Dairy farmers and industry partners are invited to learn how to better connect and build trust with consumers through a free webinar – “Building Trust Through Words and Images” – presented by American Dairy Association North East and Animal Agriculture Alliance. The webinar is Wednesday, Dec. 1, at 1 p.m.

Ninety percent of human decisions are made based on emotions. Every time words or images are shared with the public, it influences the logical brain to support emotional choices.

“There is an opportunity to think strategically on which words and images positively influence consumers’ purchasing decisions,” said webinar presenter and ADA North East Director of Consumer Confidence Beth Meyer. “Join us to learn how you can carefully choose words and images that will better help you connect with our consumers and build their confidence in milk and dairy foods.”

Meyer will be joined by Animal Agriculture Alliance and Vice President of Strategic Engagement Hannah Thompson-Weeman for the presentation. Together, they have decades of experience in addressing emerging issues in the agriculture industry, working with farmers and the media, and handling industry crisis situations.

Webinar details are as follows:

When: Dec 1, 2021, 01:pm PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Building Trust Through Words and Images

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_62tUsi9UQsa_wrZzljPSzw

After registering, a confirmation email will be sent containing information about joining the webinar.

For more information, contact Beth Meyer at bmeyer@milk4u.org.

–American Dairy Association North East

Labor shortages are impacting the nation and industries right here in Jefferson County, including agriculture businesses. As local dairies adapt to a changing industry, so has Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County (CCE). In recognition of the importance that the dairy industry has to Jefferson County’s economy, CCE is renewing its commitment to workforce development. CCE remains dedicated not only to providing high-quality information and technical education to our family dairy farms, but also introducing youth, transitioning soldiers, and even individuals seeking a second career to opportunities in the dairy industry and related agricultural ventures.

Since 1912, CCE has worked to educate local family farms on agricultural topics ranging from dairy management to sowing row crops to food processing. As the county’s direct connection to ongoing research and technical guidance at Cornell University, CCE helps area farmers adapt to ever-changing methods, markets, technology, and consumer demands. At the forefront of these efforts is CCE’s support to local dairies, which remains the largest agricultural sector in Jefferson County with sales approaching $110 million in 2017 (most recent projection numbers). Local dairy processing plants provide quality jobs to hundreds of people. Some of the nation’s best dairy products, ranging from cheddar cheese to ice cream, are made from milk produced by family farms right here in Jefferson County.

On-going changes in the dairy industry require today’s family farms to either grow or diversify to maintain a competitive edge. Today’s dairy farms may have 1500 cows or more being milked multiple times a day. Similarly, farms with smaller herds have turned to manufacturing and selling vertically integrated value-added dairy products such as cheese curds or gelato. Whether selling thousands of pounds of milk from a bulk tank to processors or pints of gelato at a farmer’s market, these businesses can no longer count solely on family members to assist in running their farm. Major employers in our county, family farms hire a diversity of talented employees, ranging from basic laborers to highly trained nutritionists to CDL-licensed drivers. CCE continues to refine its educational programs so that it addresses not only agricultural basics, but also technical training geared towards future and current farm employees working in highly specialized positions.

Working with partners such as Jefferson Community College, CCE is working to ensure that a talented labor pool exists for our local agricultural businesses well into the 21^st Century. A significant focus continues to be on ensuring local youth, from elementary school to college age students, understand that viable agricultural career paths exist in their hometown. Whether their pathway into agriculture is through a first job feeding dairy calves or a degree in animal nutrition, CCE is helping students find educational and career paths that keep them right here in Jefferson County.

One example includes a recent Dairy Career Day that was held on Saturday, November 6^th at Jefferson Community College. This event was open to students and adults interested in a career in the dairy industry. Participants included students ranging in age from elementary to high school, transitioning soldiers from Fort Drum, and adult job seekers. Representatives from CCE, Great Lakes Cheese, and Old McDonald’s Farm discussed career paths, educational requirements, training, benefits, and how to find jobs in the industry. In the afternoon, Casey Porter, former dairy princess and current herd manager, gave the group a tour of her family’s farm, Porterdale Farms. Casey provided information on how the farm recruits employees, the positions typically available, and how to apply for jobs.

CCE’s FarmOps Program connects transitioning military and veterans to opportunities in agriculture, to include dairy. Our first participant in 2020 is now employed full-time at Birch Creek Dairy. Local farmers have embraced participation in this unique program which connects skilled employees looking to live a rural lifestyle with on-farm jobs that pay competitive wages.

CCE continues to help local dairies find ways to remain profitable as milk prices drop and input costs rise. One example was a Value-Added Dairy webinar held on June 2^nd, 2021. With the assistance of the Harvest New York Dairy team, CCE has provided guidance to local farmers interested in value-added dairy production and sales of dairy products directly to local consumers. CCE routinely provides technical support to value-added dairy producers. Grimshaw Farm, a small dairy, now bottles and sells A2A2 milk directly to local consumers from their farm-stand and at local markets. Bechaz Riverdale Cheese is manufacturing high-quality cheese curds and gelato. Old McDonald’s Dairy is now manufacturing ice cream. CCE is working to support these producers not only through training and technical support, but also marketing dairy products through outlets such as the Taste New York Store in Alexandria Bay and the North Star Food Hub in Lyons Falls.

The larger Cooperative Extension system including the North Country Regional Agriculture Team (NCRAT) and the Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development program, has also adapted its educational approaches as the dairy industry has evolved. In 2019, Extension provided extensive training on recent changes in labor laws relating to agricultural workers, addressing issues ranging from overtime to unionization. Recent programming on topics like calf-barn ventilation and heifer management were attended by farm owners and employees alike. CCE has also encouraged participation of dairies in the Dairy Profit Monitor program. The Dairy Profit Monitor is an online business trend analysis tool that provides a monthly snapshot of key operating parameters and farm-level efficiencies.

CCE starts introducing youth as young as age 5 all the way to 18 years of age to understanding where their food comes, opportunities in the field of agriculture, and overall general and specialized agriculture education. During National 4-H Week in October, youth learned about goat’s milk at a CCE event featuring live baby goats (kids). Another example is the 4-H Cloverbud Animal Science program where elementary school students visit local farms for hand-on interactions with livestock. Beginning in November, the 4-H Dairy, 4-H Livestock, 4-H Horse, and 4-H Peeps and Squeaks begin their preparations for the 4-H County Fair in July. The preparations include many hours of educational learning and hands-on experiential learning in animal anatomy, nutrition, marketing and more. Anticipation is high for the 2^nd Annual Livestock Auction in July – brought back in 2021 after a 14-year hiatus. The academic and enrichment 4-H afterschool programs provide hundreds of hours annually on agriculture education utilizing the nationally acclaimed 4-H research-based curricula.

If you would like more information about our dairy education program, please contact Mike Nuckols at [315-788-8450, ext. 227]; email [msn62@cornell.edu].

–CCE of Jefferson County

Total milk volume, total milk solids per and per cow production highest on record

According to the annual New Zealand Dairy Statistics report, released today by DairyNZ and Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC), total milk volume, total milk solids, and per cow production were the highest on record in the 2020-21 season.

DairyNZ Chief Executive Tim Mackle said it’s great to see a continuation of the “more milk from fewer cows” trend because it shows a continuing focus on milking better cows and farming even more sustainably.

“Farmers are focused on developing more productive and efficient cows and farming systems, with a lighter environmental footprint,” he said. “They want to retain our unique pasture-based farming system and remain world leading.”

New Zealand has 4.9 million milking cows, down from 4.92 million the previous season. The country produced 1.95 billion kilograms of milk solids.

Favourable weather conditions contributed to good grass growth, while higher milk prices meant many farmers extended their milking season in 2020/21.

LIC Acting Chief Executive David Hazlehurst says the greater uptake of herd improvement services demonstrates farmers’ intent and focus on producing the most sustainable and efficient animals.

“Mating season has always been an important time to get cows in-calf, but now with a focus on cow quality over quantity, more farmers are investing in premium genetics to help ensure their next generation of replacements are more efficient than the last,” he said.

Hazlehurst says young, genomically-selected bulls and sexed semen, which generate female replacements from top cows, are examples of the high-impact tools farmers are adopting to increase the rate of genetic gain in their herds.

Source: thedairysite.com

The PCP party has defended the need for “extraordinary support” for milk producers as a way to support the increase in production costs.

A fourth-generation dairy farmer warned that climate change-related regulations and a slew of economic woes could signal the end for her family’s way of life after nearly a century.

