Some organic dairy farms in Vermont have a new home after getting dropped by milk producer Horizon.

Of the 28 farms in Vermont dropped by Horizon, 11 are selling to Organic Valley, Stonyfield picked up seven, eight decided to stop operating and one is switching to conventional nonorganic farming and one is still determining its course of action.

Many farms got new equipment thanks to federal and state funding or technical assistance. However, more will need to be done to ensure long-term success.

Agency of Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts says he’s looking at regional consumers too.

“Now we just have to step forward and continue to support them, consumers out there if they can continue to support dairy, purchase as much dairy as they can, that all helps,” said Tebbetts.

Selina Rooney’s family was one of the dairy farmers dropped by Horizon Organic. She says with the termination of her contract came fear and questions.

“We were pretty depressed when we found out, we were in shock and in disbelief, nothing like that has ever happened around here,” Rooney said.

She was involved in the dairy task force strategizing on how to save impacted organic dairy farms. Her efforts on the task force came to a head on Wednesday

Travis Forgues with Organic Valley called it a big day for family farmers. They will be taking 5,000 lbs. of dairy from the Rooneys alone, every other day.

“It’s been a long time since Organic Valley has been in a position to help families, join the truck,” said Forgues

Milk is once again flowing out of the Rooney farm but state officials say there is still an uphill battle ahead, even with this celebration.

“Farmers have generally made the decision to either cease operations or go with Organic Valley or Stonyfield,” said Laura Ginsburg with the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.

Ginsburg said for the farm that has yet to decide its course of action since Horizon Organic cut ties, it has until February 2023 before its contract with Horizon ends.

“We are offering a number of grants for these farms to continue in that transition process to meet the needs and goals of Organic Valley,” said Ginsburg.

Those grants include, in part, new equipment, such as bulk tank recorders for temperature regulation, hot water heaters or technical assistance.

Despite the immediate help, long-term success means farm viability, even in the face of high grain prices, fuel prices or environmental sustainability changes.

That means investment in on-farm infrastructure, more equipment upgrades and sustainable dairy packaging.

The Rooney farm has evidence of upgrades, from new stalls to more movement space built in for calves. They are hoping consumers step up and buy products. But for now, they are just relieved the trucks will keep rolling.

“It’s not just a job for us, it’s our way of life and to think about that ending was really hard but when Organic Valley stepped up and said we will take you on it was just this sense of how we can keep going,” said Rooney.

Source: wcax.com

Stewart Gracey is a third-generation farmer based on the family, which was initially established as a pig and potato enterprise.

In the 1970s, Stewart’s grandfather, Bobby, converted the farm to a dairy enterprise. Stewart, alongside his father, Lindsay, operate the dairy farm.

Mountview Dairy Farm comprises 185-acres of grassland, set overlooking the Mourne mountains in Northern Ireland.

The herd consists of 120 dairy cows, supplying milk to the local Lakeland Dairies.

“Initially, we milked Friesian cows, which began to breed with Holstein bulls. This gave us stronger cows which milked well and had greater longevity,” Stewart explains to That’s Farming.

Mountview Dairy continued to use Holstein bloodlines until they reached a point whereby all animals were pure-bred Holsteins.

However, they shortly realised that they were harder to manage and did not prove to be strong or long-lasting.

“Three years ago, we decided it was time for us to try something new. Since then, we began cross-breeding with Fleckvieh. The first batch of our Fleckvieh-cross heifers are due to calf this autumn. We are looking forward to seeing the outcome.”

Calving season

The herd operates a mainly autumn-calving enterprise, with a few later cows calving through to March.

“Our breeding season begins on December 1^st each year, with now almost exclusively Fleckvieh or Holstein bulls. We do not utilise sexed semen.”

“Calving season commences in September, with the majority of calving taking place from September to November. For our enterprise, this is the preferred time for calving as the new mothers can stay indoors all winter.”

“This allows us to provide the females calving down with constant, high-quality feed which they would not be receiving outdoors due to our ever-changing weather conditions.”

“When we are selecting animals for breeding, strong, long-lasting, not too tall or too broad, are the main traits we seek in our cows.”

Moreover, they retain bull calves on-farm until they are between two/three weeks of age.

They sell the majority of bull calves to returning customers and take remaining calves to the local sales yard.

“Our heifer calves are retained as replacements, and we aim to calve these females at 22 to 24 months.”

“We established 33 single calf pens for the newborn calves, and at two to three weeks, the heifers are then grouped into larger pens,” Stewart tells That’s Farming.

Milk figures

Mountview Dairy farm established milk figures from last year’s benchmarking report, which has seen obvious fluctuations from the previous year.

“Our average milk yield last year was 8,500 litres per cow, which is 360 litres less than our previous year’s report.”

“However, we have fed 411kg less of meal per cow, at a feed rate of 0.29kg/litre, which equates to a total of 2,400kg of meal fed for 2021.”

“Our milk from forage is a sum of 3,070 litres, which is 550 litres more than the previous year’s report.”

Furthermore, the dairy enterprise has achieved a butterfat figure of 3.96% and protein of 3.23%, respectively.

Grassland management

On this farm, grassland management is of “serious” importance. In turn, soil quality is monitored by soil sampling every winter,.

The fields are used for grazing by a local sheep farmer in the winter period. The sheep eat the old grass, so the cows can reap the benefits of the fresh grass in the spring.”

“When summer commences, we mow the grass ahead of the cows being let into each field, which we find leaves the field much cleaner. The cows eat all of the pre-cut grass, so we do not have to top the fields afterwards, which leaves grass laying in the field.”

“We mow two cuts of silage, with the first cut being harvested in May, followed by the second cut in mid-July. The silage goes into pits, with a small portion of silage going into round bales.”

Infrastructure

At present, they use a Fullwood 12-point swing over parlour. We milk twice daily, commencing at 6am and 4.30pm, with each milking lasting for approximately two hours.

Their housing units consist of an 80-cubicle shed, a 72-cubicle shed, and smaller sheds for calving and rearing calves in pens.

During summer of 2021, they built a new slurry tank for extra slurry storage as we previously had to hold slurry in a neighbour’s tank to store all.

Mountview Dairy Farm plan to build a shed on top of the tank next year, which will have space for an additional 50 cubicles and some calving pens.

Recently, the dairy farm introduced a Holm & Laue milk taxi, which was purchased in 2020.

This piece of technology has the capacity to hold 150 litres of milk. The milk taxi has a water heater which is set on a timer to be at the right temperature when needed to make powdered milk for calves.

The technology dispenses the correct amount for each calf. Stewart believes this equipment has made feeding much easier, and also reduces the requirement for manual labour in the calf shed.

The Gracey family are members of a Business Development Group (BDG), which consists of approximately a dozen dairy farmers who meet at the end of each month to discuss differing farming techniques and ideas.

Unseen challenges  

“My biggest challenge to date was keeping the farm going on my own last winter. My dad had a bad fall down into the new slurry tank before the slats were put on top.”

“He broke his leg badly and was out of action from the end of October until well into the new year. The whole family had to help out during this time.”

In turn, Stewart expresses his frustration at the excelling price of fertiliser, which has hit many farmers across the nation.

“We have sown the same amount of fertiliser as normal this year to keep the grass growing, so although the price has rocketed, we are not prepared to use less. We depend on milk prices to stay up to pay for it.”

