Dairy's Day in Copenhagen

Cindy ZimmermanDairy Checkoff, environment, usda, Waste Management

Dairy was in the spotlight today in Copenhagen at the Climate Change Summit when U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an agreement with U.S. dairy producers to accelerate adoption of innovative manure to energy projects on American dairy farms.

“This historic agreement, the first of its kind, will help us achieve the ambitious goal of drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions while benefiting dairy farmers,” Vilsack said from Copenhagen. “Use of manure to electricity technology is a win for everyone because it provides an untapped source of income for famers, provides a source of renewable electricity, reduces our dependence on foreign fossil fuels, and provides a wealth of additional environmental benefits.”

The agreement was made between USDA and Dairy Management Inc.’s Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy with the goal of reaching a 25 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2020.

DMI CEO Tom Gallagher says memorandum came about because of the commitment of U.S. dairy farmers and the dairy industry to a sustainable future that includes both environmental and economic viability. “Sustainability goes hand in hand with our heritage of taking care of the land and natural resources while producing nutritious products that consumers want,” said Gallagher.

Under the agreement, USDA intends to increase the number of anaerobic digesters supported by USDA programs. Beyond promoting the digesters, the agreement will encourage research, and development of new technologies to help dairies reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Anaerobic digester technology is a proven method of converting waste products, such as manure, into electricity. The technology utilizes generators that are fueled by methane captured from the animal manure. Currently, only about 2 percent of U.S. dairies that are candidates for a profitable digester are utilizing the technology. Dairy operations with anaerobic digesters routinely generate enough electricity to power 200 homes.

Silage Inoculant Application Technology

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Forage Forum, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Podcast, Silage

pioneerPioneer nutritional sciences manager Bill Mahanna likes to show off cool tools that can make life better for dairy producers. This one is Pioneer’s AppliPro® SLV (Super Low Volume) Forage Additives Applicator System, which Bill talked about during the Forage Media Day in September.

Pioneer Hi-Bred Forage Forum PodcastIn this “must hear” Forage Forum, Bill discusses inoculant application technology and how drastically it has changed over the past 30 years.

Listen to the podcast here:

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://zimmcomm.biz/pioneer/pioneer-podcast-67-wdd.mp3] Bill Mahanna on Silage Inoculant Application (5:00 min MP3)

To see all archived Pioneer Forage Forum podcasts, click here.

Turkey Hill's 12 Days of Ice Cream is Back

News EditorIce Cream, Media

12daysHave you been over to the Turkey Hill Ice Cream Journal lately? Well, bookmark it today, because the annual 12 Days of Ice Cream is once again starting!

It just wouldn’t be the holiday season without the “12 Days of Ice Cream” on our blog, the Ice Cream Journal, which is why Turkey Hill is bringing the festive fun back for a third year.

The 12 Days of Ice Cream has finally arrived, so let the celebration begin! Just to recap, we’ll be posting a new blog entry every day in the 12 days leading up to Christmas and each day will feature a prize which will be given away to one comment chosen at random from that entry. Why? Because we love ice cream and the holiday and giving stuff away!

For new readers (welcome!), you can sign up to have new Ice Cream Journal entries delivered right to your in-box by entering your email address in the “Subscribe” field in the right hand sidebar. That way, you don’t have to remember to come back and visit us every day and you’ll never miss an entry!

To get us all warmed up and in the commenting mood, we’ll end this entry with a question for everyone:

As an ice cream lover, what’s on your holiday wish list this year?

Source: Turkey Hill Ice Cream Journal

Dairy Markets Week in Review

News EditorDairyline

DairylineDairy Markets Week in Review
The cash dairy markets saw little change the second week of December but were well above a year ago . Block cheese closed Friday at $1.70 per pound, down 1 3/4-cents on the week but 18 3/4-cents above a year ago, when they tumbled almost 28 cents. That began a fall to $1.07 in the second week of 2009.

Barrel closed Friday at $1.46, unchanged on the week, 24 cents below the blocks, and 6 1/4-cents below a year ago when the barrels rolled 22 1/2-cents lower, beginning a slide to $1.07. Nineteen cars of block traded hands this week and two of barrel. The lagging, NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price gained 2.7 cents, hitting $1.5847. Barrel averaged $1.5168, up 2 cents.

Butter lost 2 cents Monday but gained it back Friday and closed at $1.45, unchanged on the week, but 34 cents above a year ago. Twenty cars were sold this week. NASS butter averaged $1.4982, up 0.8 cent.

Grade A nonfat dry milk closed Friday at $1.38, down 2 3/4-cents on the week, with two cars sold. Extra Grade held at $1.40. NASS powder averaged $1.2617, up 5.7 cents, and dry whey averaged 36.23 cents, up 0.9 cent.

Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

Carlsons Named Minnesota Producers of the Year

News EditorCompetition, Industry News

2009 POY_Carlson Dairy LLPCongratulations to Carlson Dairy, LLP for being named Minnesota’s 2009 Producers of the Year by Minnesota Milk Producers Association! The award is given out every year to producers who have a proven commitment to managing their dairy for quality, enthusiasm in promoting the dairy industry and are active leaders in their local community.

Carlson Dairy is a century farm near Willmar, Minn. that is owned and operated by Curtney and Louise Carlson with their two sons, Chad and Carl, and their families. Chad and Kindra Carlson have three sons, Cael (9), Caden (7) and Conlan (3). Carl and Kellie Carlson also have three sons, Colten (12), Clay (10) and Cavin (2).

Operating a high-producing, well-managed, innovative, and sustainable family-owned dairy is their vision. One of their first steps to accomplishing this vision was modernizing their facility by transitioning from a 100-cow tie-stall herd into a new 450-cow freestall barn and milking parlor across the road in 2000. Then recently in 2008, the Carlson’s transitioned their 6-row freestall barn into a 10-row cross-ventilated barn with sand bedding, and a new manure handling system where the sand is continuously recycled and reused with the help of two new sand settling lanes.

Carlson Dairy currently milks 900 dairy cows in a double 14 parallel milking parlor. Apart from family members, they have 15 full-time and 5 part-time employees. The Carlson’s understand that part of their business mission requires them to be engaged and involved at a local and state-wide level. Curtney has served on the Mamre Township Board for the last 14 years, including the past 6 years as President. Within Kandiyohi County, their family also currently serves and holds offices on the American Dairy Association Board, DHIA Board,
and Holstein Association Board of Directors.

Source: Minnesota Milk Producers Association

NDC Supports Fuel Up to Play 60

News EditorDairy Checkoff, Education

fuel_up_to_play_iconThe National Dairy Council reports:

Two new studies show how important forming healthy food and beverage habits can be in children and adolescents. This science adds to a growing body of evidence that has helped shape a new nutrition and physical activity program from the National Football League and National Dairy Council (NDC) called Fuel Up to Play 60.

One study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that what 5-year-old girls drink can predict their weight status for the remainder of childhood and into adolescence. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University found that those who drank more sweetened beverages, such as soda and sports drinks, at the age of 5 were more likely to be overweight over the following 10 years. Additionally, the nutrient-rich beverages displaced the sodas and sports drinks – girls who drank more milk and 100% fruit juice drank fewer nutritionally empty sweetened beverages.

Another study, in the current issue of Public Health Nutrition, reinforces recent reports that suggest low consumption of nutrient-rich foods – specifically low-fat and fat-free dairy foods, fruits, vegetables and whole grains – can contribute to obesity among young adults.

Source: National Dairy Council

Moses Calf – Divine Sign of Higher Milk Prices?

News EditorGeneral

Connecticut dairy farmer Brad Davis had a special calf born this week on Buttercup Farm – a bull calf now called “Moses.” Born with a white section of hair on his forehead that resembles a cross, Brad Davis is hoping that the calf is a special sign of “higher milk prices.”

Tell us about cows you’ve had born on your farm with unique markings!

Novus to Acquire Albion

Cindy ZimmermanNovus International, Nutrition

novusNovus International has announced plans to acquire the Animal Nutrition Division of Albion Laboratories in Clearfield, Utah.

novusProducts from the acquisition will align with Novus’s MINTREX® chelated trace mineral products and further expand its mineral technology. When complete, this acquisition will enable Novus to offer its customers and the animal agriculture market an expanded chelated trace mineral product portfolio to support their livestock operations.

Since its establishment in 1956, Albion has been an innovator in mineral chelate nutrition. Albion manufactures highly bioavailable nutritional mineral forms and has a long-standing customer base in both the beef and dairy markets.

Read more here.

Dairy Farmers Make One Request: Competitive Milk Pricing System

Amanda NolzAgribusiness, Dairy Business, Government

washington-dc Here is some information about a group of dairy farmers from across the country who traveled recently to Washington D.C. to lobby for a competitive milk pricing system in the future, an effort to save more dairy farms from closing their doors. As told by Farm and Dairy in their article, Dairy Farmers Make One Request: Competitive Milk Pricing System, here is some information about their trip to discuss the dairy crisis with Congress.

More than 100 dairy farmers from New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee traveled to Washington, D.C., Dec. 2 to meet with congressional representatives and other officials to present solutions that would end the worst dairy crisis since the Great Depression.

Dairy farmers met with members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Education and Labor Committee and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to urge immediate action to restore fairness in the dairy pricing system, enforce anti-trust laws and ensure that dairy farmers receive a fair price for their product. Dairy farmers also called on the USDA to quickly distribute emergency assistance aid that was authorized by Congress and President Obama under the 2010 Agriculture Appropriations Bill in October.