BSE Confirmed in Alabama

Andy VanceExport, Government, Industry News, International

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In a press conference held Monday at 3 p.m. (EST), Dr. John Clifford,Chief Veterinary Officer with the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed that a Santa Gertrudis beef cow on a farm in Alabama has tested positive for BSE. An initial rapid test taken March 10th came back inconclusive, indicating the possibility that the cow might be infected. Results from a second rapid test were positive.

Following standard protocol, tissue from the suspect animal was tested using the Western Blot test. Results of the Western Blot test confirmed the animal tested positive for BSE.

The cow resided on the farm in Alabama for less than one year. Authorities are currently tracking the epidemiological history of the animal to isolate any other suspect cows. The veterinarian who treated the animal indicated that the cow was older, quite possibly older than ten years of age. This would mean the animal was born prior to the ruminant to ruminant feed ban, and thus could have consumed feed contaminated with the BSE prions.

The veterinarian also confirmed the cow was non-ambulatory at the time it was treated. The cow was euthanized by the veterinarian and buried on the farm. The animal did not enter the feed or food chain.

At this time, APHIS is unsure of the origin of the animal as it had only resided on the Alabama farm for less than one year.

This discovery comes as U.S. trade negotiations continue with Japan to try to convince them to re-open their borders to the import of U.S. beef. Clifford says he does not anticipate this discovery will impact the situation with Japan, aluding to the age of the animal and the fact that it was born prior to the feed ban. Clifford said they would refer to international guidelines of sound science.

Are Your Kids Getting Enough Calcium?

Andy VanceCheese, Dairy Checkoff, Education, Milk, Nutrition, Promotion

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Chances are they’re not. The good news, however, is that you can change that. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that while parents are a key influencer in children’s consumption of calcium, and a new study indicates that most children and adolescents are at risk forbone fractures and osteoporosis later in life because of low calcium intake. Naturally, the best way to compensate is consuming the recommended three servings per day of milk, cheese, or yogurt, and to encourage healthy habits, the Dairy Council of California has launced a meal planning website with hundreds of free and easy calcium rich recipes. The site also features a “calcium quiz” tool to help you determine your family’s calcium needs, current intake, and to provide tips on how to up calcium consumption.

National Farmers Union Asks for Stronger Dairy Support Program

Andy VanceIndustry News, Membership

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At its 105th Annual Convention in Denver last week, the National Farmers Union delegates pushed for more robust dairy support programs. Citing the impact to the family farmer, NFU criticized attempts by the administration to cut farm support programs, saying now is not the time to cut the farm safety net. Specific proposals included:
– Reject the President’s 2007 budget proposal
– Restore the Milk Income Loss Contract program funding
– Pass the Milk Import Tariff Equity Act to tax imports of MPC and other protein concentrates
– Reject proposed changes to the definition of milk and ice cream at the Food and Drug Administration
– Reject increases to the manufacturer’s make allowance
– Index the make allowance to commodity prices
– Encourage transparent pricing systems reflecting cost of production and replacing the CME pricing system.

NFU President Tom Buis said the proposed dairy policies would support the family farmer and were based on fairness and safety.

CWT Doubles the Assessment to Battle Market Imbalance

Andy VanceDairy Business, Dairy Group

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The farmer-driven supply/demand self-help program Cooperatives Working Together is increasing its voluntary assessment rate to better combat a surge in milk production. The CWT committee, composed of leaders of the participating cooperatives, voted at its meeting this week to raise the assessment from the current 5-cent per hundredweight level to a 10-cent per hundredweight contribution. At the current assessment rate, the CWT budget doesn’t have enough juice to carry out another round of herd retirements, the key function of CWT in boosting milk prices by limiting supply. Milk production went up 3.5% in 2005, and is continuing the surge into 2006. While the current budget level would allow the export assitance programs of CWT to continue, the co-ops agreed that fewer cows producting milk is really what the industry needs to light a fire under farm-gate prices. CWT’s 49 member co-ops represent over 74% of the nation’s milk supply.

Getting Away With Accelerated Genetics

Chuck ZimmermanAccelerated Genetics, Agribusiness

Accelerated Genetics Winter Get-AwayOur sponsor, Accelerated Genetics just held their 2006 Young Producer Winter Get-Away at the Chula Vista Theme Resort in Wisconsin Dells, WI. It looks like a great party in addition to being a learning experience. Over 120 young producers and their family members attended. Producers participated in a farm safety and first aid session. This photo shows how a person would make a peanut butter sandwich with one arm after a farm accident.

This year’s theme was the 1970’s and families from all over the membership area (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois) celebrated in style. An examle would be the Thompson Family from Knapp, WI dressed in their best 1970’s clothes (pictured)! Accelerated Genetics Winter Get-AwayThe weekend also included some great educational sessions including a presentation and round table session about Animal Health and Vaccines. On Sunday morning everyone participated in a Family Farm Safety Session that included a mock farm accident with a 911 call, an activity with adults and children making peanut butter sandwiches with limbs bound as if they lost or injured them in a farm accident, and an activity showing various farm liquids that look like juice, water, or kool aid to children. In addition, producers had the opportunity to network and learn from each other and have some fun away from the farm!

