Calving season is an exciting time for us all as we gear up to welcome our newest calf crop into the world. Help make it the most successful season possible by ensuring adequate colostrum, preventing cold stress, and having a calving kit at the ready.

Tip 1: Ensure Adequate Colostrum  

Calves are born agammaglobulinemic, meaning they have almost no antibodies to protect them against disease. Simply, they’re not born with any immune memory that we develop over our lifetime – they receive those antibodies, an immediate source of immunity, and a very concentrated source of energy from their cow’s colostrum (the first milk produced following birth).

Colostrum delivers some 95% of the antibodies a calf obtains, plus a rich source of minerals, vitamins and energy. It provides protection for newborn calves against infectious agents during the first few months of life.

Colostrum absorbance has a 24-hour window. That short time influences a calf’s lifetime of health and productivity. Because antibodies are very large molecules, the calf’s intestine is only capable of absorbing this protection immediately following birth, with essentially no absorption possible after the first 24 hours. Within the first 12 hours of a calf’s life, ideally within the first four to six hours of life, these calves should receive three to four quarts of colostrum.

Depending on if the calf nurses or not, we might have to tube them and get some colostrum replacers or colostrum supplements into them. Keep in mind, there are colostrum supplements and colostrum replacers, and there is a difference.

Colostrum replacers have roughly double the level of antibodies in them, compared with colostrum supplements. If your calf doesn’t receive any colostrum, then we would recommend giving them a colostrum replacer. Colostrum supplements work well in circumstances where a calf might not have nursed enough, for calves born from heifers, or if you fear the cow’s colostrum quality could be lacking. Colostrum supplements can also offer a very good source of energy, fat and protein to help jumpstart sick calves.

Tip 2: Keep Chilled Calves Warm 

The most severe result from cold stress on calves is death from hypothermia. If at all possible, bring cows indoors to a calving shed or barn to calve in a heavily bedded, clean pen for added warmth and reduced moisture. If calving outdoors, an area mostly free of mud and manure – with a wind break – is ideal. Cold stress and hypothermia can pose great risk to calves, especially if calves experience dystocia, which often results in delayed standing and nursing, both can quickly lower their body temperature.

A cold calf is going to be slow and a little lethargic – they might not want to stand up. If their nose or extremities like their feet or right above their feet feel cold, then most likely they need warming.

Beware the signs of hypothermia, which include:

• Body temperature below 94° F
• Shivering
• Increased pulse and breathing rate
• Erratic behavior
• Confusion and uncoordinated gait
• Cold, pale nostrils and hooves

It’s critical to return the calves to their normal core body temperature of 102°F. There are several ways to do this, such as placing them under a heat lamp, warm blankets, bringing them indoors, or giving them a warm bath (warmed gradually), or putting the calf into a warming box.

I personally find there to be more practical methods than, let’s say, a warm water bath. Let’s face it, often times there’s a lot of moisture, snow and mud. So, after a warm water bath indoors, we have to dry off calves completely before returning them to the cow. The practice can be labor intensive.

There are calf warmers that can dry them off as the unit warms the calf. Another benefit is, when inside the warmer, the calf is actually breathing in warm air, helping to warm them internally, as well. That’s my favorite way to warm a chilled calf.  

As far as when we need to warm them up, I recommend warming if their body temperature falls below 100°F. Producers will also need to consider wind break availability and what current environmental conditions are like. If it’s extreme enough, drying and warming every calf could be necessary.

Tip 3: Have a Stocked Calving Kit  

It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it – and that’s especially true as we head into calving season. I recommend having a calving kiton-hand; here are some items I’ve always valued having in mine.

• Calf resuscitator
• Calf pulling chains
• OB handles
• Stainless steel pail
• Chlorhexidine disinfectant solution
• OB sleeves
• OB lube
• Iodine or umbilical spray
• Colostrum replacers and supplements

Continue learning about calving and cattle health solutions at ValleyVet.com, and stay tuned for my next piece on the topic of assisting with calving.

About Valley Vet Supply

Valley Vet Supply was founded in 1985 by veterinarians to provide customers with the very best animal health solutions. Building on over half a century of experience in veterinary medicine, Valley Vet Supply serves equine, pet and livestock owners with thousands of products and medications hand-selected by Valley Vet Supply Technical Service veterinarians and team of industry professionals. With an in-house pharmacy that is licensed in all 50 states, and verified through the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy (NABP), Valley Vet Supply is the dedicated source for all things horse, livestock and pet. For more information, please visit ValleyVet.com.

Today the USDA announced that they have extended the deadline to enroll in Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) and Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage (SDMC) for program year 2022. The deadline to apply for 2022 coverage is now March 25, 2022. DMC and SDMC signups opened in December 2021 to help dairy producers manage economic risk brought on by milk price and feed cost disparities. FSA has also updated how feed costs are calculated, which will make the program more reflective of dairy producers’ actual expenses.

How to Sign Up: You must work with your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) service center to sign up for the DMC program by March 25. Click here to find a service center near you.

Background on the DMC Program: DMC offers reasonably priced protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed cost (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. Supplemental DMC will provide $580 million to better help small- and mid-sized dairy operations that have increased production over the years but were not able to enroll the additional production. Now, they will be able to retroactively receive payments for that supplemental production.

A Recap of 2021 Payments: Producers who enrolled in DMC for 2021 received margin payments each month, January through November, for a total of $1.2 billion, with an average payment of $60,275 per operation.

Feed Cost Updates: USDA has recently changed the DMC feed cost formula via final rule published on December 13, 2021, to better reflect the actual cost dairy farmers pay for high-quality alfalfa hay. FSA now calculates payments using 100% premium alfalfa hay rather than 50%. In December 2021, following publication of the new feed cost policy, $102 million was paid to producers as a result of the revised high quality alfalfa feed cost formula. The amended feed cost formula will make DMC payments more reflective of actual dairy producer expenses.

Learn More About DMC

From March 1-3, the group of 53 international experts will evaluate 2,919 dairy product entries

Less than a month remains until dozens of highly qualified judges from around the world gather in Madison, Wisconsin for the 2022 World Championship Cheese Contest. From March 1-3, the group of 53 international experts will evaluate 2,919 dairy product entries, selecting the best in each class – and the 2022 World Champion.

This year’s judging team includes cheese graders, cheese buyers, dairy science professors, and researchers with more than 700 combined years of experience in the dairy processing industry. They hail from 16 countries and 13 U.S. states. They are:

“The skill, expertise, and knowledge of our Contest judges are part of what make this competition so unique,” said Kirsten Strohmenger of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, host of the biennial event. “Their precise, rigorous evaluation adds meaning and value to the golden Contest seal consumers see on the store shelf, helping to boost sales and drive interest in the winning companies.”

Under the leadership of Chief Judge Jim Mueller, Chief Judges Emeritus Bill Schlinsog and Bob Aschebrock, and Assistant Chief Judges Tim Czmowski, Stan Dietsche, Josef Hubatschek, Mariana Marques de Almeida, and Sandy Toney, the judges will calculate a precise score for each cheese, butter product, yogurt, and dry dairy ingredient entered in the Contest. Products are evaluated on a variety of attributes including flavor, body, texture, salt, color, finish, packaging, and others.

Gold, silver, and bronze medals are awarded to the three highest scoring entries in each of this year’s 141 distinct classes. The World Champion Cheese will be announced live online at WorldChampionCheese.org at 2:00 p.m. (CT) Thursday, March 3.

The funding will be used to test a novel strategy to make milk production more efficient, and to communicate animal science to the public

Cornell University has received a four-year, $1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that will be used to help fund a project to test a novel strategy to make milk production more efficient and sustainable. According to a news release in the Cornell Chronicle written by Krishna Ramanujan, a second, related NSF grant of $200,000 will help students and faculty from Cornell and SUNY Cortland to communicate animal science to the public.

For the project’s research component, principal investigator Joseph McFadden ‘03, associate professor of dairy cattle biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and colleagues will use $1,021,000 to test whether lipids called ceramides could help improve the efficiency and sustainability of milk production. When cows and sheep use nutrients and produce milk efficiently, they emit less methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

“Animal foods are nutrient dense foods,” McFadden said. “They’re very important for human health and nutrition.” At the same time, over the last century, researchers have used their understanding of genetics, nutrition and animal management to dramatically reduce the amount of methane that an animal produces per unit of milk, McFadden said.

“It’s important that we let the consumer know that these advancements have existed and they’ve actually helped the dairy industry become more sustainable,” he said. “There’s a perception out there that the dairy industry isn’t doing anything and they’re purposely harming the environment.”

Dale Bauman, professor emeritus of animal science, discovered that recombinant bovine growth hormone, somatotropin, a key contributor to how milk is made, involves a physiological process called insulin resistance. The hormone insulin helps regulate blood sugar, while also affecting fat and protein metabolism. Insulin resistance in early lactation rises in order to deliver the proper nutrients for making milk. McFadden and colleagues discovered early evidence that ceramide may cause insulin resistance and promote milk production in ruminants.

With the grant, the group will test how somatotropin promotes milk production and whether it depends on ceramides. In part two of the study, the group will test a new recombinant protein they hope will increase ceramide levels in the animal.

“If that’s the case, [the sheep or cow] should be more insulin resistant and make more milk,” McFadden said.

