Well, the Halloween witches and wizards haven’t even stopped knocking on my door yet, but our favorite holiday’s official drink is already in the news! New England based, HP Hood, annouced two “limited-edition flavors” of eggnog for the holidays. Pumpkin EggNog and Cinnamon EggNog will join Hood’s product line of eggnog flavors. Can’t wait to try them!
FSA Dairy Disaster Sign-Up
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), today announced that sign-up begins Nov. 1, 2006, for the $17 million 2005 Dairy Disaster Assistance Payment Program (DDAP-II), which will help dairy producers recover from 2005 hurricane losses.
Eligible DDAP-II counties are those declared a natural disaster by Secretary Johanns or designated a major disaster or emergency by President Bush for 2005 calendar year hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, Wilma or Rita. Counties contiguous to an approved county are also eligible. Counties declared disaster areas by Hurricane Dennis are ineligible for DDAP-II because the legislation did not provide for disaster losses resulting from Hurricane Dennis. A list of eligible counties can be found in the DDAP-II fact sheet.
To be eligible, a dairy producer must have suffered dairy production and spoilage losses from August through December 2005 due to the 2005 hurricanes or related conditions, and suffered the losses in an eligible DDAP-II county.
Sugar Free Dairy Dessert
Good news for those of us who love dessert, but are watching our sugar intake! Two U.S. food technologists, Drs Bruce Tharp and Steven Young, have developed what is believed to be the first dairy based dessert that contains no sugar, trans fat or lactose. Wonder if it tastes any good?
Two top scientists claim to have developed a frozen dairy dessert that contains no sugar, trans fats or lactose, heralding new opportunities for dairy firms to target consumer health trends. The formulation, thought to be one of the first of its kind in the world, claims to use commercially available ingredients and traditional ice cream manufacturing processes without the need for high intensity sweeteners. The dessert contains around 0.5g total sugars per serving, 3g of fat (or 90 calories) and is completely free of trans fatty acids, harmful ‘hard’ fats which must now be flagged up on product labels in the US.
Ice Cream Sandwiches For Dogs
Do not tell my wife about these. She feeds all my good leftovers to our two house dogs. If we’re going to get ice cream sandwiches around here, they’re mine, all mine!
Now, two of the biggest names in the ice cream and dog food industry – Good Humor and PEDIGREE Brand – have come together to create the first real ice cream sandwich formulated especially for dogs. The new PEDIGREE Ice Cream Sandwich Treats for Dogs from Unilever Ice Cream’s Good Humor brand give pet owners the crème de la crème of treats they can reward to their loyal, four-legged friends.
Like humans, some dogs are lactose-intolerant and cannot enjoy ice cream. While PEDIGREE Ice Cream Sandwich Treats for Dogs are dairy-based and have a creamy texture like regular ice cream, they are 99 percent lactose free. They also have added protein and there is no sugar added. When the dairy mixture is placed between two wafers it creates a very fetch-friendly treat and the perfect reward for training, good behavior or as a refreshing snack.
PEDIGREE Ice Cream Sandwich Treats for Dogs are now starting to appear in the freezer section of supermarkets nationwide. Packages contain six (6) 3 fl. oz. ice cream sandwich treats for a total of 24 bite-sized perforated pieces and have a suggested retail price of $3.99.
Northwest Dairy Groups Joint Venturing
A couple of Northwest U.S. dairy groups are getting together. If you’ve got common interests you can probably do more with your combined budgets, eh?
The Oregon Dairy Products Commission and the Washington Dairy Products Commission have entered a joint venture to better serve the marketing interests of Oregon and Washington dairy farmers. The effort represents the first formal agreement between the two entities in specific targeted marketing on a regional basis.
With the new agreement, the commissions will assist retail grocers and foodservice in developing increased dairy product sales including milk, cheese and yogurt within the two-state region. Planned promotional activities through the next 12 months include sponsorship tie-ins with regional and major league sports teams, nutritional campaigns focusing on healthy kids, and support for new product introductions.
Combined, Oregon and Washington have 860 dairy farms representing 356,000 milking cows, with a total on-farm value of approximately $1.2 billion.
Definition of Dairy
Here’s the definition of the word “Dairy” according to Wikipedia. A dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk (mostly from cows, sometimes from buffalo, sheep or goats) and other farm animals, for human consumption. A dairy farm produces milk and a dairy factory processes it into a variety of dairy products.
Read the whole online encyclopedia entry.
New Advertising Agency For Tillamook
Tillamook Cheese has awarded their advertising business to Leopold Ketel & Partners. Here’s where you can buy their products. They also have a webcam at their facility that updates every 15 minutes. So back to Leopold:
“LKP prevailed after competing against 12 other Northwest agencies,” said Kathy Holstad, Tillamook County Creamery Association marketing director. “Leopold Ketel impressed us with their creativity and approach to Tillamook Cheese branding,” she said. “We also have a great chemistry with the agency team members, which is very important to us. We look forward to a long relationship.”
Manure to (Peat) Moss
Making a peat moss substitute from manure looks like it might be a new alternative for dairies looking at environmentally friendly ways to manage the waste. Organix has announced the completion of its peat moss replacement pilot in Rupert, Idaho.
The pilot used the Company’s patented FibeRite™ process which takes dairy solids (fiber) from an anaerobic digester and converts it into a high value, peat moss substitute designed for the horticulture industry. The test took place at the Whitesides Dairy biogas plant in Rupert, built and operated by Intrepid Technology and Resources. A full-scale production facility is expected to be operating by early 2007.
“This concept has been five years in the making and we feel that we have created a system that a dairyman can appreciate, regulators can approve and an end-user can depend on,” explains Russ Davis, President of Organix. “With the current interest in renewable energy projects, biogas capture remains one of the best ways for a dairy to participate in the market while increasing manure management capabilities. The FibeRite™ system enhances a digester project by creating a high-value product out of the solids while simultaneously addressing many of the environmental concerns associated with dairies.” Read More
Wide Load Ahead Print Sale
At the All American Jersey Show & Sale that’s coming up in Louisville, KY you can show your support for the AJCA Scholarship Fund by bidding on a custom print of “Wide Load Ahead” painting that was unveiled at World Dairy Expo.
Two 16” x 20” archival prints on canvas of the original oil painting have been made by artist Denise Rich of El Cajon, Calif.. She has personally hand-embellished these prints, turning each into a one-of-a-kind artwork. The professionally framed prints will be the first lots to be auctioned at the 54th All American Jersey Sale, starting at 4:30 p.m. at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville, Ky on November 5 in Louisville, Ky. Read More
A New Dairy Podcast
It looks like Truffle Media Networks has their Dairycast program up and running. It got started in conjunction with World Dairy Expo just a few weeks ago. The farm podcasting choices continue to grow.
DairyCast is an audio program specifically designed to meet the needs of today’s Dairy professional. We’ll talk about production practices, environmental stewardship, animal welfare and a lot more. We’ll tell you what others in the Dairy industry are thinking about and doing. DairyCast is:
* Convenient. Subscribe to DairyCast at home or office. Transfer it to your MP3 player to listen whenever and wherever best for you.
* Timely. DairyCast is delivered via the Internet, or “podcast,” twice a week. The targeted approach with this programming format ensures topical interest and allows for in-depth segments to more completely communicate the information.
* Interest-driven. DairyCast provides an overview of the stories that drive the market, including interviews with experts in the field. You’ll quickly discover that DairyCast does not waste your valuable time with unimportant or obvious information.
* Interactive. The input and experiences of dairy professionals are an important part of each program. DairyCast bridges the distance between dairy professionals and industry insiders by building a community of shared experience.
* International. DairyCast looks beyond the U.S. borders at production practices and economic factors around the world, as well as import/export requirements and legislative trends. DairyCast cuts through the clutter and covers the issues critical to economic success. We invite you to subscribe to DairyCast and join the conversation! It’s easy and free.
Here’s where you can join in the conversation.