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Archive for News – Page 95

UK Team withdraw from Libramont 2019

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2019

Holstein UK is very disappointed to announce that the UK Team of cattle that were destined to take part in The European Championships Libramont, Belgium on 12th and 13th April 2019 will not be attending.

Following discussions with the UK Team exhibitors, they have decided that the risk in attending this event has become too high following a recent bluetongue outbreak in Belgium. Belgium was moved into a restricted area on Wednesday 27th March with 4 confirmed cases of the BTV8 Strain of Bluetongue within very close proximity to the event venue.

“This has been a devastating decision to have to make” commented Holstein UK CEO Sue Cope. “I have the greatest sympathy with the UK team as I know how much time and effort has gone into getting these animals ready for the show. It was always going to be a challenge to get the team there and the exhibitors have worked with Holstein UK and the veterinary advisors very closely to make sure the animals met all the strict health conditions of the Belgium Animal Health Authorities.”

Bluetongue has been creeping through Europe over the last few months and despite aggressive efforts by a number of parties to get hold of the BTV4 & BTV8 vaccine throughout the end of last year and this year this it has proved impossible. Despite APHA issuing the UK team licenses to import the vaccine due to the unavailability in the UK the increased demand in Europe for the vaccine meant retailers and exporters of the vaccine were unable to supply the UK with the required doses. 

The two Holstein Young Breeders Jonny Woodhouse & Robert Morley will still be heading out to Belgium to compete in the young breeder competition and we wish them the greatest of success.

Categories : News

Dairy farmers weigh growing hemp as market struggles continue

Monday, April 1st, 2019

Rob Barley, partner of Star Rock Farms and chairman of the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board, said it’s been a “tough” several years for the industry.

Dairy farmers continue to work through a stretch of at or below cost prices in the dairy market.

As some farmers search for additional revenue, could the now-legalized hemp crop be an option?

Barley said they have applied and received a state permit to potentially grow hemp.

He believes it offers an opportunity.

“I think it’s coming. Actually, I don’t think, I’m sure it’s coming. But as of today, it’s somewhat of a challenge,” said Barley.

The challenge, he said, is a limited number of hemp growing contracts on a small scale, right now.

He said the bulk of the current interest is in the ability to produce CBD oil, an advertised medicinal supplement, through Hemp.

Barley said a farmer needs to evaluate acreage and labor before committing to growing the crop, made legal by the 2018 federal Farm Bill, because it requires intensive labor.

“It’s not ideal, necessarily, for large acreages but may work for small, smaller operations and may be a way for them to get a little extra income to help them through,” said Barley.

As the potential for a Hemp market continues to develop, Barley said farmers need to know if they can sell or grow hemp before investing in it.

“There’s really no hemp marketplaces out there that you can specifically go to tomorrow and say, I got hemp, what are you going to give me for it?” said Barley.

Lisa Graybeal of Graywood Farms said they, as a farm family, aren’t considering growing hemp “in the near future.”

“This is something that needs to be tried by a few first to see how it goes. [There are] not many local markets for hemp products but they are gaining a little traction. It’s a wait and see crop,” said Graybeal.

She also said she believes growing Hemp isn’t going to help struggling dairy farmers “at the outset.”

“Anything new has a learning curve, can be expensive and have unexpected results…Perhaps once it becomes a more established crop, it could be something worth consideration to help diversify your farm,” said Graybeal.

Shannon Powers with the state Department of Agriculture said there are still a number of unknowns about hemp after researching it for a couple years.

She said they’re hopeful a market can rise through a number of hemp uses, including fabrics, building materials and auto parts.

“There’s some risk inherent in farming but trying to minimize that risk and help people give farmers the tools that they need to manage that risk and to understand that risk, that’s where we are right now is trying to help farmers have the tools they need to make these business decisions,” said Powers.

Barley said they’re currently in discussions with Groff North America on potential hemp growing contracts.

He said their permit becomes official once they official plant hemp.

He explained that the process requires site specific markings, including the latitude and longitude of the growing site.

He also said testing is required to ensure the plants are at an appropriate level of THC.

He believes Pennsylvania has an opportunity to take the lead, nationwide, when it comes to growing the legalized crop.