The project’s outreach component, led by Amanda Davis, a former member of McFadden’s lab who is now an assistant professor of biological science at SUNY Cortland, is funded by the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, which supports research activities by undergraduates in NSF-funded areas.

More than 60 students and faculty from Cornell and SUNY Cortland will take part in science communication training led by staff and youth program coordinators at the Sciencenter, a hands-on museum in Ithaca. Ultimately, Cornell students and SUNY Cortland NSF REU researchers will apply what they learned about sustainable food animal production to inform the public on these issues. The students will also hold a public outreach event at local summer festivals and the state fair.

McFadden will also teach a course, Communicating Animal Science, which includes using social media and producing episodes for the podcast, Ruminate on This, to inform the public on issues concerning ruminants, such as cows and sheep. When McFadden taught the course last fall, students investigated consumer decisions about plant-based milk alternatives, surveyed members of the public at Trader Joe’s and Wegman’s on their choices, and then interviewed scientists to identify and address misconceptions. The results of their research and interviews will end up on the podcast in the near future.

Source: thedairysite.com

Just weeks after Gov. Janet Mills issued a highly controversial veto against a bill that would have allowed farmworkers in Maine to unionize, dairy workers rallied outside Hannaford headquarters in Scarborough to demand more rights.

Workers from the advocacy group Migrant Justice on Saturday were calling on the supermarket conglomerate to join their “Milk With Dignity” program. If the chain becomes a member, farms involved in the production of Hannaford-branded milk will be legally required to follow a set of worker-created standards for improved housing, wages, health and safety conditions. 

Addressing the crowd, Rep. Thom Harnett (D-Gardiner), the sponsor of LD151, which would have allowed farm workers in Maine the opportunity to unionize and collectively bring employment concerns to their bosses without fear of retaliation. 

“Just two weeks ago, the governor of Maine vetoed a bill passed by the House and Senate that gave workers the right to talk to one another, to better their lives, to increase their wages,” Harnett said. “And she said no. And that is wrong. In Maine and Vermont, farm workers are considered essential, but they’re not even considered employees under the law.”

Mills’ veto was decried by labor advocates at the time as being “fundamentally immoral” and an “absolute disgrace.”

Since the 1930s, farmworkers and most domestic laborers—disproportionately workers of color—have been excluded from federal labor protection laws affording them the right to earn minimum wage, get paid overtime and form unions. As a result, almost a quarter of farm workers in the U.S. still earn less than minimum wage.

Maine dairy workers face similarly bleak working conditions. Migrant Justice previously reported that Maine dairy workers and their families suffer from brutal winters without heat, working for under minimum wage and laboring seven days a week for long hours without a break. In other instances, Maine dairy workers and their families were kicked out of their homes after refusing to work while sick with COVID.

“We’ve been working throughout the pandemic, because we can’t stop. We have to provide for our families and we could lose our jobs,” Emilio, a dairy worker, said at the rally. “But Hannaford hasn’t recognized that hard work throughout the pandemic. That’s why we’re here to speak to their faces. Just like we work everyday on the dairy farms, we are fighting everyday for milk with dignity.”

Milk With Dignity was first conceived in 2009 after young dairy worker José Obeth Santiz Cruz was pulled into a mechanized gutter scraper and strangled to death by his own clothing. Three years ago, Ben & Jerry’s signed on to the group’s pilot program. Working and housing conditions for their more than 250 dairy farm workers have improved as a result. 

“In Maine and Vermont, farm workers aren’t entitled to the minimum wage, they don’t get overtime even though they work 60, 70, 80 hours a week,” Harnett said. “In Maine and Vermont, farmworkers can’t unionize. They can be fired for talking to their bosses about bettering their lives and working situations. It is because of laws like that that farmworkers are treated as less than. Less respected, less valued, less than human, and that is wrong.”

Mills’ veto of LD151 is among the executive actions she’s taken against pro-worker bills. In 2021, the conservative Democratic governor vetoed six labor bills. Those policies include giving harassed workers access to the court system, providing bargaining power to public-sector unions to settle wage disputes, and requiring public construction projects to be made with American materials. In 2019, Mills also threatened to veto several other major pro-worker bills, such as a paid time off law.

“I know the change we need is not happening in state capitals, it is only going to happen when the people get together and make that change,” Harnett said. “That is why today I’m proud to stand in solidarity with my brothers and sisters from Migrant Justice and Milk With Dignity to tell Hannaford to do the right thing.” 

“We are asking Hannaford to recognize and say out loud that farmworkers have human dignity and rights, that they deserve to be treated like human beings. We cannot accept anything less, we will not accept anything less,” Harnett added. “Today we stand together, today we demand change.”

Source: mainebeacon.com

The big investment in plant-based milk has so far failed to dampen demand for dairy.

An explosion of new products which call themselves milk – particularly nuts and soy – are not making the consumer inroads many of their makers claim.

The dairy industry says only two per cent of Australian households are regularly buying plant-based milk.

But lots more fake milks are in the pipeline, hoping science will provide the breakthrough to replicate actual cow’s milk.

One of them is the Australian startup Eden Brew which is developing animal-free dairy products with the $4 million backing of CSIRO and Australia’s oldest dairy co-operative Norco.

Eden Brew is still fine tuning a process called precision fermentation to mimic cow’s milk.

Others like plant-based meat startup All G Foods has the support of Woolworths to explore new products, which includes a similar precision fermentation process to replicate milk.

Food company Sanitarium claims global sales of non-dairy milk alternatives have more than doubled between 2009 and 2015 to $21 billion, “while dairy milk consumption is on the decline”.

Sanitarium has a large share of the plant-based milk market in Australia with its So Good range.

Dairy Australia says the Sanitarium claim is “technically correct” but not really.

Australians consumed on average 94.4 litres of liquid milk each in the 2020/21 financial year.

This was down three per cent from the previous year and by eight per cent over the past five years.

But Dairy Australia’s senior industry analyst Sofia Omstedt said consumption of other dairy products has remained stable and, in some cases, has increased.

Cheese consumption has been stable over the past five years at 13.4 kg per person per year, while yoghurt consumption has grown by five per cent to 9.5 kg per person per year.

“It is also important to point out that 98 per cent of Australian households still regularly purchase milk,” Ms Omstedt said.

“So, while consumption is down a bit, Australia still has a very high liquid milk consumption from a global perspective.”

MORE READING: Trade Minister chasing Indian deal.

Dairy Australia’s human health and policy manager Melissa Cameron also commented on thenutritional differences between cow’s milk and plant-based “milks”:

“Plant-based beverages represent a small share of the drinking “milk” market relative to fresh and long-life cow’s milk. In fact, only 2 per cent of households exclusively buy plant-based beverages,” she said.

“Cow’s milk is an affordable nutrient powerhouse, naturally containing an array of nutrients in a unique matrix that are well absorbed by the body and deliver positive health benefits.

“Plant-based beverages contain a different package of vitamins and minerals which are often added in (through fortification) and in smaller quantities than cow’s milk.”

“The health benefits of dairy foods are well supported by a strong body of scientific evidence, but there is currently limited evidence to demonstrate the health benefits of plant-based beverages.”

Meanwhile, Australian food company Sanitarium has approached the national food regulators wanting to tweak its range of products to add new ingredients to their recipe.

They want the food laws changed so they can add plant sterols to the mix, and then claim the products help reduce cholesterol.

“The inclusion of plant sterols in dairy based products has been permitted for over 15 years in Australia. We are seeking permission to allow plant sterols to be included in plant milks in the same way, providing more choice to consumers seeking to support their heart health,” a Sanitarium spokeswoman said.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand appears likely to approve the use of plant sterols as long as it is made clear on the packaging.

“Sales of plant-based milk alternatives as a category, and each major segment of soy, almond and oat, has been growing steadily over the past decade in Australia and New Zealand driven by an increase in users of these products,” FSANZ says.

“The proposed change will, for the first time provide Australian and New Zealand consumers who are interested in lowering their cholesterol the choice of accessing effective amounts of plant sterols via one serve of plant sterol enriched plant-based milk alternative as part of their diet.”

Late last year the Australian dairy industry called on the federal government to stop allowing plant-based products to misuse and leverage dairy terms.

The Australian Dairy Industry Council also called for the government to stop plant-based products misrepresenting dairy nutrition.

“The issue of plant-based products falsely leveraging the dairy industry is a long-standing problem in this country,” ADIC chair Rick Gladigau said.

At one of the public hearings called during the Senate inquiry into fake food labelling, Mr Gladigau said the Australian dairy industry had extremely strict standards of identity to be able to call a product milk, cheese or yoghurt.

“We follow strict standards of identity for all our products that gives us permission to use those dairy terms, and unfortunately the plant-based products don’t have that,” Mr Gladigau said.

The dairy industry has been advocating for fair labelling and marketing since the 1980s.

Source: farmonline.com.au

Dairy activists are praising USDA’s decision to keep flavored 1% milk in schools, but they say more milk options are needed.

On Feb. 4, USDA extended the emergency flexibility put in place by the Trump administration that allowed chocolate 1% milk to be served in schools, in addition to nonfat milk and plain 1%.

U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., said he was initially concerned about what the Biden administration would do with the standards, but he is pleased with last week’s outcome.

“We’ve seen increased consumption of milk ever since this was initiated to allow 1% low-fat milk in schools,” Thompson said, adding he wants the rule to become permanent.

