Give Thanks for Food

Cindy ZimmermanGeneral, Social Media

The AgChat Foundation has come up with a unique idea for you to use during this upcoming week of Thanksgiving. It’s called #foodthanks. It’s a way to show your thanks for the food we enjoy every day and the people who produce it.

So what you’re encouraged to do is go to the webpage where you’ll find images for your Twitter accounts and other web purposes. Tweet with the hashtag, #foodthanks, especially on November 24.

Remember that all this week is National Farm-City Week, always the week before Thanksgiving, to celebrate the important partnership between farm and urban residents in providing the nation with a bounty of food, fiber, fuel and a growing list of other other products. Chuck Zimmerman, president of World Dairy Diary’s parent company ZimmComm New Media, took part in a panel discussion to kick off Farm City Week held Thursday in Lancaster, PA. The panel addressed the urban media’s coverage of agriculture in the annual Farm-City Week Symposium “Agriculture: A Growing Story” and explored ways to promote the positive news about farming and ranching.

The symposium was broadcast live on AgriTalk and can be viewed here:

Watch live streaming video from agritalk at livestream.com

October Milk Production Up

Cindy Zimmermanusda

The latest report from USDA finds milk production was up last month.

USDAMilk production in the 23 major States during October totaled 14.8 billion pounds, up 3.3 percent from October 2009 and higher than the previous month as well. The September production numbers were revised by six million pounds to 14.5 billion pounds. Production per cow in the 23 major States averaged 1,767 pounds for October, 47 pounds above October 2009. The number of milk cows on farms last month was 8.37 million head – 52,000 head more than October 2009, but unchanged from September 2010.

A slow down in the herd expansion caused USDA to back off some on earlier forecasts for higher production next year. USDA Outlook Board Chairman Gerry Bange says they now expect production to increase about 1.4 percent next year, down just a fraction from the previous forecast. “The reason we came off on that is we’re seeing a slower rate of growth in cow numbers at the moment,” said Bangee. “As a matter of fact, it looks like we might actually see lower cow numbers” by the end of 2011.

The forecast also slightly lowered the all milk price is forecast to average $16.30 to $16.40 per cwt for 2010 and $15.95 to $16.85 per cwt for 2011. “Non-fat dry milk prices have been running a little higher but butter prices have been running a little lower,” said Bange.

Recommendations Expected from Dairy Advisory Committee

Cindy ZimmermanGovernment, Price, usda

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says USDA’s Dairy Industry Advisory Committee is expected to make recommendations soon on how to address the issues of milk price volatility and dairy farmer profitability.

“They are on track to make some preliminary recommendations in December or January,” said Vilsack during a press conference with farm broadcasters last week. “Obviously dairy prices have improved a little bit over where they were last year. I hope that doesn’t take away from the urgency of doing something because we can just as easily dip back into historic low prices as we did in 2009.”

Vilsack says the recommendations from the committee could take many forms. “It may be something that’s done through a regulatory process, or it may be something that requires legislation, or it may be something that’s appropriate to fold into a 2012 Farm Bill discussion,” he said.

Listen to or download Vilsack’s comments here: Vilsack Dairy

New Compost Facility Opens

News Editorenergy, Organic

Pennsylvania has a new composting facility, Oregon Dairy Organics, which will use up to 20,000 tons of manure from a Lancaster County farm, Oregon Dairy.

The Hurst family, which operates the dairy along with an adjacent grocery store, partnered with the Environmental Defense Fund and Terra-Gro Inc. of Peach Bottom, Pa., on the project.

The 5-acre facility will initially use bedded packed manure from the farm to make compost. But the goal is to eventually open it up to other area farmers with excess manure to bring their waste in.

There are also plans to take in food waste and possibly green waste, including grass clippings and leaves, in the future.

There are five hoop houses on the site. One will be used for screening and loading waste coming into the facility. Another will be used for active composting. Two other buildings will be used for storage, and a fifth will be used as a utility building.

The facility has the capacity to produce 16,000 cubic yards of compost a year.

