Indiana Mandates Premise Registration

Chuck ZimmermanAnimal ID, Government

Indiana Board of Animal HealthThe state of Indiana is mandating premises identification and registration. It started yesterday, September 1st.

Last week, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns assured attendees at the 2006 ID Info Expo that the national animal identification system would remain voluntary for the foreseeable future. Indiana is one of several states taking that has decided to mandate registrations. At that same meeting, Jennifer Greiner with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health spoke to participants about Indiana’s plans and Cindy interviewed her on that topic.

Listen To MP3 File Greiner interview (5 min MP3)

To register your premises in Indiana, click here.

CWT Export Assistance Bids

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, Export

Cooperatives Working TogetherHere’s the latest announcements from Cooperatives Working Together:

  • Cooperatives Working Together announced Tuesday that it has accepted four export assistance bid for the sale of cheese. The first bid is from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, for the export of 36 metric tons (79,200 pounds) of Mozzarella cheese to Saudi Arabia. The other three bids are from Land O’Lakes of Arden Hills, MN: one for the export of 60 metric tons (132,000 lbs.) of Cheddar cheese to South Korea, a second for 40 metric tons (88,000 lbs.) of Monterey Jack cheese to South Korea, and a third for 20 metric tons (44,000 lbs.) of Mozzarella cheese to Taiwan. CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidders, once completion of the cheese shipments is verified.
  • Cooperatives Working Together announced Friday that it has accepted three export assistance bid for the sale of cheese. The first bid is from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, for the export of 72 metric tons (158,400 pounds) of Monterey Jack cheese to Japan. The other two bids are from Land O’Lakes of Arden Hills, MN: one for the export of 254 metric tons (558,800 lbs.) of Mozzarella cheese to Saudi Arabia, and a second for 40 metric tons (88,000 lbs.) of Cheddar cheese to South Korea. CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidders, once completion of the cheese shipments is verified.

    • Dairyline Markets In Review

    Chuck ZimmermanDairyline, Markets

    DairylineDairy Markets Week in Review

    The dairy markets saw more ups and downs the last week of August. Block cheese closed Friday at $1.3475 per pound, the highest price since late January. That’s 5 1/4-cents above the previous week but 15 1/4-cents below a year ago. Barrel climbed to $1.3350 and then gave back some on Friday, closing at $1.3125, up 2 1/4-cents on the week, but 17 3/4 cents below a year ago. 18 cars of block traded hands on the week and 7 of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $1.1925, up 1.9 cents. Barrel averaged $1.2046, up 3.9 cents.

    Butter closed Friday at $1.3675, up 1 1/4-cents on the week, but 32 3/4 cents below a year ago. 40 cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.2406, up 1.8 cents.

    Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

    Hesston Header Heightens Drydown

    Andy VanceAgribusiness, Feed, Nutrition, Production

    AGCO’s Hesston line of hay equipment now features a new disc double conditioner header for faster drydown. The 9180 disc header features two sets of steel-on-steel herringbone conditioning rolls for smoother crop throughput and more thorough crimping. This system is known as the Advanced Conditioner System, or ACS. AGCO says efficent haymaking is about quality and time, and that the 9180 delivers, processing heavy crops faster and more evenly. The header also produces windrows that will dry down faster, with a more even crimping for a more palatable forage.

    The 9180 Disc Head sports a 15’3″ cutter bar, with a rotary head driven from each end of the bar to equalize torque load, reducing wear and prolonging gear life.

    Hesston points out that the cracking of the stems speeds drydown, and the ACS system completely cracks the stems while leaving leaves intact and attached. The herringbone design keeps the windrows consistent without bunching, while fluffing the crop to aid drying.

    AgriMarketing magazine offers a more thorough review of the product here, and AGCO hosts a thorough look at the 9000 series self-propelled windrower here.