The Feb. 4 action extended the standards for the next two school years, citing pandemic challenges for cafeterias.

Thompson said the rule helps children nutritionally, and it benefits dairy farmers because the action doesn’t disrupt what’s been in place since the Trump administration.

“In 2010, when Democrats were in the majority and they demonized whole milk and took it out of our schools, our dairy farms were significantly hurt economically,” Thompson said. “We lost almost an entire generation of milk drinkers, and I think some of them have come back with the 1% in schools.”

Dairy groups also praised the Biden administration’s decision.

“Ensuring kids have access to the nutrients they need to grow and thrive is a top priority for dairy,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of National Milk Producers Federation. “One percent flavored milk is not only fully consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, it is also a nutrient-dense, low-fat healthy option kids will choose to drink.”

G.N. Hursh, president of 97 Milk, said allowing 1% flavored milk in schools is “a step in the right direction.”

But the rule isn’t permanent, and consumer education is needed to build support for the return of whole milk to schools, he said.

Thompson pledged to continue working on his signature whole milk bill, which has bipartisan support from more than 80 co-sponsors.

Thompson said the biggest challenge has been getting the bill scheduled for consideration in the House Education and Labor Committee, which has jurisdiction over school nutrition.

Some of the committee’s Democratic staff were involved in removing whole milk from schools when the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed in 2010, Thompson said.

In an attempt to reduce childhood obesity, that law said the milk served in the federal School Lunch Program must meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans — effectively giving whole milk the boot.

Thompson said the move was based on bad science and today the benefits of whole milk are clear.

“We know whole milk is a powerhouse beverage that more kids would drink in school. But it’s been challenging to get my act scheduled for consideration in the Education and Labor Committee,” Thompson said.

“I am really pleased with the USDA and Secretary (Tom) Vilsack reissuing the regulation for 1% flavored milk in school, but I’m not going to be totally satisfied until we get the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids passed.”

Source: lancasterfarming.com

A LOSS to the medical profession has been the local dairy industry’s gain in Western Dairy regional extension officer India Brockman.

Ms Brockman, 27, joined Western Dairy last year, initially as Young Dairy co-ordinator, but quickly stepped up to the extension officer role, taking on organising Western Dairy’s annual portfolio of events, while retaining her Young Dairy responsibilities.

She joined at a time when Western Dairy was undergoing fundamental change.

The old guard in Western Dairy executive officer of more than 20 years, Esther Jones and Ms Brockman’s predecessor as extension officer for seven years, Jess Andony – who both served the dairy industry extremely well – were moving on, leaving a huge vacuum in operational knowledge and experience.

Ms Brockman only had four years of hands-on dairy farm experience and new regional manager Julianne Hill, while widely experienced in grains and cattle, was new to both dairying and Western Dairy.

But they had people such as Western Dairy immediate past chairman Peter Evans, vastly experienced in dairy farming, dairy business and agripolitics, to guide them.

At the same time, the philosophy of the organisation also appeared to be subtly changing.

Possibly due to the strength of character of the people involved, Western Dairy had always run its own agenda and operated as an adjunct to national organisation Dairy Australia.

Since 2015 it had been responsible for the local industry and had taken over pasture trials and other scientific research from the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), after a previous State government decided to downsize DPIRD and outsource administration of the dairy industry.

As of last year, Western Dairy appeared to be moving under the Dairy Australia umbrella, as its local arm in WA.

Industry changes were happening around Australia – a code of conduct for supply contracts and plans being drawn up for a better future for the industry and for farmers – so Western Dairy shrewdly recognised there was strength in numbers and moved to get with the strength.

It was into this relative state of flux Ms Brockman plunged last year when she joined Western Dairy, but she has thrived.

“I’ve been in the job five months and I’m enjoying it,” Ms Brockman said.

“Some of it is a challenge – I’m organising Innovation Day and it’s not small.”

Dairy Innovation Day on Thursday, May 12, will take up much of her time before then because the very popular annual day showcasing the industry will feature a new format this year.

Traditionally held on one or sometimes two nearby dairy farms, the event has become so big it is unrealistic to expect farmers to volunteer their properties and open up to almost 400 people.

So this year’s event will be held in the Dardanup Hall, with afternoon visits by bus to the Depiazzi and Twomey dairies to inspect onfarm innovations and improvements, for those who are interested.

“It’s my baby at the moment,” Ms Brockman said of Innovation Day.

“Last year’s Innovation Day at the Haddons’ (Neville and Elaine Haddon, their son Garry and his wife Tiffany, who operate the largest dairy farm in the Busselton region), was so big and such a success that I have big shoes to fill.

“We’ve taken a different approach this year because last year’s was so big there is no point trying to beat it – that shed (the Haddons’ new machinery shed completed a week before Dairy Innovation Day was held in it) was huge.

“It’s more about putting on a topical, interesting program than beating last year’s numbers.”

Ms Brockman describes herself as “well and truly bred for the country, not born to it”.

She grew up in Fremantle, but her paternal grandparents, John and Margaret, have a farm at Ruabon just out of Busselton and she has lived there while working as a milker and calf rearer on local farms and now with her Bunbury-based role with Western Dairy.

“Every school holidays we (Ms Brockman is the middle one of three children) came down here), I’ve always been down here getting thrown on the racehorses for a ride around until they tossed me off,” she said.

Her grandfather, who turns 84 next month, trained racehorses – he only stopped riding 15 years ago – and her aunt Tonia was a successful trainer.

“We’d come down, I’d want a pony ride but the pony in the stables is a little satan (pony Buzz is the same age as Ms Brockman and used to keep racehorses company in the float on the way to race meetings) so dad would pick the nicest in work racehorse for me to ride and usually I came off it 10 minutes later,” she recalled.

The Brockman family was among the first settlers in the South West and her forebears include explorers and politicians.

Brockman Highway is named after early family members.

“We (Brockmans) came here (Busselton) with the Bussells and the Malloys back in 1834,” Ms Brockman said.

“There are lots and lots and lots of Brockmans.

“What is now Provence (housing estate, East Busselton) used to be the old Busselton Brockman property – I’ve got not so fond memories of being thrown off a pony out there before the development started.”

Her maternal grandparents, the Simpsons, have a 1214 hectare wheat and sheep property at Three Springs.

But it was medicine, not farming, that initially attracted Ms Brockman, who graduated from The University of Western Australia in 2014 with a bachelor of science, majoring in anatomy and human biology.

“I was going to be a doctor, I thought,” she said.

But a gap year accident in Queensland resulting in a knee reconstruction changed the course of her life.

“I came back home and got stuck in an office job for a bit, until I couldn’t stand it anymore,” she explained.

“Then I had a friend come down who had wanted to go north (jillarooing) but was told to get some experience with cattle first, so she was working on a dairy farm and loving it.

“I thought ‘I can do that’.

“So I applied for a job at 6.30 in the morning and the farmer rang back about 20 past 10 and at the weekend I was down onfarm for a trial and two weeks later I’d moved in with gran and granddad at Busselton and was milking.

“I stayed there two years.”

That farmer was current Western dairy vice chairman Andrew Jenkins on a lease property at Yelverton.

“I moved into the calf rearing area pretty quickly and did some tractor work when needed, around sillage time,” she said.

“For the last six months I was there, Andrew had moved back to his Denmark farm, so the team ran the (Yelverton) farm, which was brilliant.

“But when Andrew and (wife) Clare moved back to their farm at Denmark, I had to move on because I wasn’t going to the cold down there – it’s a beautiful part of the world, but too cold.

“I had an offer of a job in the Health Department at that time, but when COVID came through it didn’t eventuate, so I took a job milking with Pete Duggan on the dairy farm at Cowaramup.

“The good thing about working at the Duggans was Andrew had sold a lot of his cows there, so the first calf that I raised I got to follow to Duggans and watch her calve down with a heifer calf – that was beautiful, really satisfying to be able to do that.”

Ms Brockman also worked for the Haddons and the Merritt family at Elgin Dairies, before it was suggested she should apply for the Young Dairy co-ordinator job.

Her story of starting out with no agricultural experience and finding a niche in dairy is not unusual.

“It’s more and more common for those who don’t come from an ag background to discover there are many opportunities in ag, particularly for women,” she said.

“It turns their life around like it did mine and they love it like I do.

“Dairy, in particular, is really good for getting a start.

“One thing that dairy farmers like doing, I’ve found, is they like teaching.

“They are so generous with their time.

“If you want to learn, they are more than happy to take you through how they do things.”

Source: farmweekly.com.au

One part of traveling internationally many people love is getting to try new foods.

For Olympic athletes, though, they’re used to a strict diet, and shouldn’t necessarily change their routines.

Their meals are very important, and with all the restrictions of not being able to go out in Beijing, it’s even tougher to find what you need. For example, milk.

Athletes drink milk all the time for recovery and carbohydrates.

US Speedskating, the team that’s based in Kearns, wasn’t sure they could get the same quality of milk in Beijing, so they reached out to Utah dairy farmers for help.

Every single morning, dairy farmers have work to do.

Cows don’t take a break on the weekends, and neither can Jackson Smith.

“It’s not as bad as people make it out to be,” said Jackson Smith, owner of Smith’s Cream Pitcher Jerseys. “It’s actually a pretty dang good life.”