“The thing I like most about dairy farming is spending lots of time outside. I enjoy working with animals and watching the next generation of heifers coming on each year.”

“My short terms plans are to get the new shed built on top of the tank. Moreover, my long-term plans involve increasing the herd to around 140-head and shortening the calving season to have calving commencing in September and finishing in the new year.”

Progress

Stewart left school at the young age of 16-years-old and has been working full-time as a dairy farmer since.

“I can say that I really cannot imagine doing anything else with my life. Although it is a lot of hard work and very long hours, it is rewarding.”

“I married my wife, Hannah, seven years ago, and we now have a house on the farm where we live with our two children, Bobby, aged 3, and Leah, aged 1.”

“Bobby is following in my footsteps with his love for being out on the farm, and Leah gets very excited when she sees a tractor.”

He concludes, “I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the farm”.

Source: thatsfarming.com

As a growing number of dairy farmers turn to DNA testing to improve their herds, Canterbury’s Julie Bradshaw​ is already reaping the rewards of her investment.

Cow numbers have come under pressure in recent years as a result of tighter regulations and a cultural shift by farmers towards being environmentally sustainable.

As a result, more farmers are using genetics and DNA testing to breed better cows, rather than build bigger herds.

Bradshaw was an early adopter of the technology and has already made significant improvements to her herd.

It now sits in the top 5% of Canterbury herds for production worth (an estimate of a cow’s lifetime milk production ability) and breeding worth (the index used to rank cows and bulls on their expected ability to breed profitable, efficient offspring).

On a national level, the herd is just outside the top 5% and Bradshaw said the numbers proved her investment in genetics had helped ensure she had the best cows.

Next mating season, four of her cows will be mated to bulls specifically selected by livestock genetics company LIC as part of its breeding programme.

The cows were chosen based on their DNA profiles, with LIC looking at their mothers and analysing their production during the selection process.

The bulls will be selected for genetic traits which will complement the cows’, with the aim being to improve the overall genetic profile of the herd.

“Once they have calved, if it is a bull calf then they will genetically test it to determine if it meets the criteria for LIC’s breeding programme,” the Fernside farmer said.

“DNA testing the calves shows which genes it has inherited from its parents, and then they can analyse how well it will perform in the future.”

In the 20 years since Bradshaw first became interested in genetics, technology has become far more precise, and the improvements are providing economic benefits, she said.

“DNA testing is a vital part of our farming operation now, and I am glad we started when we did because it has enabled us to have the best herd we can, which is based on science and facts.

“With possible reductions in animal numbers in the future, you want to be as accurate as possible. We have all our DNA data for the herd, and it really is the best it has ever been.”

While farmers did their best to record accurate calving data, the stress of the calving period meant records were never perfect, Bradshaw said.

“If you are relying on your own calving records, they are generally only about 65% to 70 % accurate compared to DNA testing.

“If you use your own records, you are keeping animals that you think are going to be great, when you haven’t got the animal you think you have in terms of its value to the herd.”

DNA testing could eliminate those mistakes and help farmers avoid spending time and money on a calf that wasn’t going to be a good producer when it joined the milking herd.

Source: stuff.co.nz

A New York state dairy farm is leading a class-action lawsuit in federal court in Vermont against Dairy Farmers of America — the country’s largest dairy cooperative — arguing the organization has violated antitrust law and artificially lowered the price of raw milk. 

The lawsuit, filed July 29, claims Dairy Farmers of America has created a “monopsony,” which is defined as a market in which many sellers have only a single buyer, across the dairy industry in Vermont and 10 other states in the northeastern U.S. 

At issue, it says, is an “inherent conflict of interest” between two related segments of the cooperative’s business. 

Dairy Farmers of America is tasked with ensuring its members get the highest possible price for their milk, per the lawsuit. But farmers must sell their milk to processors, who use it to make other products, to make money. And the defendant argues that Dairy Farmers of America’s milk processing operations benefit from lower milk prices. 

As a result, S.R.J.F., Inc. of Stamford, New York — the lead defendant — alleges it, and the more than 3,000 other milk producers in the cooperative’s Northeast region, operate in a highly consolidated market that has led them to make less money than they otherwise would with greater market competition. 

“DFA structured its business to thrive in a low-price, high-supply raw milk environment  — exactly the kind of environment that benefits its processor holdings, at the expense of its member farmers’ milk checks,” the lawsuit says. 

In a statement, Kristen Coady, Dairy Farmers of America’s senior vice president of corporate affairs, called the allegations in the lawsuit “baseless,” saying the company has made strategic investments since its founding that benefit all of its members. 

“Any claim that a farmer-owned, farmer-governed cooperative is motivated to self-inflict damage on its member-owners is preposterous, irrational and blatantly inaccurate,” Coady said. 

The lawsuit claims Dairy Farmers of America’s holdings have become so extensive over the past six years that it has become difficult, if not impossible, for many independent farms or dairy cooperatives to be successful without joining Dairy Farmers of America’s network. 

The Kansas City-based cooperative has come to control as much as 60% of the Grade A milk market in the Northeast in that time, the lawsuit says. Nearly all milk produced in the U.S. is Grade A, meaning it is certified by the federal government for use in liquid products. Court documents also point to one estimate from June of this year that the cooperative controls 85% of the region’s fluid milk processing capacity. 

As such, the lawsuit estimates there are at least 7,000 possible defendants for the class-action lawsuit: anyone who has sold non-organic, Grade A milk since May 10, 2016, in the cooperative’s northeast region of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and most of Pennsylvania. 

The lawsuit also points to multiple past acquisitions and mergers involving Dairy Farmers of America — including its merger with the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery in 2019 — as evidence of the organization’s efforts to eliminate competition at the expense of smaller entities in the region. 

Members of the 100-year-old cooperative in Franklin County voted overwhelmingly to become part of Dairy Farmers of America, though the lawsuit says some members saw little choice because the St. Albans organization was staring down bankruptcy. 

The defendants cited the St. Albans merger as a reason why they filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Vermont. 

“Like the arsonist taking credit for putting out the fire, DFA has sought to spin its actions as saving or stabilizing the Northeast Dairy Market it was hellbent on bleeding to death,” the lawsuit said. 

The lawsuit stretches back to May 10, 2016, because that’s one day after claims were last released in a previous lawsuit— Allen v. Dairy Farmers of America — in which the cooperative settled for $50 million, some of which went to dairy farmers in Vermont, according to court documents. 

That class-action case, filed in 2009, alleged Dairy Farmers of America had conspired to become the sole seller of Grade A milk in the Northeast. The cooperative, according to the lawsuit, was not member-focused and forced small farmers to join in order to avoid market pressures that would put them out of business.

Dairy Farmers of America has also been involved in multiple previous lawsuits, according to the July 29 complaint. 

The most recent case seeks damages for Northeast dairy farmers “to the maximum extent allowed” under the federal government’s 1890 Sherman Antitrust Act, which, it alleges, Dairy Farmers of America has violated in multiple ways. 

It also notes that while Dairy Farmers of America has gained market share in recent years, the number of dairy farms has decreased and output on remaining farms has gone up. 

It cites data from Vermont showing a 37% decline in the total number of operating dairy farms in the 10 years preceding 2020, but a 30% increase in herd size per remaining farm. In 2020, about 40 dairy farms closed in the state, the lawsuit says. 

