Accelerated Genetics Releases New PACE Sires

Andy VanceAccelerated Genetics, Genetics, Production, Research

Accelerated Genetics released 12 new bulls for the Progressive Action Through Cooperative Efforts (PACE) program this week. Ayrshire, Jersey, and Holstein bulls will be randomly sampled by dairy producers participating in Accelerated Genetics’ PACE program.

Ayrshire Sire:
014AY00026 Sunrise-Ridge Charlie is a uniquely bred young sire is an Eastern son, who is leading the LPI sire list in Canada. Charlie’s dam, a Griffey daughter, is scored Excellent-90 and has completed a record of 29,270 pounds of milk, 1086 pounds of fat and 911 pounds of protein. Griffy is the number one PTI active AI sire and the number one net merit active AI sire. Charlie was bred by Todd Frescura of Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Read More

Help For Vermont Dairies

Chuck ZimmermanGeneral

Vermont Vermont Governor Jim Douglas and legislative leaders have announced an $8.9 million emergency relief package for Vermont’s farmers. According to a press release from the governor’s office, Douglas made the announcement at an emergency dairy summit he convened to discuss ways to provide both immediate and long term assistance to farmers.

“Working with the legislature, whose support for this package is appreciated, I am pleased to announce that the state will provide direct assistance to farmers totaling $8.6 million over the next few months,” Governor Douglas said. “We are taking this extraordinary step because our farmers have suffered the triple threat of low milk prices, high fuel prices and extreme weather that has destroyed crops and prevented the harvesting of hay.”

Also this week, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns designated the entire State of Vermont as a primary natural disaster area, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low-interest emergency loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Counties in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York were also included in the declaration, according to a USDA release.

Low Fat Dairy May Help Lower Blood Pressure

Chuck ZimmermanResearch

Harvard A new study by researchers from Harvard Medical School suggests that eating low-fat dairy products could help fight high blood pressure. According to an article by Health Day reporter Amanda Gardner, scientists “aren’t clear where the beneficial effect comes from, but they said low-fat dairy might be a crucial component of a healthy diet.” The lead author of the study, published in the August issue of the journal Hypertension, is Dr. Luc Djousse, associate epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Got Leche?

Chuck ZimmermanGeneral

Leche
Because an estimated one-third of Hispanics in this country are overweight and because New York is one of the most obese cities in the US, the milk industry is specifically targeting New York’s Hispanic residents to sign-up for the Great American Weight Loss Challenge. The 12-week program “provides the necessary tools to start losing weight in a healthy manner. The plan recommends drinking 24 ounces (or 3 glasses) of low-fat or fat-free milk every 24 hours, as part of a reduced calorie diet and an exercise program,” according to a release.

The Challenge stop in New York as part of a 75 city national tour, including the 8 most important Hispanic cities. So far, the tour has stopped in Miami, San Antonio, Phoenix, Houston, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and, after visiting New York, will visit Dallas, its last Hispanic city, in August. Among these 8 Hispanic cities, 7 (including New York) are among the list of the 25 most obese cities in the US: Chicago (1), Los Angeles (3), Dallas (4), Houston (5), San Antonio (12), Miami (14), and New York (25).

The Challenge is being promoted on the milk industry’s Hispanic website – www.2424leche.com.

Soccer Star Has Got Milk

Chuck ZimmermanMilk, Promotion

Freddy Adu - Got MilkHere’s a new MilkPep “Got Milk” campaign poster with Freddy Adu, soccer star.

The ad copy reads, “Kick into gear. Get noticed. On and off the field. The protein in milk helps build muscle, and some studies suggest teens who choose it tend to be leaner. Staying active, eating right, and drinking 3 glasses a day of lowfat or fat free milk helps you look great. Score one for milk.” The ad debuts in the July 4th issue of Sports Illustrated.

Ethanol Byproducts For Dairies

Chuck ZimmermanAudio, Feed

Jim RobbinsAfter this highway trip I’m on I’ll be back to posing more regularly. However I thought you might be interested in this interview since it mentions the dairy business.