Smith and his family run Smith’s Cream Pitcher Jerseys in Lewiston. Their dairy operation milks about 1,700 cows, and, along with other Cache County dairy farms, feel like their milk is among the best in the world.

“They all try and do the best job they can so that the consumers get the very best product that they can get in the end,” Smith said.

And if that quality is good enough for them, it’s good enough for US Speedskating.

“It’s this, this perfectly packaged recovery drink, so we’re big on milk,” said Dr. Jen Day, sports dietician for US Speedskating.

Day is in charge of making sure the speedskaters are doing everything right when it comes to nutrition and recovery after training or big races.

“If you think about the stress and strain on their bodies, and all the repair that needs to be happening continuously, nutrition is what really supports that. So, it’s a big deal,” she said.

And milk is such a big deal for the skaters.

The team worked with Dairy West and Gossner Foods in Logan, which gets milk from Utah dairy farmers, to ship 5,000 units of it to Beijing, just before the Olympics. That way, the quality of milk the athletes drink is exactly what they know.

“Chocolate milk is one of my favorite foods,” US Short Track Speedskater Julie Letai said laughing.

For Letai, having the milk she’s used to drinking is one less thing to worry about as she focuses on these Games.

“It gives us the fuel that we need and the consistency,” she said. “Also, with a long shelf life, that will really help us stay consistent during our training.”

That means, if one of our Team USA speedskaters win a medal, there’s a good chance that one of Smith’s cows helped.

“Heck yeah! Yeah!” Smith cheered.

And that leaves a great taste in his mouth.

“At least be drinking some of the milk, some of the, some of the chocolate milk when they get it. Yeah,” Smith said laughing.

Source: kslsports.com

High prices for beef, soy and other commodities are boosting demand for cheap land

Brazil recorded the most deforestation ever in the Amazon rainforest for the month of January, according to government data on Friday, as destruction continues to worsen despite the government’s recent pledges to bring it under control, reported Reuters. 

Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon totalled 430 square kilometers (166 square miles) last month, 5 times higher than January 2021, according to preliminary satellite data from government space research agency Inpe.

That’s the highest since the current data series began in 2015/2016, equal to an area more than seven times the size of Manhattan.

Environmental researchers said they were not surprised to see destruction still rising, given right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro’s weakening of environmental protections.

With little fear of punishment, speculators are increasingly clearing forest for ranches in illegal land grabs, said Britaldo Soares Filho, an environmental modeling researcher at the Federal University of Minas Gerais. High prices for beef, soy and other commodities are also boosting the demand for cheap land.

“People might be surprised that it didn’t increase even more,” Soares Filho said.

“There is a race to deforest the Amazon.”

Bolsonaro’s office and the Environment Ministry did not immediately respond to request for comment on the deforestation figures or the government’s environmental policies.

The preservation of the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, is vital to curbing climate change because of the vast amount of greenhouse gas absorbed in its trees.

Bolsonaro has long argued for more commercial farming and mining in the Amazon to help lift the region out of poverty.

Facing international pressure from the United States and Europe, Brazil last year pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2028 and signed a global pact to stop all forest destruction by 2030.

Soon after those commitments, Inpe released data showing that deforestation in 2021 in the Brazilian Amazon hit the highest point in 15 years. The preliminary data for January shows the destruction is continuing to mount.

Ana Karine Pereira, a political scientist at the University of Brasilia, said while Bolsonaro and his government changed their tone last year, their policies remain the same.

Soares Filho and Pereira said deforestation will only stop rising if Bolsonaro loses the presidential election in October.

“Changing the political profile of the president and federal government leadership is crucial in this moment to see a break in this trend of high levels of deforestation,” Pereira said.

High deforestation is unusual in the current rainy season, when the rainforest is harder for loggers to access. The January data showed that new clearing was still less than half of what is common during the peak months from June to September.

A deforestation monitoring researcher at Inpe told Reuters the surge last month could be partially due to higher levels of cloud cover in November and December than the previous year.

Those clouds might have hidden destruction from satellites in those months that was subsequently revealed in January, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Still, cloud cover remained relatively high in January, declining to 43% from 54% in December.

Source: Reuters

As part of the Optimize and Enhance Operations pillar of the company’s Global Strategic Plan, Saputo Inc. announces Feb. 8 several major capital investments and consolidation initiatives intended to enhance and streamline its manufacturing footprint in its USA Sector and International Sector. These planned activities are consistent with the previously announced Global Strategic Plan designed to create shared value for all stakeholders.

In the USA Sector, as a first phase, the company plans to invest approximately US$133 million towards the modernization and expansion of its cheese manufacturing facilities in Wisconsin and California and to support its growth plan in the retail market segment. These initiatives will begin in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 and are expected to take approximately 24 months to implement. Complementing this first phase, Saputo plans to consolidate the cut-and-wrap activities in its West Coast operations, and right-size its footprint by closing its Bardsley Street, Tulare, CA facility in fiscal 2023. The impact on employees is expected to be minimal as opportunities for employment will be available at other Saputo facilities in Tulare.

In the International Sector, the Company will be streamlining operations in two of its manufacturing facilities in Australia. A limited number of employees will be impacted. These employees will be provided with severance and outplacement support, and Saputo is exploring redeployment opportunities for some of the affected employees.

“Staying true to our disciplined approach and commitment to shareholder value creation, we are executing our Global Strategic Plan with intention and precision. Today’s announcement is the first in a series of investments and consolidation activities that will increase efficiency and productivity, improving our ability to meet the evolving needs of our customers and consumers,” said Lino A. Saputo, Chair of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our five strategic pillars are expected to fuel strong organic growth and this step in our journey lays the groundwork to improve our product portfolio, modernize our processes, enhance capacities, and enable us to pursue initiatives to deliver against our growth objectives.”

The capital investments and consolidation initiatives outlined above are expected to result in annual savings and benefits gradually, beginning in fiscal 2023, and reaching approximately US$88 million (US$65 million after tax) by the end of fiscal 2025. Costs connected with the capital investments and consolidation initiatives outlined above will be approximately US$36 million after tax, which include a non-cash fixed assets write-down of approximately US$31 million after tax. These costs will be recorded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.

Saputo produces, markets, and distributes a wide array of dairy products of the utmost quality, including cheese, fluid milk, extended shelf-life milk and cream products, cultured products, and dairy ingredients. Saputo is one of the top ten dairy processors in the world, a leading cheese manufacturer and fluid milk and cream processor in Canada, the top dairy processor in Australia, and the second largest in Argentina. In the USA, Saputo ranks among the top three cheese producers and is one of the largest producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products. In the United Kingdom, Saputo is the largest manufacturer of branded cheese and a top manufacturer of dairy spreads. Saputo products are sold in several countries under market-leading brands, as well as private label brands.

Source: foodmanufacturing.com

Top News Stories:

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Saputo (OTCPK:SAPIF) is a major producer and distributor of dairy products including milk, cheese and cream products. Headquartered in Canada, Saputo is one of the top-10 dairy processors in the world and even is the largest processor in Australia and a top-3 player in the US cheese market. Saputo’s main shareholders still are the Saputo family, which usually adds a layer of safety as the family shareholders wouldn’t want to jeopardize the family capital.

As Saputo is a Canadian company, I’d strongly recommend you to trade in the company’s shares using the Canadian listing. Saputo is trading with SAP as its ticker symbol on the Toronto Stock Exchange and, with an average volume of in excess of 600,000 shares per day, the TSX listing is by far the most liquid listing for Saputo. Unfortunately, the company’s IR section on the website contains download-only links, but you can find all relevant information here.

Saputo’s H1 results were a bit weaker than expected

Although the demand for dairy and cheese products remains strong, Saputo posted a relatively weak set of results in Q2 and the first half of the year, and the company is blaming supply chain disruptions and labour shortages for a large part of its poor performance. Additionally, inflationary pressure also had a negative impact on the company’s margins in the first half of the year; and although the revenue remained stable, the EBITDA decreased sharply in the second quarter. And although the share price initially increased by about 25% since my previous article on Saputo was published, the current share price of C$28.40 is about 30% lower than its 52-week high as the market has been underwhelmed by the results so far.

Looking at the company’s H1 results, we indeed also see the revenue increased by approximately 1.5% to just under C$7.2B, but the COGS increased by about 4% to C$6.6B, resulting in an EBITDA of C$573M, substantially lower than the C$737M in H1 FY 2021.

Source: financial statements

Fortunately, some of the other operating expenses also decreased (unlike H1 2021 there was no impairment charge) and the net interest expenses decreased as well and this helped to mitigate the pre-tax income decrease. The pre-tax income was C$268M and due to a high tax bill in H1 FY 2022, the net income was just C$151M or C$0.37 per share.

Keep in mind, the average tax rate of about 44% in the first half of the year does not represent the normalized tax pressure; the 24% in the second quarter seems to be a more realistic longer term tax rate. The higher tax rate in Q1 is entirely related to the company having to record an increase in deferred income tax liabilities due to a reformed tax system in the United Kingdom where the corporate tax rate will increase from 19% to 25% on April 1^st, 2023. This increased the tax bill by about C$50M and on an adjusted basis, the H1 net income would have been just over C$200M or C$0.49 per share.

That’s still not great for a stock trading at in excess of C$28/share and the margins are very clearly suffering from the aforementioned elements.

The reported operating cash flow in the first half of the year was approximately C$402M but we still need to deduct the C$41M in lease payments, resulting in an adjusted operating cash flow of C$361M. This includes an effective tax payment of C$68M, which is more in line with the normal tax requirements for the first half of the year.

Source: financial statements

The total capex was approximately C$197M, resulting in a free cash flow result of approximately C$164M. Divided over 414M shares, the free cash flow result was approximately C$0.40. Again, hardly anything to be wildly excited about given the current share price.

The net debt is high, but decreases fast

Saputo has been pretty active on the M&A front in the past few years, and as a direct consequence, the net debt has increased. As of the end of September, Saputo had C$222M in cash and about C$734M in short-term debt on top of the almost C$3.1B in long-term debt for a total net debt of approximately C$3.6B. That’s the net financial debt and excludes the almost C$500M in lease liabilities.

Although the EBITDA result in the first half was clearly disappointing with an EBITDA of just C$573M, the net debt versus EBITDA ratio will likely remain pretty manageable at around 3 by the end of this year. That sounds relatively high but keep in mind Saputo just completed a C$375M cash acquisition, and the EBITDA has been under severe pressure due to the aforementioned inflationary issues and labour and supply chain issues. Just to provide a fair comparison: the H1 2021 EBITDA excluding lease payments was approximately C$700M for an annualized result of C$1.4B.

These acquisitions fit in nicely with Saputo’s plans for 2025 where it plans to enhance its profitability while growing the company.

Source: company presentation

This should result in an EBITDA of in excess of C$2.1B by 2025 (which is in 3.5 years). That’s a very ambitious target and I hope the company’s management can deliver on this promise.

Source: company presentation

In order to reach that EBITDA number, Saputo aims to spend about C$2.3B in capex in the 2021-2025 era, so we can expect the capital expenditure level to increase. This will make the reduction of the net debt level less likely, but the debt ratio should trend in the right direction anyway as the higher EBITDA result should improve the net debt ratio as well.

Investment thesis

Buying Saputo right now is basically a bet on the management being able to pull off its EBITDA guidance of in excess of C$2.1B by the end of FY 2025. That’s a 40% increase compared to the FY 2021 EBITDA result, but it would mean an increase of more than 100% compared to the annualized EBITDA in H1 2022. I hope Saputo can deliver on its promises, but it will have to get a grip on its margin pressure sooner rather than later.

On the conference call, Saputo confirmed it took some pricing actions to offset the inflationary pressures, so I hope we will see at least a stabilization and hopefully a small improvement in the Q3 margins, followed by a margin expansion again in Q4.

I currently don’t have a position in Saputo as the impact of inflationary issues is a little bit worrisome and I’d like to see the company getting a better grip on the situation before going long.

Source: Seeking Alpha

The Green Bay-based Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative did not have to go far to fill the unexpired term of board member Jerry Meissner of Chili, who passed away in December after a long battle with cancer. The group announced on Tuesday that Meissner’s son, Josh, will serve on the board in an interim capacity through 2023.

Meissner and his family own and operate Norm-E-Lane Farm, which was founded by his grandparents in the late 1940s. It has since grown into a 2,500-cow dairy that operates 5,000 acres of cropland.

“I am excited and honored to accept my spot on the Edge board of directors,” Meissner said. “I look forward to being a part of this organization, furthering the voice for milk and making an impact on our great dairy industry.”

In addition to his involvement with Edge, Jerry Meissner became involved with the Dairy Business Association from its inception in 2000, where he also served as board president of the group from 2007-2015.

Some California students staged a protest to return a favorite item to their school lunch menu.

A Vacaville Kindergarten through eighth grade school had banned chocolate milk because of its high sugar content.

Students at Sierra Vista K-8 in Vacaville say lunchtime just isn’t the same. There’s something missing from the menu, and because of that, they’ve had to think outside of the box.

Inside Emily Doss’ 4th grade class, students prepare their plea. They are demanding change and are willing to go to great lengths to send a message to the grown up in charge.

“The people who are going to be negotiating with me, I’m probably going to put them on the spot,” one student said.

Shoulder to shoulder, students left class to rally out front where everyone could hear their voices being heard.

“That’s how we feel about it,” one student said. “We feel really strongly about it and we want to protest and bring it back.”

All of this to protest something every kid loves: chocolate milk. Students say that delicious drink needs to come back to class.

The division’s Nutrition Department says the reason chocolate milk isn’t in the school is because it has “too much sugar” that the body doesn’t need.

But officials say they hear the students loud and clear. They decided to do chocolate milk one day every other week.

Source: Local 12

U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commented today on the U.S. Supreme Court decision to hear Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which challenges EPA’s overreach of its Clean Water Act jurisdiction.

“AFBF is pleased that the Supreme Court has agreed to take up the important issue of what constitutes ‘Waters of the U.S.’ under the Clean Water Act. Farmers and ranchers share the goal of protecting the resources they’re entrusted with, but they shouldn’t need a team of lawyers to farm their land. We hope this case will bring more clarity to water regulations.

“In light of today’s decision, we call on EPA to push pause on its plan to write a new WOTUS rule until it has more guidance on which waters fall under federal jurisdiction. For the past 10 years, Farm Bureau has led the charge on elevating the issue of government overreach in water regulations. The goal is simple, clean water and clear rules.”

Lactanet recently introduced its new on-line A2 (Beta Casein) reports that include a Herd Summary and Animal Summary that reflect the current profile of your herd for the various genotypes of beta casein, more commonly known as A2. These reports are exclusively provided to Lactanet customers enrolled on our milk recording services and include herdbook registered females that are known to be part of your herd inventory, regardless of breed.

What is Beta Casein?

Beta casein is a protein that represents ≈30% of all milk proteins. There are two forms of beta casein, namely A1 and A2 and they differ by only one of the 224 amino acids that make up beta casein. Some research has indicated that the digestibility of dairy products is improved with A2 beta casein proteins compared to A1.

The Genetics of A2

Animals of any dairy breed can have their DNA tested to identify their beta casein genotype based on the transmission of the A1 and/or A2 forms from their parents. This A2 gene testing is easily done at the same time as genotyping for a genomic evaluation. The possible beta casein genotypes are A2A2, A1A2 or A1A1 and the proportion of each within a breed is dependent upon the frequency of the A1 and A2 genes in that population. The Lactanet Genetics database has been receiving beta casein (A2) gene test results for several years from A.I. companies, breed associations, and international sources. Figure 1 shows the frequency of each A2 genotype by breed as estimated using the gene test results currently available, with the count of animals indicated in brackets.

New A2 Herd and Animal Reports

Given the growing rate of A2 testing among females genotyped in Canada and the increasing interest in A2A2 sires, Lactanet developed a new reporting service for our customers. The A2 Herd Summary and A2 Animal Summary reports are accessible via the MySite section of the Lactanet website for each herd on milk recording. These reports are based on registered animals in the DHI herd inventory and includes a herd profile report and an animal report by A2 genotype category. National benchmarks are based on all registered females included in the inventory of all herds enrolled on Lactanet milk recording services. The goal is to provide Canadian producers with an overview of the A2 status of their herd and animals.

A2 Genotype Categories

Lactanet geneticists developed an advanced calculation of probabilities based on actual A2 gene test results and all available pedigree data to assess the most likely A2 genotype of each female in your herd. Your herd inventory is divided into three groups, namely Cows (lactating or dry), Yearlings (heifers over 12 months) and Heifers (12 months of age and under). For each age category, counts and percentages are presented for seven A2 genotype groups as follows:

How to Use the A2 Genotype Reports

An example of the A2 Genotype Herd Summary is provided in Figure 2.  The top section provides herd statistics compared to national benchmarks within each of the three animal age groups and the bottom section is a visual representation of the proportion of animals in each group across the seven A2 genotype categories.  For producers aiming to increase the percentage of A2A2 genotypes in their herd an increased trend should be seen from Cows to Yearlings to Heifers for the first two A2 categories that include known or most likely A2A2 females.

The value of these reports will vary significantly from herd to herd.  Minimally, the Herd Summary will provide you with an overall profile of your herd status and the evolution of the various A2 genotype groups across the three age categories. For herd owners interested in increasing the frequency of A2A2 genotype in their herd, the Animal Summary report provides the best indication of which females are most likely to be A2A2 or to produce daughters that may be.

Some herd owners are interested in having a complete herd of A2A2 animals so they may qualify to produce “A2 Milk”. This goal is possible to achieve over time by selection of sires that have the A2A2 or A1A2 genotypes. The Genetics section of the Lactanet web site provides group query tools that allows you to filter sires by their A2 genotype, which is also a feature of the Compass software freely available to producers across Canada.

Summary

Beta casein A2 testing is gaining producer interest and marketing and selection of A2A2 sires is also growing. In response to these growing trends, Lactanet now offers its A2 Genotype reports that includes a Herd Summary and Animal Summary that is freely available to Lactanet DHI customers via their MySite account. These reports provide herd owners with an overall profile of their herd status, broken down into three age groups and seven possible A2 genotype categories, as well as a complete list of animals within each A2 category. Producers interested in increasing the frequency of A2A2 cows in their herd can do so by the preferred use of A2A2 or A1A2 sires, which can easily be identified using filtering features of the Group Query tool on the Lactanet web site or in Compass as a freely available genetic herd management software.

Author: Brian Van Doormaal, Chief Services Officer

Download a PDF copy

United Dairy Farmers, Inc. changed its name in honor of the Cincinnati Bengals going to the Super Bowl, officially rebranding to ‘U Dey F’ and introducing a featured menu that also is now in effect.

If the Bengals win the Super Bowl on Sunday night, a fuel promotion for ‘U Dey F’ U-Drive members will go into effect the following day, on Monday, Feb. 14. They will cut the price of fuel by 1 cent per gallon for every point the team wins by.

So if Cincinnati wins 24-17, U-Drive members would receive 7 cents off per gallon the following day.

“Just like the rest of Cincinnati, ‘U Dey F’ could not be more proud our football team as they head to Los Angeles on Sunday to represent this city proudly,” said David Lindner, United Dairy Farmers Senior Vice President of Retail and Co-Owner.

“That is why we are enthusiastically throwing our brand firmly behind them in a show of unity and passion for the Queen City that we have both called home for generations.”

Meanwhile, the temporary rebrand aligns with some tasty selections for football fans to enjoy right now throughout the week.

‘U Dey F’ is featuring UDF Brand Joe Football ice cream, a buttery brown sugar ice cream with milk chocolate caramel footballs and ribbons of UDF fudge in 48 oz cartons, as well as the ‘U Dey F’ Orange Freeze made with their famous orange sherbet and available only at the dip counter in stores.

‘U Dey F’ donuts will also get a Cincy spin for a limited time.

The classic square donuts will be iced in white with orange and black sprinkles, while the devil’s food cake donut will be covered in chocolate icing and orange sprinkles for football fans across the region to enjoy.

All donuts and baked goods are prepared locally at the company’s state-of-the-art bakery in Blue Ash and delivered fresh daily to all 177 locations.

For more on ‘U Dey F,’ visit www.udfinc.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Source: fox19.com

Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative applauded an announcement today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that schools will continue to be allowed to offer flavored low-fat milk for at least the next two years.

The 1% milk option, which has been allowed since 2017, is included in new transitional standards for school nutrition programs that will be in place until a final rule is created for the 2024-25 school year.

“We are pleased to see USDA reaffirm the importance of allowing flavored low-fat milk as an option in our school food programs,” Edge President Brody Stapel said. “Milk’s nutritional benefits for school-age children have been proven time and again, and offering low-fat flavored milk encourages consumption.

“Recent research shows that fuller-fat dairy foods are considered part of a healthy diet. We applaud USDA’s move and look forward to working with the department to ensure that fuller-fat dairy products are recognized as healthy options, even for school nutrition programs.”

Background
In 2012, USDA updated school meal requirements to reflect the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans at that time. The update included restricting school milk choices to unflavored low-fat,  flavored fat-free and unflavored fat-free. Milk consumption in schools dropped significantly.

In 2017, Congress began requiring USDA to allow states to grant hardship-based exemptions to school nutrition standards, allowing them to serve flavored low-fat (1%) milk. USDA implemented those standards, which were in place when the pandemic hit. USDA continued allowing flexibility in the program to ensure schools could offer nutritious meals amid pandemic-related supply chain issues.

The transitional standards announced today provide more clarity going forward for schools. A proposed final rule will be released later this year and is projected to be implemented for the 2024-25 school year.

About Edge
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative provides dairy farmers throughout the Midwest with a powerful voice — the voice of milk — in Congress, with customers and within our communities. Edge, based in Green Bay, Wis., is the third largest dairy cooperative in the country based on milk volume. Member farms are located in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin. 

Water is scarce in 50% of the core growing region

Argentina may have left the worst of its summer drought behind, but the risk of dry weather to the country’s crops remains real, the Rosario grains exchange said in its latest weather analysis.

The South American grains producer, the world’s No. 1 exporter of processed soy and the second for corn, was hit hard by drought from December until mid-January, when a fortnight of rains helped limit losses to crop yields and improve conditions, reported Reuters. 

“Are we leaving the drought behind? From the climatic point of view, the answer is clear: yes, the situation was resolved with the atmospheric change of the second half of January,” the Rosario exchange said in its report.

“But from the point of view of crops, no, since 50% of the core region remains with scarce (water) reserves and drought.”

Reuters recently traveled to key farm regions in Buenos Aires province, where rains had helped crops recover, but farmers said they had already suffered substantial losses to crops due to the previously dry spell.

The country saw heavy rains in some areas, especially in the north west of the farm belt in the second half of January, while some agricultural zones got lower amounts of rain and were in need of more water in the coming weeks.

The Rosario exchange said that rains hoped for the first week of February looked less likely now.

“For now, no rain is expected in the coming week due to the arrival of mass of cold and dry air that will provide stable conditions,” it said, adding only after next Wednesday were there signs of a more unstable weather front and clouds.

“It is not possible to guarantee that we will not experience another dry spell,” Jose Luis Aiello, a weather expert and adviser to the grains exchange said in the report.

Source: Reuters

More than 100 cows were killed in a fire at Percy Farm in Stowe on Wednesday night.

Officials believe the fire, which started around 11 p.m. Wednesday, was caused by a skid loader parked inside the farm’s cattle barn, said owner Paul Percy.

He said the skid loader had been used earlier in the day.

The barn was a total loss, said Paul’s wife, Lee Percy. No one was injured in the blaze.

“It was all gone before anybody knew it,” Paul Percy said of the barn.

Lee Percy said her daughter heard what sounded like two explosions, then looked outside and saw that the barn was on fire.

The family was able to save its calves from the barn, but the other cows — between 130 and 140 — were killed, Paul Percy said.

He said the fire department was able to keep the family’s house from burning down.

Stowe Fire Department interim chief Scott Reeves could not be reached for comment Thursday. 

Reeves told the Stowe Reporter it took firefighters until about 6.a.m. Thursday to get the fire knocked down. Eight other fire departments also responded, he said.

Milk produced at Percy Farm is used in Cabot products, including cheese, yogurt and sour cream, according to the farm’s website.

The family also runs Bouchard Farm in Stowe, which has a popular corn maze.

This wasn’t the only barn fire in Vermont this week. WCAX reported that 20 farm animals were killed when a barn caught fire Tuesday night in Alburgh.

By Thursday evening, a GoFundMe drive to aid the Percy family had raised more than $30,000 toward a $100,000 goal.

The BVD eradication programme for N. Ireland entered its compulsory phase in 2016 and since then substantial progress has been made in eradicating the threat of BVD virus to cattle in NI.

BVD virus still remains active in N Ireland, however, and passive surveillance of carcases submitted for diagnostic post-mortem examinations to AFBI indicates that the threat posed by BVDV remains significant.

BVD is an economically important viral disease of cattle encompassing a wide range of clinical disease presentations including diarrhoea, infertility, abortion and foetal abnormalities.

Calves infected during early pregnancy which are not aborted and are born alive are persistently infected. These calves continually shed large amounts of virus and thus are a source of further infections to other cattle on farm or neighbouring farms.

A particularly important manifestation of BVD virus infection is depression of the immune system in infected animals thus reducing the ability of infected animals to effectively fight off other infections. BVD virus associated immunosuppression is of particular economic importance in outbreaks of pneumonia, especially in housed cattle.

Diagnoses of BVD viral infections in diagnostic carcase submissions to AFBI have fallen dramatically since the introduction of the compulsory phase of the BVD eradication scheme in N Ireland (see Figure 1).

However, BVD viral diagnoses in 2020 increased when compared to 2019 demonstrating that BVDV remains a significant threat to N Ireland herds.

BVD virus positive carcase diagnoses in 2020 were most frequently related to pneumonia cases, abortions, and cases of mucosal disease. Some proportion of this increase in BVD virus carcase positive cases in 2020 relates to increased use of PCR in diagnosing BVD virus infections, particularly in investigation of bovine respiratory disease.

Almost 80% of the BVD virus positive cases occurred in the final quarter of 2020 from October to December, and of these final quarter positive cases, just over 46% were pneumonia cases. These results are unsurprising; they coincide with housing of cattle and autumn sales when the potential of infected cattle, be they persistently infected or acutely infected, to spread the infection to naïve cattle is greatly increased.

Immunosuppression associated with the new infections which occur at this time plays an important role in outbreaks of pneumonia, facilitating the spread of other respiratory viruses and bacteria.

BVD virus positive aborted foetuses contributed 21% of the diagnostic BVD virus positive carcases at AFBI in 2020. Some of these abortion outbreaks were quite significant with multiple BVD virus positive foetuses being detected on individual farms as well as deaths in new born and young calves which were BVD virus positive. However, there has been a steady decrease in the number of cases of abortion due to BVDV diagnosed at AFBI each year since 2016 with 75% fewer cases of abortion due to BVDV recorded in 2020 compared to 2016.

Some large outbreaks of mucosal disease, severe enteritis and diarrhoea due to BVD virus were diagnosed in 2020. Some of the cattle involved in these outbreaks had been purchased. Consideration should be given to the BVD viral status of cattle when purchasing, as bought-in persistently infected cattle can spread virus with devastating effect when mixed with other cattle at pasture or on housing. It should also be remembered that some purchased cattle may be transiently infected, coming into contact with the virus for the first time immediately before or during purchase or transportation, and while these cattle will only transmit the virus for a limited time, if they are housed with other cattle or if they come in contact with other cattle in early pregnancy a serious outbreak may result.

