Dairy Markets Week in Review
The cash dairy markets saw a little strength the following week. Block cheese closed Friday at $1.90 per pound, up a nickel on the week, and 64 cents above that week a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.85, down five cents on the week, but 55 cents above a year ago. 31 cars of block traded hands and 9 of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $2.09 per pound, up four cents. Barrel averaged $2.07, also up four cents from the previous week.
Butter closed Friday at $1.3150, down 5 1/2-cents on the week, but up a penny from a year ago. 26 cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.37, down 1.1 cents. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged $2.06, up 1.7 cents, and dry whey averaged 44.3 cents, down 2.9 cents on the week
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
IDFA update
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) has named Jerry Slominski to the position of senior vice president of legislative affairs. In this role, Slominski will be responsible for managing all of the association’s legislative, political and economic activities. He replaces Chip Kunde, who left IDFA in August.
Slominski has many years of experience working in the nation’s capital, from setting strategy and lobbying for a corporation and a major trade association to staffing a congressional budget committee and advising a former senator. Most recently, Slominski was senior director of legislative programs at the Nuclear Energy Institute, where he designed and implemented policy and legislative strategy. Before that, he was director of government affairs at Westinghouse Corporation.
A graduate of the University of Nebraska, Slominski earned his B.A. degree in political science and J.D. degree from the university’s College of Law.
Countdown to Expo
The countdown to World Dairy Expo has begun and we are getting excited about it. Just a few more days before over 65,000 dairy industry professionals from all over the world descend on the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin for “Bright Lights, Big Show.”
A main fixture of World Dairy Expo since its inception in 1967 is Hoard’s Dairyman magazine. According to Gary Vorpahl, Hoard’s director of marketing, they were one of the first companies contacted about putting the show together in Madison.
“One of our founders, Bill Hoard himself, put up a share of money to make sure that it could happen in the Madison area,” said Vorpahl. “The show has evolved from originally almost a consumer show to the premier world show.”
Hoard’s Dairyman involvement in this year’s expo starts even before the show does. “On Sunday, the Hoard’s Dairyman farm will be hosting dairy judging teams from across the entire United States,” Vorpahl says. “Monday, we will then be hosting 225 young people who are going to be in Madison to attend Expo and visit us for the National 4H Dairy Conference.”
Once the show gets underway on Tuesday, Hoard’s will be hosting the commercial exhibitor party in the exhibit hall. Wednesday, Hoard’s managing editor Steve Larson will be honored as “2007 Industry Person of the Year” at the Dinner With the Stars. And throughout the week, Hoard’s editorial staff will be involved in many different capacities with the show, including judging and presenting awards.
“We’d like to invite everyone attending World Dairy Expo to stop by our booth in the exhibition hall, booth 4323, and also in the coliseum on the ground floor, booths 72 and 73,” said Vorpahl. “We’d just love to talk dairy with you. As we say around here, we’re all dairy all the time.”
Listen to Cindy’s complete audio interview with Gary here:
[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3?http://zimmcomm.biz/wdd/milking-parlor-01.mp3]
We are proud to have this distinguished dairy publication as one of World Dairy Diary’s sponsors for coverage of World Dairy Expo and they will be helping us bring you posts with photos, audio and even video on this site. So, even if you can’t attend this year, highlights from the “Bright Lights, Big Show” will be right here. Stay tuned!
DART meetings scheduled
Dairy professionals will learn how to help their producers manage higher 2007 profits and threats to the tools on which they rely at October’s Dairy and Advocacy and Resource Team, or DART, meetings hosted by the Center for Dairy Excellence. DART meetings provide sales and service representatives with up-to-the-minute information to help the producers they work with regularly make timely decisions to improve farm efficiency and increase their bottom lines.
The resource meetings will focus on “best practice recommendations” for allocating 2007 profits. Increased profits from higher milk prices provide a unique challenge to farmers who would like to reinvest these new profits.
The schedule for the October DART meetings in Pennsylvania is:
— Tuesday, Oct. 9, from 2-5 p.m. at AgChoice Farm Credit, 4504 West Branch Highway, Lewisburg
— Wednesday, Oct. 10, from 7:30-11:30 a.m. at AgChoice Farm Credit, 109 Farm Credit Drive, Chambersburg
— Thursday, Oct. 11, from 2-5 p.m. at Lancaster Farm and Home Center, Aracadia Road, Lancaster
— Tuesday, Oct. 16, from 2-5 p.m. at Edgewood Restaurant, 565 Elmira Street, Troy
— Wednesday, Oct. 17 from 7:30-10:30 a.m. at the Meadville Extension Office, 13444 Dunham Road, Meadville
— Thursday, Oct. 18, from 1-4 p.m. at the Arena Restaurant off I-76 in Bedford
The meetings qualify for continuing education credits from the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists and in veterinary medicine. For more information, click on the “DART” logo at www.centerfordairyexcellence.org. Make reservations with Cerrita Reed at c-creed@state.pa.us or 717-346-0849.
