Everyone is concerned about energy these days. Heck, the high price of fuel of all kinds is enough of a reason. Vigilistics has just introduced some software to help processing facilities out. Their new software package offers real-time operations intelligence and energy-use analysis
“The cost of natural gas has doubled in the last few years,” said Robert Moore, Vigilistics CEO. “Our customers urged us to add energy management capabilities to the Vigilistics real-time operations intelligence software, which is already used by dairy processors for reducing milk losses.” Vigilistics offers five configurable modules for energy management.Read More
IDFA Promotes Kristin Wilcox
Kristin Pearson Wilcox has been promoted to vice president of legislative and political affairs at the IDFA. She will be taking a lead role in the development and implementation of IDFA’s legislative and political strategy, which includes responsibility for federal government relations, grassroots activity, election outreach, and the Ice Cream, Milk and Cheese Political Action Committee.
“Kristin played a major role in the passage of legislation benefiting our members, including a Child Nutrition Act that enhanced milk’s role in schools and, most recently, the Milk Regulatory Equity Act,” said Chip Kunde, IDFA senior vice president. “These efforts showcase her talents as a legislative strategist and an unwavering advocate for our members. The granddaughter of a dairy farmer, Wilcox hails from California, the leading state in dairy foods production, and is very familiar with the challenges facing the U.S. dairy and agriculture industry. She joined IDFA in 2003 as senior director of legislative affairs.
Select Sires AI Lineup
Select Sires’ updated active A.I. lineups for high-component breed sires feature genetic superstars and breed leaders in every breed. The lineups were updated May 8 to coincide with the USDA’s quarterly release of genetic evaluations.
New Guernsey Sire
New to active A.I. service is 7GU385 Pine Ridge SUPER LUX-ET, a sire who can provide the rare combination of elite milk production and high components for demanding Guernsey dairy producers. Read More
Do The Short Course While At Expo
It’s not too early to start thinking about World Dairy Expo. The Babcock Institute has announced it’s 9th Annual Babcock Institute/World Dairy Expo International Dairy Short Course. Say that 5 times real fast!
Please join us this fall! The Babcock WDE course for 2006 will take place from Sunday, October 1st to Wednesday, October 4th, 2006. The Expo will run from October 3rd to 7th. The 2006 Babcock Institute / World Dairy Expo short course offers more educational experiences than ever before with integrated farm visits, increased workshop selection and a broad range of dairy-related lectures. This seminar is for dairy producers, employees, herd managers, veterinarians and all types of agribusiness professionals.
Register before September 1 or the price is higher.
Cows On Parade Again
We all know June is Dairy Month and to celebrate it the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board is once again bringing the Cow Parade to Wisconsin. These 101 “cows” will join the 1.2 million dairy cows already in the state. The kick-off event will be at the State Capitol on June 3. That’s the annual Cows on the Concourse event which also features live cows.
3 of the cows will tour throughout the state, sponsored by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. 50 of the cows will be sold in a live auction in Madison on November 10 to benefit local non-profits. There will be an additional online auction following the live one for 2 weeks.
To stay up to date on all CowParade events visit the official web site.
USDA Projecting Production Pull Back
A recent story for the USDA’s Radio News Service says that dairy operators are about to pull back on production increases as prices fall. The report is done by Gary Crawford who interviewed USDA Outlook Chairman, Gerry Bange.
You can listen to the report here: 
USDA Report (1 min MP3)
Dream A Little Dream Of Holsteins
Have you dreamed about Holsteins? If not you can obtain a free video called “Dairy Dreams.” It’s not exactly the same thing but it’s still about dreams. It’s a new educational video about the Holstein Foundation that is sponsored by Dairymaster USA, Inc. The 12-minute video features short informational introductions to each of the Foundation’s programs.
Dairy Dreams chronicles the life of a working dairy farm family, and provides snapshots of Dairy Jeopardy and Dairy Bowl competitions, and the Young Dairy Leaders Institute. The video is a valuable resource on the programs offered by the Holstein Foundation and makes a great presentation at meetings or gatherings of any size. “We feel the work of the Holstein Foundation in educating young people and exciting them about the future of dairy farming is the key to the future of the dairy industry,” said Mike Piche, Vice President and General Manager of Dairymaster USA, Inc.
To request your free copy, contact Jodi Hoynoski at jhoynoski@holstein.com or 800-952-5200 ext. 4261.
Pay Full Price For That Milk
A ruling this week by the USDA that low-carbohydrate milk products ought to be classified for pricing purposes the same as conventional fluid milk beverages got applause from the National Milk Producers Association. They believe it will prevent further farm revenue losses.
At stake in the USDA decision is whether dairy beverages that largely resemble fluid milk – especially the reduced-carb milk drinks – ought to be priced as Class I products, or at the lower Class II price. NMPF argued for the former, and asked the USDA to consider using a protein threshold to determine in which class the beverages should fall. The USDA’s decision on Wednesday basically agreed with NMPF’s contention, which will mean that any product at or above a 2.25% protein level – including low-carb milk drinks – will now be priced at the higher, Class I level.
You can find the full release on their website.
Dairyline Markets In Review
Dairy Markets Week in Review
The cash market viewed the Milk Production report as bullish because it was a bit below expectations, according to the CME’s Daily Dairy Report. Block cheese ended the week at $1.20, up 3 cents on the week, but 32 3/4-cents below a year ago. Barrel closed Friday at $1.19, up a penny on the week, but 32 cents below a year ago. Six cars of block were sold and four of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $1.1521, up 0.2 cent. Barrel averaged $1.1377, down 0.1 cent.
Butter closed Friday at $1.1775, unchanged on the week, but 26 1/2-cents below a year ago. Only three cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1704, up 0.8 cent. Price support purchases for the week amounted to 5.5 million pounds of nonfat dry milk and raised the cumulative total to 38.7 million, compared to 31.8 million pounds a year ago.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
CWT Export Assistance Bids
Here’s the latest from Cooperatives Working Together: