmers and manufacturers have only limited access to the Canadian market under USMCA. That makes it essential that Canada abide by its original commitments under that agreement,” said Krysta Harden, president & CEO of USDEC. “Canada’s recent dairy TRQ proposal will not lead to that result. While it’s not surprising that Canada is trying to see just how little will be demanded of them, it’s essential that the U.S. government insist on real reforms.”
As the first case brought and decided under USMCA, the U.S.-Canada dairy TRQ panel is a test-case for whether or not the USMCA dispute settlement process can provide effective enforcement and deliver genuine compliance with the agreement. NMPF and USDEC will continue to work with the Biden administration and Congress to seek to ensure that the process provides the type of strong precedent needed for future USMCA disputes as well.
The U.S. dairy sector entered 2021 still in flux following the extraordinary events brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. As the virus mutated into its variants, the economic shock stemming from the first year of reacting to the pandemic reverberated throughout 2021. There were labor issues, logistical challenges and rising inflation. COVID cases and quarantine requirements caused labor deficiencies in dairy manufacturing plants, where some plants had to forego production runs due to inadequate staffing. The labor issues factored in the difficulties in the trucking industry and at the ports, which contributed to the rising freight rates and logistical challenges. The congested dynamics at the ports and in transit hindered efforts by dairy exporters. Rising costs of inputs countered the increase in milk and dairy product prices, impacting producer and manufacturer margins.
Thus, doing business in 2021 was complicated and challenging. Yet in the face of uncertainty and turmoil in the economy, the dairy industry succeeded in providing ample dairy products to domestic and world markets. The dairy farm sector showed productivity growth in 2021—milk production of 226.31 billion pounds increased by 1.6 percent following a remarkable 1.9 percent growth in 2020 (percentages adjusted for leap year).
The overnight Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction saw another solid rise in prices across all products offered on the platform.
RaboResearch senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins says lower milk production and fall-out from the Ukraine conflict are pushing prices further up.
Whole milk powder prices jumped 5.7% to US$4757/MT; skim milk powder prices rose 4.7% to US$4481/MT.
Butter, cheese and anhydrous milk fat (AMF) also recorded price rises; cheddar prices rose a whopping 10.9%.
Butter, AMF and Cheese prices have pushed higher into unchartered territory.
“This morning’s GDT auction saw soaring prices for dairy commodities, propelled by dwindling milk supplies, market uncertainty around the fall-out from the Ukraine crisis and ultimately what the combination will mean for global dairy trade,” says Higgins.
She notes that the milk supply situation in several key export regions continues to deteriorate. New Zealand milk production was down 6.1% year-on-year (YOY) in January 2022, while US milk flows took a hit of 1.6% YOY in the same period too.
The Ukraine conflict is also making markets nervous.
Higgins says although the physical fighting in Ukraine is localised, the effects of war will be far reaching and have a ripple effect on global communities and economies.
“Clearly it will be the Ukrainian and Russian people who will pay the most – be it physically, psychologically or economically. Still, we must consider the flow-on implications for global markets, and potential reverberations for our food producers.”
Russia and Ukraine are significant players in global trade of major commodities: grains, energy and metals. Combined, both countries are major exporters of grain (24% of global wheat, barley, corn), oil (5% of crude oil), natural gas (35% market share in Europe) and raw materials for fertiliser manufacturing (23% of world ammonia; 17% of potash; 14% of urea; & 10% of phosphates).
“These commodities are being swept up in the fighting – either physically or via the results of crippling sanctions on Russia.
“Rabobank anticipates more upside to come for global prices of grain, oil, natural gas and fertiliser over time. The flipside is that we also expect the same for food prices and inflation.”
There is a 15% to 33% tax rate on federal income in Canada. In the U. Those earning $9700 are subject to the lowest tax bracket of 10%; those earning $39,476 are subject to the highest bracket of 22%. A bracket corresponding to 15% will remain in place until ($47,630).
are I taxed in Canada rection on US income? It is possible for Canadian freelancers working for customers in the United States and as independent contractors working with US companies to avoid paying taxes in the United States. The CRA believes that regardless of where in the world you file your tax return, you are a self-employed individual and must maintain all of your income.
How Does Dairy Quota Work In Canada?