Virtual Farm Tours Showcase US Farms
Next week at the 2007 World Dairy Expo, thousands of dairy enthusiasts, along with Chuck and Cindy, will have the opportunity to take a virtual walk through featured dairy operations that span North America. Virtual Farm Tours will focus on a variety of operation types and sizes, from both the US and Canada, excelling in new technology integration, forage quality, cutting edge facilities, genetics, crossbreeding, embryo transfers, employee relationships and keeping dairying a family business. These free tours will be presented daily, Tuesday through Saturday, in Mendota 1 meeting room, in the Exhibition Hall. The producers will present a half-hour pictorial view of their operation including general farm information and highlights of exceptional farm aspects.
Some of the farms featured this year are: Double Eagle Dairy Inc, Middleton, Mich.; Woldt Farm LLC, Brillion, Wisc.; Yeandle Farms, Drumbo, Ontario Canada; Huffard Dairy Farms, Crockett, Va.; Greenberg Farms LTD, Stratford, Wisc.; City Slickers Farm LLC, Cross Plains, Wisc.; Nagel Dairy Farms LLC, Deerbrook, Wisc.; North Valley Farms, Shepherd, Mich.; and Double Dutch Dairy, Shelby, Neb.
For more show information, be sure to visit the official World Dairy Expo site.
World Dairy Expo Honorees
This year, World Dairy Expo is honoring four Recognition Award Winners: Dairy Woman of the Year, Deb Reinhart, Gold Star Farms, New Holstein, Wisc.; Industry Person of the Year Steve Larson, Hoard’s Dairyman, Fort Atkinson, Wisc.; Dairyman of the Year, Frank Regan, Regancrest Farms, Waukon, Iowa; International Person of the Year Dr. Juan Debernardi, Juan Debernardi S.R.L., Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Notes about the winners:
Reinhart has a degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia, having worked in the retail fashion industry near Washington DC before becoming a dairy farmer. In addition to raising three sons, she has managed their successful operation through herd improvement, incorporating rotational grazing and building a free-stall barn, not once, but twice after being hit with straight line winds in 2000, and managing animal nutrition and overseeing milk production.
Regancrest Farms’ accomplishments are truly amazing — creating a herd prefix that is one of the most respected in the Holstein cattle industry worldwide. His keen eye for dairy animals led Regan to purchase Snow-N Denises Dellia in 1991 from Bob Snow of Sparta, Wisconsin. This move proved to be historic for the world’s Holstein cattle breed. From this dam Regan produced one of the world’s greatest Holstein sires – Regancrest Elton Durham-ET. Among the top scoring Holstein bulls currently available in the US artificial insemination industry, are 24 Durham sons. In addition, other Regancrest matings have produced 77 Dams of Merit, 121 Excellent animals, 354 cows with over 100,000 pounds of milk lifetime and 11 cows with over 200,000 pounds. Regancrest Farm has exported animals to over five countries and embryos to over 12.
While it is the job of the newsman to report the happenings of the world, this Kansas dairy boy has also helped shape the dialog and policy of an industry which makes the news. Larson and his wife, Leota, have 5 children. He is a Dairy Science Graduate of Kansas State University, receiving a Masters in Dairy Cattle Physiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While growing up on a livestock and grain farm in central Kansas, he developed a small herd of registered Holstein cattle. His love for dairy led him to the University where he excelled in dairy judging ranking as the High Individual at the Kansas State Dairy Cattle Judging Contest in 1962. He also honed his leadership skills serving as KSU Agricultural Student Council President and National American Dairy Science Assoc. Student Affiliate officer. He has nearly 40 years with Hoard’s Dairyman.
Born into an Italian family, Debernardi is an industry pioneer who has devoted three decades of his life to the dairy industry. He received a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the Buenos Aires University in 1977. He began his affiliation with US artificial insemination organizations in the 1970’s. A modest beginning of 10,000 units of dairy semen imported in 1983 has grown to a half-million units annually. This avid promoter of US genetics has developed Argentina into the third or fourth largest US dairy cattle genetics destination and market.
For more information about the winners, visit the official World Dairy Expo site.
World Dairy Expo Set to Kick-off!
Next week from Oct. 2-6, Chuck and Cindy Zimmerman will be two of the expected 65,000 dairy enthusiasts visiting Madison, Wisc., for the 2007 World Dairy Expo. The Expo features the most modern dairy equipment and the newest dairy technology and innovations, including animal health supplies, milking systems, feeding products, forage handling and manure equipment plus embryos, semen and genetic research.
Remember to check back on a daily basis as Chuck and Cindy post reports from the educational seminars on dairy management and other industry issues. These seminars are designed to offer technical expertise to help dairy farmer stay knowledgeable, competitive and profitable. The show is also complete with virtual farm tours (who says farmers don’t use computers!?!), judging contests, Dinner With the Stars reception, various youth activities and competitions, a dairy quiz bowl and much more.
Educational seminars at a glance:
— Corn Prices Affecting the Starch Content in the Diet” – Jay Giesy, Dairy Specialist, Cargill Animal Nutrition
— “Cross Ventilation: A New Concept in Freestall Facilities” – John Smith, Extension Dairy Specialist, Kansas State University
— “CNMP, NPDES, CERCLA, EPCRA, ISO – Alphabet Soup for Complying with Environmental Regulations” – Wendy Powers, Professor, Michigan State University
— “Communicating to Protect and Promote Dairy’s Image” – David Pelzer, Senior Vice President of Industry Image & Relations, Dairy Management Inc. and Les Hardesty, Chairman, National Dairy Promotion and Research Board
— “Opportunities and Challenges with Sexed Semen” – Joe Dalton, Associate Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist, University of Idaho
— “LEADERSHIP…Maximizing the Return from Your People” – Eric Spell, President, AgCareers.com
— “Management & Bio-Security Strategies for Your Herd of Tomorrow” – Cathy Speirs, Shiloh Dairy LLC, Karen Marsh, Sunshine Genetics and Karen Hall, Hall’s Calf Ranch
— “Managing the freestall: From the Cow’s Perspective” – Marina (Nina) von Keyserlingk, Associate Professor, Animal Welfare Program, University of British Columbia
— “Extreme Makeover: Freestall Edition” – Nigel Cook, Clinical Associate Professor, UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine
— “What’s the Big Stink: Managing Odor in Agriculture” – John Ferguson, Mechanical Engineer and Associate, Conestoga-Rovers & Associates
For more information, visit the official World Dairy Expo site.
DeLaval International at IFAJ
For the third year in a row, DeLaval International sponsored the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists photo contest, presented at the annual congress, which was just held in Japan.
DeLaval PR director Carina Kit presented the awards during the congress, with the help of IFAJ president David Markey. The winner was “The beauties of the winter in Schleswig-Holstein” from the yearly calendar for Schleswig-Holstein.
Carina says they sponsor the contest because it rewards journalists for creativity in photography representing agriculture all over the world. The rest of the contest entries can be seen here on the IFAJ website.
Carina also told us all about the DeLaval sponsored website milkproduction.com, which features “practical, objective, plug and play information for dairy farmers all over the world.” She says the website gets some 10,000 visitors on a regular basis, about 30 percent from the United States.
Here is an interview with Carina with more information about DeLaval, the IFAJ congress and the website:
[audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/ifaj/delaval.mp3]
Thanks to Pioneer for sponsoring our trip to Japan to cover the IFAJ Congress 
Dairyline Markets In Review
Dairy Markets Week in Review
Block cheese plummeted this week and closed at $1.8150 per pound, down 17 1/2-cents on the week, but still 48 1/2-cents above that week a year ago. Barrel closed at $1.90, down 9 cents on the week, but 56 cents above a year ago. Sixteen cars of block traded hands and 10 of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price finally topped $2.00, hitting $2.0449, up 6.9 cents. Barrel averaged $2.0303, up 6 cents.
Butter finished the week at $1.37 per pound, down a quarter-cent on the week, but 5 cents above a year ago. Twenty cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.3844, down 0.7 cent. NASS nonfat dry milk averaged $2.0412, down 2.2 cents, and dry whey averaged 47.19 cents, down 3.3 cents on the week.
Provided courtesy of Dairyline.
Soda is "Liquid Candy"
This statstic from a recent article posted on CNN.com really jumped out at me:
“The rise in soft drink consumption mirrors the national march toward obesity. At the midpoint of the 20th century, Americans drank four times as much milk as soda pop. Today, the ratio is almost completely reversed, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, in the past 30 years the national obesity rate has more than doubled, and among teenagers, more than tripled, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
Let’s get milk back in our diets and stop drinking so much soda!
If you’re searching for a villain in America’s obesity epidemic, most nutritionists tell you to put one picture on the wanted poster: a cold, bubbly glass of soda pop. Full of sugar, soda adds calories without making a person feel full, nutritionists say. “Liquid candy” to detractors, sweetened soft drinks are so ubiquitous that they contribute about 10 percent of the calories in the American diet, according to government data.
In fact, said Dr. David Ludwig, a Harvard endocrinologist whose 2001 paper in the Lancet is widely cited by obesity researchers, sweetened drinks are the only specific food that clinical research has directly linked to weight gain.
“Highly concentrated starches and sugars promote overeating, and the granddaddy of them all is sugar-sweetened beverages,” said Ludwig, who runs the Optimal Weight for Life Program at Children’s Hospital in Boston.
“Soda pop is a quintessential junk food,” said Michael Jacobson, who heads the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which lobbies for government restrictions on foods it considers unhealthy. “It’s just pure calories, and no nutrients. It’s like a bomb in our diet.”
Jacobson said the CSPI is pushing to require obesity warning labels on the sides of soda cans, like the surgeon general’s warning on cigarettes. The sugar in soda pop not only provides a massive dose of calories, but triggers a vicious appetite cycle, said Ludwig, who wrote “Ending the Food Fight,” about healthy eating for children.
Soft drink companies, under fire, are taking steps including a pledge last year to phase out nondiet soft drinks from America’s schools. A progress report issued Monday by the American Beverage Association said that shipments to schools of sweetened soda are down 45 percent since 2004, while shipments of bottled water are up 23 percent.