“We just need to be careful and make sure it’s done correctly and you know, also that you have a quality product and that meets the market’s demand,” said Barley.

He said he expected hemp growing season to come in mid- to late May.

Source: fox43.com

Categories : News

Manure is big business at Oregon’s largest dairy with conversion to natural gas

Monday, April 1st, 2019

As milk prices plummet, Oregon’s largest dairy hopes to cash in on another kind of commodity produced by its cows:

Manure.

Boardman’s Threemile Canyon Farms is partnering with a Portland investment fund in a $55 million project to convert methane from the waste produced by its 70,000 cows into natural gas, which will be sold to power buses and garbage trucks in Southern California.

Because it’s designated renewable energy, the manure-produced biogas sells for 10 times more than fossil fuel natural gas, Threemile general manager Marty Myers told a state Department of Treasury panel last summer, as the company sought tax-exempt state bonds to help pay for the project.

That’s because fossil fuel companies need to buy carbon offset credits, produced by renewable energy projects like Threemile’s, to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions.

“The most valuable product that we have out there is natural gas,” Myers told the panel.

Threemile spokeswoman Anne Struthers declined to expand further this past week on the project’s financing or sales strategy, saying it is premature to comment.

The move comes as the Tillamook County Creamery Association, which buys Threemile’s milk, signals a possible expansion of its Boardman cheese factory along the Columbia River.

It also comes as the Oregon Legislature considers whether to ban new and expanded megadairies, following an environmental and regulatory disaster at the now-closed Lost Valley Farm, another Boardman-area Tillamook supplier.

The Legislature also is considering a carbon cap-and-trade program that could make the manure-generated biogas even more valuable.

The public can weigh in on the new manure digester’s proposed air pollution permit until April 25.

Oregon’s largest dairy

Threemile started its farm and dairy in 2001, to supply milk to the Tillamook County Creamery Association’s new Boardman cheese factory.

Since then it’s drawn praise for its closed-loop system, which uses manure from the cows to fertilize crops and its state-of-the-art irrigation system that helps conserve water.

At the same time the dairy, one of the largest in the country, has drawn criticism for the sheer amount of wastewater and air contaminants its thousands of cows produce.

Tillamook, meanwhile, has been on an expansion tear: In 2004, it doubled the size of its Boardman creamery; in 2013 it partnered with Threemile to add a whey processing plant to the Boardman factory; in 2017 it opened a new Portland office; and last year it rebuilt and expanded its iconic tourist center in Tillamook.   

The company grew its revenues from $477 million in 2012 to $800 million in 2017, according to the trade magazine Food Navigator. It’s expanding its distribution east of the Rocky Mountains, adding 6,000 outlets in recent years. Now, three-quarters of Tillamook Cheese is made in Boardman.

A year ago, Tillamook purchased 18 acres bordering its current Boardman site, effectively doubling its footprint there. Tillamook officials did not respond to questions about its plans for the property.

Pilot digester project

Threemile Canyon Farms already is home to the largest cow manure digester in the western United States, producing electricity, not natural gas.

It started in 2009 with a small digester demonstration project. In 2012, Threemile added a larger digester, which feeds a 4.8-megawatt electric generation facility.

The digester captures methane that otherwise would rise off the dairy’s manure lagoons and escape into the atmosphere, and uses it to produce biogas that creates renewable energy.

Myers told the treasury panel the dairy’s digester so far has broken even financially.

The digester cost $31 million to build. Threemile received about $7 million in federal grants for construction under the 2009 American Recovery Act, and an additional $2 million from Oregon’s controversial Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) program.

NW Natural gas customers who chose the Smart Energy option, a voluntary carbon offset program, also helped pay for the digester’s construction and operation. Pacific Power electricity customers who choose the Blue Sky Renewable Energy option also support the digester.

Threemile also has received two kinds of renewable energy credits for the digester:

In 2007, the Oregon Legislature established the Biomass Tax Credit program. Among other things, it provided a tax credit, of about $70 per cow per year, for dairy manure digesters.

Between 2014 and 2018, while the program was administered by the Oregon Department of Energy, Threemile received $10.9 million in biomass tax credits. That’s about half the total amount awarded during that period.  