Farmers are only paid for what their milk meets with their quota. A dairy farmer who is subject to his/her monthly quota temporarily allocates his or her remaining quota to the other dairy farmers in his or her province. With this supply plan, consumers will have access to fresh milk on demand all the time.
Does Canada Subsidize Dairy?
During last year’s supply management period, 16,351 dairy, poultry, and egg farms participated in the program. A supply management initiative has kept government subsidies at a distance through the controls, as opposed to the general practice in countries such as the EU and the U.S.
How Much Is Dairy Quota Worth In Canada?
We purchase and sell quota today. A dairy quota in Ontario, which once had a price per kilo of butterfat (roughly), now has a capped and capped price of $24,000, or approximately $ 34,785 per cow. Alberta’s free trading quota allows for a price of more than $40,000 per year.
How Much Do Dairy Farmers Make In Canada?
According to the Census of Agricultural Statistics, dairy farms in Canada generated an average net income of 163,970 Canadian dollars in 2019. In 2018, the figure reached around 145,000 Canadian dollars, yet the figures increased again in 2019. This figure has fluctuated in recent years, dipping to around 145,000 Canadian dollars in 2019.
How Much Dairy Does Canada Produce?
Farm
Dairy cattle population (dairy cows and heifers)
1.405 million head (July 1, 2020)
Number of dairy farms
10,095 ( Aug. 1, 2020)
Milk production
93.51 million hl
Organic milk production
1.44 million hl (dairy year 2019/20)
How Much Income Tax Do I Pay In Canada?
You are not required to pay any taxes on the first $49,020 of your taxable income, but we expect you to do so. 5% of income greater than $49,020 can be applied to higher income, with a rate of 26%, and an individual rate of 21% over income greater than $151,978 that can be applied to lower income.
Who Pays Income Tax In Canada?
Canadians who file a tax return (taxable or ineligible to file tax returns) are almost 85 percent of the Canadians who pay federal income tax; nearly 86 percent of provincial income tax is paid by the higher income group.
Is Income Taxable In The Year It Is Earned Or When It Is Paid Canada?
Those who live in Canada are subject to Canadian income tax on their employment compensation, as long as the compensation was earned in Canada or was paid in Canada regardless of where it was earned, or whether it was located where their employer is.
How Does The Dairy Quota System Work In Ontario?
Quota holders receive allocation shares based on the total amount of fluid and industrial milk produced by Ontario. It is allocated kilograms of butterfat per producer per day. According to DFO, all raw milk produced in the province, including those purchased by DFO, are processed and sold.
What Is Quota In Dairy?
Governments at the level of the European Union were known to have set milk quotas, which were more accurately called dairy production quotas. As part of agricultural quotas, farmers could not sell more milk per year without collecting a levy. They provided information about the amount of milk raised each year.
How Much Does The Government Subsidize Dairy?
Agriculture Act of 2014 resulted in reform of commodity and crop insurance programs, which contributed an estimated $24 to federal revenue one year later. Subsidies totaling $7 billion in direct and indirect methods. As well, the dairy industry earned $36.3 billion in 2016 and $43.6 billion in 2018. More than $3 billion in sales were recorded in 2017.
Does The Government Subsidize Dairy?
Since the federal government allowed excess cow milk production to occur for decades, with American consumers consuming less of it on account of obesity, we are now in an excess of 1 billion gallons of dairy. The amount of cheese stored in this country is 4 billion pounds. Besides government assistance, the revolving door between businesses and the government has been a major asset.
Is The Any Subsidy For Dairy Farming?
I’m looking forward to hearing about schemes from Nabad’s dairy farm subsidy program. A subsidy of rsit for Dairy Farming scheme:. 25% of the expenditure (33) may be provided by federal funds. A back-ended capital subsidy of Rs 1% is granted to SC / ST farmers after the limit. A unit of 10 animals costs Rs 25 lakh. Farmers in the South/Central region (SC or ST).
It is business as usual for now for Fonterra in the important butter market of Russia as the country launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Western countries started rolling out sanctions after Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier recognised eastern parts of Ukraine as independent in a move seen in the West as a prelude to war.
Russian banks, members of the country’s Parliament and a key gas pipeline to Europe were initially targeted, although tougher sanctions could yet follow.