“We’ve been attacked in the dairy industry for a while now,” Stephanie Nash told Fox News. “Instead of educating people through the farmer, we’re educating them through people that have never farmed and we’re killing off our family farmers.”

Rising costs, labor and supply shortages and little support – in addition to climate change and conservation regulations – are all major obstacles threatening the Nash family, which has been in the dairy farming business for 92 years.

Stephanie, 28, and her father, Steven Nash, moved their almost century-old dairy farm from California’s San Joaquin Valley to Tennessee in 2014 to escape the Golden State’s strict farming regulations and high cost of doing business.

“They regulate us on every step we make,” Stephanie recalled from their time in California. “We’re constantly looked at, constantly manipulated and told what to do, and farmers, especially my dad’s age and older, they don’t want to be told how to farm.”

“Water rights, milk prices, feed prices, regulations on climate change … we had to fight with Los Angeles and San Francisco on every issue,” she added. 

Her father agreed, saying the state took “an adversarial approach” when it came to dealing with farmers.  

“They weren’t worried about farmers there,” Steven, 61, told Fox News.

California is the largest agricultural state in the U.S., growing roughly 40% of the country’s vegetables, fruit and nuts, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is also the biggest producer of dairy and wine. Prone to drought, the state has implemented a state law limiting farmers’ access to water. 

While the move to Tennessee saved the family from bankruptcy, the Nashes are concerned with some rhetoric and proposed legislation coming from Washington, D.C., surrounding agriculture. 

“They’re making all these bills and regulations, and people living in the city actually believe it instead of believing in your farmers that are actually putting food on the table for you,” said Stephanie, who is also a singer-songwriter and agricultural activist.

She hopes her advocacy, the Nash Creamery and their new cheese plant will be enough to keep the family business afloat. 

“That’s what everybody prays for,” Stephanie told Fox News. “We pray for rain, we pray for fair prices and we pray for regulations that are not going to kill off our industry.”

Steven’s grandfather, Wallace Nash, began milking cows in central California in 1929. A decade later, Steven’s father, Howard, took over the farm and grew the operation from 30 to 200 cows. 

In 1980, Howard became ill, and 20-year-old Steven stepped in and took over the farm’s daily operations. Over the next 40 years, the herd expanded from 200 to over 1,200 cows. 

“Dairy’s just something I’ve always liked,” Steven told Fox News. “I really enjoy seeing a well-bred cow … that walks fluidly, has a nice udder and produces lots of milk. That’s my gratification.” 

The Nashes milk their cows twice a day, grow their own feed and recently opened a creamery and a cheese plant to help supplement costs. 

In February, the USDA forecast the 2020 median farm household income at a loss of $1,840. On average, nearly 90% of a family farm’s income is supplied by another source of income or employment.

Small dairy farms are among the least sustainable type of farm today as they grapple with declining demand for cow’s milk and consolidation in their industry, resulting in much larger but fewer farms, according to the USDA. Since 2003, the U.S. has lost more than half of its licensed dairy operations, down to under 32,000 operations.

“The last farm bill, the dairy policy was put together without a lot of input from farmers,” Steven said of the 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act. 

“They changed our pricing mechanism, and what that’s done is taken nearly a billion dollars out of the dairy industry, out of the farming sector, out of my segment, and moved it to processors and other people in the industry before it gets to the grocery store,” he continued. 

At the urging of dairy processors, the 2018 farm bill changed an industry formula that determines the price of fluid milk under the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. 

“The change contributed to substantial market volatility last year and has led to an estimated $750 million in losses for farmers compared to the previous Class I formula,” the National Milk Producers Federation said in an October statement. “Without a fix, dairy farmers will permanently bear unfair and unnecessary price risk compared to processors during times of unusual market volatility.”

Steven told Fox News: “It’s a lot of money to lose. That has been very difficult for a lot of people, myself included.”

As a result of this formula change, price increases in grocery stores doesn’t mean the farmer sees an increase on their end. Additionally, farmers face rising costs on gas and energy, labor shortages, high feed expenses and supply chain issues.

“We are a capital-intensive business,” Steven said. “We live and die on feed costs.”

He said those account for 55% of the farm’s expenses. 

“We’re not like other businesses where we can just cut back,” he said. “Cows got to be fed every day, right?”

He added that the labor shortage and supply chain delays were also critical issues.

“We’re time sensitive,” he said. “We can miss our window of opportunity just because of a bearing or a tire.”

The National Milk Producers Federation estimated that shipping disruptions cost the U.S. dairy industry nearly $1 billion during the first half of the year from higher shipping and inventory costs, lost export volume and price deterioration.

Stephanie often posts on TikTok and YouTube to voice her concerns for struggling farmers and to educate people on how some legislative bills affect the agriculture industry.

Nash Family Creamery

“You look at big seed companies, you look at the ethanol plants, you look at all these big investors, again, going back to politicians, what are they investing in?” she said. “Why are they putting all this funding into certain areas? Because they’re going to make more money.”

“The farmer is going to be dead, and the family farms are going to be gone, and they’re going to continue to get richer off of stuff like plant-based and climate change,” Stephanie continued. 

Stephanie often warns her followers about policy threats to the agriculture industry, like President Biden’s 30 by 30 plan,a federal push to conserve 30% of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030. 

Similarly, the departments of the Interior, Agriculture and Commerce alongside the White House Council on Environmental Quality released Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful, a preliminary report regarding conservation. It states that “federal agencies can and should advance conservation by supporting programs that incentivize voluntary conservation efforts and provide new sources of income for American farmers, ranchers, and forest stewards.”

Stephanie told Fox News: “There’s a lot of money in Washington, D.C., and I’m really scared that money is going towards persuading people in the USDA to go plant-based, to go climate change, to fund all of this other stuff … so corporate and big- investor farm systems continue to farm and gain access to our pricing in the grocery store.”

Steven, who hopes to pass on the farm to his daughter one day, said Nash Farms received aid from the federal government to help with coronavirus-related issues. 

“While we use them, we don’t like them,” he said of the farmers aid programs. “I want a fair price that represents the work that we do.”

“We have a great product.,” Steven continued. “Why does the government got to support us because we can’t make it on our own? That’s that’s the fundamental issue here.”

Dairy farmers have received more than $3 billion, or about $1 of every $8, of the $24.4 billion disbursed to farmers and ranchers since COVID-19 payments began in May 2020, according to the USDA.

“We are in a place that we could go either way,” Steven said of his farm’s financial stability. “I’ve been there many times before, so we’ll just have to see what the next few months bring.”

Source: foxnews.com

North Okanagan dairy farmers are being forced to dump milk after flood damage closed major B.C. highways, limiting their ability to get their product to the Coast to be processed.

Peter Hanson of HP Cattle in Lumby says for the past week he and other farmers have had to dump their milk because they can’t get it to the nearest dairy processing plant, in the Lower Mainland.

In an attempt to utilize the milk, Hanson has been feeding it back to his cows, while he’s heard other farmers are “dumping it down the drain.”

Each milk tank at his farm holds 1,000 litres, and he’s been feeding 500 litres per day to the cows.

So far, he has had to dump 12,000 litres of milk.

On Monday, Hanson was notified by the BC Milk Marketing Board that he would have to dump again, as product again can’t be transported.

He says the milk can only last about one week in a chilled environment. Any longer, and it would go bad.

Hanson says the Interior should have its own dairy processing plant, given the possibility of highway closures due to road conditions and weather.

“It makes no sense to ship milk to the coast and then bring it back here,” says Hanson.

Milk is shipped to the Coast in tankers that can carry up to 40,000 litres, and processed and packaged for stores, then shipped back to the Interior to be delivered to stores.

He says the method is not environmentally friendly given the six-hour drive each way.

Hanson says he has been able to ship some milk to a processing plant in Alberta, but the 10-hour truck drive is not ideal.

He hopes government will help dairy farmers recoup their losses.

“Something needs to change,” says Hanson. “Within the next day or two, stores may not have milk on their shelves.”

The Interior’s last milk processing plant was located in Armstrong, but was closed down by Saputo in 2004.

Source: castanet.net

What does “Net-Zero” really mean for the dairy industry? The industry and organizations are pushing farmers to do something, but exactly what should they do?

That’s what the American Dairy Coalition (ADC) wants to help dairy farmers find out.

This tough topic is the central topic for ADC’s annual business meeting featuring GHG Guru Dr. Frank Mitloehner on Thursday, December 9^th from 12 to 1:30 p.m. Central Time. It is being held virtually so that dairy farmers across the country can participate.