Public outcry: Salem street may not qualify for speed bumps following deadly crash

The controversial biomass tax credit was set to sunset on Jan. 1, 2018, along with the energy department’s other tax credit programs. But the 2016 Legislature partially extended the credit, just for animal manure and rendering, until Jan. 1, 2022. It will be capped at a total expenditure of $5 million per year.

In 2017, the Legislature moved the tax credit program under the authority of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Threemile also has sold more than 200,000 metric tons of carbon offset credits to The Climate Trust, a nonprofit that administers the Oregon Carbon Dioxide Standard, created by the Legislature and aimed at curbing emissions of carbon dioxide.

The process of creating energy from methane creates and emits carbon dioxide, said Sheldon Zakreski, The Climate Trust’s chief operating officer.

But methane has a much higher global warming impact than carbon dioxide, so Threemile is paid for the difference between the two, Zakreski said.

The price paid for the credits is confidential, Zakreski said. But at the current credit price of $13.25 to $13.50 per metric ton, they would be worth at least $2.7 million.

“It’s been a successful project,” Myers told the treasury panel. “Now we’re looking at what the marketplace really desires today out of renewable energy.”

Support local journalism: Stay on top of environmental trends and news in our area. Become a Statesman Journal subscriber today and get unlimited digital access to stories that matter.

Natural gas conversion

Now, Threemile has partnered with Equilibrium Capitol Group to convert the digester to produce natural gas, and to extend a natural gas pipeline to the facility.

Equilibrium is an Oregon benefit company, which means that it considers its impact on society and the environment in addition to earning a profit. Its investors include retirement funds held for teachers, public servants, clergy and religious orders.

The company’s Wastewater Opportunity Fund, founded in 2015, specializes in food, agricultural and municipal wastewater infrastructure. It’s completing a similar dairy waste to natural gas project in central Arizona.

“Threemile Canyon’s project is world class,” said Bill Campbell, a company principal. “It is great to be able to do things like this in our home state.”

Music therapy: Former Korn guitarist’s Rock to Recovery program now in Oregon

Threemile’s anaerobic digester works by providing an oxygen-free environment for microorganisms to break down the organics in the manure, as well as in vegetable waste trucked in from area food processing companies. That produces a biogas that’s about 60 percent methane and 40 percent carbon dioxide.

Currently, the biogas is combusted to produce electricity. When the conversion is complete, the biogas instead will be routed to a gas treatment system that removes hydrogen sulfide, then separates the biogas into pipeline grade natural gas and tail gas.

The digester will employ 13 workers, with an average annual compensation of $70,000, including benefits, Struthers said.

CLOSE

California’s dairy cows are the biggest source of methane in the country, according to experts. Buzz60

Threemile has asked the state Department of Environmental Quality for a new, five-year air pollution permit for the modified digester’s emissions.

Its emission limits will stay about the same, even falling slightly for two pollutants. However, the digester so far has not come close to meeting those limits, so there is room for emissions to increase.

For example, the permit allows the digester to emit 74,000 tons of greenhouse gases, the equivalent of about 57,608 passenger vehicles driving for one year. Last year, it emitted 32,529 tons.

Other pollutants covered by the permit are particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds.

More: Protect Oregonians and their health; end field burning now

Like the pilot project, the new digester will get some public help.

Last summer, the Oregon Treasurer’s office approved issuing $40 million in state tax-exempt bonds to help finance the project.

Private Activity Bonds help construct critical facilities that benefit the public throughout the state.

There’s no cost to taxpayers, but there is a limited amount of money available. That means Threemile competed with affordable housing and other projects for the money. It also gives Threemile an advantage over competitors who finance projects with taxable instruments.

More: Calls for megadairy moratorium increase as new owner takes over troubled Lost Valley Farm

In January, Threemile asked that the bond be reduced to $15 million, for tax reasons.

The project also has been approved for an Enterprise Zone tax abatement. That means it won’t pay any property taxes for five years.

And it will continue to receive Oregon’s Biomass Tax Credit until that program expires, Myers told the state panel.

But the biggest revenue stream will come from taking advantage of incentive structures like Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard, Mary Macpherson, then an Equilibrium vice president, told the panel.

The technology will provide a huge environmental benefit to the entire state, Myers told the panel. It also will be profitable business, he said.

“We think we’ve got a good runway for 5 to 10 years, Myers said. “It’s going to stabilize our dairy business.”

Contact the reporter at tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew

Air pollution permit

The public can weigh in on a proposed five-year air pollution permit for Threemile Canyon Farms’ manure-to-natural-gas project.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality will hold a public hearing on the proposed permit at the request of at least 10 people or a group representing 10 people.

Comments must be received by 5 p.m. April 25. Mail to Nancy Swoffard, air permit coordinator, DEQ Eastern Region – Bend Office, 475 Bellevue Drive, Suite 110, Bend, OR 97701; fax to 541-388-8283; or email swofford.nancy@deq.state.or.us.

Source: statesmanjournal.com

Categories : News

Canadian Olympian coming to Canadian Dairy XPO

Monday, April 1st, 2019

What does dairy cows and daring shooters to beat you five-hole have in common?

More than you’d think. Sami Jo Small, a goaltender with a storied career, including multiple stints with the Canadian Olympic team, will be bringing her puck-stopping prowess to Stratford next week in an attempt to motivate Canadian dairy producers to work more efficiently. She will be the keynote speaker at this year’s edition of the Canadian Dairy XPO, and Jordon Underhill, the two-day event’s general manager, explained how Small’s knowledge of kick saves will translate to better milk output.

“We wanted to have a strong female that has experience in assembling teams and motivating teams because, as these dairy operations grow, producers need to fine-tune their teams and grow their teams and motivate them and get them communicating,” he said Thursday over the phone from his farm north of Guelph. “That was the thinking behind having her.”

While not speaking specifically about the dairy industry, the 42-year-old Winnipeg native will be conveying a message of teamwork, motivation and communication while behind the mic inside the Stratford Rotary Complex Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

“In general, in the ag industry, we’re trying to bring outside people to bring fresh ideas and fresh thinking,” Underhill said.

Automation and robotics continues to be a fresh aspect of both the industry and the show, he noted. About 33 countries were represented on that front last year and more than 40 will be on hand next week, many focusing on how technology relates to milking, nutrient management and feeding.

“That’s definitely what keeps the show fresh, that automation that advances on an annual basis,” he said.

A total of 16,400 people showed up over 48 hours in 2018, with a third from outside the province. Organizers anticipate between 16,000 and 18,000 this spring. It’s a unique scene having that many farmers, salespeople and experts under one roof.

“There’s just something magical about bringing like-minded people that are passionate about the same thing together,” Underhill said. “It definitely comes down to the people.”

Cheesefest, a free community event featuring local processors and live bands, runs Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information on activities, tickets and a full schedule, visit dairyxpo.ca.

tbridge@postmedia.com

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Canadian Dairy Xpo

WHEN: April 3-4

WHERE: Stratford Rotary Complex

TICKETS: dairyxpo.ca

 

Categories : News

Inside The Life Of A Millennial Dairy Farmer

Friday, March 29th, 2019

Cornell graduate Emilie Mulligan oversees the herd management team on her family’s dairy farm

25-year-old Emilie Mulligan is a Cornell graduate and a 4th-generation dairy farmer. “My great grandfather bought the farm in 1920 and since then my grandpa, my dad and now myself and my cousin have farmed here,” Mulligan told me. She oversees the herd management team, which means a lot of quality time with cows.

As you’d probably expect, no two days are the same on a dairy farm, a large percentage of which are family-owned. “Although we strive to keep each day the same for our cows, because they prefer routine, my days are far from the same,” said Mulligan.

She starts each day by walking through the pens, checking on the health of the cows and seeing if there’s anything that needs immediate attention or repair around the farm. Next, she focuses on the cows that need extra attention, taking their temperatures and observing behavior. The rest of the day is spent managing her team of 16 employees that work with the cows, which can include holding a training, administering vaccines or assisting a cow that’s giving birth.

