House Passes One Week Extension

News EditorGovernment, Industry News

The House passed a one-week extension of current farm law Wednesday, hoping to give Congress more time to finish a multibillion-dollar farm bill that is stalled by a dispute over tax breaks.

Negotiations on the roughly $280 billion, five-year bill to expand agriculture and nutrition programs are in disarray with lawmakers from the House and Senate squabbling over how to pay for it. The White House says both the current House and Senate versions are too expensive and has threatened a veto if either one reaches the president’s desk with the spending intact.

House members object to several tax breaks in the Senate bill, including provisions to help owners of race horses, landowners who find endangered species on their property and those involved in litigation over the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

Congress also is arguing with the Bush administration over how the bill will be financed. With so many issues to resolve, Peterson said Congress may need more time beyond the one additional week approved by the House. The Senate is expected to vote on the extension before the law expires on Friday. President Bush said last month that lawmakers should stop relying on such short-term fixes and extend current law for at least a year if it expired without a new law in place. The 2002 law originally expired Sept. 15.

In addition to the funding issues, the Bush administration has objected to giving new money to farmers _ especially those who are already wealthy _ when crop prices are high and farm country is in good shape. The bills passed by both chambers would expand subsidies for several crops and create new grants for vegetable and fruit growers.

Selner named National Dairy Shrine executive director

News EditorEducation, Industry News

selnerCongratulations to Dr. David Selner who was recently named the new executive director of the National Dairy Shrine. Selner succeeds Maurice Core, and will be the seventh executive director in the 59-year-old organization’s history. Selner will officially begin his role as executive director for National Dairy Shrine on August 1, 2008.

David Selner has stepped up to the plate numerous times to assist National Dairy Shrine (NDS). He co-chaired the organization’s 50th anniversary celebration. One year earlier, he served as chair of the original Progressive Dairy Producer committee, an award that continues to be named to this day. Selner served six years on the NDS board of directors. In 2002, he served as the 53rd president of the organization. At the time, the organization set plans in motion to renovate the National Dairy Shrine Visitor’s Center and to update all its presentations at the Fort Atkinson based facility. Selner initiated the fundraising campaign and developed the fundraising brochures for the campaign. Additionally, he served on the renovation committee from the initiation of the project through its completion. Selner continues to guide the NDS Video History Committee by serving as its chair. In addition to his work with NDS, served in various roles with the A.I. industry for over 30 years focusing on genetics. Selner also has been a long-time leader of the National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest, working with the contest for the past 30 years and serving as its superintendent for 24 years.

For the past 11 years, Maurice Core, has served as the guiding force for National Dairy Shrine. Core was the third-longest-serving executive director with Joe Eves (20 years) and Jim Leuenberger (16 years) the only past executive directors with longer tenures. It was at the 58th annual meeting that Core shared his desire to step down from the leadership role within the organization. He and his wife, Carole, who are familiar faces at Dairy Shrine functions, have agreed to assist Dairy Shrine through the leadership transition and will be working for the organization through the annual meeting to be held at World Dairy Expo. Prior to his service with NDS, Core had a strong influence in the Jersey breed during 37-year tenure with the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) where he served as AJCA executive secretary from 1985 to 1993.

Chocolate Milk Fortified with Omega-3s

News EditorDairy Business, Health, Industry News, Media, Milk

chocolatemilkChocolate milk has been a hot topic lately, and with the addition of an omega-3 fortified version produced by Omega Farms, even more press could be coming its way.

According to the company, Omega Farms Low-Fat Chocolate Milk provides kids the added benefits of Omega-3s needed for brain development and athletes the perfect combination of carbohydrates and protein needed for sports recovery.

Cindy DiFerdinand, nutritionist of Omega Farms, said: “We are thrilled to add a new product to the Omega Farms popular line of Omega-3 fortified products. Chocolate milk is a classic for kids and a modern sports recovery product for athletes.”

Good Night Milk

News EditorAgribusiness, Dairy Business, International, Milk

goodnightmilkThere’s a new milk on the production line, one to help your baby settle down for a good night’s sleep. Called Good Night Milk, it is marketed by Cow & Gate, a company based in the UK.

Suitable for bottle-fed babies from six months onwards, Cow & Gate Good Night Milk is a nutritionally tailored milk which contains a special formulation of carbohydrates to make the formula thicker than regular follow-on milk. The addition of prebiotics means that Cow & Gate Good Night Milk is gentle on baby’s tum and can be used instead of your usual follow-on formula night feed to provide a warm and satisfying end to your baby’s day.

Pioneer's Integrated Forage Program

Cindy ZimmermanAudio, Feed, Forage Forum, Nutrition, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Podcast

Pioneer Hi-Bred Forage Forum PodcastManaging the gaps in today’s agriculture can be an issue, says Dr. Bill Mahanna, coordinator of global nutritional sciences for Pioneer. When visiting an operation, several factors come into play before a crop becomes feed. Pioneer can offer expertise to deal with the full continuum – managing the gaps between growing and cutting the feed to packing the silo and feed management. Mahanna comments on Pioneer’s integrated forage approach and the expertise available to producers.

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://zimmcomm.biz/pioneer/pioneer-podcast-30-wdd.mp3] Bill Mahanna on Integrated Forage Program (4:30 min MP3)

To see all archived Pioneer Forage Forum podcasts, click here.
Previous Forage Forum podcasts are also archived at the Pioneer GrowingPoint website. To access them, go to www.pioneer.com/growingpoint and click “Livestock Nutrition” and “Forage Blog.” Those not registered for Pioneer GrowingPoint website can call 800-233-7333 Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT for assistance.

Kraft Names New Head of Cheese Division

News EditorAgribusiness, Cheese, Industry News

rhondaKraft Foods Inc. has named Rhonda Jordan the new head of its cheese and dairy division. The cheese and dairy division she now oversees accounted for 17% of Kraft’s $37.2 billion in sales last year but is losing sales to private-label grocery-store cheese brands.

Ms. Jordan began her Kraft career 21 years ago as a cheese marketer. As head of the company’s grocery unit last year, she repackaged and reformulated Kraft’s staid salad dressings. She also oversaw new pudding introductions for Jell-O that helped boost that brand’s sales 5% last year. And she launched new flavors, packaging and marketing for Jet-Puffed marshmallows that sparked a 14% sales jump. The company doesn’t yet know how well the new salad dressings are selling.

Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld has made cheese a top priority in the second year of her three-year plan to reignite growth at the nation’s largest food company. The business has lost ground to competitors in every month but one since Ms. Rosenfeld took charge in June 2006, a J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. analysis shows.

Kraft has started rolling out new cheese products, among them Bagel-Fuls — microwavable bagel sticks filled with cream cheese — and a line of cheese free of artificial growth hormones. In coming months, the company plans to introduce a resealable plastic case for its Deli Fresh cheeses. Similar to Tupperware, the packaging has worked for Oscar Mayer meats, and will help Kraft products stand out from the rest of the dairy aisle, a spokesman says.

Michigan Dairy Provides Kosher Milk

News EditorDairy Business, Industry News, International, Milk

Vreba-Hoff Dairy, located in Hudson, Michigan, has announced it will be providing kosher milk to an Israeli food distributor. The dairy will ship 9.5 million pounds (1.15 million gallons) of whole milk to a kosher processing facility in Kentucky, which will convert the milk into powder and then ship to Israel. Once there, the powder will be used in kosher products that will be distributed internationally.

“This is such a great opportunity for us and a dynamic new direction for our products,” said Peter van der Vegt, a business development advisor to Vreba-Hoff. “It is a great honor to do business with such an outstanding international distributor.”

“Kosher” refers to food products that meet the dietary requirements of Jewish law. Kosher certification guarantees that the source of the ingredient and the status of the production equipment meet certain requirements, including superior sanitation levels and on-site rabbinical supervision. The distributor has referred to the products as “super kosher” because the procedures the dairy is following far exceed kosher criteria. These products also often meet the strict dietary requirements of other religions, including Islam.

Producing kosher milk requires a significant commitment at Vreba-Hoff, which is also working hard to develop additional products for U.S. distribution and consumption for the kosher market.

Alaska Welcomes New Plant

News EditorCheese, Dairy Business, Industry News, Milk

cheddarcheeseAlaska has a new processing plant, Matanuska Creamery, that will turn 1,100 gallons of local Alaskan milk into cheddar cheese. This marks the first time residents in the Matanuska Valley will have access to cheese made with local milk.

Matanuska Creamery CEO Kyle Beus has worked diligently since December to get this business off the ground.

“We have, as a company policy, we will only use Alaska dairy products,” Beus said. “I mean this is what all this was built for — strictly 100 percent.”

“So we’ve got about 4,000 pounds in the bank that has to age about 60 days and it will be ready to distribute to folks who have pre-bought that,” Beus said.

All the cheese has already been sold, thanks to the Alaska Farmers and Stockgrowers Association. Rob Wells, the vice president of the association calls it an “exciting day” for Alaskan agriculture.

Beus said his goal is to pay dairy farmers a premium price so they won’t ever have to worry about staying afloat, since without them there would be no Matanuska Creamery.

Dairyline Markets In Review

Chuck ZimmermanDairyline, Markets

DairylineDairy Markets Week in Review
Cheese trading turned heads the second week of April. Tuesday saw the block price top the barrel price by 16 cents. That’s not a record. There was a 22 1/2-cent spread in August 2000, according to brokers at Downes-O’Neill. Block closed Friday at $1.8350 per pound, up 2 1/4-cents on the week, and 41 cents above a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.75, down a half-cent on the week but 33 3/4-cents above a year ago. Twenty one cars of block traded hands on the week and 17 of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price fell to $1.7934, down 4.2 cents. Barrel averaged $1.7854, down 2.4 cents.

Cash butter closed the week at $1.39, up 1 3/4-cents and 1 1/2-cents above a year ago. Only two cars traded hands all week. NASS butter averaged $1.3391, up 1.3 cents. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged $1.2490, up 0.7 cent. Dry whey averaged 25.54 cents, up a penny.

Provided courtesy of Dairyline.