George Hurst, owner of Oregon Dairy, said the facility will enable the farm to better deal with bedded packed manure, which he said is not as useful on the farm because of its no-till plantings. Hurst said it will also allow for possible expansion of the current 1,000-head herd, 500 of which are milking.

It will allow us to export some manure and allow for continued expansion in the future, Hurst said, adding that the facility will process around 30 percent of the total manure currently produced at the farm.

The compost will be sold wholesale, Martin said, with most of it eventually ending up in landscaping, athletics fields and as specialized topsoil blends.

Hurst said there is a possibility in the future that some of the compost may be sold for retail at the Oregon Dairy store.

Source: Lancaster Farming

Lely Introduces New Robotic Milker

News EditorDairy Business, Equipment

Lely has introduced a new generation of robotic milking systems: the Lely Astronaut A4.

Although this new Astronaut is filled with innovating features, the most revealing is that Lely has taken its vision on dairy automation one step further creating a product that allows even more freedom for the cow, more control for the farmer with more milk as a result. The natural way of milking.

The main revolutionary feature of the Lely Astronaut A4 cow box is the walkthrough design called the I-flow concept. Allowing the cow to walk straight in and out of the box eliminates any unnecessary obstacles, further reducing the threshold for the cow to enter the cow unit at her own pace. The spacious cow friendly design and positioning of the cow unit, allows for continuous interaction with the rest of the herd and thus eliminating unnecessary stress on the cow.

The Astronaut A4 is set up in a modular concept. A central unit features a central vacuum and cleaning system for up to two cow units. It is self-contained and a configuration with two cow units can span a distance up to thirty metres which ensures much more freedom and space for the positioning of the units in the barn. Due to its modularity, it is a valid option both for family farms of 300,000 litres up to farms that produce well over 10 million litres of milk annually. The Lely Astronaut A4 comes in two models, the Manager and the Operator versions, both with additional options to configure the Astronaut A4 designed to the specific needs of the farmer.

Besides these innovations the new Lely Astronaut A4 is filled with new technology such as a new milk friendly pump transporting the milk to the tank without rotating impellers which can damage the milk. To reduce downtime as much as possible, key wear parts have been changed into easy to replace cartridge systems.

Lely has explicitly refrained from automating the actions of milking itself; instead the company continues to build a system around the cow to make sure that cows like to be milked within a low-threshold system.

Successful robotic milking is a new style of farm management, where the decisions shift from the farmer to the cow. Farmers can control many factors on an individual cow basis; factors that cannot be controlled in a conventionally milked herd. Through Lely’s dedicated management program for dairy farmers; Lely’s T4C, a quick overview is generated on the performance of the herd, the robotic milking system and the cows that require attention. It allows farmers to focus on the cows that need him/her the most. The T4C management program is now also available on the robot itself and therefore available for management on the spot. It comes with an optional dynamic feeding module (DLM). This system automatically changes feed allocations per cow based on optimum cost benefit ratio to maximize profits.

Source: The Lely Group

Northeast Regional Challenge Wraps

News EditorEducation

More than 110 students from 12 northeast colleges and two Canadian universities participated in the seventh annual Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge in Batavia, New York held October 28-30, 2010.

Host coordinator, Dorothea Fitzsimmons, and colleagues from the Alfred State College welcomed students from Cornell University, Delaware Valley College, Morrisville State College, The Pennsylvania State University, The Ohio State University – ATI, SUNY Cobleskill, University of Maine, University of Massachusetts, University of New Hampshire, University of Vermont, Vermont Technical College, University of Guelph from Ontario, Canada and McGill University from Quebec, Canada.

The Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge is an innovative three-day event designed by a team of industry and university professionals to promote a vibrant future for the dairy industry. Working in mixed-university teams of four or five students, contestants assessed all aspects of a working dairy farm, including facilities, nutrition, financials, reproduction, animal health and much more. Students collaborated on a 20-minute team presentation that detailed their observations and suggestions to a panel of judges and participating farm families. Teams were ranked as platinum, gold or silver based on how well their evaluations matched the judges’ evaluations of the dairy operation.