    AgriTech Analytics Names General Manager

    Chuck ZimmermanGeneral

    Bill VerBoortAgriTech Analytics, Inc. (ATA) has a new General Manager and his name is Bill VerBoort. He’ll be working out of their Visalia, CA office.

    ATA is a leader in dairy records, processing over 1,000,000 cow records per month to provide valuable management information to dairy producers and the dairy industry. VerBoort comes to AgriTech from California DHIA, where he had served as the General Manager since 1991. He has also served as the General Manager of Brown County DHIA in Wisconsin and Arizona DHIA. During VerBoort’s years of service to the DHI system, among other committees, he served as the Chair of the North American Managers Group and on the Board of Dairy Herd Improvement Association Services.

    Monsanto's Chief Technology Officer

    Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Audio

    Rob Fraley At the Farm Progress Show Monsanto has a huge display showcasing their current and new technology. Although it’s mostly about row crops when I interviewed their Chief Technology Officer, Rob Fraley, he talked about what Monsanto is doing in the dairy area.

    I though it was interesting how he compares the way they handle the technology for dairy product development just like that of crops.

    You can listen to Rob Fraley’s comment here: Listen to MP3 Rob Fraley Comment (1 min MP3)

    One Man’s Treasure

    Chuck ZimmermanGeneral

    Milk BottleGot milk bottles?

    Old milk bottles are finding new life again in the hands of collectors. All across the country, people with fond memories of the milkman delivering, are scouring basements, attics and antique shops looking for discarded bottles. Here’s an AP story out of Decatur, Ill. about some hard core bottle collectors.

    The dairy enthusiast group gathers every three months to swap stories about their collections of milk bottles and talk about the history of long-forgotten dairies in the city and county. The unique thing about Decatur is that milk bottles continue to be found in people’s basements. One collector recently paid $300 for a rare milk bottle found in a man’s garage.

    Chinese Urged to Increase Milk Consumption

    Chuck ZimmermanInternational, Nutrition

    This was a surprise to me. The largest population in the world, China, is only consuming one-fifth of the world’s milk. Maybe we should export the “Happy Cow” ads to encourage the Chinese to drink more milk! Here’s the story from the Hindu News Update Service.Chinese Babies

    China’s per capita milk consumption is only 21.7 litres or a fifth of the world average, resulting in slower growth of babies above one year old, the state media reported. “Chinese babies up to 12 months old are the same as Western babies in terms of health, but grow slower thereafter, especially during adolescence,” a survey by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture showed. Chinese experts have urged the public to “drink milk for a lifetime.”

    Caffeine or Calcium?

    Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, Nutrition

    New York Dairy Growing up, we always had milk at the table during meals. Soda was a special treat. At today’s tables though, it seems soda is replacing the traditional milk, with concerning results. In a recent survey of the New York State Dietetic Association (NYSDA), eighty-three percent of the 674 members cited calcium as the single nutrient most lacking in kids’ diets today. Almost 30% of boys and 10% of girls are consuming the recommended daily intake of calcium.

    The general consensus among NYSDA members is that too much soda consumption has been partly responsible for the children’s calcium deficiency, with 96 percent citing soft drinks as the root cause of childhood obesity. Instead, they say, children should drink milk with their meals. This dietary change, away from milk products and towards fruit or soft drinks, is due to parents not drinking enough milk themselves, and so being poor role models, said the researchers.

    What to Demand from Data

    Chuck ZimmermanAudio, Forage Forum, General, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Podcast

    Pioneer Hi-Bred Forage Forum Podcast Experts agree on the basics for believability in corn silage plot data. Dr. Bill Mahanna, coordinator of global nutritional services for Pioneer Hi-Bred, details credibility thresholds for confidence in that data. He also clarifies the seven most relevant categories of silage corn data, including which ones he believes are most revealing for comparison of genetics. Supported by university studies, Bill helps identify which numbers count.
    Listen To MP3 File Dr. Bill Mahanna on interpreting silage plot data (4 min MP3)