It is recommended that calves which test positive for BVD virus by tissue tagging should be culled as soon as possible after their confirmation as persistently infected, as these calves pose a substantial risk to spreading infection further. Some farmers will choose to cull BVD positive calves immediately on receipt of the positive results, particularly if they have previously had confirmed BVD infection in the herd.

Good biosecurity is essential in maintaining freedom in herds currently free of BVD virus infection. Maintaining a closed herd if possible and good fencing and grazing management are keystones to prevention of new infections.

Farmers are encouraged to discuss whether or not to use a vaccination program as part of their efforts to prevent BVD infections with their veterinary surgeon.

Source: thedairysite.com

National Mastitis Council (NMC) honored the U.S. dairy industry’s “best of the best” for producing quality milk at its Feb. 3 National Dairy Quality Awards (NDQA) program, held in conjunction with the NMC 61st Annual Meeting, held in San Diego and virtually. Six dairies earned a Platinum Award – Blue Star Dairy Middleton LLC (Art and Lori Meinholz), Middleton, Wis.; Country Aire Farms (Tom, Mike, Nick, Matt, Craig and Jon Gerrits), Kaukauna, Wis.; Crandall Dairy Farms LLC (Brad, Mark and Larry Crandall), Battle Creek, Mich.; Dolph Dairy LLC (Don and Pat Dolph), Lake Mills, Wis.; Tollgate Holsteins (Jim and Karen Davenport), Ancramdale, N.Y.; and University of Wisconsin Marshfield Agricultural Research Station, Stratford, Wis.

In addition to the six Platinum winners, there were 21 Gold and 20 Silver NDQA winners (listed below). These farms were selected from 86 applications submitted for the 2021 awards. Farms were nominated by professionals, such as dairy plant field staff, veterinarians, extension specialists and Dairy Herd Improvement supervisors, who serve the dairy industry.

Gold

• Baier Creek Farms (Charlie, Rod, Trevor and Steve Baier), Elmwood, Wis.
• Beattie Farms (Don Beattie), Holton, Mich.
• Christop Dairy (Neil Christianson), Shiocton, Wis.
• De Grins Oer Dairy (Tjerk and Ramona Okkema), Blanchard, Mich.
• Dorner Farms (Cory and Maria Dorner), Luxemburg, Wis.
• Evergreen Dairy Farm LLC (Kris and Carla Wardin), Saint Johns, Mich.
• Horning Farms LLC (Jeff, Earl and Mason Horning, and Katelyn Packard), Manchester, Mich.
• Jauquet Hillview Dairy (Dave and Stacy Jauquet), Luxemburg, Wis.
• Kleinhans Dairy Farm (Michael Kleinhans), Kiel, Wis.
• Langeland Farms Inc. (Merle Langeland), Coopersville, Mich.
• Larsen Farms (Burke and Lisa Larsen), Scottville, Mich.
• Maly Farms (Butch and Ron Maly, and Alicia Sippl), Bryant, Wis.
• Michigan State University Dairy, Lansing, Mich.
• Mil-View Jerseys (Mark and Sara Ann Miller), Millersburg, Ohio
• Mark and Jolinda Ramer, Hale, Mich.
• Schultz Dairy LLC (David Schultz), Sandusky, Mich.
• Seidl’s Mountain View Dairy (Al Seidl), Luxemburg, Wis.
• Stuart Farms Inc. (Dan Stuart), Lowell, Mich.
• Theisen Family Farm (Jonathon Theisen), Campbellsport, Wis.
• Valley Acres Dairy LLC Farm # 1 (Gene and Phyllis Speltz, Carey and Emily Tweten), Lewiston, Minn.
• Wenzel Hilltop Dairy LLC (Judy, Kevin and Jessica Wenzel), Hilbert, Wis.

Silver

• Ber-Sher Farm (Ron Brinks), Mc Bain, Mich.
• Bode Valley Farm Inc. (Charles Bode), Marion, Mich.
• Bon-Dale Farm (Dale, Bonnie and Kurt Brinks), McBain, Mich.
• Bosscher Dairy (Michael Bosscher), McBain, Mich.
• Chapin Family Farm LLC (Samuel, Douglas and Cheri Chapin), Remus, Mich.
• Clearview Dairy Farm LLC (Paul and Betty DeMann), Martin, Mich.
• Coal Mined Acres (Eli N. Weaver), Millersburg, Ohio
• Dolloff Acres Farm (Michael and Heidi Dolloff), Springfield, Vt.
• Gross Farms Inc. (Steve, Phil, Kevin and Joel Gross), Weidman, Mich.
• Hammond Dairy Farm LLC (Norm, Kim and Derrick Hammond), Dowling, Mich.
• Andy and Laura Hecht, Cumberland, Wis.
• Holst Farms (Maren and Jeremy Holst), Lake City, Minn.
• Kiko Farms (James, Louanne, Evan and Harrison Kiko), Paris, Ohio
• Koppenol Dairy Farms, Inc. (Alan and Deborah Koppenol, and Ken Raterink), Coopersville, Mich.
• Morning Star Dairy (Mark Roggenbuck), Harbor Beach, Mich.
• Mud Val-E Farm (John Christian Chupp), Sugarcreek, Ohio
• Schroeder Bros. LLC (Daniel and Michael Schroeder), Caledonia, Minn.
• Slater Farms 88th LLC (Allen and Aaron Slater), Holton, Mich.
• Spring Lake Farms LLC (Bill and Jason Hardy), Stanton, Mich.
• Tacoma Dairy Inc. (Dave and Rick Tacoma), Falmouth, Mich.

NDQA judges considered many criteria when reviewing finalists’ applications. In addition to milk quality indicators, such as somatic cell count (SCC) and standard plate count (SPC), judges looked at specific details about each operation, including milking routine, cow comfort, udder health monitoring programs, prevention and treatment programs, strategies for overall herd health and welfare, and adherence to drug use and record keeping regulations.

This year’s NDQA sponsors included Boehringer Ingelheim, GEA, Ecolab, IBA Inc., Conewango, Cargill, Hoard’s Dairyman and NMC. This summer, nominee information for the 2022 NDQA program will be available on the NMC website and in Hoard’s Dairyman magazine.

National Mastitis Council is an international professional organization, based in Minnesota, devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality. NMC promotes research and provides information to the dairy industry on udder health, milking management, milk quality and milk safety. Founded in 1961, NMC has about 1,000 members in more than 40 countries throughout the world.

This year (2021) marks the 200th anniversary of one of the oldest farms in the Vankleek Hill area. The Mode Farm – better known as Bonnie Brae – has been in the family for two centuries since the land was acquired by George Mode in 1821.

“There are older farms closer to the river, because that’s the area that got settled earlier,” says Bruce Mode, who represents the sixth generation of the Mode family at Bonnie Brae. “But there’s not too many that are under the same family for 200 years.”

Sitting in the kitchen of the historic farmhouse on the property located east of Vankleek Hill, Bruce Mode reflects on his family’s past, while thumbing through a photocopied document entitled ‘The History of the Mode Family of the Ottawa Valley from 1802 to the 20th Century’. Mode believes he has a second copy “somewhere”, but for the most part it is all of the history he has about the family. The 20-year-old dog-eared document contains information on the descendants of George Mode (1788-1872) and his wife Johannah Waddell (1803-1890).

“I’m not one who is a big history person,” Mode admits. “I do kind of wish I knew more about family history and stuff now.”

In February of 1946, The Review documented the history of Bonnie Brae, publishing a feature on the farm in celebration of its 125th anniversary. The author of the article wrote that shortly after purchasing the property in 1821. George Mode cleared off a small space, then erected a house, “the boards of which were drawn many miles by oxen on the crotch of a tree.”

The brick farmhouse in which Bruce Mode lives was built in 1856, along with a high stone wall in front of the home. By the time of its 125th anniversary in 1946, Bonnie Brae was one of the largest and most modern dairy operations in Eastern Ontario, wrote The Review.

“Today the farm is owned and operated by G. D. Mode and son Sydney and is modern in every way, with one of Ontario’s largest dairy barns built 20 years ago. Although cultivated for so many years, the soil has lost none of its fertility, for today this farm is in as high a state of cultivation as at any time since taken from the Crown. The large barn, the hedges, the orchard and everything about the farm give evidence and skill of generations gone before.”

While Bruce Mode has few memories of his grandfather, he worked alongside his father Sydney on the 200-acre property for more than two decades. He remembers Bonnie Brae had its own small power station, long before electricity was available in the area, and that the family had one of the best-known herds in Eastern Ontario.

“The original barn was very modern at one time,” Mode recalls. “Our animals were all purebreds, so every animal we bred or sold had the prefix Bonnie Brae.”

“My dad also loved gladiolas. He would test new varieties and sell his flowers everywhere.”

Through generations of the Modes at Bonnie Brae, the family always raised Ayrshire cattle. In the early 2000s, as he began downsizing, Bruce Mode switched over to Holsteins. In September of 2018, just a few months after the sudden passing of his beloved wife Susan, Mode made the decision to sell off the last of his cattle, ending almost two centuries of dairy farming on the property. The couple raised four daughters – Shauna, Kerri, Heidi and Kelsey – but Mode says he found it difficult to keep up with dairy farming and now was not the right time for any of the four to take over the property.

“None of them are really into farming except Kelsey – she probably would have taken over here, except she married a farmer,” Mode laughs. “That’s the reason I got out of it – there was nobody left to farm here.”