The Burlington-based attorneys representing the defendants could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Source: vtdigger.org

European milk production declined 1.4% year-over-year in June as heat waves weighed on cow comfort and component levels. Though temperatures are expected to ease in the coming months, milk flows will remain under pressure amid tightening environmental regulations. In the latest episode of The Dairy Download, we speak with two guests keeping an eye on Europe’s output obstacles.

First up is Jukka Likitalo, Secretary General with Eucolait. He tells us how the European Commission’s Farm to Fork Strategy is impacting the region’s production. He also gives insight on other factors crimping output, from structural issues to supply chain and labor challenges.

Next, we talk with Paula O’Dwyer, Senior Business Intelligence Manager for Glanbia Ireland. She sheds light on trends in Irish milk production and the broader European market. And she discusses the impact of higher prices on the region’s dairy demand.

Play Episode

The States said the dairy farming industry was facing a crisis which could see some remaining farms forced to close.

Emergency support will be provided to Guernsey’s dairy farming industry, it has been announced.

‘On the brink’

“I love what I get to do,” said Natasha Stein Sutherland of Stein Farms in LeRoy, N.Y., in the latest episode of ADA North East’s “This American Dairy Farmer.”

Sutherland is the herd manager of the farm started by her grandfather in 1956, after spending seven years managing dairy herds in New Zealand.

The series was developed to offer consumers a behind-the-scenes look at dairy farms and the families who operated them, while helping make a personal connection with those who produce their food. The series that has garnered more than 1.5 million views since launching during the pandemic.

Watch the episode

Northern Missouri has received plenty of rain, and dairy producers there are hopeful about making a silage pile, while those in the state’s southern counties are looking at options as drought conditions and oppressive heat have taken hold.

“There’s a lot to consider as a dairy farmer during times of high heat and little rain,” said Scott Poock, University of Missouri associate extension professor of veterinary medicine. “The heat affects the animals, while the drought conditions can lead to issues with forage for feed. Careful management is key.”

Heat stress on dairy cows decreases milk production, fertility, feed intake, and fat and protein in the milk. It increases respiration, lameness and somatic cell counts. The higher the SCC, the more likely a cow has an infection.

Abatement strategies include use of sprinklers, fans and shade. Additional tips to consider:

• The holding pen will be the site of the greatest heat stress because the cows will be very close together, making it the most important place to have sprinklers and fans. Fans and sprinklers in free stall pens are also useful.

• Sprinklers should have large droplets so cows are soaked to the skin to allow for evaporative cooling.

• Provide shade for cows on pasture. Shades should be placed north to south, which allows the shade to move throughout the day and decrease the creation of a “mud hole.”

Management tools to consider while drafting the herd’s 2022-23 feed inventory plan:

For corn silage, determine when to chop by whole plant dry matter. The target DM is 30%-35% for bunkers, 32%-37% for conventional tower silos, 40%-45% for limited-oxygen silos and 35% for silo bags.

While baling failed corn prevents the expense and logistics of hiring a chopper, the cost to produce a bale of corn silage is often far greater per ton due to wrapping costs and waste. Bale waste can be decreased when using a “crop cutting” baler with knives. Standard balers will ferment correctly if the moisture is within normal parameters.

Chop height can manipulate fiber digestibility and nitrate concentration. Call your county extension center to test the stalk for nitrate prior to harvest.

Nitrates are highest in the lowest 12 to 18 inches. A portion of nitrate will dissipate during ensiling—up to a 50% decline. But if ensiled high, it will likely remain “high” even after dissipating half. Be aware of prussic acid as well.

For more information, the MU Extension publication “Nitrate Problems in Livestock Feed and Water” is available for free download at extension.missouri.edu/g9800.

When feeding total mixed ration, straw can be used to extend forage inventory. Work with a nutritionist to make sure the ration meets the needs of your herd.

Supplementing additional grain helps dilute higher nitrates in forages. But too much grain could cause a decrease in fat and protein seen during heat stress. Ultimately, depending on severity, some producers should consider culling to help manage the forage inventory. Reproduction is impaired by heat. Take time to identify those open, long days in milk cows for ideal culling candidates.

Source: hpj.com

Michigan State University is planning to make some big changes to its greenhouses and Cattle Research Center, which are both more than 40 years old. The state of Michigan is giving the university over $53 million to help renovate the buildings. This is all part of the 2023 budget Governor Whitmer signed into law.

Dairy is the leading contributor to the agricultural economy in Michigan, and experts told News 10 that this investment for MSU will benefit farms across the state.

“The more milk we produce and the more we meet that demand, actually, it lessens the cost to the producer. The more efficient we are, the cheaper we can deliver a high quality product to our consumers,” said Doug Chapin, dairy farmer and Chairman of the Board for Michigan Milk Producers.

Chapin also runs a farm with about 700 Holstein cows in Mecosta County. Chapin said dairy farmers across the state are struggling — they’re paid for the milk they produce but, production has been low, that means profits are low too.

“But our farm could definitely benefit by having the right support staff to work with and that is both nutrition, veterinary, animal health and animal care. All of those specifics that the university will help train for us to have those specialists,” said Chapin.

Chapin said the updates to the university’s dairy facility will help farmers across Michigan work with changes in feed or environmental regulations. The MSU Dairy Farm told News 10 that the big focus is helping dairy products become more competitive in new areas. One example, anaerobic digestion which converts manure into methane, or electricity.

“Development of technologies that will allow dairy producers to pull nutrients out of manure. Those nutrients that are analogous to commercial fertilizers,” said George Smith, Director of MSU AgBioResearch and Senior Associate Dean for Research.

Smith said the MSU Dairy Farm was built in the 1960s and right now, there isn’t enough space, cattle, or research being done to support the dairy production in Michigan. Smith said the state funding will change that.

MSU Diary Farm herd consists of 200 Holstein cows ranging from ages 2 to 12. Their milk is sold through the Michigan Milk Producers Association.

Source: wilx.com

The European Milk Board says many milk producers have gone out of business, because they couldn’t even cover their costs of production in recent years.

Now, as the EU milk supply shrinks, despite record high milk prices at the farm gate, it may be too late to stem the flow of farmers getting out of milk.

Jeff and Alta Mae Core, Salvisa, Ky., received the Master Breeder Award given by the American Jersey Cattle Association in ceremonies June 25, 2022, during the association’s 154th Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon.

The Master Breeder Award is presented to an AJCA member, family, partnership or corporation that has bred outstanding animals for many years and thereby made a notable contribution to the advancement of the Jersey breed in the United States.

Since 1980, Jeff and Alta Mae Core have been breeding award-winning Jerseys. They have bred 238 cows appraised Excellent-90% or higher. The highest being, KCJF Regency Treasure, Excellent-97%, just one of seven in breed history to receive this honor. “Treasure” is sired by both a Keightley-Core bred dam and sire, Renaissance Kims Regency.

Many of their best performers include a sprinkling of KCJF sires on both the top and bottom sides of the pedigree. Among the cows who can be found in the lineage of much of the herd today is the early influencer, K.J.F. Amandas Mercury Mandy, Excellent-93%. Her son, Mandys Patrick Rex, born in May 1987, was the first bull bred and sampled by the Cores. He has 137 daughters in his proof, including Rexs Patrick Kim, Excellent-94%, an All American honoree with nine complete lactations, and the dam of four-time All American Junior Show Champion, KJF Renaissance Lacy {6}, Excellent-96%.

Another family of impact is the “Molly” cow family, which began with KJF Responses Molly, Excellent-91. Her daughter, KCJF Sambo Molly, Excellent-94%, was Intermediate Champion of The All American Jersey Show in 2006 and topped the National Jersey Jug Futurity two years later. She has two records over 22,000 lbs. milk. Her sons, KCJF Mollys Ren Motion and KCJF One in a Million, have sired numerous blue-ribbon winners for the Cores and other breeders. Her grandson, KCJF Hired Magician, is in the Showcase Selections lineup at Select Sires Inc. “Magician” is out of KCJF Mollys Regency Martini-ET, Excellent-95%, a paternal sister to “Treasure” and winner of the 2013 Bert Smith Leas Memorial Award for best bred and owned animal in the national futurity.

Keightley-Core Jerseys have been named Premier Breeder seven times and Premier Exhibitor twice at the National All-American Jersey Show. Additionally, they have bred one national champion, have exhibited the national champion three times, exhibited the Genomic Jersey Performance Grand Champion in 2020 and 2021, bred three National Jersey Jug Futurity winners, and won the 2021 Leading Lifetime Production Award.

In addition to their show ring success, their herd ranks at the top of the breed for production. In 2021, their herd had a lactation average of 18,238 lbs. milk, 928 lbs. fat, and 683 lbs. protein on 60 lactations. The herd has ranked as high as fifth for protein and eighth for fat among herds with 40-70 lactations in the past.

The Cores have been active with the Kentucky Jersey Cattle Club and the Kentucky National Show and Sale. Alta Mae served on the Kentucky Fair Council and retired from the Kentucky Department of Revenue, in 2008, after 30 years of service. The Cores are both active cattle judges, having worked cattle shows in the United States and internationally. Alta Mae has served as a judge in Argentina, Brazil, Coasts Rica, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, as well as at the Royal Agricultural Fain in Toronto, Canada, and International Dairy Week, Australia. The couple have both won the Klussendorf Trophy, an award given for ability, character, friendliness and outstanding showmanship at the World Dairy Expo.

The American Jersey Cattle Association was organized in 1868 to improve and promote the Jersey breed. Since 1957, National All-Jersey Inc. has served Jersey owners by promoting the increased production and sale of Jersey milk and milk products. For more information on its programs and services, visit www.USJersey.com or call 614/861-3636.

We have seen cow numbers grow from 3.4 million in 2000 to 4.9 million in 2019 and the area being farmed for dairy has increased by 33% over this period.

Underpinning this growth has been continued intensification which has created significant opportunities and prosperity for those in the industry, however like any fast-paced intensification it has created negative impacts on our environment.

As a result, the NZ dairy industry has been challenged to be more environmentally and socially sustainable to ensure we are both proud and responsible within our farming practices. We are beginning to see change in a number of areas across the dairy industry with significant emphasis being placed on climate change, water quality, work conditions and animal welfare.

Despite some initial farmer objections, these developments are all beneficial to the NZ dairy industry, and will enhance our reputation as a world leader in quality produced dairy products.

An area that remains out of the spotlight is on-farm waste and what we are doing to be environmentally responsive. It was the objective of this report to discover current waste and recycling volumes within the NZ dairy sector as well as what is being done about improving waste disposal. The report also sought to determine what is being developed for greater future farmer engagement as well as what is currently being achieved with the recycling we are collecting from dairy farms.

At the commencement of the project the assumption was made that farmers continue to burn and/or bury their waste and that there is a lack of work being completed to address the increasing issue of on-farm waste on dairy farms.

This report has been able to determine that previous work has been undertaken around waste levels and current disposal across the rural sector in New Zealand, and that despite some improvements in disposal practices this is an ever increasing issue that requires immediate attention.

This report identifies several significant studies and the arrival of two key recycling providers into the industry, AgRecovery and Plasback, who have ensured the volumes of recycling collected from New Zealand dairy farmers has significantly increased. This has been further accelerated by Fonterra adding evidence of recycling as part of their “Co-operative Difference” payment scheme which has seen both AgRecovery and Plasback see significant surges in registrations.

Farm plastics were given additional focus in July 2020 when the Government named Farm Plastics as one of its six priority products. This has ensured that the rural sector now has a responsibility to be environmentally responsive with the plastic products generated within the sector. Following this announcement, the Ministry for the Environment (MFE) advised it would be working with the AgRecovery Foundation to produce the Green-Farm Product Stewardship Scheme.

This document has been designed to create a “one stop shop” to ensure farmers are able to deliver four key plastics streams to local collection centres by 2024. The proposal recommends that these services will be free to customers with any cost incurred generated through levies paid by plastic producers.

The Green-Farm Product Stewardship Scheme, which is yet to be accredited by Government, is a positive step for the industry. However, following further critical analysis and using frequency distribution data gathered from surveys of farmers across Taranaki, it has been found that this service alone will not be fit-for-purpose to service the needs of all farmers.

This analysis and data also suggested that both Plasback and AgRecovery have improvements to make in their service delivery to ensure they are meeting the needs of farmers. It is therefore recommended that these improvements alongside a collaborative approach from all providers will need to be delivered before any potential accreditation is approved.

Frequency distribution analysis of the survey data also indicated that farmers would like a choice in their provider, and a desire to feel that their contribution is valued. In order to achieve this the research demonstrated that offering additional profit based providers for greater convenience would see further engagement from farmers.

In addition, having accuracy around the amount of recycling collected on-farm would quantify the contribution an individual farm is making.

The data also found that household waste is an area where very little emphasis is placed, with significant quantities of household recycling currently being burned/buried or placed in “skip bins” due to a lack of convenient services. This is another area that improvements could be made and a recommendation is made in the report to assess the feasibility of “on-farm recycling stations”.

Finally this report analyses where our current recycling is being processed, whether this is sustainable at its current levels, and if it can sustain an inevitable increase from greater farmer compliance. This report concludes that currently up to 80% of our farm plastics are sent overseas and whilst we are utilising some of this product in New Zealand, this is limited to a few manufacturing companies. In order to be more environmentally responsive in future we need to deal with recycling internally and therefore greater sector and government collaboration is required to assist businesses within New Zealand.

Following the information gained from this report the following recommendations are made:

Establish An Accredited Inclusive Product Stewardship Scheme

1. The current Green-Farm Product Stewardship Scheme proposed by the AgRecovery Foundation is a great initial concept, however it requires further development before any potential accreditation is granted from the Ministry for the Environment.

The “One-Stop Shop” solution is a positive one for the rural industry, however, needs to be more inclusive of other providers including Plasback, for its ultimate success. The proposed scheme needs to better acknowledge the work that is already occurring within the waste sector and utilise these providers in any future scheme. Once these necessary amendments are made the proposal needs to be accredited and operational as projected, in 2024.

Utilise Local Service Providers

2. That local services are required to complement the Green-Farm Product Stewardship Scheme proposal which will both provide additional options for farmers, and service additional waste streams. These services could include on-farm collection as a user pay service that allows for greater convenience to farmers to ensure waste removal and improve recycling practices.

Farmers need the ability to choose the most convenient practice to meet their business needs and one solution will not meet this requirement.

Collection of On-Farm Recycling Levels

3. That volumes of waste and recycling collected needs to be recorded and collated at a farm level. This would allow farmers to accurately record the increased efforts that they are making and to hold those to account who are not making the required effort. This would also allow farmers to provide more accurate statistics across the complete rural sector.

Currently we are not recording this information as accurately as we could. Farmers need to know the difference they are making so showing key individual farm stats as to levels of recycling will be crucial to any future success.

Enhance Government Collaboration

4. That government needs to enhance the work it is doing alongside current businesses within New Zealand who are attempting to use recycling waste and to look to support and develop companies who are trying to operate in New Zealand. Currently up to 80% of our plastic recycling goes offshore to be processed and we therefore need to develop further businesses within New Zealand to service more of our own recycling.

Many of the products that are created from plastic waste are not high value therefore government assistance will be required to ensure companies are able to process these plastics and remain financially sustainable.

Source: ruralleaders.co.nz

Migrant workers make up the majority of the dairy workforce in Wisconsin. However, because there is no federal program for year-round agricultural work visas, most people producing milk across the nation are working illegally.

This connection between the U.S. dairy industry and workers from Mexico and Central America is at the center of journalist Ruth Conniff’s new book, Milked, which not only tells the story of the ongoing transformation of Wisconsin’s dairy industry but shines a spotlight on the people who put food on our plates and imagines a new future for rural Wisconsin.

Today, she joins guest host Douglas Haynes for a discussion about farming, migration, and reimagining a more sustainable food system.

Many businesses have been challenged throughout the pandemic, Wisconsin’s dairy industry is no exception experiencing some big gains and losses along the way.

“Dairy contributes $45.6 billion every year to the state’s economy,” said Patrick Goeghegan, Vice President of Industry with the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

So, chances are when you have a glass of milk, it comes from Wisconsin, which has helped the dairy industry to remain robust during the pandemic.

UW Agricultural & Applied Economics Department reported Wisconsin’s milk sales increased throughout the pandemic.

In 2019 milk sales generated $5 billion in revenue; in 2020 $5.8 billion, and in 2021 $6 billion.

The Dairy Farmers of America attributes part of the dairy industry’s strong performance during the height of the pandemic to people being tethered to their homes.

“What we saw at the beginning of the COVID was a really strong economy for the dairy industry, there was strong demand, especially on the retail side as people began to work from home. So we saw very strong gains in cheese in fluid milk, they were very strong as well. So that is, that has been really a positive thing that that demand for dairy has continued through COVID,” said Goeghegan.

“We actually sold more milk than we ever have before,” said UW Dairy expert Mark Stephenson.

He also said the number of dairy farms has declined but they’re being absorbed into larger farms and that has kept the industry profitable.

“Our milk sales were up even though farm numbers were down. And as a result, the total revenue in first milk sales was up a little bit of this last year as well,” said Stephenson.

“$104.8 billion that’s generated by agriculture. The dairy industry is about half of that,” said Randy Romanski, Secretary-designee of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

While the dairy industry is thriving for dairy farmers the past few years have been challenging.

“Since the pandemic hit business has been rough,” said Joe Statz.

Longtime dairy farmer, Joe Statz of Statz Brothers Farm said soaring costs to maintain his dairy farm have made money matters worse.

“You got to pay $5 for gas and more for that for fuel and, and when you got to buy fertilizer that has tripled in price, and your seed has doubled in price,” said Statz.

He also said because of labor shortages some dairy farmers are being asked to dump milk again.

“They cannot find help to bottle on weekends and holidays and so they just shut them down and sometimes we have to dump milk on weekends and stuff, because nobody wants it,” said Statz.

Plants are being shut down and milk has to travel further leaving dairy aisles empty at times.

“Our milk, instead of going two hours away, has to maybe go four or five hours away. These poor drivers, you know, make it two loads a day, they can only get one,” said Statz.

Despite all the challenges, Statz said he’s proud to be dairy strong in America’s dairyland.

“I think Wisconsin is one of the nicest states around to be farming in. I’m glad Statz Brothers Farm is here,” said Statz.

Source: wkow.com

The “decline of the family farm,” purportedly replaced by the “rise of the corporate farm,” for generations has been one of the most well-trodden – and inaccurate – tropes in conversations about U.S. agriculture.  It’s true, the number of dairy farms has declined. But that consolidation hasn’t diminished the dominance of family-run dairies. It’s meant that smaller family farms have generally become a bit larger, often to support additional family members coming into an existing operation.

Of an estimated 39,442 farms of all sizes with dairy cows in 2020 – a comprehensive number that’s higher than the number of licensed dairy operations — 38,286 of them were family-operated, according to USDA data. That’s 97.1 percent of dairies, an extremely high percentage that isn’t budging with consolidation. In 2016, for example, even though the overall number of farms with dairy cows was more than 48,000, the family-farm percentage that year was 97.3 percent – a remarkably consistent figure.

What’s going on? The same thing that’s been going on for generations. Dairy farmers sell their cows to fund their retirements. Farmers whose children don’t want to take over the farm sell to the farmer whose children will. A small number of “corporate farms” do exist, and because they tend to be larger, they produce a disproportionate (but still small) percentage of milk. But when dairy farms consolidate, as a rule, they consolidate into other family farms. And the fewer, larger farms that remain are still decidedly family operations.

Just as dairy itself isn’t dead, the family dairy farm isn’t either. But like everything else, it’s changed. A family dairy farm may be a bigger employer than before, and it may be a more sophisticated business. That’s been the direction of U.S. agriculture for generations, and that’s true whether a farm has 80 cows, or thousands. Just look at the average size of a U.S. dairy farm. It’s grown from about 50 cows in 1990 to about 300 cows today. Despite the realities of an ever-changing industry, the family farm remains the bedrock of U.S. dairy farming. And that shows no sign of ending, anytime soon.

Source: NMPF

Brent Bosma gave a tour of his family’s dairy, Orland Ridge, during the 2022 South Dakota Governor’s Agricultural Summit. Tri-State Neighbor photo by Melisa Goss

The decision to expand a dairy is never an easy one. As with every sector of agriculture, the dairy industry is constantly riddled with uncertainty.

That’s why it took the Bosma family eight years to finally settle on the right location for their newest dairy operation.

In the end, Madison, South Dakota called their name.

The Bosma family has been milking in Oregon and Washington since the 1970s, however, they’ve been in South Dakota for only the past two years.

The family opened Orland Ridge Dairy near Madison in part because the Agropur processing plant in Lake Norden announced an expansion in 2018 that tripled its production capabilities.

The Bosmas now have a close working relationship with Agropur. During the South Dakota Governor’s Agricultural Summit June 28, while dairy manager Brant Bosma gave one group a tour of the facilities, Deb Wehde, a field representative for Agropur, led another group, proving the company’s dedication to knowing the farmers they work with.

Orland Ridge was just one of several dairies that either expanded or relocated to South Dakota in recent years.

Bob Endres, a dairy inspector with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources credits the state’s increase in dairies to the availability of feed and clean water, along with the climate.

“Cows like it cold,” he said.

South Dakota is a perfect location for dairies in that regard in the winter months, but with the short summer months producing as much heat and humidity as some southern counterparts, dairies need some reinforcements.

Which is the reason Orland Ridge’s cross-ventilated barn has so many fans.

In the summer, they can have all the fans on and all the curtains open to maintain as much airflow as possible, Bosma said.

In the winter they have as few as eight fans running and close the curtains so the cows generate their own heat in the barn.

The temperature in the barn never drops below 32 degrees, the minimum temperature for the robotic milkers to operate.

Orland Ridge Dairy uses Lely robotic milking machines and other emerging technologies.

The tech is centered primarily on keeping the cows comfortable, though it also increases sustainability.

When cows are comfortable, they produce higher quality milk, a fact Bosma has seen proven true since switching to robotics.

Orland Ridge has 24 Lely Astronaut robotic milkers on 1,600 Jersey cows.

Bosma said the family switched from Holsteins to Jerseys roughly 15 years ago. In part, because the milk they produce is higher in butter fat and protein, but also because the cows have smaller frames and are easier to work with.

Bosma also likes the breed’s gentle disposition.

“They’re like giant dogs,” he said.

The use of robotics allows the cows to decide for themselves when to eat, drink, relax or be milked. The cows enter the machines totally voluntarily.

Usually, a typical cow will come to the robotic milker three times each day. While she is in the milking machine, feed is rationed 4 ounces at a time. The amount of feed correlates to the quantity of milk the cow produces.

“They don’t come because they feel full, they come because they want feed,” Bosma said.

The dairy is working on an expansion that would double both the number of robots and herd size. However, it will only increase the number of employees by three.

Currently, the farm employs 10 people.

With milking robots, labor needs are significantly lower than on standard dairies.

With so many large machines in the barn, one might think it would be a noisy environment, but it’s actually quiet, which is another bonus of robotic milkers.

Each cow wears a collar that holds data specific to that animal. When the cow enters the robotic milker, the robot scans the collar to determine if she is ready to be milked or not. If not, the gate opens and she returns to the barn.

The collar also monitors things like rumination time, the amount of time the cow spends resting, and overall health.

Once the cow enters the milking stall, the robot uses brushes on a robotic arm to clean the udder. Brush cleaning also stimulates the nerves moving through the spinal cord to the pituitary gland in the cow’s brain. Once clean, a laser scans her udder, assessing the location of each teat. It then attaches a milker to each teat, one by one.

When milking is complete, the teat cups are removed. The claw, each teat cup and the brushes are disinfected between each cow to prohibit cross contamination.

The milking process takes about seven minutes from start to finish.

Because the barn is quieter, the cows can come and go freely and remain with their herd during the milking process, the cows are generally more relaxed than those milked with traditional equipment.

A computer collects data from each milking and can send it to the farmer’s cell phone.

Small samples of milk are also taken each time.

Milkers aren’t the only automated machines at Orland Ridge.

Each alley in the barn has a large green box – an automated manure scraper. It slowly makes its way from one end of the alley to another, scraping manure into pipes just below the barn floor.

The manure flows through the pipes into the on-site manure pit where it’s separated. A pump sends the liquid back to the top to keep things flowing, storing it to be spread on fields later.

Dried manure fiber is moved through a separate pipe and stock piled outside the end of the pit.

The dried fiber is used as bedding for the cattle, though it must be used fairly quickly to avoid rot. It’s another way Orland Ridge Dairy is using a sustainable system, embracing technology and contributing to South Dakota’s growing dairy industry.

Source: agupdate.com

Bill Daugherty said milk prices have never been higher and Daugherty Farms in Fresno can’t produce enough to meet demands. However, inflation means everything that goes into running a dairy farm is also costlier than ever. 

The image of a farmer going to the barn at dawn with a stool and a pail is what many picture when thinking of a dairy farm, but it hasn’t been that way for decades on this six-generation farm that dates back to 1875. Bill’s father Martin, 91, still helps occasionally and Bill is grooming his son Kyle to one day take over. 

Many would be surprised by the technology used at the Daugherty farm. Robotic milkers installed two years ago streamline the process and makes it more efficient. Since April, the farm has had access to better internet service from the Coshocton County Commissioners broadband project with Ohio TT. Online access allows the Daugherty family to make changes in milking schedules and other aspects of operation. It also allows technicians to check equipment remotely if there’s an issue.

Operation basics

The Daugherty family owns about 1,100 acres of land and farm close to 1,600 acres across Coshocton County. They harvest corn, soybeans and hay. They own nearly 300 dairy cattle and are milking 245 cows with some being rotated in and out. 

Recently, they’ve been milking about 95 pounds of milk per cow per day, which can fluctuate depending on various factors like humid weather. They sell milk through Dairy Farmers of America, a cooperative. Milk from the farm currently goes to a bottler in Charleston, West Virginia. In the past, their milk has been used to make butter, cheese and more. 

Expanding operations with a new barn and technology the past few years will ensure a successful operation for decades to come, Bill said. They have space to add another barn and get up to 600 cows with six more robotic milkers, but it’s something Bill said the next generation will make the decision on. 

“We want the farm to be able to continue. We want our children to offer our grandchildren the same opportunities our children have had,” he said. “We knew with Kyle coming back for the next generation, we had to do something.” 

Previously, the family milked up to 132 cows in a 50-year-old milking parlor. Bill would get up at 3 a.m. to start milking. While machines did the milking, they had be attached and cleaned manually and the cattle led in and out of the parlor, still making the process very labor intensive.

Cows now enter and exit the robotic milking machine themselves, which makes the process more efficient and faster. They can now milk up to 250 cows per day with two less part-time workers. Along with Kyle, Bill and Bill’s wife, Caroline, they have one full-time employee and two part-time employees. Pounds of milk per cow per day also went up from 65 to 70 pounds to about 95 pounds. 

“It’s efficiency and cow comfort. The whole facility has aided in cow comfort and productiveness,” Bill said. 

Current market

Even with the increase in number of cows milked and pounds of milk produced daily, the Daughertys are still behind market demands. The June 2022 USDA/ERS Livestock Dairy and Poultry Outlook Report has the predicted 2022 milk price at $26.20 per hundredweight, which is 45 cents above the May forecast and $7.67 higher than the actual 2021 average price. 

“Milk prices are the best they’ve ever been right now,” Bill said. “Once the pandemic ended and people could actually buy things again, it just surged. And not just in our country, but exports have surged tremendously. Other parts of the world are grasping for food and America has been able to take advantage of that.” 

Yet, that doesn’t mean cattle farmers are raking in record profits. As the price of everything has gone up due to inflation and supply chains issues, expenses are also off the charts. 

“I say our prices have never been higher for milk, but our prices have never been higher for inputs either, be it fertilizer, fuel, chemicals or any of those things. They’ve been higher than they’ve ever been and that’s the downside,” Bill said. “Fertilizer is two and half to three times what it was a year and a half ago and we all know what fuel has done.” 

The story is similar in the other areas Daugherty Farms is involved in such as corn and soybeans. Everybody wants the product, but the cost to produce it and get it to market is astronomical.  

“There’s a lot of opportunity from the standpoint of selling agricultural goods, just you have to be very cognitive and very aware of the input side as well. You have to find the bargains wherever they are,” Bill said. 

Daugherty Farms can give be reached through its Facebook page and does give tours by appointment. Bill said about 6,000 people have visited the farm in the past two years. 

Source: coshoctontribune.com

Farmers are struggling with another flood as crops are underwater for the fourth time this year, as primary producers become desperate for the governement’s $75,000 flood grant to keep their heads above water.

Breitbart News’s Amanda House spoke with Stephanie Nash, a fourth-generation dairy farmer from Tennessee, about how U.S. agriculture has suffered under the Biden Administration at TPUSA’s Young Women’s Leadership Summit in Grapevine, Texas.

June is National Dairy Month, a time to celebrate and honor those working hard in the dairy industry.

South Dakota has become a popular destination for those looking to get their start in the dairy industry.

The Elliott family moved to Lake Norton from Northern Ireland in 2006 to pursue their dream of owning a larger dairy operation.

“We started with 1,400 cows and over the last 16 years we have gradually added and built more barns until now we are at 6,100 milking cows,” said Dorothy Elliott, owner of Drumgoon Dairy.

Now, Drumgoon Dairy is advancing, not only in size, but technology. They added a robotic barn in 2020, making the process of producing around 415,000 pounds of milk per day a little easier.

“It’s been a great learning experience here. I come from growing up milking in a tie-stall barn, to now overseeing the management of a robotic facility so that’s a drastic change, but it’s been very rewarding,” said Andrew Weber, herd manager.

Milk production is continuing to grow in the state, specifically along the I-29 corridor. South Dakota leads the nation in increased milk yield per year.

“South Dakota is unique because of the areas, you know, the size of the lands and even the connections with your neighbors. We have many many spaces, we have availability of resources,” said Maristela Rovai, SDSU extension dairy specialist and assistant professor.

One of the big factors drawing in producers is the dairy production facilities offered on the eastern side of the state, one of which is Valley Queen.

The factory was started in 1929, by Swiss immigrants Alfred Gonzenbach and Alfred Nef.

That year, they processed 3.2 million pounds of milk. Now, Valley Queen is processing 5 to 6 million pounds per day.

“Really it was slow and steady growth through the 50s, 60s and 70s. In the late 80s and early 90s there was a real growth in the I-29 corridor. Dairy has been embraced, we’ve seen dairies from Europe, dairies from Canada, dairies from the west coast from the 90s on moving to the I-29 corridor,” said Brian Sandvig, Chief financial officer, Valley Queen.

While many cheese factories have to travel hundreds of miles to get milk, Valley Queen works with 41 local dairies within 80 miles of the plant. The company also hauls the milk themselves and has employees on site at each dairy every day.

“We get to work with the dairies to improve their systems so they are able to provide us with the highest quality milk, with the best components that we can make our product out of, and then they ultimately benefit from that because we are paying for that milk not just on a volume basis but ultimately on a component basis,” said Sandvig.

This year, Valley Queen began breaking ground on its $195 million expansion project. This project will allow the company to add 140 jobs and bring in milk from 30,000 more cows, bringing production to 8 million pounds of milk processed per day.

“We are in the fortunate spot in between of being able to have increased supply, increasing demand, so we are actively working on a business plan to be able to keep up with that,” said Sandvig.

Those involved expect the dairy industry to continue growing throughout South Dakota in the next few years.

“I think that in a few years, we will be probably having double of the number of cows, we are around 160,000 cows right now. I can envision doubling it for sure,” said Rovai.

“But had someone said to us in 2006, you know by 2022 you’re going to be milking 6,100 cows, I would have been like ‘are you crazy? no that’s never happening’ but here we are today,” said Elliott.

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, in South Dakota the dairy industry has a nearly five billion dollar total economic impact on the state and creates more than 14,000 jobs.

Source: keloland.com

During June – National Dairy Month – Texas dairy farmers and Texas dairy lovers deserve to be toasted with an extra-large glass of milk. Our state is poised to pass Idaho to officially become the third largest dairy producing state in the nation, just over a year after we unseated New York to capture fourth place.

Certainly, Texas dairy farmers deserve to be thanked and honored for their 24/7/365 hard work that achieved this milk milestone. But, on behalf of the Texas Association of Dairymen, which represents those farmers, we recognize that it also wouldn’t have been possible without the consumers, whose love of and appetite for both milk and other dairy products keep our state’s dairy herds busy.

Texas dairy industry has come a long way in the past two decades. In 2002, it produced almost 613.4 million gallons of milk. Last year, milk production topped more than 1.8 billion gallons of milk. While we’ve sadly seen many dairies close, the remaining dairies are getting bigger and cows are producing 10% more than they did a decade ago, thanks to advances in nutrition, animal care and technology.

All that additional milk translates into jobs and a boost to local and state economies.

The news of Texas’ improved ranking is especially celebratory after the past two years. Like many individuals and businesses, Texas dairy farmers endured pandemic challenges, which for them included tough economics, low milk prices and a record winter storm.

Challenges still remain in 2022. While milk prices are up for dairy farmers, elevated costs of feed, fuel, labor and fertilizer are eating away at profits. Mother Nature also has done her part; so far this year dairy farmers have battled heat, wildfires and an ongoing and worsening drought. And a nationwide shortage of truck drivers threatens to impact the availability of transporters to get milk from farm to processor to retailer.

Still, the future generally looks bright for the Texas dairy industry. Milk output should continue to grow. We are currently producing more milk than processors in the state can handle, but new plants are in the planning stages or about to come online. Also, as technology has matured, more Texas dairies are exploring adding equipment to harvest methane gas from dairy waste, enhancing our industry’s commitment to be good environmental stewards.

Texas dairy farmers hope you agree that there’s much to celebrate during National Dairy Month 2022 and that you’ll enjoy our wholesome milk, ice cream, cheese and other dairy products during this special month and beyond.

Source: Darren Turley Executive Director, Texas Association Of Dairymen

US cheese, milk powder consumption, imports remain strong

Mexico’s dairy sector is facing challenges, according to this week’s USDA Foreign Agricultural Service GAIN report, including the rising cost of many inputs.

According to the report, consumers are grappling with growing food inflation and importers are affected by rising global commodity costs. However, cheese and milk powder consumption and imports, particularly from the United States, remain strong.

This report updates Post’s production, supply, and distribution figures from October 2021.

Source: thedairysite.com

Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world’s biggest dairy exporter, forecast a record milk price for the new season amid strong global demand.

Auckland-based Fonterra on Thursday raised the midpoint of its 2022-23 forecast range by 50 NZ cents to NZ$9.50 ($6) a kilogram of milksolids, which would be the highest price it has ever paid to its 10,000 New Zealand farmer shareholders. It also issued earnings guidance of 30-45 NZ cents per share for FY23, up from 25-35 cents for the current year ending July 31.

“The strong earnings guidance for next financial year reflects an expected recovery in some of the Co-op’s key markets, which have experienced margin pressures this financial year, coupled with ongoing favorable Ingredients margins,” Chief Executive Officer Miles Hurrell said in a statement. “While the Co-op is in the position to be forecasting both solid earnings and a healthy milk price for the next year, significant volatility remains.”

If achieved, the 2022-23 milk price will surpass the Co-op’s forecast midpoint for the 2021-22 season of NZ$9.30. Fonterra normally confirms the season payout at its full-year results announcement in September.

Dairy prices have soared along with other commodities as the world grapples with supply constraints, while the weaker New Zealand dollar should also boost the nation’s export receipts. But higher prices also increase Fonterra’s input costs, putting pressure on its margins.

