Merrigan Anounces Funding For Organics

News EditorGeneral

Recently, Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced $50 Million for a new initiative to meet the Obama Administration’s promise to encourage more organic agriculture production. Funding for the initiative is being made available as part of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

“Assisting organic producers is a priority of the 2008 Farm Bill as well as for Secretary Vilsack and the Obama Administration,” said Merrigan. “The objective of this initiative is to make organic food producers eligible to compete for EQIP financial assistance.”

The 2009 Organic Initiative is a nationwide special initiative to provide financial assistance to National Organic Program (NOP) certified organic producers as well as producers in the process of transitioning to organic production. Organic producers may also apply for assistance under general EQIP.

Under the Organic Initiative required minimum core conservation practices will be determined by specific resource concerns. The practices are: Conservation Crop Rotation; Cover Crop; Nutrient Management; Pest Management; Prescribed Grazing; and Forage Harvest Management. States must consider using any appropriate practice that meets the resource concern on a particular operation.

Applications received from organic producers or producers in transition to organic farming will be accepted under this initiative between May 11 and May 29. Applications will be ranked at that time.

To assist with eligibility questions there are two separate National Screening Tools for applicants (one for producers transitioning for the first time and one for certified organic producers transitioning additional land or adding additional conservation practices). Ranking criteria has been established based on resource concerns that link to the NOP objectives and the core conservation practices.

The USDA National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) meets twice per year and is primarily responsible for developing standards to be used in organic production. The NOSB also advises the Secretary on other aspects of implementing the National Organic Program which develops, implements, and administers national production, handling, and labeling standards for organic agricultural products. Deputy Secretary Merrigan helped create NOSB while working on the Senate Agriculture Committee. This is Merrigan’s first NOSB meeting since being sworn in as Agriculture Deputy Secretary.

The 2009 Organic Initiative will be administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Interested producers should visit their nearest USDA Service Center to determine eligibility.

Dairyline Markets In Review

News EditorMarkets

DairylineDairy Markets Week in Review
The cash cheese market has a long way to recover. The block price fell to the government support price of $1.13 per pound to start the week on Monday, May 11, but reversed gears and regained some Wednesday, only to give most of it back Thursday. It closed Friday at $1.1325 per pound, down a half-cent on the week, and 94 3/4-cents below a year ago when the blocks hit $2.08, and were on their way to the record $2.2850 in mid May.

Barrel finished Friday at $1.08, up 2 1/2-cents on the week, but 95 cents below a year ago. Fifty eight cars of block traded hands on the week and 41 of barrel. The NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price fell to $1.1792, down 3.3 cents. Barrel averaged $1.1121, down 3 cents.

Butter closed Friday at $1.2650, up 2 1/2-cents on the week, but still 23 1/2-cents below a year ago. Only eight cars were sold on the week. NASS butter averaged $1.1980, up 0.6 cent. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged 82.75 cents, up 0.4 cent, and dry whey averaged 23.01 cents, up 1.7 cents.

Price support purchases for the week totaled just 2.1 million pounds of nonfat dry milk, raising the cumulative total to 236.1 million.

Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

Vilsack Announces School Meal Grant Programs

News EditorGovernment, Industry News

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced more than $300,000 in grant awards to eight state agencies to conduct administrative reviews of school meals programs.

The Administrative Review and Training Grants support states in their efforts to increase operational accuracy in the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.

“The National School Lunch and Breakfast programs are essential to the well-being of our children, especially among those that are nutritionally at risk,” said Secretary Vilsack. “This effort will help states enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of these critical programs so that benefits are provided to needy children in the best way possible.”

During the two-year grant period, states will conduct targeted administrative reviews of school food authorities that have had or are likely to experience high level of risk or error in program operations. In these reviews, states will examine application, certification, verification, meal counting and meal claiming procedures. Of the eight states that applied for grants, all were funded.

USDA’s School Lunch and Breakfast programs are among 15 nutrition-assistance programs that together comprise the nation’s food safety net, which also includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). More information on the Administrative Review and Training Grants is available.

Penn State Online

News EditorEducation, Industry News

Have you subscribed yet to the Penn State University Youtube channel? The University has some great videos, especially two that feature dairy. Check them out and be sure to suscribe!

The Penn State Creamery, From Cow to Cone
A Creamery ice cream is a tradition for generations of Penn Stater’s and their guests. But there’s more than meets the eye, or the mouth for that matter. Every cone of ‘Peachy Paterno’, or cup of ‘Death by Chocolate’ begins with the cream provided by the cows at Penn State’s dairy barns only a short mile north of the Creamery Store. Creamery Ice Cream represents the University’s agricultural roots, and remains today a symbol of Penn State pride.

“Penn State…Proud to Dairy.”

Midwest Dairy Association Pledges $65,000 to Iowa Food Banks

News EditorGeneral

3-a-daylogo-200The dairy farmers and processors of the Iowa are proud to announce a $65,000 to the state’s six food banks to provide dairy products to those seeking community assistance.

Recognizing the critical need for nutrient-rich food donations, Midwest Dairy Association, will also provide ongoing educational materials to food banks for their clients, highlighting the nutritional benefits of consuming three servings of milk, cheese and yogurt per day.

Iowa’s six food banks — Food Bank of Iowa, Food Bank of Southern Iowa, HACAP, Nebraska Food Bank, Northeast Iowa Food Bank and Riverbend Food Bank, which serve the state’s 99 counties, will purchase dairy products from Iowa dairy processors as needed over the next 12 months with the money donated by Midwest Dairy Association. Participating dairy processor partners include: Anderson-Erickson, Associated Milk Producers, Inc., Dean Foods/Land O’Lakes Milk, Foremost Farms, Roberts Dairy and Swiss Valley Farms.

“During these tough economic times, Iowa dairy farmers are embracing family and community now more than ever and thinking about how we can help others,” said Joe Lyon, a dairy farmer from Tama, Iowa and president of the Iowa Division of Midwest Dairy Association. “We worked with the Iowa Department of Agriculture, Iowa dairy farmers and processors to make this donation possible so those in need have access to a variety of nutrient-rich dairy products.”

“With nine essential nutrients, milk and dairy foods are one of the most wholesome and economical sources of nutrition,” said Nicole Stahr, a registered dietitian with the Midwest Dairy Council. “The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend children and adults get at least three servings of dairy each day for strong bones and teeth and overall good health.”

“At times it can be difficult to supply the many non-profit agencies we serve with dairy products,” said Carey Miller, executive director of the Food Bank of Iowa. “It is a welcome surprise and very satisfying to know we’ll have more opportunities to provide Iowans with local, nutritious dairy products and the education materials to encourage healthy habits.”

CWT Announces Landmark Herd Retirement

News Editorcwt, Industry News

cwtlogoCooperatives Working Together (CWT) announced today that it has tentatively accepted 388 bids representing 102,898 cows and 2 billion pounds of milk production capacity in the first of a series of herd retirements planned over the next twelve months. The number of cows and pounds of milk represent the largest single herd retirement carried out in the six year history of CWT.

Dairy farmers in 41 states submitted a total of 538 herd retirement bids by the May 1 deadline. The 388 bids tentatively accepted represent 72 percent of the total bids received by CWT. The number of cows now scheduled to be removed account for 64 percent of the total number of cows offered and the 2 billion pounds of milk account for 67 percent of the milk production offered.

“The high percentage of bids CWT selected this time around is an indication that producers understood that CWT would only be able to accept reasonable bids per hundred pounds of milk in order to adjust the nation’s dairy herd and better align supply and demand,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), which administers CWT.

Starting next week, CWT field auditors will begin visiting the 388 farms whose bids were accepted, checking their milk production records, inspecting their herds, and tagging each cow for processing. All farms should be audited by early July and cows should begin moving off dairies by late May. All bidders will be notified no later than June 12, 2009, as to whether their bid was among those accepted.

“The bids selected ranged from farms with fewer than 50 cows to dairies with over 5,000, demonstrating that farms of all sizes in all areas are facing a very difficult year in 2009,” Kozak said. “Those that took advantage of CWT’s offer to retire their herds will aid others still wanting to farm by reducing the amount of milk coming to market and strengthening prices going forward.”

“CWT, thanks to the commitment of 36 cooperative members and over 500 individual dairy farmer members, has the resources to carry out additional herd retirements in the coming months. That is why CWT will not announce the average level of the bids accepted until all the herd retirements are completed,” Kozak noted. “We will continue to monitor key economic indicators in order to determine the right time to implement the next herd retirement.”

Producers whose bids are accepted in this herd retirement will be paid in two installments: 90% of the amount bid times the producer’s 12 months of milk production when it is verified that that all cows have gone to slaughter, and the remaining 10% plus interest at the end of 12 months following the farm audit, if both the producer and his dairy facility – whether owned or leased – do not become involved in the commercial production and marketing of milk during that period.

Feeding High Moisture Corn

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

Pioneer Hi-Bred Forage Forum PodcastHigh moisture corn offers growers both agronomic and nutritional benefits. Fred Owens, Pioneer senior research scientist, discusses some of these benefits, including, high digestibility, earlier harvest window and increased nutritional energy value.

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://zimmcomm.biz/pioneer/pioneer-podcast-54-wdd.mp3] Fred Owens on Feeding High Moisture Corn (5:00 min MP3)

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

Arkansas Family Named County Farm Family of the Year

News EditorIndustry News

bcdr_pc0010300Congratulations to Arkansas dairy farmers Bill and Delia Haak and their family for being named Benton County Farm Family of the Year.

“This is the one occasion of the year when we get to celebrate a farm family,” said Robert Seay of the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

“We have 2,100 farm families in Benton County, and this is one day we can focus on the accomplishments and contributions of those families,” Seay said.

“One of the big things about this family is they are very, very active in the local community,” Jim Singleton, chairman of the Benton County Farm Family Selection Committee, said of Bill’s service with the Benton County Conservation District and Delia’s work with the Illinois River Watershed Project.

“We have a very deserving family, and we are so proud to have them represent us this year,” Singleton said.

“Today is special for all farm families because it is giving recognition to all of the hard work our farm families do to provide food,” said Susan Anglin, the 1996 winner of Farm Family of the Year.

“It makes you feel very proud of what you do and the fact that your family and friends are trying to support you in what you do,” Anglin said of the award.

“This is nice because (farming) is seven days a week and almost 365 days a year. It is nice people recognize that it is hard work and perseverance,” Delia said.

“It is an award that we are sharing with all of the people here. Each and every one of them had had a big part in making this farm a success,” Bill said, with a smile beaming from his face as he looked around at all of the people gathered at his home to celebrate the occasion with him.

“I am very proud of him,” Delia said, smiling brightly at her husband. “He is a very good man.”

WMMB Election Results

News EditorDairy Checkoff, Industry News

WisMilkMarketingBoardLogoThe Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) announced the results of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) 2009 Board of Directors election. There were 11 nominees running for eight seats. Of the 4,016 producers eligible to vote, 16.7% returned ballots within the election period held April 13 through April 25, 2009.

WMMB directors guide the organization’s financial affairs, formulate and set WMMB policies, approve WMMB’s mission, and serve on one of two committees — Channel Management or Communications. All WMMB programs (which are funded by Wisconsin dairy producer check-off dollars) are designed to increase demand for Wisconsin-produced milk. For more information on WMMB and the 2009 election, visit

Commencing July 1, the following producers are certified as elected members of the WMMB.

District 2 – Florence, Forest, Langlade, Marinette, Oconto, Vilas Director: Connie Seefeldt, Coleman

District 5 – Dunn and St. Croix Director: Kay Zwald, Hammond

District 8 – Marathon Director: Steve Sternweis, Marshfield

District 11 – Outagamie and Winnebago Director: Robert Letter, Seymour

District 14 – Jackson, La Crosse, Trempealeau Director: Patricia Kling, Taylor

District 17 – Calumet and Manitowoc Director: Rosalie Geiger, Reedsville

District 20 – Richland and Sauk Director: Sharon Laubscher, Wonewoc

District 23 – Iowa and Lafayette Director: Jay M. Stauffacher, Darlington

DFA Sells Shares in National Dairy

News EditorIndustry News

DFA logoDairy Farmers of America (DFA) Inc. has sold its 87.5 percent stake in its biggest property, Dallas-based National Dairy, to Mexican company Grupo Lala for an undisclosed amount. Based in La Laguna, Mexico, Grupo Lala’s U.S. operations are based in Dallas.

Kansas City-based DFA is a dairy-marketing cooperative owned by nearly 18,000 dairy farmers in 48 states. National Dairy operates 18 manufacturing plants and 79 distribution centers in 13 states. Its brands include Borden, Dairy Fresh, Velda Farms, Flav-O-Rich, Sinton’s, Cream O’ Weber, Meyer Dairy, Dairymens, Coburg Dairy, Goldenrod and Georgia Soft Serve Delights.

DFA plans to use proceeds from the sale to pay down debt and invest in new projects, DFA spokeswoman Kristi Bell said Friday. The transaction closed on Friday.

Grupo Lala spokesman Mark Bonacci said the company plans no changes to National Dairy’s operations. Grupo Lala now owns 100 percent of National Dairy.

National Dairy had about 4,700 employees on Dec. 31, and no jobs were lost in the transaction, he said. Grupo Lala “view(s) National Dairy as a great company with great brands,” Bonacci said, and the companies have “virtually no overlap in their businesses.”