The objective of this evaluation process is to create a real-life situation that stresses the importance of teamwork and professionalism. Contest superintendent Jenny Mills of Elanco Animal Health explained, “The dairy industry requires employees that can work well with all types of personalities. Not only does the Dairy Challenge teach technical knowledge, it excels in helping students to develop people skills.”

Click here for a full round-up of the winning teams.

Source: Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge

Sweeney Crowed Jersey Queen

News EditorJersey Association

Congratulations to Lena Sweeney, Stanford, Calif., for being crowned the 56th National Jersey Queen!

Sweeney, active in Jersey and dairy youth projects for over eleven years, was presented the Charlene Nardone Crown by 2009 National Jersey Queen Stephanie Kasper on November 6 during the Jersey Junior Banquet in Louisville, Ky.

She will represent Jersey breeders for the next year with her participation in events such as the Annual Meeting of the American Jersey Cattle Association, World Dairy Expo and The 59th All American Jersey Shows & Sales

The National Jersey Queen contest lasted two days with seven young women from across the country competing for the coveted crown. Participants had to pass a general dairy knowledge test, were interviewed by a panel of judges, and prepared a two-minute video presentation that demonstrated their ability to represent the Jersey breed through public speaking.

The daughter of Jim and Amelia Sweeney, Visalia, Calif., Lena attends Stanford University where she is studying biology and Spanish. Her goal is to eventually attend medical school with a focus on pediatrics.

The first alternate National Jersey Queen for 2010 was Tera Koebel, daughter of Terry and Jennie Koebel from Three Oaks, Mich. Tera attends Michigan State University where she serves on the Student Senate of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 2010 was a year of great success in the show ring for Tera, with her 4-year-old cow Gadget Jade of Edgebrook being named Premier Performance Cow of both the All American open and junior shows.

Selected as second alternate Queen was Amber Ettinger, the daughter of Ed and Cheryl Ettinger of Kinards, S.C. She is a student at Virginia Tech, majoring in dairy science. Upon graduation, Amber hopes to continue to promote the Jersey breed and take over her family’s 150-cow Registered Jersey™ herd. She has received numerous awards in the National Youth Production and Achievement Contests, plus the Pot O’Gold production contest. Amber was also the 2009 Reuben R. Cowles Youth Award Scholarship winner.

Lena, Tera and Amber presented awards for the National Jersey Jug Futurity and The 58th All American Jersey Show, plus assisted with the clerking of The All American Jersey Sale.

The Charlene Nardone National Jersey Queen Fund provided scholarships of $500, $300 and $200 to the Queen and two alternates.

Source: American Jersey Cattle Association

Every Dairy Can Be Best in Class

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Education

merialBecause Merial believes that every dairy can be a “Best in Class” dairy, the company has started a new initiative to help dairy producers be all they can be.

Dr. Frank Hurtig says the “Best in Class” initiative is a way to help producers improve milk quality. “Because this is such an important part of the dairy business,” he said during an interview last week at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting meeting in Kansas City.

The free, customized program consists of website-based professional improvement focused on providing dairies access to valuable information and educational tools to help ensure healthy cows and profitable operations. “They will be able to create an educational opportunity for themselves and their employees that is private to them,” Dr. Hurtig explains. “When one looks at the employees on a dairy, it is a profession. If you are doing a good, professional job, and continually improving in your job, that’s going to help improve the quality of the milk that’s produced.”

The materials will be available in English and Spanish and will make it easy to get the right level of training for both new and experienced dairy employees. The program is currently in the sign-up stage and interested dairy operators should go to bestinclassdairies.com to register.

Listen to an interview with Dr. Hurtig here: Dr. Frank Hurtig

DFA Plants Earn Certification

News EditorDairy Business

Congratulations to Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.’s (DFA) Global Dairy Products Group (GDPG), for achieving a Safe Quality Foods (SQF) 2000 Level 3 certification in four of its manufacturing facilities. The latest certifications are at DFA’s plants in Cabool, Mo., and New Wilmington, Penn.