Russia has historically been one of Fonterra’s top butter markets and the cooperative has a Moscow office, as well as jointly owning a St Petersburg dairy factory with its Russian distributor since 2017.
Last year New Zealand sold $132 million of dairy products to the Russian Federation, down from $195m in 2020 and $201m in 2019.
Fonterra’s director for global stakeholder affairs Simon Tucker said the cooperative would be careful to adhere to any sanctions imposed by the NZ Government, although these were likely to be limited.
“It is hard to speculate what will happen next in terms of a sanctions response,” Tucker said.
“In some sanctions situations food is excluded so we have to be very careful we get that right.
“We will follow any United Nations sanctions, but Russia as a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council is unlikely to make any move to put UN sanctions on themselves.”
The Government has copped flak from the National Party for blocking legislation drafted by its Foreign Affairs spokesperson Gerry Brownlee, which would allow NZ to bypass the UN and impose its own sanctions as many Western countries are now doing.
Following Thursday’s invasion, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta issued a statement saying NZ was prohibiting the export of goods to Russian military and security forces.
The Dairy Companies Association executive director Kimberly Crewther said in the unlikely event of the UN agreeing on sanctions against Russia, it was likely that food and pharmaceuticals would be excluded on humanitarian grounds.
A bigger challenge for the dairy industry could present itself, however, should Western countries impose their own bans on food exports to Russia.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Crimea in 2014, the Kremlin ordered a ban on food imports from the West following financial and travel sanctions against some of the invasion’s ring-leaders.
While NZ food exports were not banned from entering Russia, the then Trade Minister Tim Groser phoned NZ exporters urging them to consider the country’s broader trade interests and not to take advantage of the situation by filling demand previously met by Western food exporters.
The ban arrived at the same time as European dairy production was exploding in response to the lifting of production quota caps by the European Union and was a factor in a reasonably prolonged slump in prices.
Tucker was not expecting that scenario to be repeated this time around.
“Russia is a relatively large dairy fat market, so disruptions to that market are relevant to global trade, although given the strong demand dynamic out there at the moment, any shocks will be relatively easier to absorb at this stage than it might have the last time that Russia sanctions became a real issue when they invaded Crimea,” Tucker said.
The typical UK dairy farm is in the middle of the pack when it comes to profit, compared with its competitors abroad.
The chart below shows farms in major dairy exporting countries ranked by their profits for 2020. This is the latest data from the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN).
The UK’s position relative to the other farms is unchanged from 2019. However, net margins fell for most of these farms in 2020, due rising costs and lower milk prices.
As a result, only three farms in the group had a positive net margin in 2020 and the UK farm lost 3.8ppl. Farms with lower costs tended to be more profitable.
Since 2020, costs and milk prices have both risen significantly and the overall effect on the UK’s competitiveness remains to be seen. IFCN is currently collecting data for 2021 from its participating countries.
Tips for reducing costs
About the figures
This data is from the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN), which compares performance of ‘typical farms’ that represent the most common farm types in each country. Figures are for individual typical farms and are not national averages.
To allow like-for-like comparisons between countries with different milk butterfat and protein levels, IFCN has standardised all figures to ‘solids corrected milk’ (SCM) of 4% butterfat and 3.3% protein.
The U.S. dairy sector has undergone substantial structural change characterized by a shift to larger and fewer dairy operations, concentrated in relatively few States, according to a new report authored by Eric Njuki with USDA’s Economic Research Service.
Global demand for milk and dairy products continues to rise, fueled by rapid population growth, rising household incomes, and favorable consumption patterns. Meanwhile, the United States plays a key role in world dairy markets having generated 11.6 percent of global milk output and 14 percent of global dairy exports in 2019 (UN FAO, 2020).
Milk production for the domestic market continues to increase steadily. However, the net returns of production have consistently declined over the years because of production’s rising costs, resulting in depressed profit margins for farmers. Furthermore, the national trend has been towards consolidation of dairy operations into larger and fewer farms.
The majority of milk production in the United States is now concentrated in relatively few States located in the West, Southwest, Upper Midwest, and the Northeast regions. Despite continued growth in milk production, long-term climate trends and weather volatility may threaten this growth trajectory.
