Wisconsin Dairy Tailgate Party

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, Promotion

Green Bay PackersAre you ready for a Packers game? If so then the Dairy Industry Association has a deal for you.

Two of the state’s greatest assets, the Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin’s Dairy Industry, will come together in Titletown. The Dairy Business Association & Game Day Sports Mktg. are offering a great opportunity to enjoy a REGULAR SEASON Tailgate Party and Packer Game on Sunday, December 17th, 2006 for all Wisconsin Dairy Producers and Industry Partners. The tailgate will be held inside the Stadium View Sports Bar beginning at 9:00 a.m. You will also have the opportunity to meet and receive an autograph from Green Bay Packer Legend Brian Nobel. Following the tailgate, the Packers will be taking on the Detroit Lions at 12:00 noon.

Please contact Travis toll free 1.888.902.1177 or tloftus@tds.net for to order or more information. More information is also available at www.widba.com.

CWT Export Assistance Bids

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, Export

Cooperatives Working TogetherHere’s the latest announcement from Cooperatives Working Together:

Cooperatives Working Together announced today that it accepted three export assistance bids last week for the sale of cheese and anhydrous milkfat. One bid is from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, for the export of 35 metric tons (77,000 pounds) of anhydrous milkfat to Mexico. The other two bids are from Land O’Lakes of Arden Hills, MN: one for the export of 40 metric tons (88,000 lbs.) of Mozzarella cheese to South Korea, and another for 20 metric tons (44,000 lbs.) of Mozzarella cheese to Japan. CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidders, once completion of the cheese and milkfat shipments is verified.

New NMPF Board Members

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, General

National Milk Producers Federation Several new members were seated at the recent 2006-07 NMPF Board of Directors meeting.

They include: Bill Blalock, of Cooperative Milk Producers Assn.; Les Hardesty, Jerrel Heatwole and Doug Nuttelman of Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.; Rich Ghilarducci of Humboldt Creamery; Adrian Boer of Northwest Dairy Association; and Ken Nobis of Michigan Milk Producers Association (who will serve as the new Treasurer on the NMPF officer team). NMPF also has a new YC Chaircouple, Larry & Sara Bailey from Fort Ann, NY, who are members of Dairy Farmers of America.

Local Milk Sells For More

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Business

Here’s a nice Associated Press article about dairy farmers facing dwindling numbers in highly populated areas are putting a fresh face on milk marketing.

It’s tough to be a dairy farmer right now. Business costs are soaring and wholesale milk prices are low.

It can be even tougher to raise cows on prime real estate in the mid-Hudson Valley, where many old dairy farms have been sliced up to make way for subdivisions with $400,000 homes.

“This is the high-rent district, no doubt about it,” said farmer Sam Simon, standing in his barn as his milking cows chomped on hay. “But you cannot deny the farmer who has worked for 50 years the fruit of his labor.”

Simon’s solution to the price pinch is Hudson Valley Fresh, a high-quality milk brand that usually travels less than 35 miles from cow to counter. Consumers willing to pay a bit more get to buy local, and participating farmers fetch a higher price for their milk. Farmers in populated pockets of the Northeast are creating similar local brands to boost income.

Read more from Forbes on-line.

Show and Tell

News EditorDairy Checkoff

Dairy producers, through their check-off investment, are once again teaming up with the National Football League® (NFL) to promote 3-A-Day(tm) of Dairy at retail stores and schools across the nation. These promotions help increase demand for and sales of U.S.-produced dairy products and ingredients.

Locally, Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association teamed up with regional supermarket chains and NFL teams to promote 3-A-Day(tm) of Dairy and milk, cheese and yogurt this fall. Working with Giant Eagle stores in western Pennsylvania and Giant food stores in eastern Pennsylvania and the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area, shoppers who purchase qualifying 3-A-Day of Dairy items will have the chance to take an NFL player to school!

One lucky winner will be chosen from each retail chain with Hines Ward of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Jon Jansen of the Washington Redskins accompanying them to school to visit with classmates about the importance of exercise and healthy eating, including dairy products.

Results of past fall promotions show that milk, cheese and yogurt sales increased by more than 3 million units in participating stores nationwide. Retailer and branded manufacturer partner contributions for retail promotions exceed the investment made by dairy farmers through their checkoff program.