“Interest rates and inflation have lifted well above our assumptions, as have commodity prices in response to the continued strong demand for dairy,” Hurrell said. “These input cost increases are impacting the cost of our debt in the short term and have also pushed on-farm costs up.”

As the higher milk prices lift working capital, Fonterra’s overall debt position has the potential to trend higher, he said.

Source: bloomberg.com

Wisconsin’s total milk production was up fractionally in May compared to the same period a year earlier. According to the USDA’s latest milk production report, Wisconsin farmers produced 2.75 billion pounds during the month, which was a slight 0.8 percent higher from last May, and higher than the 2.64 billion made in April 2022 (which had less days on the calendar).

Nationally, 18.8 billion pounds of milk was produced in the 24 major dairy states for the month. That was down 0.6 percent from 2021, but higher than the previous month’s production of 18.3 billion pounds.

California continues to have the highest total production with about 3.65 billion pounds. South Dakota had the greatest percent-increase in output as that state produced 348 million pounds of milk–about 15.2 percent more from the same period last year. Only six of the top 24 states had higher year-to-year production last month.

Meanwhile, the number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major states was 8.91 million head, 84,000 head less than May 2021, but 2,000 head more than April 2022. The average number of milk cows on Wisconsin farms for the month was 1.27 million head–unchanged from last month, but 1,000 less than last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,165 pounds, which up 20 pounds from last year’s figures.

Source: Wisconsin Ag Connection

Twice each day, dairy cows line up 12-at-a time to be milked at Rolling Lawns Farm in Greenville. As the animals enter the milking parlor, caretakers clean and sanitize each cow’s udder before attaching an automatic milking unit.

The entire milking process takes about 8 minutes per animal, with milk going from the cow to a customer’s glass in fewer than 6 hours.

“Cows look forward to the milking process,” says Michael Turley, owner and operator of the Bond County farm. “You have your early arrivers, who are first in line, and your cows who are last in line but they’re always in the same place every day.”

The farm has been home to purebred Holsteins for more than 100 years, starting when Turley’s great-grandfather founded the dairy. Pedigrees and registration documentation help track each animal’s ancestry.

For example, Baltimore Barb represents the 29th generation in her family at the farm. Her predecessors came over from the Netherlands in 1882, when many U.S. farmers began using European genetics to grow the dairy sector.

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With 120 cows at Rolling Lawns Farm, there’s a lot of personal interaction between each animal and their handlers.

“We see each animal every day and can pretty much tell when they’re having a good day or an off day – just like people,” Turley says.

Each cow has her own personality, too. Lovely, a 7-year-old cow whose family has been on the farm for 75 years, is the biggest and most playful. Turley says she’s also the most spoiled.

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“She’s seen me pretty much every day of her adult life and she knows she’s going to get cared for,” he says. “She exemplifies the type of care that we try to give our cows every day. There’s a lot of trust and interaction between the animal and the owners.”

In 2017, Turley expanded his business to include a processing, bottling and retail facility 8 miles down the road from the farm. Customers at The Milk House can choose from a selection of white and flavored milks, as well as homemade ice cream. They can also watch fresh milk from the farm undergo pasteurization, which includes heating to remove bacteria, before it’s turned into dairy treats.

Turley says his goal with adding transparency to how dairy products are made is to demystify any misconceptions shoppers might have. That includes answering questions about how his family and employees raise cows and the use of practices such as antibiotics.

“I love answering those types of questions because we can assure them about the safety of the product,” he says. “There are no antibiotics [in milk] because of the rigorous testing that not only our farm does, but every dairy farm in the United States undergoes. There isn’t a more heavily regulated product than milk.”

Source: lincolncourier.com

Kailas Ramasamy gently guides his cows into a hangar-sized shed, tethers them to their posts, lays out their fodder and cleans the floor. Then, as he steps out, he flips a switch: ceiling fans begin to blow air on the cattle.

The consequences would also be devastating for 80 million Indians employed across the dairy industry.

His farm’s milk output dropped by 30% month-on-month. “It felt like I was wringing a dry sponge.”

While climate change is a global phenomenon, the large number of small dairy holdings in India and a growing dependence on breeds that are vulnerable to heat stress could affect the country more than other big dairy producers such as the US or Brazil.

It makes financial sense to switch to crossbred cows as they produce “much more milk”, says Ramendra Das, a veterinary scientist who has studied the impact of warming temperatures on different breeds – but they are more vulnerable to heat stress than indigenous varieties.

Ramasamy, who buys and sells milk from local farmers through the company Vrindavan Dairy, is trying to promote the use of indigenous cows by paying more for milk from Indian cows (42p a litre) than from crossbreeds (32p).

Solutions to ward off heat stress include specially designed sheds with fans and sprinklers to keep cattle cool, but that comes at a high cost. “Only big, intensive dairy farms can afford such infrastructure,” says Girdhari Ramdas Patil, a former joint director at the National Dairy Research Institute. Almost two-thirds of India’s milk is produced by small-scale farmers.

Rabobank’s latest global Dairy Quarterly report said expectations of a weakening demand for dairy would lead to moderate price declines in late 2022.

On the other hand, global milk production is still declining for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Milk production in the ‘big seven’ dairy export regions (the European Union, United States, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) has been contracting year-on-year for the past three quarters.

Rabobank forecasts this downward trend will continue for the Q2 2022 period — creating a four-quarter-long, back-to-back run of constricting milk supply — something that hasn’t been seen since 2012-13.

“The current slowdown in global milk output is directly related to higher costs of production and weather events,” the report said.

“In the past, production has recovered and surpassed previous peaks, but now there are structural issues that could limit a significant rebound in production from some key exporters.”

Australia

At home there is widespread milk decline across all regions, but the record opening milk prices and revisions are providing cash flow and confidence to farmers.

Rabobank senior dairy analyst Michael Harvey said these milk prices were important as dairy farmers face cost headwinds.

“The cost of home-grown feed and supplementary feed will be more expensive, among other inflationary pressures,” Mr Harvey said.

“Against this backdrop, labour availability remains a handbrake on expansion. There is a likelihood that farm margins will be lower in the new season not higher, despite a circa 15 per cent lift in milk prices to record levels.”

Mr Harvey said there were bright spots on the horizon.

“Seasonal conditions remain supportive for spring pasture growth, and water market conditions are good for irrigation farmers,’’ he said.

“Non-milk incomes remain elevated, supported by a very firm beef market.”

New Zealand

Kiwi farmers are anticipating another profitable season, but higher input costs will chew into margins.

South America

Herd reduction continues as drought and high costs push farmers. Any rebound from the South America trio (Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) will be slow as production costs remain high.

United States

Limited growth in the milk pool has pushed domestic milk prices high, but demand at these levels is showing signs of hesitation, adding volatility to the market.

Inflation is another issue to be watched.

European Union

Rabobank doesn’t expect the EU milk pool to grow until the second half of the 2022 year due to low year-on-year comparables.

China

China’s carryover stocks and strong milk production growth overhands weak demand due to COVID-19 lockdowns, ill-boding for 2022’s import outlook

Source: sheppnews.com.au

Today’s primary sector report shows New Zealand dairy farmers have overcome the odds – despite rising input costs, labour shortages, fewer cows and less production they have still delivered for our national economy.