SQF certification is part of a broader initiative throughout GDPG that emphasizes operational excellence, food safety and quality. Two additional DFA facilities in Winnsboro, Texas, and Plymouth, Wis., achieved SQF Level 3 certification earlier this year. A systematic effort is underway to achieve SQF certification in all 20 of DFA’s wholly-owned manufacturing plants.

“Food safety and quality is the foundation for manufacturing excellence,” said Mark Korsmeyer, executive vice president of DFA and president of GDPG. “Our employees have done an excellent job implementing the SQF program, and it sets the expectation with our customers that we’re committed to producing high quality, safe products on a global scale.”

The SQF Program is a leading, global food safety and quality certification and management system. It is designed primarily as a food safety program, and SQF is the only standard recognized by Global Food Safety Initiative that incorporates a quality certification component at Level 3. The certification allows suppliers to provide assurances that the food they produce, handle, prepare, process and distribute is of the highest quality, in addition to adhering to the strictest international and domestic food safety standards.

Through GDPG, DFA produces retail cheese and butter, foodservice cheese and butter, a wide range of dairy protein ingredients, and is a leading contract manufacturer of shelf-stable products for major food companies. The cooperative’s consumer brands include Borden® Cheese and Butter, Keller’s® Butter and Plugra® Butter.

Source: Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA)

Jersey Holds Successful Pot O'Gold Sale

News EditorJersey Association

The first sale of any breed to feature an entirely genotyped offering, the 53rd Pot O’Gold Sale on November 6 in Louisville, Ky., averaged $4,796.77 with a top of $10,750. Both are new records.

“The success of the 2010 Pot O’Gold Sale is a strong endorsement of genomics by forward-thinking Jersey juniors,” said Neal Smith, executive secretary of the American Jersey Cattle Association. “Jersey Marketing Service used the new 3K genomic test to screen over 100 heifers to select the 31 that were sold. The prices demonstrated just how valuable genomic evaluations are to Jersey youth building the foundation of their growing herds.”

Genomic PTA averages for the offering were $297 for Cheese Merit and 1.0 for type, at 57% reliability. They were purchased by youth between the ages of 7 and 20 on January 1 of this year and went to 13 different states. In 2013, the buyers will receive cash awards totaling $25,279 based on the ranking of their heifers’ first lactation records.

Sidney Avila of Dalhart, Texas purchased the $10,750 high seller, Lyon Impuls Eternity, a November 2009 heifer consigned by Lyon Jerseys, Toledo, Iowa. “Eternity” had the highest genomic Jersey Performance Index™ among the heifers sold, plus the highest GPTA for cheese merit at $509. Her Excellent-92% dam by Windy Willow Montana Jace has completed three lactations with a best record of 24,840 lbs. milk, 1,128 lbs. fat and 878 lbs. protein. The next dam, an Excellent “Paramount,” has four records exceeding 22,000 lbs. milk and 1,100 lbs. fat.

Second high at $8,500 was Kilgus Tbone Karen-ET, a potential fifth-generation Excellent consigned by Kilgus Dairy, Fairbury, Ill., and purchased by Brock Tate of Hilmar, Calif. In addition to an Excellent, show-winning sister, the heifer has three brothers in A.I. progeny test programs. Their dam is Sun Valley Hallmark K-Leah, Excellent with a best record of 24,810 lbs. milk, 1,148 lbs. fat and 877 lbs. protein.

Twelve heifers sold for $5,000 or more. Median of the sale was $4,250. “Our sincere thanks and appreciation goes to the consignors for making this superior offering possible,” added Neal Smith.

Presenting sponsor of the Pot O’Gold Sale for the sixth year was Cow’s Match® Jersey Blend from Land O’Lakes Animal Milk Products Co.

The Pot O’Gold Sale and Production Contest is integral to the youth development programs of the American Jersey Cattle Association and made its debut with the revival of The All American Jersey Shows in 1958. Production awards were presented for the first time in 1961 and through 2010, more than $357,000 has been awarded.

Source: USJersey