As keynote speaker, the engaging Frank Mitloehner, Ph.D., animal science professor and air quality specialist at University of California – Davis, will share his insights and help farmers wade through the noise. Known as the GHG Guru, his ‘handle’ on Twitter, Mitloehner is a foremost authority on greenhouse gas emissions and the dairy and livestock industries.

The business meeting will also include a welcome from Walt Moore, a Chester County, Pennsylvania dairy farmer who is president of American Dairy Coalition. During the meeting, farmers will also hear a federal policy update from ADC CEO Laurie Fischer.

“Scientific data is essential to develop sound solutions. Regrettably, farmers are being told they need to do something to reduce their GHG emissions sooner rather than later,” notes Fischer. “With all of the different tentacles of companies, government entities, checkoff partners in the dairy industry – moving in all directions – many farmers are wondering exactly what they need to do, and how much it will cost them to meet the dairy industry’s Net Zero Initiative goal of being carbon-neutral or better by 2050.”

There is also the aspect of the dairy industry’s transformation 2030 agenda through national dairy checkoff and its industry partners. What does it all mean?

During this ADC webinar meeting on December 9^th, Dr. Mitloehner will help farmers understand the moving parts and give suggestions on the best way to move forward when it seems like there is too much push and not enough knowledge to understand the right path forward.

To register for the ADC webinar, scan the QR code with your phone or visit this link https://qrco.de/bcZgwc and scroll down to enter your registration information. A link to join in the meeting will then be emailed to you.

The webinar is free.

In addition, businesses wanting to help sponsor the event can email kristine@americandairycoalitioninc.com for details. 

Source: Augusta Free Press

A Hawaii food supplier has filed a federal lawsuit against Meadow Gold and its partner dairies, saying they are falsely marketing their mainland milk as a local product.

Chad Buck, the head of the Hawaii Foodservice Alliance, says Meadow Gold’s milk is imported to Hawaii from California.

But he says the company’s advertising and labels are deceptive, making consumers believe they’re supporting local.

“Which one would I buy to support local? You’d probably pick the one … that says ‘Hawaii’s Dairy.’ You’d probably pick the one … that says made with aloha,” Buck said.

He added that Meadow Gold is pricier than its competitors in Hawaii.

Over the last two decades, Buck says he’s watched about a dozen local dairies go out of business because they couldn’t compete with mainland operations and prices.

In April 2020, then Texas-based Dean Foods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and sold the nostalgic Meadow Gold brand to a Big Island dairy farmer.

The company currently has a processing plant in Hilo and a new facility in Waipahu, but Buck says all their milk comes from out of state.

“It’s not right for the state. It’s not right for dairy farmers in this state,” Buck said.

“And if we’re ever going to build a sustainable Hawaii again, we cannot let mainland agriculture bring their products into Hawaii and pretend that they’re local.”

In response to the suit, Meadow Gold said it has “never claimed that all our milk is local.”

Here is Meadow Gold Dairies’ full statement:

“Former Big Island dairy farmer, Bahman Sadeghi assumed operations of Meadow Gold Dairies in May 2020 to manage and keep the legacy of the Meadow Gold brand alive and has been diligently working to make the operation more sustainable. As Hawaii’s sole milk processor, we process 100% of the milk produced in Hawaii and 100% of the milk processed in Hawaii to fulfill the demand for Hawaii’s residents that could not possibly be fulfilled with the current available local dairy farmers.

“We have never claimed that all our milk is local, but we do consider ourselves Hawaii’s Dairy because we are committed to Hawaii and its community and will continue to be while we work toward building a more sustainable operation.

“Furthermore, everything we do is with aloha! This is part of our company culture, and we are grateful to the past and present local dairy farmers who have reached out to express their support for us as we work together to build a more sustainable local food system in Hawaii.

Source: Hawaii News

2021 edition of Cremona International Livestock Exhibitions, finally again in presence, came to an end yesterday (Nov. 28^th) and confirmed Cremona as one of the major global poles for Livestock. 

It was a very intense three-day event, full of emotions and enthusiasm for being back in presence to discover firsthand technical and technological innovations and, of course, the great heads of cattle of Cremona International Livestock Exhibition, an appointment that has been developing for 76 years to meet Italian breeders’ needs. “ It has not been that easy to organize such an event, in a moment in which restrictions to international travels are still in force – underlined Roberto Biloni, president of CremonaFiere – but we wanted to give a strong signal to the whole sector: Cremona is a crucial crossroads for global agro-livestock. The great feedback by companies and breeders is the demonstration that we did a good job. The presence of many institutional and political representatives, first of all the Italian Minister for Agricutlure, also confirms the importance of the hard work we carried out. It is therefore clear that Cremona is the ideal hub for agro-livestock”.

The centrality of Cremona as meeting point of international livestock professionals was proved also by the presence of international delegations (which was not to be taken for granted this year). Professionals from 14 Countries visited Cremona International Livestock Exhibitions looking for new business opportunities to be developed with Italian companies. ” The Exhibition days are only the tip of an iceberg – continued Massimo De Bellis, General Manager of CremonaFiere –; activities aiming at creating new opportunities on international markets run the whole year round and rely on the cooperation with several partners. During the Exhibition we favour matchmaking between exhibitors and international professionals”.

“The cooperation with CremonaFiere is very important since it offers many opportunities for our Country – said Humera Iqbal, Researcher and Project Manager of ACIAR Aik Sath Livestock Projects in Pakistan -. Pakistan is an agricultural country with a great potential. Here in Cremona we can see and learn more about technological innovations. Being here is a  precious opportunity for us to discover the developments of the Italian agro-livestock market and share expertise and know-how”.

“During the Exhibition we met many institutional and sector representatives, as well as business partners- added Nuzhat Qaiser, Executive Manager and Owner of Usama Dairies, Pakistan-. I will share with stakeholders my experience here in Cremona and what I’ve seen and learned. I will cultivate these new contacts, so that our cooperation can get even stronger. The Italian agro-livestock model offers many growth opportunities for Pakistani breeders. Italy and Pakistan have many similarities, such as the importance played by the livestock and dairy sector for national economies. However, Pakistan has a strong need of technologies and innovation to optimize production and marketing of dairy products. That innovation is well represented here at the Exhibition. I really hope that the cooperation with our Countries can go on and take many steps forward, with an active involvement of women”.

Visitors of the Exhibition have for sure been attracted by the several innovations on display: among others, a special mention is deserved by the winner of the 23rd edition of the Targa Beltrami Award for innovation in agriculture, that is the company C.D. Impianti Elettrici with its “Safecow” system, especially conceived to save time and work of farm operators, while having a good impact on animal welfare.

Animals were very numerous at Cremona Exhibition this year with a top-level international livestock show: 475 registered cows from 75 Italian and international farms.

The winners of Cremona International Dairy Show 2021 are: Castelverde Defiant Gorgeous of Castelverde Marcello. Supreme Champion Heifers is FG APPLESTAR, M.E: Medal farm Ladina – Cremona, Supreme Champion Cows is Bruf del Primero Selly of Tjr Portea Società agricola S.S. Anzola D’Ossola (VB). .

This was a very much awaited appointment for all breeders who, for the first time in Europe could take part in an international Livestock Show in presence this year. Among them was also the very happy young breeder Giulio Federici who won the Young Breeder Award by ANGA (Confagricoltura young farmers association).

“One of the strengths of our Exhibition – conlcuded Biloni – is the ability to attract to Cremona diversified sectors and interests, above all thanks to a rich events programme dealing with the most topical themes of agriculture, livestock and agrifood. This enables us to be a strategic meeting point, the ideal place to develop business relations but also a hotbed of new ideas. We try to involve consumers as well, in order to give them the chance to get to know better the whole production chain: this is also a very important road to take to promote the value of Italian agrifood businesses and of their productions. The Exhibition is a strategic tool to share a vision and exchange ideas and opinions. Sustainability was one of the most discussed topic of this edition, to analyze how much agriculture and livestock have changed, what is being done and what still needs to be done. The Exhibition is here, at the service of the whole sector and of its production chain”.

The BC Dairy Association (BC Dairy) has completed a preliminary assessmentof the impacts of flooding on cattle and dairy farms in the Abbotsford and Yarrow area. 