“Hopefully when I’m gone my kids will keep it going. They may not farm it, but I hope some of the family is going to stay here.”

Mode says that at 68, he is happy to still live and work at Bonnie Brae, without the stress of taking care of his dairy cattle 12 months of the year.

“Now I just cash crop, but it is still a working farm. I don’t have to worry about going out in the winter when it’s 30 below and doing chores. I did that for 45 years, so that was long enough.”

With his extra free time, the semi-retired farmer loves to fish and spend time at the family’s cottage in Western Quebec. He says he does not miss the long days of full-time dairy farming, but still enjoys working on the property and taking care of his crops.

“As long as I’m healthy and able to do it I’ll continue – I still have to make some money,” Mode chuckles, before becoming serious about his decades working at Bonnie Brae.

“Farming is not an easy way of life,” the sixth-generation farmer notes. “You don’t get rich farming.”

“Farmers are worth a lot of money in what they have, but you don’t have any money in your pocket.”

A photo of Bruce Mode’s grandparents, father Sydney and aunt taken in the 1920s in front of the historic property and farmhouse.

Bonnie Brae’s sixth-generation owner Bruce Mode with a painting of the 200-year-old farm. Photo by Reid Masson

Source: The Review

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Dairy farmer and American Dairy Association North East board member Dina Zug of Mifflintown, Pa., recently helped kick off the 2022 Fill a Glass with Hope® campaign at the Pennsylvania Farm Show that has raised $180,000 in donations to feed Pennsylvania’s food-insecure families. To-date, the campaign has provided more than 27 million servings of fresh milk to nourish those in need.

Fill a Glass with Hope was initiated in 2015 by Pennsylvania dairy farmers who wanted to ensure families in need had access to fresh, nutritious milk to feed their families. A partnership was formed between ADA North East, Feeding Pennsylvania’s nine-member food banks and the PA Dairymen’s Association.

The contributions, developed through grants, corporate sponsors, and individual donations, enable food banks to purchase milk at a discounted price directly from processors to distribute to those in need. The funds also support the expansion of the food banks’ infrastructure needed to handle fresh milk which is the largest challenge to distribution because of its perishability.

“I’m proud to represent my fellow dairy farmers to highlight the importance of Fill a Glass with Hope,” said Zug. “This initiative showcases our dedication to producing wholesome, nutritious milk, and also for ensuring its accessibility to families in our communities throughout the state.”

Zug joined representatives from Feeding Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, along with Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith, and the Pennsylvania Dairy Princess and Alternates for the announcement at the Pennsylvania Farm Show.

Learn more about Fill a Glass with Hope here.

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Photo caption: Dairy farmer and American Dairy Association North East board member Dina Zug of Mifflintown, Pa., helped kicked off the 2022 Fill a Glass with Hope® charitable milk campaign at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. The campaign raised $180,000 to start the year.

Photo caption: Dairy farmer and American Dairy Association North East board member Dina Zug of Mifflintown, Pa., (left) helped kick off the 2022 Fill a Glass with Hope® campaign at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. She was joined by (from left to right) Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, former Philadelphia Eagles player Torrey Smith, and Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Mikayla Davis.

About American Dairy Association North East

American Dairy Association North East (ADA North East) is the dairy farmer-funded organization funded by participating dairy farmer’s checkoff investment to build demand and sales for milk and dairy foods throughout the local region. Representing nearly 10,000 dairy farm families in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and northern Virginia, ADA North East develops and implements local programs to drive milk and dairy sales at retail outlets and in schools. The organization also conducts consumer education about dairy through events, traditional and social media, and in collaboration with health professionals through National Dairy Council®. ADA North East works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™, the national dairy checkoff organization, to support nutrition research, national partnerships and developing export markets for dairy to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the region. For more information, visit www.AmericanDairy.com, or call 315.472.9143.

From the milk in your fridge to your favorite ice cream, most of it starts on a farm. However, now like many other industries, the dairy workers who help process that milk and get it to your local grocery store are experiencing labor pains.

“From an on-farm perspective our dairyman and other farmers they just have to try and figure out how to be more creative with the work force that they have unfortunately, it does stifle business activity and business growth,” said Rick Naerebout, chief executive officer with the Idaho Dairymen’s Association.

He told KTVB, right now, dairy workers are having trouble filling their openings, and they’re having to do more with fewer employees. 

“That’s largely due to the fact that we’ve stalled out in having congress addressing an ag immigration reform legislation,” Naerebout said. 

That legislation is known as the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. The house has passed it twice, and some congressmen like Mike Simpson have supported the bill, according to Naerebout. 

“What that bill does is it’s got three main titles, one it provides legal status for the existing ag workers here that are in the country and their family members, and then it provides access for year-round employers like the dairy industry to the h2a visa program so we can bring in workers through that program in the future and then it would also require that any of our ag producers using that visa program would mandatory e-verify their workforce to make sure they’re here with legal status,” Naerebout said.

He’s hopeful they can see movement in the senate on this bill, but right now it appears to be in limbo. 

“Over the past few months as democrats have focused on legalization throughout the budget reconciliation process, those negotiations have broke down and they’ve stepped away from the negotiating table as of right now,” Naerebout said. 

Which as he explained, means the shortage will continue. For perspective, Naerebout added, the last time dairy producers reported having enough workers was back in 2012.

“At that point we were milking in the state about 550,000 cows and had about 8,000 workers in on farm positions. Today, we’re milking about 100,000 more cows so we’re milking 650,000 cows in the state and we may have about 4,400 workers on the dairy facility so we’re doing a tremendous amount more work with significantly fewer workers,” Naerebout said.

He goes on to say, this isn’t just an Idaho Dairy Issue, but could soon be felt across the country.

“If you look at all food production in this country about half of all the ag work force is here without status, so half of every meal you eat is brought to you by an immigrant that’s here without legal status, and that’s how significant this issue is, our food supply and the ability for us to feed America is completely dependent on a workforce that’s foreign-born and to a large degree is here without status,” Naerebout said. 

Another impact of this shortage? The Idaho Dairymen’s Association says it could also cause some dairy producers to go out of business and sell their family farms because there’s too much uncertainty, and when you’re dealing with live animals there’s not an option of failing.

The Idaho Dairymen’s Association says this is an issue that has been going on for five or more years. They’re hoping to spread awareness and get the word out so everyone understands the impact and what’s at stake.

Source: ktvb.com

Taco Bell is continuing its run of dairy-based beverages thanks to dairy checkoff support.

The chain released the Island Berry Freeze that uses a shelf-stable creamer created by dairy checkoff scientists. It is Taco Bell’s third beverage launch featuring the dairy creamer, beginning with the Pineapple Whip Freeze in May of 2020 and the Mountain Dew® Baja Blast® Colada Freeze last May.

The Island Berry Freeze features a bit of a twist from its predecessors with a creamer infused with a tropical flavor. This Freeze, offered in blue raspberry or wild strawberry flavors, is available at participating U.S. Taco Bell restaurants through March 12.

“After the initial success of the Pineapple Whip, it just made sense to build off of that momentum and continue offering beverages that bring a lot of excitement to Taco Bell’s lineup,” said Mike Ciresi, a Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) senior dairy scientist who works with Taco Bell. “Taco Bell is all about bold, exciting flavors, especially with its beverages, and believes the Island Berry Freeze has a flavor that pops and will hit the mark with consumers.”

Another popular Taco Bell item – the Grilled Cheese Burrito – is back on the menu. The burrito features a blend of mozzarella, cheddar and pepper jack cheeses in addition to reduced-fat sour cream, seasoned beef, rice, crunchy red strips and chipotle sauce. A layer of cheese is then grilled around the tortilla to offer a special experience for cheese lovers.

The burrito launched in the summer of 2020 and re-entered Taco Bell’s menu last fall with a double steak option. This time, the original version is back for a limited time, which Ciresi expects will be a hit with consumers.

“The Grilled Cheese Burrito continues to do so well,” Ciresi said. “I am excited it’s back on the menu, and I’m sure Taco Bell fans are as well.”

Heather Mottershaw, vice president of pipeline innovation and product development for Taco Bell, reiterated how popular these dairy-centric items are with customers.

“We understand how much dairy enhances our menu in terms of innovation and flavor and it’s supported by the response we get from our customers,” Mottershaw said. “We’re grateful to have checkoff scientists working side-by-side with our team to continue pushing the envelope with items featuring dairy.”

While sales results of products created with checkoff support are proprietary, Emily Bourdet, vice president of global innovation partnerships for DMI, said the results of all checkoff partners, including at Taco Bell, are making a difference. She said there have been 2 billion pounds of milk equivalent growth overall since the start of the partnerships work, and each partner averages about 3 percent annual growth in dairy volume.

“In Taco Bell’s case, it’s the innovation that leads to success,” Bourdet said. “From the beginning of the partnership to today, our on-site scientists at Taco Bell have changed the game for how to incorporate dairy and creating excitement for Taco Bell fans.”

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About Dairy Management Inc.
Dairy Management Inc.™ (DMI) is funded by America’s 31,000 dairy farmers, as well as dairy importers. Created to help increase sales and demand for dairy products, DMI and its related organizations work to increase demand for dairy through research, education and innovation, and to maintain confidence in dairy foods, farms and businesses. DMI manages National Dairy Council and the American Dairy Association, and founded the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy.