FDA Thinks Restaurants Should Sell More Milk

Andy VanceGovernment, Markets, Milk, Nutrition, Policy, Promotion

Sounds like a fine idea to me. I sat at an Ohio State Ag Alumni awards banquet last year with an alum from the dairy biz. I was thrilled, being a multi-gallon per week milk drinker, when he ordered a pitcher of the milk for the whole table. His comment was that he was always amazed when he took his dairy clients to dinner that they rarely ordered milk, so he ordered it for them. Sounds like a good policy to me, like fueling your farm equipment with soy biodiesel or driving a flex-fuel car.

The US Food and Drug Administration wants to help you in this situation – a new report issued late last week suggests that restaurants should offer more lower-calorie food and beverage choices on menus, including low-fat and fat-free milk and dairy products. The report specifically calls for more low-fat and fat-free milk offerings with an eye toward the multiple nutrients advantages they hold. The report highlights successes at the quick-service restaurant counter, noting that the key to successful milk sales is appealing packaging like resealable plastic bottles.

Here’s another thought, however. The packaging is fine, but have you noticed that US restaurants appear to be trying to make their entire profit margin on milk? Why on earth are the single-serve cardboard cartons we paid 25-cents for in school being sold for 75-cents to a full dollar in restaurants? OR, if you are at a family-style or fine-dining establishment, why do you expect to pay $1.50 and up for a single glass of milk when you can buy the whole gallon in the grocery for $2? Perhaps if we can help restaurants end the dairy price-gouging on their menus we can all enjoy increased dairy demand from the food-service industry. Just a thought.

Dairy Processing Instruments On Dispaly

Chuck ZimmermanAgribusiness, Milk

Advanced Instruments CryoscopeIf you think processing dairy products is as simple as pumping milk into a container then think again. Today’s processing facilities are miracles of technology. One of the companies that’s supplying their need is Advanced Instruments. They make things like this cryoscope. In case you don’t know what it does:

Cryoscopy is used to accurately and rapidly determine the amount of added water that is present in a milk sample. Present cryoscope technology is semi-automated and utilizes the Freezing Point depression method. Samples are tested before raw milk is unloaded into storage. Finished products also are tested for water content for quality assurance purposes.
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Quarterly Import Watch Report Out

Chuck ZimmermanImports, Milk

National Milk Producers FederationJust in case you didn’t know this, the National Milk Producers Federation has a website with quarterly reports (Import Watch) that accomplish the following:

U.S. dairy farmers – and the prices they receive for their milk – increasingly are affected by imported dairy products. Because these imports can greatly alter the supply and demand of the domestic market, NMPF’s newest publication, ImportWatch, will monitor the flow of these products and how they impact the U.S. dairy sector.

The first quarter report for 2006 is now available. (pdf file)

CWT Export Assistance Bids

Chuck ZimmermanExport, International

Cooperatives Working TogetherHere’s last week’s announcements from Cooperatives Working Together:

  • Cooperatives Working Together announced Wednesday that it has accepted an export assistance bid for the export of butter. The bid is from California Dairies of Artesia, CA, for the export of 100 metric tons (220,000 pounds) of butter to Egypt. CWT will pay an export bonus to the bidder, once completion of the butter shipment is verified.
  • Cooperatives Working Together announced Thursday that it has accepted four export assistance bids for the export of butter and anhydrous milkfat. The first bid is from WestFarm Foods of Seattle, WA, for the export of 400 metric tons (880,000 pounds) of butter to Morocco. The second is from United Dairymen of Arizona of Tempe, AZ, for the export of 300 metric tons (660,000 lbs.) of butter to Egypt. The third bid is from Dairy Farmers of America of Kansas City, MO, for the export of 100 metric tons (220,000 lbs.) of anhydrous milkfat to Mexico. And the fourth bid is from Select Milk Producers of Artesia, NM, for the export of 43.5 metric tons (95,700 lbs.) of anhydrous milkfat to Mexico. CWT will pay export bonuses to the bidders, once completion of the butter and Milkfat shipments is verified.