At this time (as of November23), BC Dairy’s preliminary estimate is that of the approximately 23,000 cattle located in the region prior to the floods, about 500 are deceased as a result of flooding. An estimated 6,000 cattle were evacuated to other farms in the Abbotsford, Chilliwack or Agassiz areas and are being cared for there, while an estimated 16,000 remained on their own farms. It is possible the number of deceased cattle may rise should more flooding occur or more animals need to be euthanized due to health problems caused by the flooding. Sixty-two farms in the Abbotsford and Yarrow areas were under Evacuation Orders at the peak last week. 

BC Dairy is working with the province, transport companies, farmers, and volunteers to ensure cattle remaining on impacted farms are housed, fed, and watered. Significant amounts of grain and supplies have been transported to the affected farms. 

Milk pickup 

Further, approximately 80 percent of milk being produced on BC farms is now being picked up for processing, which is sufficient to meet the province’s immediate demand for fluid milk. The BC Milk Marketing Board had to suspend milk pickup at farms in a number of regions of BC last Tuesday due to the flooding and road closures. That created some difficulty supplying milk to fluid processing plants in BC.  

Milk from the Okanagan and Kootenays is temporarily being shipped for processing in Alberta until the situation on Highway 3 improves and milk can again be transported to the Lower Mainland for processing. Milk from farms in the eastern Fraser Valley is being trucked along highway 7. This adds 4-5 hours to the drive time, but does allow milk to get through. That is, however, straining the transportation fleet so transport companies are not able to pick up all milk produced in the Fraser Valley. That likely won’t improve until highway 1 through Abbotsford re-opens. The farms still flooded in the Sumas prairie represent about 14 percent of the province’s milk volume.

Provided by BC Dairy

WestGen Digs Deep to Donate

Thrust into the middle of the unprecedented floods in BC, WestGen has felt first-hand the devastation, but have also benefitted first-hand from the surrounding farming community’s heroic efforts to assist us in evacuating animals from our barn; and thereafter have been in a position to return that support to other farmers in need. “It has been a humbling, emotional and yet inspirational week”, Chris Parry, CEO, WestGen Group sums up. “For many, there is a long road ahead to recovery, but the farming community and WestGen will be there to do what we can”.

BC’s Sumas Prairie represents a small geographical piece of the total WestGen territory. Still farmers right across the four-province region that WestGen services are donating and offering assistance to their peers. It is in that spirit of giving that WestGen is donating $100,000 to the BCDA’s disaster relief fund. “The need is great. As a farmer-owned, farmer directed company, this is a donation on behalf of all farmers in western Canada” states Richard Boonstoppel, WestGen President.

We are proud to be part of Western Canada’s farming community.

Strength in the Herd

It has been a miserable period marked by drought, floods, fires and the supermarket price wars that saw milk sold for just $1/litre, but things are looking up for the state’s 523 dairy farmers.

Key points:

• NSW dairy farmers are experiencing their best season in a decade
• Average profit is up by 75 per cent
• Some farmers still in recovery from floods, fire and drought

Profit is up

A survey of dairy farmers conducted by the DPI showed that the 2020-21 financial year was the best in 10 years.

DPI’s dairy development officer Sheena Carter said the most recent survey of 41 dairy farmers was the best they had ever seen.

“It was just over $269,000 in the 2019-20 financial year.

“So it’s up nearly 75 per cent on what it was in the previous year.”

Ms Carter said the average net farm income had also increased exponentially.

“Average net farm income is the operating profit and then we take out interest and lease costs for the business,” she said.

“That increased from around $163,000 up to about $370,000 on average across the data set.”

‘Incredible’ year for young dairy family

Brodie Game runs 300 cows on two South Coast properties she leases with her husband, Kevin.

They started from scratch nine years ago with just two cows and almost gave up during the peak of the drought.

Things have certainly turned, however.

She said this year had been “incredible” and they had been “cutting silage like crazy” to store feed ahead of the next dry season.

“It’s been amazing and it’s really widespread. It hasn’t just been a few good farmers who’ve seen it,” she said.

Farmers are spending up big as well.

Ms Game said they had used this year’s income to pay off debt.

“Not having those debts … will make a massive difference to us, not having to worry about that,” she said.

Ms Carter said the industry was going well thanks to good terms of trade.

“We’ve got stable, strong milk prices at the moment, which is reflective of processors still trying to make sure they’ve got milk supply,” she said.

Farmers were also making money from selling livestock and some costs for concentrates, hay or silage fell 18 per cent.

“Farmers can grow much more of their home-grown feed now [they’re out of drought],” Ms Carter said.

Floods take their toll

Not everyone has had a good year.

A one-in-100-year flood on the state’s Mid North Coast in March destroyed pastures, fences and infrastructure and swept away animals.

Confidence high for next year

Ms Carter said confidence was up and a number of businesses were buying land or upgrading equipment.

“All farmers either expect to see stable or improving profits, with no-one anticipating declining profits,” she said.

Farmers are worried about rising fertiliser prices, however, as well as climate change, labour shortages and the milk price.

Source: ABC

Shipping containers are in high demand and short supply as continued supply chain shortages pose a unique challenge for Iowa’s dairy industry.

Chad Hart, an agricultural economist for Iowa State University, says exporting dairy products overseas was already tricky, and it’s worse right now. “They often tend to have a fairly short shelf life, meaning, we can’t wait for months to get a shipping container in order to ship a container full of yogurt,” Hart says. “You need to move that in days.”

Farmers on the local level have their own headaches. Doug Stensland, a dairy farmer in northwest Iowa, says he’s in the habit of ordering inventory way ahead of time. That’s because he can’t be certain the semiS full of empty milk jugs will arrive at his Lyon County farm on time. That, combined with the rising cost of feed additives and labor, makes business hard right now.

“It’s cut into profits there’s no doubt about it, it’s just a matter of how far we can be able to grab that back,” Stensland says. “Our sales are tough anyway. Right now, it’s kind of a hard balancing act.”

For many Iowa dairy farmers, supplies like dry tubes, ear tags, and milk jugs have been harder to purchase. They say the uncertainty of finding both affordable labor and packaging has put a dent in profits.

(By Kendall Crawford, Iowa Public Radio)

National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) First Vice Chairman and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) board member Simon Vander Woude encouraged the U.S. government to prioritize expanded market access opportunities for U.S. dairy exports at a House Subcommittee for Livestock and Foreign Agriculture hearing today focused on trade policies and priorities.

Vander Woude and his wife, Christine, operate a 3,200-head dairy in Merced, CA. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of California Dairies, Inc. (CDI), the largest dairy farmer-owned cooperative in California and the second largest in the United States. With sixty percent of the cooperative’s milk powder sold to foreign markets, CDI’s 360 family-owned dairy farms strongly rely on U.S. trade policy tools to keep export markets for their products open and growing.

“I think Chairman Costa and Ranking Member Johnson for the opportunity to testify today about U.S. trade policies and priorities impacting the U.S dairy industry. Despite all the growth and success the dairy industry has enjoyed on the export front over the past two decades, we could be doing even better with a level playing field,” said Vander Woude. “While trade is all too often disparaged in this country and its benefits sold short, our competitors are busy forging new agreements. We farmers need a proactive trade policy to keep pace and continue to increase sales to support the good farm and manufacturing jobs our industry creates.”

Vander Woude stressed in his testimony the urgency of expanding access to key dairy markets like the UK, Asia (Japan, Southeast Asia, China) and the Middle East to catch up with dairy competitors whose countries have aggressively sought trade agreements over the past decade. Vander Woude also highlighted other policy priorities significantly impacting U.S. dairy operations, including the current supply chain crisis, securing long-term relief from Chinese retaliatory tariffs, and implementation and enforcement of existing trade agreements, including USMCA.

“As Simon outlined so well to the House Livestock and Foreign Agriculture subcommittee today, exports are essential to the health of dairy farmers and to our wider industry,” said Jim Mulhern, NMPF president and CEO. “New access into markets like Canada and Japan last year was a welcome first step, but still far less than what our farmers need to remain competitive globally. The United States needs to begin moving forward again with trade agreements and other policies that expand foreign market opportunities to help family dairy farms thrive and support the thousands of jobs that depend on dairy across this country.”

“Sound trade policy that opens doors for American-made products takes time to negotiate and the time is ripe for laying that foundation,” said Krysta Harden, USDEC president and CEO. “With the administration and Congress having charted progress on many domestic priorities, now is the time for the U.S. government to take a proactive approach to tearing down both tariff and nontariff trade barriers. We also need forward-looking solutions to the nation’s supply chain issues that are hindering U.S. exports, particularly in markets where America’s farmers are at a disadvantage to our competitors.”

Read full testimony here.

As friends and family gather for the holidays, Americans are expected to purchase 161 million pounds of butter from the second week in November through Christmas. While butter sales usually increase during the holidays, the pandemic, which spiked a rebirth of home cooking, has also caused butter sales to grow significantly year-round.

According to Suzanne Fanning, Senior Vice President at Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, the organization saw a 400% spike in recipe searches during the pandemic. “We want to encourage residents to choose all-natural Wisconsin farm-to-table butter to create their favorite recipes at home,” said Fanning.

Wisconsin is one of the top two butter producers in the U.S., and the dairy industry in the state employs more than 150,000 residents and contributes $45.6 billion to the state’s economy.

From rich sauces to flaky golden crusts and buttery cookies, the best food is made with real Wisconsin butter. Here’s why:

• Wisconsin butter is all-natural, simple and pure, made with only two ingredients – fresh cream and salt.
• Local butter starts with high-quality milk from Wisconsin, thanks to dedicated dairy farmers and the state’s lush grasslands.
• After fresh, whole milk is collected from Wisconsin dairy farms, it’s transported to a local creamery where the cream is separated from the milk. Once the butter is churned, it’s delivered to the local grocery store for people to take home and enjoy.

When grocery shopping for the holidays, check the label to make sure you’re purchasing Wisconsin butter. Use real Wisconsin butter to make memorable holiday meals everyone will love. For recipe inspiration, visit WisconsinCheese.com/Butter.

Doug Stensland can’t always trust that the semi-trucks filled with the supplies he needs to run his family dairy farm and processing plant in Larchwood will show up on time.

After one truck carrying milk jugs arrived a little late, Stensland said he shifted how he runs his operations.

“After that it was like ‘Boy we have to keep everything ordered way ahead,’” Stensland said. “We used to be able to order and keep a real lean inventory, but now we’ve gotten to a point where we have to stock up a lot of inventory just to make sure we don’t order it and it’s not available.”

Nationwide supply chain disruptions have impacted businesses across the country — and Iowa’s dairy industry is no exception. Transportation and logistics issues have touched all levels of dairy production, from local farmers to large dairy exporters.

In most cases, agriculture economist for Iowa State University Chad Hart said supply isn’t the major issue. The problem is connecting the supply to the demand, and the chain link between many products has been disrupted.

“If the feed additive is in China, but the need for it is here in an Iowa dairy herd, then that doesn’t help you, unless you can deliver it where it’s needed,” Hart said.

On the local level, farmers are facing obstacles in receiving the tools they need to continue business. At Milk Unlimited Dairy, a farm in Atlantic with 34,000 cows, owner Christy Cunningham said the first shortage she noticed was in personal protection equipment used for milking cows at the start of the pandemic.

“Not only were we not able to get them, but when we were, the inflation of the price was enough to make you take notice,” Cunningham said.

Now, equipment like dry tubes, ear tags, feed additives and packaging for milk products are more difficult to stock and require a lot more planning. Between shortages and rising prices, Stensland said the last two years have been very hard for his business.

“Everything’s gone up,” Stensland said. “It’s cut into profits, there’s no doubt about it. It’s just a matter of how far we can be able to grab that back. Our sales are tough anyway. Right now, it’s kind of a hard balancing act.”

Labor shortages 

Waldemar Brandt

Cunningham usually employs around 30 to 35 people on her farm, but right now she’s about three to four employees short. That’s after giving two rounds of raises just this year.

“Milking cows probably isn’t the sexiest of jobs out there,” Cunningham said.

Iowa State University dairy specialist Fred Hall said labor has become one of the largest issues for dairy farmers around the state. Many farmers are competing with higher wages at manufacturing jobs at places like Tyson Foods or Seaboard Triumph Foods.

“You don’t want to lose an employee because it costs too much to train folks,” Hall said. “There’s only so much farmers can do to increase wages before it costs more to produce than what they’re getting out of the business.”

At Stensland Family Farms, workers’ wages have increased throughout the year to keep employees from leaving for jobs at nearby manufacturing plants in Sioux County, Lyon County and Sioux Falls.

So far, it’s been a successful tactic for keeping employees on the farm. But, he’s not sure he can continue to raise wages and keep them competitive.

“We had our labor budget figured out back in 2020, and now we’ve just blown that out of the water,” Stensland said. “It took us a lot of dollars to make sure we kept our people.”

Moving products overseas

Supply chain disruptions have also affected how much dairy can move overseas. Exporting milk products is becoming a bigger challenge for large dairy processors in the dairy industry.

Shipping containers are in high demand and in short supply. Hart said the perishable nature of the products puts them in a tough position.

“They often tend to have a fairly short shelf life. Meaning we can’t wait for months to get a shipping container in order to ship a container full of yogurt. You need to move that in days,” Hart said.

Even when dairy exporters can book a shipping container, oftentimes the containers may be too far to help move products that need to be moved quickly. Blocked ports and a shortage of truck drivers to haul products all impact the amount of product the dairy industry is able to move.

The National Federation of Milk Producers estimated a nearly $1 million loss due to shipping disruptions in the first six months of the year.

Executive Director of Iowa State Dairy Association Mitch Schulte said the Iowa dairy industry has felt this loss. He said transportation concerns have resulted in a loss of opportunity for many state dairy producers.

“Anything that impacts our export market, impacts the price on our dairy farms. Even one container being delayed is an issue, let alone more than that,” Schulte said.

Source: iowapublicradio.org

Idle farm equipment sits next to the empty barn at Cole Dairy Farm in this small town outside of Augusta, the most recent casualty in an industry fraught with dairy consolidations, high production costs, downward product price pressure and labor shortages.

All that’s left on the farm, which used to produce 2.4 million pounds, or about 278,400 gallons, of milk a year from its 100 cows, is the faint smell of manure and some very young heifers that will be sold after the remaining food runs out.

It’s a story playing out across the state, where dairy farms are a key link in the chain of producing enough food locally to feed Mainers. Some 109 Maine dairy farms shut down over the past nine years, according to Maine Milk Commission data. With fewer outlets buying milk, the price pressure on dairy farmers likely will continue. If more fail, Mainers ultimately could have fewer local choices in the dairy aisle.

Only 187 dairy farms remain in operation in Maine today compared with their heyday in 1954, when there were almost 4,600 farms. For years production costs have been higher than revenues, according to Maine Farmland Trust, making it hard for farms to survive.

For Cole Dairy Farm owner Dale Cole, 63, the final straw was not being able to hire farmhands at a livable wage. Last week he sold his cows to another dairy and closed the farm, which had three part-time and three full-time workers.

“The labor pressure has been building for some time,” said Cole, a second-generation farm owner. “If your labor costs are going way up and you get a reduction in pay for the milk, I don’t have to explain to you what’s coming down the road. It just can’t be done.”

David Doak, who shut down Doak Farms in Monroe three years ago, agreed. Low prices for milk and high costs of trucking figured into his decision to sell his 45 cows. He also represents another trend in the state of older farmers retiring and having no one to take over the farm. The average age of a US dairy farmer is 56 and fewer young farmers are coming into the industry, according to national data.

Dairy farming is a big contributor to Maine’s economy, with an estimated $2.7 billion in direct and indirect economic impact, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. It makes up 4.2 percent of Maine’s GDP, provides almost 17,000 direct and indirect jobs and contributes almost $147 million in state tax revenues, the association said. Consumers can tell if their milk is produced and processed in Maine by looking for the number 23 starting the code on the milk container.

The consolidation in the dairy industry has left fewer places for dairy farmers to sell milk, which means less competition to keep prices stable. One example of consolidation is the former Grant’s Dairy in Bangor, which Garelick Farms bought in 1994. Garelick ceased milk production there in January 2013, citing competitive pressures. In the Portland area, Oakhurst Dairy ended its 92 years of being family run in 2014, when it was sold to Dairy Farmers of America.

Having to rely more heavily on fewer customers, a byproduct of the industry consolidation, poses additional challenges to farmers. That came to light in August when 89 organic dairy farms in the Northeast, including 14 in Maine, were notified they would lose their contracts with organic dairy company Danone when it stops buying milk in the region by the end of August 2022.

Gov. Janet Mills, along with all four members of Maine’s Congressional delegation, wrote letters to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture asking for federal help. Mills also asked Danone to revisit its decision to end the contracts or at least extend the termination date from 12 months to 18 months.

In a market with fewer customers that can push prices low, it is difficult to invest in farm upkeep and improvements. Cole fell short of money to build a new barn for his heifers and update some equipment. Money got even tighter when buyers put a quota on how much milk they would purchase, such as when they didn’t have enough labor for a production shift.

“It’s difficult if I need to make a large investment but then have to cut back 15 percent of my milk because of the quota,” Cole said. “When a bigger and bigger piece of your output goes to one place, you lose control of your business.”

Cole said the saddest thing about closing down is there will be no third generation to continue running the farm. Instead, he plans to sell hay with help from his son.

But the broader picture, he said, is that local farms need to continue, because Maine needs its own food supply. The effect of supply-chain disruptions was laid bare early in the pandemic when supermarket shelves with milk and beef were often empty. Retail experts expect ongoing shortages on a broad array of goods through this holiday season.

“The thing that’s been driven into us a bit more in the last 18 months with COVID-19 is the state of Maine always needs to have a viable source of food,” said Heath Miller, treasurer of the Maine Dairy Industry Association and owner of the Green Valle Farms in Newburgh, where he milks 200 cows. “When you lose any aspect of the agricultural culture, you lose such a big part of the infrastructure.”

A large part of the community also is lost, Sarah Littlefield, executive director of the Maine Dairy Promotion Board, said.

“To see a farm go out of business is very emotional, because their way of life is going to significantly change and their community is going to change because that farm isn’t there,” Littlefield said.

Source: news.yahoo.com

Milk output in the U.S. is on a historic weak streak, potentially signaling climbing costs for dairy products.

Production per cow was less than a year ago for a third month in a row, according to government data released Friday. The last time that happened was more than 20 years ago, said Nate Donnay, director of dairy market insight at StoneX Group. 

Farmers are probably feeding their animals less, said Donnay. The cost of grains like corn is soaring this year due to drought, storms and robust demand. Labor and energy costs are also more expensive. It’s all hurting farmers’ bottom lines and making it difficult to afford feed.  

“The most obvious contributor to this drop in cow numbers and slowdown in production is feed cost and availability,” Donnay said.

U.S. milk production in October was down 0.5% from last year, compared to StoneX’s forecast for a 0.3% rise.

The dairy cow herd also continues to shrink. This should eventually lead to higher prices for consumers, Donnay said.

Source: bloombergquint.com

OPINION: With the prospect of this season’s farm-gate milk price looking closer to $9 than $8 and a significantly better than expected free-trade deal with the UK, economically things are looking rosy for Fonterra farmers. I’m a strong supporter of the co-op and was intrigued when it announced it was looking to change its capital structure to make it easier for farmers to join.

The new proposed capital structure put forward by Fonterra’s board would make joining the co-operative easier by reducing the high capital investment required to supply it and allow farmers greater financial flexibility when they decide to leave.

Fonterra last changed its capital structure when it adopted Trading Among Farmers (TAF) in 2012. TAF was a response to the issue of farmers exiting Fonterra and redeeming their shares, meaning large sums of money were washing in and out of the co-op, mainly out.

It addressed one issue, the threat to Fonterra’s balance sheet, but ignored systemic problems like the high cost of becoming a Fonterra supplier and the fact suppliers were still leaving the co-op in favour of independent processors who don’t require farmer investment.

TAF was based on the belief milk supply would continue to grow and Fonterra’s share of that supply would remain stable. In fact, milk supply levelled off shortly after the introduction of TAF and Fonterra’s share of the milk pool fell from 96 per cent to its current level of around 80 per cent.

The Minister of Agriculture Damien O’Connor, who has been an outspoken critic of TAF since it was introduced, welcomed the news of an impending change. In May this year he said he would assist Fonterra’s board in speeding through the necessary law changes, seeing the need to quickly amend the legislation that controls Fonterra, once final decisions were made.

With Fonterra’s board actively consulting farmers and amending their proposal based on the feedback received, and the Minister of Agriculture enthusiastically supporting change, all that would be needed to see the changes put in place is a favourable farmer vote in December.

Or so you would think. A recent email from Fonterra Board Chair Peter McBride poured cold water on that notion.

The email, which was announcing the board’s intention to go ahead with the vote, contained a chilling paragraph towards the end which read: “At this stage, the Government is not in a position to support DIRA changes to facilitate our proposal, but we understand the Government wants to work with us to reach an outcome that works for both parties.”

The news that O’Connor is no longer willing to amend the legislation is an obvious sign that something has gone seriously awry behind the scenes.

We can expect Fonterra’s competitors will be lobbying hard for the status quo as any changes that would make it easier for farmers to join Fonterra poses a risk to their supplier base, a base they would move mountains to protect.

Another possibility is that the Government departments reviewing the proposed changes simply don’t like what they’re seeing, and if that’s the case it explains O’Connor’s sudden reticence. It would be a brave minister indeed who went against the advice of his ministry without very strong justification.

McBride’s email also held out hope the changes would be in place before the start of the next milking season starting in June.

Given that the changes are obviously not a Government priority, there’s no legislation prepared, not to mention the looming long Parliamentary Christmas break, I’d say that’s a very faint hope indeed. I also hope O’Connor’s time is focused on delivering farmers and growers a decent trade deal with Europe.

In the worst-case scenario, Fonterra and the Government are so far apart that the changes farmer shareholders will vote on in December will look nothing like what the Government is willing to implement. If so, this may end up being an opportunity wasted and the significant share value farmers have invested in the co-op will have been decimated for no reason. For the sake of farmers, I sincerely hope this isn’t the case.

The whole saga however highlights a very important truth, after 20 years in existence Fonterra is still bound by legislation that tilts the playing field heavily towards its competitors. The fact that a company could take a democratic shareholder vote and the decision whether to enact the outcome is left to the Government is ludicrous.

DIRA needs to be scrapped, except for the milk price manual, and Fonterra and its farmer shareholder need to be free to chart their own course.

With the next DIRA review only a couple of years away, that’s where the co-op’s lobbying muscle (and the Government department’s time) should be directed instead of attempting to tinker around the edges. Only then will decisions about the co-op’s structure solely be in the hands of farmers.

The dairy industry has been heavily criticized in recent years for its impacts on the environment and role in climate change.

The World Wildlife Fund found that dairy farming contributes to climate failure in every section of the environment. It has been shown to impact the air and atmosphere, soil health and water quality and cause habitat degradation.

According to a report by the United Nations, the global dairy sector contributes to four percent of total global greenhouse gas emissions. The industry is especially well known for the methane it produces, contributing to over 50% of its total greenhouse gas emissions. Dairy farming can also have unintended environmental consequences, with more natural habitats being transformed into mass agriculture production to supply dairy cattle with corn, alfalfa and soy.

Wisconsin has felt the brunt of these environmentalist criticisms because of its strong affiliations with the production of dairy products. The state has more dairy farms than any other in the nation, and is number two in milk production within the U.S.

With the COP26 summit in Glasgow earlier this month bringing climate change to the forefront of the international agenda, it is important to look at Wisconsin’s unsustainable dairy farming habits and what needs to change going forward.

A common misconception about Wisconsin’s dairy is that it is run by small and local farms. In reality, over 50% of the dairy produced in the U.S. is through just 3% of its dairy production corporations — referred to as dairies. While small family farms have been struggling to stay afloat with rising milk demand, mass commercial dairies are increasingly common in the state and are by far the biggest contributors to the industry’s environmental impact.

Earlier this year, the Wisconsin state Attorney General announced a quarter-million dollar settlement with two dairy corporations for the manure spills that led to significant water contamination in Wisconsin’s natural water bodies.

Commercial dairies can house ten times the amount of cows as the typical family farm. With this comes a high level of manure which is one of the biggest issues with concentrated groups of cattle. The largest Wisconsin concentrated animal feeding organizations — which accommodate 6,000 cows or more — produce as much manure and urine as 252,000 people. That is almost equivalent to the entire population of Madison. This extreme backup of excrement has resulted in dangerous levels of runoff across the state that can contaminate groundwater and other bodies of water.

The first step to reforming Wisconsin’s dairy practices is recognizing that local, family-run dairy farms are not the biggest problem in the industry — highly commercialized dairies are. Unfortunately, the fact is, Wisconsin is not exempt from the national trend towards corporatization in farming and animal production.

Knowing this, it is crucial to hold these companies accountable in a few key ways, like setting caps on their greenhouse gas emission rates and increasing animal health monitoring and illness prevention in large farms to decrease emissions per liter of milk produced.

Shifting companies towards more sustainable practices is also important in making dairy farming more eco-friendly. An example of a sustainable farming practice is the use of cattle manure as soil fertilizer because of its high nutrient content. Making dairy collection more efficient is critical in lowering gas emissions and rates of habitat loss.

There is no denying that dairy is a strong part of Wisconsin culture. The demand for dairy products isn’t going away anytime soon, which means the solution is not going to be as simple as shutting down the industry as we know it. But the actions of both maximizing the efficiency of the system and implementing sustainable farming practices can at the very least move Wisconsin in the right direction towards becoming an eco-friendly state amid the international fight against climate change.

Source: badgerherald.com

An independent veterinarian will regularly audit herd health and welfare and the board says the farm will also be subject to monthly, unannounced inspections.

The milk board suspended the licence last month after receiving information from the B.C. SPCA, which continues to conduct its own investigation.

Cedar Valley Farms issued a statement last week, saying it was taking action to “get to the bottom of any activities” that differ from its animal care commitments.

There has been independent oversight of the animals’ care during the period the farm’s dairy licence was suspended, the statement from the milk board added.

— With files from CTV Vancouver

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2021.

Milk prices have only increased by about 8% over the last year, not 40%, like a viral tweet claims.

One of the hardest days ever for dairy farmer Shawn Schmitz was in the spring of 2019 when he and his father, LeRoy, shut down their farm and walked away from the life they’d known for decades.

Another tough day, for Shawn, came last July. He hadn’t been on that farm only a few miles from Fond du Lac since it was sold two years earlier. Every time he thought about even driving past it, he turned around because the memories were still too painful. 

But on Friday, July 9, Shawn figured he was ready to make that trip. In a spur of the moment decision, he joined a film crew from Milwaukee PBS and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for a brief visit to the place where he and his father used to milk around 250 cows, where they’d poured all their energy and finances into a plan wiped out by forces largely beyond their control. 

As Shawn’s pickup truck neared the property on Brown Road, he turned to the videographer in the passenger seat. “Once we get to the corner, and I make a right turn,” he said, “that’ll be the first time since September 2019 I’ll be down that road.”

Getting closer, Shawn struggled with his emotions.

“Oh my God, it’s horrible,” he said. 

The farm, no longer a dairy operation, certainly looked different. 

Its grain silos and a barn had been torn down. There was a sinkhole, partially filled with rainwater, where the milk house once stood; piles of broken concrete and metal where there used to be calf hutches and bustling farm activity. 

The remaining barn that once housed dairy cattle was now an equipment storage building. Shawn grimaced at the changes but understood the reasons for them. He still wanted a closer look.

Pulling into the driveway, he opened the truck door and let out his dog Buster, who right away recognized where he was. 

“You want to get out and run around, don’t you Bud? Old stomping grounds,” Shawn said.

Dairy farm families at a crossroads

Since 2000, Wisconsin has lost around 68% of its dairy farms, most of them small- and  medium-sized operations like the Schmitz family had for more than a half century. Yet milk production has risen as the remaining farms have gotten larger or more efficient through improved cattle genetics and advances in technologies. 

As an outgrowth of its Dairyland in Distress series, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel partnered with Milwaukee PBS to document challenges and opportunities in Wisconsin’s flagship industry. The resulting hour-long program, “America’s Dairyland at a Crossroads,” airs Thursday at 7 p.m. on WMVS channel 10.1 and on Spectrum cable television’s channel 16.

It will also be available on the Journal Sentinel’s Facebook page and website. 

The documentary, which had support from the Pulitzer Center and the local journalism initiative of FRONTLINE PBS, follows four Wisconsin farm families as they share their stories and hopes for a future that, in some cases, might not include dairy. 

The Schmitz family’s story began in the late 1960s when LeRoy juggled a factory job with farming, eventually building a small dairy herd and moving to a 210-acre farmstead. He and his wife, Bonnnie, named it “Bonnie Lee.”

When Bonnie passed away in 2003, LeRoy considered selling the herd and some farmland for his retirement. The farm was struggling, but Shawn enjoyed milking cows, and the best course of action seemed to be continue pushing ahead. 

They ran into trouble when the owners of cropland they’d rented for years signed contracts with larger farms willing to pay more money. As a result, LeRoy and Shawn had to buy cattle feed they previously would have grown themselves. It added to their costs at a time when milk prices fell to rock-bottom levels. 

“We were making payroll, but we couldn’t keep up with the feed bills,” LeRoy said. “The bank told us they wouldn’t lend to us anymore, so I started taking money out of my savings, draining it away to nothing.”

Then, heart surgery and cancer took him out of the daily farm work. As the dairy operation’s finances dwindled, it became harder to afford hired help. Shawn worked day and night to keep everything going. 

Eventually, LeRoy made the hard decision to shut down the farm. It was early 2019, a year when Wisconsin lost more than 800 dairy farms and the price that farmers got for their milk remained stuck in a five year slump. 

Shawn, not ready to call it quits, didn’t take the decision well. 

“Matter of fact, I probably said a few choice words I shouldn’t have … I think I stormed out of the house that day,” he recalled. 

A farm rebuilt for the next generation

For many good reasons, young people are often drawn back to the family farm where they were raised. And sometimes a catastrophic event reminds them of the importance of family ties.

That was the case for Kristyn Nigon, who earlier this year quit her office job so that she could rejoin her parents’ Nigon View Dairy in Clark County.

“I started thinking about going into the dairy industry when I was around 13 years old. That’s when my roles on the farm got bigger,” said Nigon, who in 2020 graduated from University of Wisconsin-River Falls with a bachelor’s degree in dairy science.

She cherished the memories of growing up on the farm run by her parents, Marty and Kathy Nigon. Even during the years when milk prices sank or the crops were poor, she didn’t feel the strain they must have felt. But she learned responsibility. 

“It made me who I am today,” Kristyn said. “My (five) siblings and I had our regular tasks. We had to go out and help with the milking, feed calves, help with field work … On the weekends, if we wanted to go places, we had to get our farm work done first.”

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019, a tornado ripped through the farm, tearing the tops off four grain silos and nearly destroying six buildings.

Kristyn, still in college, rushed home to help with the cleanup. The following Sunday, the Nigons gathered at the kitchen table to make some hard decisions about the farm’s future. 

“There were a lot of emotions going on that morning we hadn’t really seen in our family,” Kristyn recalled. “But until something like that happens, it doesn’t always come out. We got to learn a lot about ourselves.”

The meeting lasted nearly three hours, and the decision was made to rebuild.

“What did I learn about myself? I learned that I have some really great people in my life and that I trust them more than I actually thought I did … And that’s made me realize what I really have,” Kristyn said.

After graduation, she wasn’t quite ready to return to the farm. Instead, she took a job with an equipment company and came home on weekends to help out with the cows and other farm chores. 

Eventually she reached a point where she wanted to rejoin the farm full time.

“It was wonderful. I was very, very happy to hear that,” Marty recalled.

The Briggs farm, with only 60 cows, endures hard times

Jim Briggs was part of his family’s dairy farm in Massachusetts, only 25 miles southwest of Boston. 

They bottled their own milk and delivered it to restaurants, stores, and nursing homes. They had an on-farm store with a window where customers could watch the milk flowing from the cows, through a glass pipeline, to the processing tank.

Eventually, urban sprawl made it impossible to keep the dairy operation going. Jim moved to Iowa for 10 years. Then he and his wife, Jenny, moved to Marathon County in central Wisconsin to get back into dairy. 

They lived in a camper for a while until they found a farm and got settled. 

“We came up here on weekends and fell in love with the place,” Jim said. 

“It reminded us more of Jim’s roots from out East,” Jenny said.

Now they have a small herd of about 60 Jerseys that grazes on lush green pastures. The milk is shipped only 20 miles to a locally-owned cheese plant.

Belying the idyllic scene, though, the farm has struggled with low milk prices, rising costs, and government policies that favor large-scale agriculture. 

“I don’t think anyone in Washington knows us types of farms even exist,” Briggs said. “Sometimes I don’t even know if they care if we exist.”

He says farmers would benefit from some type of national milk supply management system, like what Canada has, to lock in a reasonable profit. Under the current U.S. system, farmers operate under market forces largely beyond their control.

Often they don’t even know what they’ll be paid for their milk until two weeks after it leaves the farm. The price can be volatile, month to month. 

“Stable prices would be better for everyone, even the bigger farms,” Briggs said.

How does he feel about the future of his farm? 

“It depends on what day you ask me,” Briggs said. “Some days, I feel like I could do this for another 20 years. Other days, I’m ready to give it up tomorrow.”

New technologies and revenue streams could keep farms afloat

Small dairies will probably survive if their operating costs are low enough, they have off-farm income, or a unique product that fetches a higher price. They’ll likely boost their revenue with alternative crops, such as maple syrup and hazelnuts, and become better connected to local food markets. 

Some may even create a future out of thin air with industrial-scale photosynthesis that captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and with sunlight, converts it into the fuel additive ethanol. 

Trade wars, diminished natural resources, and environmental pressures, could favor farming on a local scale.  “We are going to return to small and medium-size farms that are distributed throughout the world,” said Jack Uldrich, a futurist from Minneapolis. 

Last summer, he visited Roehl Acres, a Clark County dairy farm run by Dennis and Suzie Roehl. Next July, the Roehls will host Wisconsin Farm Technology Days, one of the largest agricultural shows in the nation. 

The Roehls would like to install a robotic milking system in their century-old barn to lessen their need for hired help. With the savings in labor, they figure it would only take around six years to pay for it. 

“Everything’s always evolving,” Dennis says. “As long as we embrace the technology and bend with the times, I think there’s a future here.”

He’s not counting on meaningful changes from Washington.

“So let them do what they’re going to do. All I can do is manage what I can on my farm, watch my expenses, and increase my income if I can,” he said. 

Consumers play a vital role

John Ikerd, professor emeritus of agricultural economics at University of Missouri, says Wisconsin is one of the few remaining states where small, independent dairy farms are still viable. But for that to continue, he says, consumers will have to embrace local food production. 

“The ultimate change has to come from an informed public,” Ikerd said. “People have to wake up to the fact of what’s going on.”

Farmers could work together to build their own processing plants and create retail markets that capture more of the consumer dollar. 

“I think the key is going to be relocalizing the food system, and you can begin that now,” Ikerd said. “You can find customers that care about the way the animals are treated, that care about the impacts of the production process on the land and on other people … they will pay you enough to make those kinds of operations economically viable”

Steve Kelm, a dairy science professor at University of Wisconsin-River Falls, says America’s Dairyland remains well positioned for the future.

“We’re the envy of states across the U.S. in terms of our processors, in terms of our ability to make cheese, in terms of our ability to make a high-end product,” Kelm said.

The industry contributes more than $45 billion a year to Wisconsin’s economy. Farms, dairy equipment manufacturers, processing plants, milk haulers, feed mills, bovine genetics firms, dairy software companies, and many other farm businesses create economic waves that roll across the nation. 

“I think that we’re very fortunate in the United States to have one of the most affordable food systems in the world, and also one of the safest systems in the world,” Kelm said.

“And so should I, as a consumer, be willing to pay more for that? To be honest, the answer is probably ‘yes,'” Kelm said. “I’m willing to pay more for each upgrade on my iPhone. I’m willing to pay more for any number of things in my life, so I’m pretty confident that I can pay a bit more for dairy products and food in general.”

Shawn Schmitz, from Fond du Lac, says if he and his father had received even a modest amount more for their milk, it would have covered their costs and kept them in business. 

“We wouldn’t have gotten rich, but we would probably have gotten by,” he said. 

Still, the downturn was so prolonged, and so steep, it became too late to recover.  While Schmitz says he misses dairy farming, especially the cows, unless something changes he probably wouldn’t encourage a young person to get into it.

“As much as it may be in your blood, unless you’ve got a good financial backer, you’re gonna be struggling,” he said.

Then he pauses for a moment.

“Hey, if you want to do it, go ahead and try. But you’re gonna have to work your tail off and have some extra income to help you make it.”

He wants small farms to succeed, and while he’s got a job in the city now, he still goes to hay auctions sometimes and keeps an eye on things like cattle prices.  

“I think you’ve got to have the smaller farms because you can’t just count on these big farms all the time. You’ve still got to have the little guy,” Schmitz said.

Then he added, “I think Wisconsin will always be America’s Dairyland. I hope to God it is.”

How to watch

Milwaukee PBS will air “America’s Dairyland at the Crossroads,” a documentary done in partnership with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Pulitzer Center and FRONTLINE, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18. The hourlong program will air on the station’s WMVS, channel 10.1, and on Spectrum cable television’s channel 16. A link to the full program will be available on the Journal Sentinel’s website and Facebook page.

Source: jsonline.com

Raw milk produced by Swan Bros. Dairy, Inc. of Claremore, Oklahoma is the subject of a statewide recall due to the confirmed detection of Listeria. Anyone who has purchased or received raw milk products from Swan Bros. Dairy, Inc. is strongly urged to dispose of any remaining product.

The raw milk products were sold in plastic half-gallons, gallons and pints directly from the Swan Bros. Dairy in Claremore and include raw whole milk, raw 2% milk, raw skim milk and raw heavy cream sold in pints.

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (ODAFF) says consumers should not drink or eat these products and they should be thrown away immediately.

ODAFF found the Listeria bacteria in a routine sample collected from Swan Bros. Dairy Inc. 

Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food.

Most illnesses likely occur due to consuming raw/non-pasteurized milk and milk products and undercooked meat products. Pasteurization kills food borne pathogens and harmful bacteria like Listeria.

If you have consumed any raw milk or raw milk products from Swan Bros. Dairy, Inc., it is recommended to dispose of the remaining product and contact your medical provider if you experience any symptoms.

Source: kfor.com

The Canadian Dairy Commission (CDC) announced on Friday, October 29 an unprecedented 8.4% increase in the cost of milk used to make dairy products for the retail and restaurant sectors effective February 1, 2022. This will impact some categories like butter by more than 12%.

Grocery retailers are seeing food price increases from many of their vendors but this one is particularly difficult given that it is an essential product for Canadian families and children in particular. RCC understands that farm input costs have increased significantly and that dairy famers are understandably looking to recoup those costs, but what the system lacks is any meaningful input on behalf of Canadian consumers. The three current members of the Canadian Dairy Commission are two dairy farmers and the former CEO of a milk marketing board. Simply put, consumer interests for Canadian families, or for that matter, the vital interests of the grocery or restaurant industries, go unrepresented on the CDC.

RCC issued a statement to the Toronto Star underscoring this increase as an example of one of many recent historic price increases being experienced by retailers, and met with the CDC on Monday, November 1 to convey our concerns with the process. RCC is also working with Restaurants Canada and other industry partners to consider next steps, including the potential for additional media messaging and potential advocacy to ensure that the needs of retailers and consumers are reflected in the CDC’s processes and decisions.

Who: Dairy Farmers of Ontario, with No Fixed Address for strategy, creative and public relations, Northstar Research Partners, and Starcom for media.

What: The latest iteration of DFO’s two-year-old “Dairy Done Right” campaign, which aims to put a face to the province’s dairy farmers. It is part of a recent wave of marketing for the organization, including a partnership between its culinary brand Savour Ontario, the LCBO, and wine brand Henry of Pelham, and “Pick Me Ups,” a pop-up shop targeting Gen Z consumers where customers could purchase dairy-themed products using only social posts.

When & Where: The campaign is in market now, running until Nov. 21 across TV and complemented by what is described as a “major” out-of-home component, as well as social, digital and PR.

Why: As with previous efforts in the campaign, it’s about putting a face to the more than 4,000 dairy farmers operating throughout Ontario. “We want this campaign to reinforce that Ontario’s dairy producers are hardworking people who want the best for their families, friends and neighbours,” said the organization in a release.

How: The campaign is anchored by a 30-second TV spot called “The Reminder,” which profiles a dairy farming family, the Kruls from Arthur, Ont. The spot is narrated by the daughter who—over images of a working day on the farm—tells viewers “On our family dairy farm, there’s a saying—that the sun doesn’t start the day, we do. It’s our daily reminder to be our best, make our best.”

As the spot shifts to visuals of families enjoying foods made with Ontario milk, the girl informs viewers that her family’s farm is part of something bigger. The closing super reads “Dairy done with everyone in mind,” which is then shortened to the campaign tagline, “Dairy done right.”

The out-of-home and digital banners feature portraits of another Ontario farming family, the Donkers from the hamlet of Shedden Ont., accompanied by headlines including “For Ontario families by Ontario families” and “Proudly local. Both us and the milk.”

And we quote: “We wanted to show the commitment of every member of the dairy farming family in producing high-quality milk every single day… We want this campaign to reinforce that Ontario’s dairy producers are hardworking people who want the best for their families, friends and neighbours.” —DFO’s chief marketing officer, Rosa Checchia

Source: the-message.ca