This study builds upon previous USDA, Economic Research Service reports that focused on structural change and consolidation in the dairy sector by analyzing productivity growth, its sources, and current trends. In doing so, new insights are generated on critical questions, such as:
whether there are productivity gains in the dairy sector
how widespread these productivity gains/losses are across the sector
sources of productivity gains/losses
how environmental effects, that is temperature and precipitation, affect dairy productivity
the role of technological progress in productivity
how organic dairy farming performs within the sector
In sum, this study seeks to understand the state of dairy production in the United States, by measuring and analyzing the dairy sector’s productivity growth and efficiency and identifies proximate drivers and sources of this growth in the face of the structural change observed from 2000 to 2020.
The study applied a model of productivity on dairy farms to generate measures of total factor productivity (TFP) to provide estimates of proximate drivers and components of TFP growth, including scale efficiency, technical efficiency, technological progress, and environmental components. In addition, the report compared and analyzed a single-factor productivity measure—milk output per cow (also referred to as milk yields).
What Did the Study Find?
From 2000 to 2020, milk output per cow increased at an annual rate of 1.53 percent nationally, with significant variations across States.
From 2000 to 2016, total factor productivity (TFP) growth increased at an annual rate of 2.51 percent, albeit with variations across States. across herd-size class and across production type.
Technological progress was the primary driver behind TFP growth—growth associated with the discovery of new systems, processes, and methods of turning inputs into outputs. Examples include improved genetics, selective breeding, enhanced feed formulations, and advanced digital record keeping.
The pace of TFP growth was slowed by substantial declines in the rate of growth of scale-and-mix efficiency— a measure of the benefits obtained by changing the scale of operations and technical efficiency— which is a measure of how successful operators are at attaining their full potential.
Environmental effects caused by weather variability and anomalies had a negative impact on the overall welfare of cows or cow comfort.
Western and southwestern states—Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona, and California—experienced the fastest productivity growth with annual rates between 3.52 and 4.40 percent.
Southern states—Kentucky, Georgia, Missouri, and Tennessee—were the slowest growing with annual rates ranging between 0.89 and 1.74 percent.
Productivity across the largest herd-size class with more than 1,000 milk cows grew at an annual rate of 2.99 percent while the smallest herd-size class with fewer than 100 milk cows grew at an annual rate of 0.63 percent.
The average total factor productivity growth between 2000-2016 for organic dairy operations was 0.66 percent compared with conventional dairy operations, which grew at an annual rate of 2.51 percent.
Well-structured contracts allow people to progress through the business and put down roots. Anne Lee reports.
Having accurate data on what it costs to run the farm is a must for contract milking agreements, Dairy Holdings Ltd (DHL) chief operating officer Blair Robinson says.
The company runs 75% of its 60 dairy farms under contract milking agreements which offer higher contract milking rates and opportunities to rear stock, along with a bonus if payout surpasses a set threshold and a guaranteed minimum return in the contract but also include a share of a wider range of costs than typical.
“Contract milking provides a pathway for progression – we have a small number of farms with a farm manager and contract milking allows managers and good 2ICs across any of our farms a step up.
“It means we can keep people in our business longer as they develop.
“We have sharemilked farms that range from sharemilkers owning 51% of cows right up to 100%.
“Structuring the contract milking agreement the way we do gives people an opportunity to stay in the business and go all the way from dairy assistant to 2IC or farm manager to contract milker and on to sharemilker without having to leave.”
In some cases that progression can happen all on the same farm.
‘We base our expectations of those costs on a lot of data so we have a high degree of confidence that what we pay them will cover it.’
“People get to put down roots and stay in a community which is great for families – people with kids at school.
“But it’s also good for us because over that time they build their skills and know the farm well and that’s good for farm performance too.”
DHL’s contract milking agreement sees contract milkers pay the usual farm dairy running costs such as electricity, chemical and rubberware along with supplying motorbikes and feedout gear including the tractor and paying for fuel.
They also pay 20% of bought-in supplement cost, 20% of mixed-age cow wintering, 20% of irrigation electricity and up until next season 20% of urea and spreading costs. Blair says the contract rate is set so it covers those costs but it’s not just a matter of giving with one hand and taking with the other.
“It’s aimed at driving behaviours and efficiency.
“We base our expectations of those costs on a lot of data so we have a high degree of confidence that what we pay them will cover it.
“If they can come in under that then that’s a win for them.
“For instance, the budget includes allowance for 60kg drymatter (DM)/cow of bought-in supplement but in a lot of cases the farms will use 0-20kg DM/cow so they benefit because the cost for 60kg has been paid to them in their contract rate.”
It’s a similar situation for wintering costs.
If they manage that well – given they still have to meet cow condition targets – then what’s not used can be utilised by another farm.
“We do a lot of business with ourselves now in terms of being self-contained, so all young stock is reared on our farms and wintering is done on our support blocks along with supplement.
“We’re in control of those costs and our farm system means we’re less exposed to feed costs and even fuel costs.
“Tractors on our farms can end up sitting in the shed for several months on end.
“Where we haven’t had control and we’ve seen variability – like urea – we’ve decided to take it out of the contract, so next season we’ll pay 100% of that cost.”
Blair says they’d made that decision before the steep price rise towards the end of last year but when that hit, it confirmed it was the right thing to do.
“You can have all the shared costs you want in these types of contracts as long as you can be pretty accurate.
“You’ll always get some unders and overs but the last thing you want is to set a contract and have the actuals come in way higher than the budget.
“It is concerning us at the moment that we’re in an environment where some costs are going up rapidly.”
Blair says the business uses its scale and buying power to go out to the market and lock in as many costs as it can for the coming season.
But costs such as labour have gone up quickly.
The company offered contracts to contract milkers towards the end of last year for the 2022/23 season and had reviewed and analysed all of its costs line by line by then.
“On average we’ve put the overall contract rate for next season up by 9c/kg MS and a good portion of that will be wage inflation.”
Labour is included in standard contract milking agreements so its inclusion in their agreements isn’t aimed at driving efficiency.
“I think contract milkers do that themselves anyway and unfortunately this year, because of the labour shortage, right across the country we’ve seen people often operating on half to a full time equivalent down.
“They might have saved money on labour for a time but I think everyone would agree that’s not good for mental health, family life or the performance of the farm.
“Then, when they’ve been able to find someone, they’ve had to lift the wage bracket.”
DHL is refreshing its five-year development plan and one of the key focuses has been options for increasing efficiency onfarm in terms of labour.
“We’re looking at a range of options – upgrading irrigation away from labour-intensive systems, putting in cup removers and automation – we’re revisiting all that.”
Blair says the company is also investing more in upskilling contract milkers and sharemilkers in managing and developing their people.
“We’re doing more in that area to help them – helping them with things like annual reviews and training plans – making sure the people below the
operator level can see the pathways forward and have the skills to take them.
“With the labour shortage across the country there’s a lot of opportunity right now for keen, capable people to advance quickly.”
They’ve also been investing in their operators to help improve their financial literacy and build their understanding of how to grow and manage their own business.
“We help them understand a range of financial aspects of running a business and show them what’s possible with our stock policy – where they are contracted to rear a set number of replacements each year but after that any calves born are theirs.
Extra heifer calves can be reared and leased back to DHL, allowing them to build their own herd.
Blair says initially, when they recruit a contract milker or sharemilker they want to know they are in a financial position to fulfil the role. They ask for a statement of position – current assets and liabilities and sometimes a statement from their bank. “We pay our contract milkers right from the first month so they are getting cashflow straight away but we still need to know they’re in a financial position to meet their business commitments from the outset.”
Blair says their calculations to set their contract rate work on covering the costs plus a management wage and an amount to cover the risk.
“So there’s a reward for the risk they’re taking and on a bigger farm that risk is going to be bigger so the reward is set to match that.
“If people aren’t rewarding their contract milkers for the risk they’re taking on then they’re taking a contract milker on for the wrong reasons.
“If the farm owner won’t share some of the earnings with their contract milker then it’s not going toend well.
“We need capable young people coming up through the industry so it’s important contracts are set up well so they see the opportunities and will put the effort in to grow.”
New Zealand’s Fonterra (FCG.NZ), (FSF.NZ) on Thursday raised the forecast range for the price it pays farmers for milk in the 2021/22 season, citing an increase in global dairy rates due to strong demand and tight supply.
The dairy giant said high feed costs in the United States and the European Union had impacted milk production and these conditions were expected to continue in the coming months.
“Global demand for dairy remains firm, while global milk supply growth continues to track below average levels. These demand and supply dynamics are supporting the increase in prices,” Chief Executive Miles Hurrell said in a statement.
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Fonterra lifted its forecast for 2021/22 farmgate milk price to between NZ$9.30 and NZ$$9.90 per kilogram of milk solid (kgMS) from NZ$8.90 to NZ$9.50 per kgMS. It increased the midpoint of the range by 40 NZ cents to NZ$9.60 per kgMS.
The company also slashed its projection for New Zealand milk collection in the period by 3.8% to 1.48 billion kgMS as challenging weather conditions have continued to impact grass growing conditions in the country.
It’s been three weeks since Canada submitted its proposal to fix the way it runs its dairy quotas under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but there’s still no word from the Biden administration on accepting it and preventing yet another trade dispute between Ottawa and Washington that could affect far more than just dairy.
At issue is whether Canada made significant changes to the way it operates the quotas that allow importers to bring in U.S. dairy without paying duties. Neither government has released details of the Canadian proposal, and speculation is growing.
The three-member panel installed to hear the U.S. complaint that Canada was manipulating its tariff-rate dairy quotas under USMCA issued its ruling on Dec. 20, deciding mostly in favor of the U.S.
Canada, the panel said, effectively lowered the value of USMCA quotas designed to increase U.S. access to Canada’s market for milk, cheese, cream, skim milk powder, butter, ice cream and whey by giving 85% to 100% of the quotas to large Canadian processors and only a maximum of 15% to Canadian distributors.
“We appreciate the U.S. government’s actions to defend the interest of the US dairy industry, however all the efforts will be in vain if Canada doesn’t fully comply and provide full access to the TRQ to those who have a real interest in buying high value US products as well as ensuring that the TRQs are fully utilized,” said U.S. Dairy Export Council Executive Vice President Jaime Castaneda.
U.S. dairy processors, who want to sell more cheese and other high-value products to Canadian retailers and Canadian importers who buy that cheese from Wisconsin, Michigan and elsewhere, are still hopeful that Canada did indeed make significant changes that will result in better trade conditions, but officials on both sides of the border who spoke to Agri-Pulse are pessimistic.
“I just don’t see how they’re going to change anything to allow our products to come in because we would displace Canadian cheese,” said Mike Durkin, president and CEO of Colorado-based Leprino Foods Co., the largest producer of mozzarella cheese in the world.
Pat Pelliccione, chairman of the International Cheese Council of Canada and president of the Ontario-based importing company Jan K. Overweel Ltd., said the Canadian government is scared of the potential for the U.S. to retaliate, but stressed that he is still skeptical that Canada will make any substantial changes to its quota policy.
“My past experience is they’re going to try to get around it in any way they can,” Pelliccione said about the Canadian government and any meaningful reform that opens up the market there to more U.S. cheese.
The U.S. wants to sell more cheese to Canada, Canadian importers want to buy more U.S. cheese, and Canadian retailers want to sell more U.S. cheese to consumers there. But under the current quota system it’s the Canadian processors who essentially get to decide how much of that commerce is allowed to take place.
It’s difficult to get a license to import under the 15% quota that distributors and retailers get now, says Pelliccione. When there are a hundred applicants for a license, each gets an equal portion, and that’s just not enough for a solid business model, he said. Importers like his company can get licenses from the big processors that control 85% of the quota, but they have to pay for those rights.
“What processors do with the licenses they’ve been given is they will call people like myself and they will rent the license for a fee,” he said. “Your access is actually costing you money. We have to pay upwards of $1.50 per pound for license access so we can bring in U.S. cheese.”
People like Durkin and Pelliccione know the massive influence that the dairy producing and processing sector has in Canada.
“Basically the (Canadian) government is completely beholden to the domestic producer and processor lobby,” said Karl Littler, a senior vice president for the Retail Council of Canada, an organization that represents companies that want more access to U.S. products like cheese. “In this case we are cheering on the U.S. government as it pushes to actually have some of the free trade benefits go to (Canadian) consumers rather than producers and processors.”
Neither the Retail Council of Canada nor the International Cheese Council of Canada was invited by the Canadian government to take part in the process as Canada assembled its response to the USMCA panel’s decision, according to Littler and Pelliccione.
Both said that the Canadian government did, however, consult with the Dairy Processors Association of Canada. The DPAC did not respond to Agri-Pulse’s request for comment.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, which did not respond to requests to see the Canadian proposal or discuss the USTR’s reaction to it, must now decide if it will accept or reject the Canadian response or perhaps something in between.
The Biden administration has shared the Canadian proposal with a select few industry “cleared advisors,” but sworn them to secrecy until the U.S. Trade Representative reacts publicly.
But the U.S. dairy industry and Canadian distributors and retailers just want to do more commerce.
“The USMCA panel’s ruling was clear – what Canada’s doing now on dairy market access is not compliant with USMCA,” said Shawna Morris, vice president of trade policy for the U.S. Dairy Export Council and National Milk Producers Federation.
“Canada needs to honor its commitments – that’s what we expect of any trading partner but certainly one as close an ally as Canada is to the United States,” Morris said. “Thorough and good-faith follow-through on USMCA commitments is essential for the U.S. dairy industry, and it’s been an important bipartisan priority for the U.S. government and Congress. As the process unfolds, it’s critical that Canada deliver real reforms and not a shuffling of the deck chairs.”
Pelliccione stressed: “Just give the TRQ to people who are using it. We’re just saying give the TRQ to the people who import U.S. cheese.”
Strong global demand and tight supply helped drive U.S. dairy exports to a second consecutive volume record in 2021 and a new all-time high in value. U.S. export volume last year increased 10% over 2020 to more than 2.3 million metric tons (MT) milk solid equivalent. Value rose 18% to $7.75 billion.
Export volume in 2021 was equivalent to more than 17% of U.S. milk produced last year, also an all-time high.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in U.S. dairy exports over the past two years. That growth is all the more impressive because it came in the face of the ongoing pandemic and a supply chain crisis that continues to challenge U.S. dairy export competitiveness,” says Krysta Harden, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC). “But it’s important to remember that this is a long-term progression. U.S. exports have been rising for the past two decades, and the U.S. dairy industry—from farmers to manufacturers—have been doing the hard work to build and service demand for U.S. dairy for just as long. That investment in and dedication to export customers is one of the reasons why we’ve been able to face today’s challenges and grow the industry.”
Here are some of 2021’s highlights:
The U.S. set annual export records in cheese, nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder (NFDM/SMP), whey, lactose, and fluid milk and cream. U.S. cheese shipments topped 400,000 MT for the first time and whey surpassed 600,000 MT for the first time. NFDM/SMP fell just shy of 900,000 MT, topping out at 892,528 MT.
U.S. dairy exports to Mexico rebounded strongly in 2021 alongside Mexico’s economic recovery. U.S. cheese sales to Mexico set a record, rising 13% and exceeding 100,000 MT for the first time. U.S. NFDM/SMP sales to Mexico jumped 18% to 337,846 MT, second highest in history. Mexico accounted for more than a quarter of total U.S. cheese exports in 2021 and 38% of U.S. NFDM/SMP shipments.
U.S. cheese exports jumped 14% in 2021 to 404,675 MT, led by strong demand from Latin America. Shipments to Central America soared 53% and the additional 12,117 MT U.S. suppliers shipped there last year represents the largest cheese export gain to any major market. Exports to South America jumped 33%, while shipments to Mexico grew 13%.
U.S. suppliers had their best year for butterfat exports since 2014. Sales rose 121% to 57,487 MT, led by a tripling of volume to the Middle East/North Africa (MENA), but also supported by strong gains in many key markets, including Canada, China, Southeast Asia, South Korea and Australia.
Total U.S. exports to the MENA region soared in 2021 across product categories: butterfat +154%, cheese +39%, NFDM/SMP +51% and whey products +20%.
U.S. whey exports grew 10% to 613,944 MT in 2021, driven primarily by China, which accounted for 44% of total whey volume. U.S. whey sales to China rose by nearly 50,000 MT, as the nation rebuilt its pig herd from African Swine Fever in the first half of the year. Chinese purchasing decline sharply in the second half, as pork prices plummeted and herd expansion efforts halted. Vietnam, South Korea and Mexico recorded strong double-digit increases as well.
Southeast Asia remained the second-largest U.S. market in value terms, with the U.S. shipping nearly $1.4 billion worth of products to the region (an increase of 11% over the previous year). However, the region was the hardest hit by delays and cancellations caused by U.S. supply chain issues. That resulted in fairly flat volume performance overall, although Southeast Asia still accounted for 36% of U.S. NFDM/SMP exports, running a close second to Mexico.
“Strong underlying fundamentals continue to drive global demand for high-quality, affordable dairy nutrition,” says Harden. “We are optimistic that will continue to translate to opportunity for the U.S. dairy sector. At the same time, we remain realistic about the challenges, from supply chain issues to global economic performance.” (For more on USDEC expectations for 2022, see the U.S. Dairy Exporter Blog post, “U.S. dairy exports set multiple records in 2021.”)
“Record performance or not, the last two years should demonstrate to any remaining doubters that the U.S. dairy marketplace is global,” says Harden. “The U.S. dairy industry has invested in people, facilities and products specifically targeted to export markets. USDEC and the industry continue to work hard to reduce barriers to trade, stimulate overseas dairy consumption and reinforce the U.S. reputation as a committed, go-to source for dairy around the world. Over the long-term, we know that dairy export trend line will continue to rise.”
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The U.S. Dairy Export Council is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe. The U.S. Dairy Export Council prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, marital status, military status, and arrest or conviction record. www.usdec.org.
Fear of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine is the latest factor behind the surge in global dairy prices.
Westpac senior agri economist Nathan Penny points out that both countries are major grain producers, while Russia is also a major oil/gas supplier. “As a result, the tensions are putting further upward pressure on already sky-high global grain and fertiliser prices,” says Penny.
“In turn, this is adding even more upward pressure on global dairy prices.”
Global dairy prices have seen unprecedented growth in recent months.
After last week’s gains on Global Dairy Trade, overall prices are around 43% above their five-year average. Penny notes that the price strength overnight was broad based.
“All of the products that we monitor posted price gains. Skim milk powder prices led the price gains (up 6.0%), with butter prices posting the next-biggest gain of 5.1%.
“Notably, butter and cheddar prices posted fresh record highs, while anhydrous milk fat prices are now the second-highest on record,” he says.
He points out that on the global dairy supply side, “essentially everything that could go wrong has gone wrong”.
Over the year to date, bad New Zealand has put the brakes on milk production.
NZ milk production is now expected to fall by 3% compared to last season. Penny says, previously, he expected production to fall by 1.5%.
Meanwhile, dairy production elsewhere is also soft. “Indeed, a similar combination of bad weather and high feed and other costs has hit production in other key exporters such as the EU and US,” he says.
“We can now add Ukraine-Russia tensions to the supply mix.”
ASB economist Nat Keall says the key takeaway for him is that dairy price gains are proving broad-based across all product types.
Keall says that’s a positive given it continues to suggest strong underlying dairy demand is supporting prices, not a shortage of one or two products.
He notes that price gains over the first couple of months of 2022 have been widespread and sustained, so that the overall GDT index is now only a few points shy of its previous record high back in 2013.
“And back then, the index was largely being boosted by WMP and SMP, rather than the widespread gains we’ve seen during th current boom.
“We’d expected further price gains in the near term, so today’s result doesn’t impact our forecast much.
“Still, it’s good to have yet more confirmation. We’ve long said that a record-high farmgate milk price for the current season is a certainty at this point; the question is exactly how high it will go.”
In 2021, the percentage of milk suppliers fell the most in Burgenland (-11.6 percent), Upper Austria (-4.4 percent) and Styria (-3.8 percent). The decline was smallest in Vorarlberg (-0.4 percent), Salzburg (-1.6 percent) and Tyrol (-1.8 percent).
Remaining farmers increased the stock
However, the decline in the number of dairy farmers in recent years has not led to a drop in the amount of milk in Austria, because the remaining farmers have enlarged their stalls and increased the performance of the dairy cows through feeding and breeding. According to the AMA, 531,101 cows delivered 2.9 million tons of milk in 2011; in 2020 there were 523,690 cows and 3.1 million tons of milk in this country.
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