    • House Agriculture Subcomittee Hosts Forum on Dairy Biz

    Andy VanceDairy Business, Dairy Group, Government, Policy, Production

    Last week, the Subcommittee on Deparment Operations, Oversight, Dairy, Nutrition, and Forestry met at Winona, Minnesota to discuss the Upper Midwest Dairy industry. Chairman Gil Gutknecht, commenting on the changes in the industry, noted that “… producers are mindful of these changes, prepared to face the challenges before them, and are open to the idea of modernized policies that will help them succeed.” Witness included Ag Marketing Service Administrator Lloyd Day, Upper Midwest Milk Marketing Area Administrator Paul Kyburz, Dr. Bob Cropp from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a number of leaders from the region’s dairy organizations and cooperatives.

    90 individuals attended the forum, which was the third this year convened to gather feedback from producers in preparation for the 2007 farm bill.

    NMPF And Others Send White House A Message

    Chuck ZimmermanGovernment, International

    National Milk Producers FederationThe National Milk Producers Federation has joined a number of farm groups in sending a message to the White House on WTO talks. Will these talks ever get anywhere? Who knows. But at least we know they’re “talking.”

    In a strongly-worded letter to the White House, the National Milk Producers Federation today urged the Bush Administration’s trade negotiators not to yield ground to other parties involved in the World Trade Organization talks unless additional farm policy concessions are put on the table by others countries involved in the
    negotiations. The letter, which was co-signed by 11 different farm and commodity groups in addition to NMPF, reminded the White House that “a very generous U.S. offer” to reduce domestic farm programs was put forward in October 2005, but was conditioned on increased market access for American farm products, including dairy foods, in other world markets.     Read More

    Mischa's Got Milk

    Chuck ZimmermanDairy Group, Milk, Promotion

    Mischa Barton - Got MilkThe latest addition to the MilkPep “Got Milk” campaign is actress Mischa Barton. She credits the nutrients in milk for helping keep her healthy and strong during the hectic pace of filming. The ad copy reads: “Take 9. On the set they are screaming ‘action’ all day. And thanks to the 9 essential nutrients in milk, I’ve always got what it takes to nail it.” The ad debuts in Teen People.

    MaggieMoo's Fresh Star Contest

    Chuck ZimmermanDairy Business, Ice Cream, Promotion

    MaggieMoos Fresh StarAnything that has an iPod involved catches my eye. MaggieMoo’s Fresh Star contest does. Our company is podcasting and hopes to begin doing so here on World Dairy Diary soon. So enter and I hope you win.

    MaggieMoo’s International is kicking off the start of summer with Fresh Star, a national contest for the taste buds. Beginning May 24 through Sept. 15, customers can go online and vote for their favorite MaggieMoo’s Fresh Escape ice cream creation and be automatically registered to win prizes such as iPods and iTunes gift cards.     Read More

    Dairyline Markets In Review

    Chuck ZimmermanDairyline, Markets

    DairylineDairy Markets Week in Review

    Cash block cheese closed the first Friday of June Dairy Month at $1.20 per pound, down 2 1/2-cents on the week, and 31 cents below a year ago. Barrel also closed at $1.20, up a penny on the week, but 27 cents below a year ago. Four cars of block traded hands and three of barrel. The NASS U.S. average block price hit $1.1729, up 1.7 cents. Barrel averaged $1.1761, up 2.5 cents.

    Butter closed at $1.1750, down a quarter-cent on the week, and 27 1/2 cents below a year ago. Six cars were sold. NASS butter averaged $1.1576, down 0.7 cent.

    Memorial Day is behind us and summer is on its way. Downes-O’Neill dairy economist Bill Brooks predicted that the cash dairy markets will likely move sideways for a while, similar to what we saw at the beginning of May.

    Provided courtesy of Dairyline.

    Selenium May Boost Bugs' Immunity

    Andy VanceEducation, Government, Nutrition, Production

    That same mineral you may be using in your ration may be keeping the bugs in the field from getting sick. The latest research out from USDA’s Ag Research Service suggests that moderate dietary levels of selenium may actually strengthen insect immunity. Typically, high levels of selenium are toxic to pests, but studies with cabbage looper moths and tobacco budworms found that the group raised on artificially high, though not toxic, levels of selenium had a stronger immune response system, therefore lowering the effectiveness of microbial biological control agents used against them.

    ARS is hoping to further the findings of this study to benefit crop growers in their integrated pest management strategies.