Dairyline Markets in Review

Chuck ZimmermanDairyline, Markets

DairylineDairy Markets Week in Review
The cash dairy market continued its roller coaster performance the week of November 6, this time on the upswing. Block cheese dropped to $1.29 on Monday but then recovered and closed Friday at a year high $1.40 per pound, up 8 1/4-cents on the week, and 3 cents above that week a year ago. Barrel also closed at $1.40 Friday, up 8 3/4-cents on the week, and 7 3/4-cents above a year ago. Seven cars of block traded hands and eight of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $1.2298, up 1.4 cents. Barrel averaged $1.2597, up 2.7 cents.

Butter closed Friday at $1.33, up 5 1/2-cents on the week, but 7 cents below a year ago. Fifty one cars were sold on the week. NASS butter averaged $1.2608, down 4.4 cents. Cash Extra Grade nonfat dry milk closed Friday at $1.20 per pound, up 15 cents on the week. Grade A held all week at $1.65.


Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

Dairy Success in Meeting "Unmet Demand"

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Checkoff, Dairy Group, General

Dairy Management Inc About 1,000 dairy industry representatives got an update on activites funded by the national dairy checkoff program last week at the 2006 National Dairy Board/United Dairy Industry Association/National Milk Producers Federation Joint Annual Meeting in Las Vegas.

Tom Gallagher, chief executive officer of Dairy Management Inc., told the group that dairy promotion is helping the entire industry convert unmet demand into sales through strong partnerships with industry leaders and innovators that “have introduced new products, new positionings with consumers, and new places for our products.”

One example he gave was partnerships with Burger King®, Sonic® Drive-Ins and Subway® led to the introduction of flavored and white milk in plastic, round resealable bottles, resulting in sales of more than 100 million incremental pounds of milk. When these sales are added to existing partnerships with Wendy’s® and McDonald’s®, this amounts to 35,000 restaurants selling 250 million incremental pounds of Class I milk.

Read more here.

DBA Gets Loos This Month

Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, General

Dairy Business AssociationWisconsin’s Dairy Business Association is gearing up for the Seventh Annual Dairy Business Association Business Conference coming up November 29 and 30 at the Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisc.

On the program for day one is “popular radio broadcaster, well-known advocate for agriculture and friend of the DBA” Trent Loos who will share “the insight he uncovered through a series of “Man on the Street” interviews with every-day consumers.”

To forge further into the topic, Loos will moderate an eclectic panel of men in the business of milk. Representing the “Milk is Milk” campaign will be Alex Avery, Director of Research and Education at the Center for Global Food Issues. Mark Kastel from the Cornucopia Institute will express his interest in preserving family farms as primary suppliers of organic milk and preventing mega-farms from reaping the benefits of the label. Adding to this mix, University of Minnesota Extension Coordinator Jim Riddle will share his knowledge of converting conventional milk production practices over to organic methods.

Dairy producers will not want to miss Loos’s insightful “Man on the Street Interviews” session at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, November 29. For a complete conference schedule visit www.widba.com

Preserving a Legacy

News EditorIndustry News

Dairy producers and other farmers are looking into the future and taking steps to make sure their land is protected.

Two farms situated on more than 1,400 acres combined in Tompkins County, New York, recently received grants for $1.8 million from the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets Farmland Protection Implementation Program (FPIG). Considering only 22 farms received funding from the state in 2006, the amount is significant, accounting for 8.4 percent of the total.

In the decision-making process, FPIG considers the farm’s succession: Will the land most likely remain in farming? Are there stream corridors protecting the water quality? What is the proximity to other protected farmland? The application process involves proof that the farm owner is receiving pressure from developers and outside sources that want to build on their property. Once the award has been announced before closing on the conservation easement, the process can take up to two years to complete.

Experts say that there are fewer than two million farms left in the United States. Preservationists have formed two-dozen coalitions nationwide to try and save the barns that remain with a few states that have allocated funds for restoration. With so much of the countryside patch-worked with farms, New York has led the way, spending $6 million to rehabilitate 340 historic barns throughout the state since 2001.

Shifting the Blame for Milk Butterfat Depression

Chuck ZimmermanAudio, Feed, Forage Forum, Pioneer Hi-Bred, Podcast

Pioneer Hi-Bred Forage Forum Podcast Conventional wisdom has linked milk butterfat depression mostly to low fiber content. Theories on what creates this problem are now shifting, says Dr. Bill Mahanna, coordinator of global nutritional sciences for Pioneer Hi-Bred. Studies indicate that as a result of higher-energy silage corn rations, trans-fatty acids from oils in forages and grains may account for much of this depression. The wisest preventative course may be to work with a nutritionist to monitor these trans-fatty acids for prevention of ruminal acidosis.

Listen To MP3 File Dr. Bill Mahanna on milk butterfat depression (4 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.