Jim Robbins, Illinois Corn Marketing Board Director, showed up to greet the AASHTO convoy in Tinley Park, IL. In fact, he gave our convoy group and nice description of what ethanol means to him as a farmer and to our country.

Jim is a corn grower in Illinois right below Chicago. He also commented on ethanol plants like he’s involved with are working with dairies on the use of the dried distiller grains that are a byproduct of the ethanol making process.

I interviewed Jim prior to his speech: Listen to MP3 Jim Robbins Interview (4 min MP3)

Dairyline Markets In Review

Chuck ZimmermanDairyline, Markets

DairylineDairy Markets Week in Review

Last week’s milk production report fed the bears. Block cheese closed Friday at $1.1750 per pound, down 2 cents on the week, and 33 1/4-cents below a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.1650, also down 2 cents on the week, and 29 cents below a year ago. Eight cars of block traded hands on the week and none of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $1.2016, down slightly. Barrel averaged $1.2090, down 0.1 cent.

Butter closed at $1.1525, down 2 1/4-cents on the week, and 49 3/4 cents below a year ago. 10 cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1483, down 0.6 cent.

Price support purchases for the week totaled 1.9 million pounds of nonfat dry milk. That put the cumulative total at 63.6 million, up from 31.8 million a year ago.

Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

Southeast Dairy Testimony

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Business, Government

GMPThe Senate Agriculture Committee held its first field hearing on farm policy Friday in Albany, Georgia. One of those who testified was Tom Thompson with the Georgia Milk Producers who told the committee that “dairymen located in the Southeast are endanger of extinction. According to trendlines from the Federal Milk Marketing administrator’s office in Atlanta, without a change in the rules, the present trend lines indicate that virtually no dairies will exist in the southeast in the next ten years.” Thompson gave the committee several recommendations, including geographical reduction in the southeast order, restoring the relationship between plant utilization and production and the geographical proximity to those plants.
“Locally produced fluid milk for local consumption just makes good common sense,” he says.
Listen to Thompson’s complete testimony before the committee here. Listen To MP3 Hearing Testimony (6 min MP3)

CAFO Rule Change Proposed

Chuck ZimmermanGeneral, Government

EPA The Environmental Protection Agency has opened a 45-day comment period on a proposed rule that would revise the current permit system for concentrated animal feeding operations, according to an agency release.
Under the proposed rule, CAFOs — such as large pig, veal and poultry, beef and dairy farms — would continue to be required to properly manage the manure they generate. Public notice and review of nutrient management plans.

Public meetings have been scheduled on the proposed rule change:
July 24 in Raleigh, North Carolina
July 25 in Ames, Iowa
August 1 in Denver, Colorado
August 2 in Dallas, Texas
August 3 in Sacramento, California
Information on proposed rule can be found here.

Manure Powered Ethanol Production

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Business, Waste Management

Fair Oaks An ethanol facility powered by renewable energy from dairy waste is planned for a large Indiana dairy farm. Bion Environmental Technologies and Fair Oaks Dairy Farms have announced a joint venture that will enable environmentally sustainable expansion of animal agriculture in concert with ethanol production.

According to the news release, Bion’s technology platform provides sufficient renewable energy from the associated animal waste stream to produce ethanol absent any outside fuel source such as natural gas or coal, while it directly addresses the growing long-term risk to distiller grains revenues as those markets become increasingly saturated by the continued expansion of U.S. ethanol production.

That’s a pretty technical way of saying they intend to use cow manure to generate the power required for ethanol production. Bion’s research indicates they can create sufficient renewable energy to support one million gallons of ethanol for every 1,000 dairy cows The joint venture will start with a research center to determine the economic and environmental sustainability of utilizing sand bedding in conjunction with Bion’s technology platform. Based upon that evaluation, Stage Two will include a Bion treatment system for Fair Oaks’ dairy herd and potentially other local dairy herds, along with an ethanol plant of a size to be determined by the number of participating dairy animals.

Fair Oaks is “the largest dairy east of the Mississippi River and an industry leader in efforts to find a solution to dairy environmental issues,” according to the release.