Their next event is, “the Leadership Conference on March 25-26, 2006 in Reedsburg, WI.” Then on “June 24, 2006 Accelerated Genetics will host the Young Producer Summer Meltdown in Fond du Lac, WI.”

Ecolab Helps You Wash Your Bottles and Pails

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness

Ecolab WasherI remember having to wash bottles. Of course that was for my kids. Then along came dishwashers and they made things easier. Well, Ecolab has one you can lease to handle the duties for bottles and pails.

Ecolab Inc. announces the availability of the Ecolab Calf Bottle and Pail Washer Lease Program, offered exclusively through Ecolab dealers. This new program features a commercial dishwasher unit, refurbished to accommodate specially designed trays to wash and sanitize calf bottles and pails between feedings and calf movement. The washer unit is proven to provide excellent cleaning and sanitizing results in restaurants and cafeterias. Using this same technology makes it easier to maintain clean and sanitary feeding tools for calf feeding programs.

This Post Doesn't Stink – And Neither Does Your Dairy

Andy VanceIndustry News, Production

Iowa DNR Logo

A new three-year study, completed at the behest of the Iowa legislature, has found that large livestock operations don’t smell as bad as advertised. In the early 2000’s, researchers at Iowa State and the University of Iowa recommended to the legislature certain regulations on large livestock operations. Before they would act, the legislature compelled the Department of Natural Resources to specifically study odor. After three year’s of objective sampling, DNR released this week that only 7% of facilities studied were above the study’s benchmark for odor. Focusing on how management affects odors, the researchers noted that the size of an operation did not directly relate to the odor produced, but that manure storage did. When stored outside the barns in lagoons or tanks, a higher odor level was noted than when manure was stored under the barns in deep pits. When manure was applied to fields, injection clearly reduced odor over manure broadcast across the field.

I’ve always said most folks smell with their eyes when it comes to livestock operations, and now we have proof that management practices play a much larger role in odor than size of livestock operation. Which is another reminder of why we must be the best managers we can be in the agriculture industry.

Many Moo Bloggers

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, Promotion

Mootown MoosletterAre you a fan of the Cow Parade? Here’s a cool way to keep up with the artists who are busy working on new cows. Some of them have their own blogs. Well, they’re mostly sort of blogs. My favorite is Rosemaling, the bottom one. The latest Moo-Town Moosletter lists the following:

“Animal Magnetism”
Artist: Jenny M. Steinman Heyden
Blog: http://www.madison.com/post/blogs/cowart
Sponsor: Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board

“Driftless in WisCOWsin”
Artist: Sue Medaris, Mt. Horeb, Wis.
Blog: http://svmedaris.com
Sponsor: Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board

“Milky Whey”
Artist: Katherine Steichen Rosing, Madison, Wis.
Blog: http://www.studioksr.com/CowParade.htm
Sponsor: Wisconsin FFA Foundation in cooperation
with the Wisconsin Department of Ag, Trade
and Consumer Protection (DATCP)

“The Road Home”
Artist: Kirill Negoda, Dodgeville, Wis.
Blog: http://www.flickr.com/photos/plasticboy/95874422/
Sponsor: Capital Newspapers

“Rosemooled Cow”
Blog: http://rosemaler.blogspot.com/
Artist: Jan Norsetter, Verona, Wis.
Sponsor: Wisconsin Department of Ag,
Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP)

Wisconsin Dairy Business Going Strong

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, Government, Industry News

I like this report put together by the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. They get their data from the Wisconsin Ag Statistics Service. It puts it in an easier to read format.

Wisconsin’s dairy business is off to a strong start in the new year, with milk production up 5 percent, totaling 2 billion pounds in January. In addition to increasing milk production per cow, which now is 70 pounds higher than a year ago, state dairy producers also boosted cow numbers in Wisconsin to 1.24 million head, an increase of 1,000 head from the previous month which puts the state’s total dairy cow count at 5,000 head higher than January 2005.

Cheese production also posted a positive 3.2 percent gain in January, with a total of 201.9 million pounds produced versus the same month a year ago. This positive upswing in both milk and cheese production comes on the heals of a solid year of milk production growth of 3.5 percent during all of 2005, ending the year with more cows than a year earlier for the first time in 16 years.

Nationally, cheese production for January totaled 764.3 million pounds, up just 1.3 percent from last year. Wisconsin’s January cheese production increase accounted for over 65 percent of the 9.6 million pound total increase across the nation for the first month of 2006. Wisconsin also increased its butter production to 43.9 million pounds in January, a 13 percent increase over a year ago, mirroring the national butter growth percentage of 13 percent compared to the same month in 2005.

Only two cheese producing states reported lower cheese production in January, compared to a year ago. California posted a negative growth of 0.3 percent and Illinois came in at negative 3.4 percent. This is the second month in a row that California has reported a decline in cheese production. The last time California’s cheese production declined compared to the same month a year earlier was September, 1998.