“Although the days can be long and things don’t always go as planned, my focus is consistently on the cows and my goal is always to keep them as happy, healthy and comfortable as possible,” said Mulligan. “It is this attention to detail and care for our farm and cows that allow us to provide such quality milk to produce Craigs Creamery products.”

uncaptioned image

Craigs Creamery cheese

Credit: Craigs Creamery

Mulligan’s family farm is one of eight dairy farms behind Craigs Creamery, a milk facility that processes fresh milk from cows just hours after they’re milked to produce all-natural cheeses made using sustainable farming practices. Craigs Creamery is a joint venture between the farmer families and the Dairy Farmers of America.

“Consumers today want to know where their food is from, how it was made and all the unique stories along the way,” said Mulligan. “These stories connect our farms and animals in a new way with consumers. With Craigs Creamery, we have a brand that is built on family heritage as well as modern technology to ensure ultimate sustainability.”

The sustainability piece is one of the key ways dairy farming has evolved over the last 75 years. “Today, one gallon of milk is produced with approximately 90% less land, 65% less water and a lower carbon footprint than it was in 1944,” said Mulligan. “These improvements are a result of huge steps in how we care for and manage our cows from what and how we feed them to breeding practices and how we keep them comfortable.”

Today, instead of hauling manure with trucks, a hose is used to pump the manure through to the fields. “This reduces the amount of fuel we use, lowers the amount of compaction from tractors in the field and is also better for the ground as the manure is injected and therefore more readily absorbed into the soil,” Mulligan explained.

uncaptioned image

The milk facility at Craigs Creamery

Credit: Craigs Creamery

In terms of managing the cows and keeping them healthy, their beds are now made with deep-bedded, recycled sand. “This allows our cows to feel as comfortable as possible during the 14 hours a day they spend resting,” said Mulligan, who added that they also have equipment to clean and reuse the sand so as to not waste bedding. “The more comfortable and happier a cow, the more milk she will produce.”

For Mulligan, working in the family business was always the plan. “There are not many industries where you can work with both your favorite people and favorite animals, and I honestly can’t imagine doing anything besides working with my family and cows every single day,” she said.

As for her takeaways from Cornell, Mulligan listed the importance of critical thinking and continual growth and development both in her personal life and within her family’s business. “We learned how crucial it is to never settle for being good but that we must always work to continue to improve our business whether through new technology or updated management practices,” said Mulligan. To this end, she meets with a peer group of other young farmers twice annually to discuss management practices and tour operations.

Source: forbes.com

Categories : News

Bill aims to make dairy workers eligible for temporary US visas

Friday, March 29th, 2019

Many American dairy farmers are struggling because they can’t find workers to fill their jobs, so a pair of lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle are working together to try to solve the problem.

Congressmen Anthony Brindisi, D-New York, and John Joyce, R-Pensylvania, have introduced the Dairy and Sheep H-2A Visa Enhancement Act, which would add foreign dairy workers to the list of those eligible for a temporary seasonal work permit.

As it stands, dairy workers cannot obtain these permits because the industry is not considered seasonal. Brindisi wants to change that to provide relief to dairy farmers.

“You’re milking cows all year long so a seasonal program is not going to work for dairy,” he said.

“Our dairy farmers will tell you that they rely on a lot of workers that come from Central and South America,” Brindisi added.

Joyce says the proposal would allow workers to come to the U.S. for a three-year period with an additional three-year extension.

“Traditionally, they come in very short periods of time,” Joyce said. “But allowing the dairy farmers to have access to these workers through H-2A visas, to work for up to three years, and if that’s successful, to stay and work for an additional three years.”

“This allows them to create a stronger workforce,” he continued.

Both lawmakers say Congress must act to create a reliable worker visa program or America’s dairy farmers will be out of luck and the country’s dairy supply could run dry.

“If they can’t find workers, these farms will go out of business,” Brindisi said.

Source: wpri.com

Categories : News

China dairy giants look to south-east Asia as domestic growth slows

Friday, March 29th, 2019

China’s two largest dairy companies have reported record profits this year but are seeking to increase sales in south-east Asia through investment in production facilities, as growth slows in their domestic market.

China Mengniu Dairy, which said on Thursday that its 2018 net profit jumped 49 per cent to Rmb3.04bn ($452m) on revenues of Rmb69bn, opened a $50m factory in Indonesia in November to produce yoghurt. 

“Internationalisation is one of our core strategies,” Shi Yudong, a manager at Mengniu’s research and development department, said in an interview. “South-east Asia has a large population and a huge consumption potential.” 

Yili, Asia’s largest dairy company, in November announced the acquisition of Chomthana, Thailand’s biggest ice cream manufacturer, for $81m. 

Mengniu and Yili together control almost half of China’s dairy market, according to Euromonitor, a data company. Both companies are based in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.

Yili, which saw a 7 per cent rise in net profit in 2018 to Rmb6.4bn, last month agreed to purchase New Zealand’s second-largest dairy co-operative, Westland, for $404m including debt. That deal is awaiting regulatory approval. 

The companies’ domestic market faces headwinds, according to Goldman Sachs. 

Consolidation of the market in recent years has driven their profits, according to independent industry analyst Song Liang, but domestic growth is now slowing. “Now the fastest growing dairy market globally is south-east Asia,” he added. 

Both companies have compensated for weaker formula demand by increasing sales of yoghurt. Chinese yoghurt sales reached Rmb122bn in 2017, overtaking those of fresh milk, according to Euromonitor.

Mengniu, which is backed by France’s Danone, aims to be the number one Indonesian yoghurt brand within five years. The company says its yoghurts, which are designed to be kept at room temperature, will suit south-east Asia where cold chains are less developed.

“We hope to lay a solid foundation for the internationalisation of our industrial chain, and at the same time to attract global talent,” said Mengniu’s Mr Shi.

Source:ft.com

Categories : News

Rory Meyer Assumes Role of NAAB Technical Director and Service Director for Certified Semen Services (CSS)

Friday, March 29th, 2019

The National Association of Animal Breeders is pleased to announce that Dr. Rory Meyer has assumed the role as the NAAB Technical Director and Service Director for CSS, a subsidiary of NAAB as of January this year. Rory previously served as the Assistant NAAB Technical Director and Assistant Service Director for CSS the previous two years.

Rory works very closely with the NAAB President as well as the NAAB and CSS Boards of Directors with a primary focus on auditing programs and services as well as technical aspects of the association. In this role, he will also be responsible for developing and implementing new opportunities to expand the CSS services to A.I. companies both domestically and internationally. Rory continues to work closely with USDA-APHIS to further develop import and export requirements for bovine semen.

“We are excited that Rory has accepted this new leadership role at NAAB/CSS,” states Jay Weiker, President and CEO of NAAB. “Rory brings a wealth of experience to this position having worked for Alta Genetics for 8 years as staff veterinarian prior to joining NAAB/CSS, overseeing the health and biosecurity of their production bulls in facilities located in the USA, Canada and the Netherlands. Additionally, Rory worked with the USDA-APHIS in several capacities in Fort Collins, Colorado and in Olympia, Washington. His industry experience both domestically and internationally make him a valuable asset for the Association and its members.”

Rory is a native of Nebraska. After completing his pre-veterinary requirements from the University of Nebraska, Rory earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Kansas State University and later received his Master of Veterinary Science in Theriogenology in 1998 from the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Meyer is based in Wisconsin and can be reached through the NAAB office in Madison, Wisconsin.

NAAB is the national trade association for artificial insemination businesses. NAAB members provide artificial insemination services in the USA and more than 100 countries around the world.

Categories : News

Online fundraiser aims to save Wisconsin dairy farm

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

As Action 2 News has been reporting, the dairy industry in Wisconsin and across the country is struggling. Last year alone, more than 300 Wisconsin farms stopped milking cows.

In order to stop yet another small dairy farm from going under, the community is coming together to help a Waupaca County couple.

Just off Highway 45 in Fremont is the Rieckmann family farm. It’s a small dairy farm with 52 cows that’s facing a lot of uncertainty.

“With the milk prices being so low, and everything, the feed prices don’t go down, the milk prices hit rock bottom,” said Mary Rieckmann who lives on the farm with her husband John.

She and John raised seven children on their farm.

“We need help to save these small farms like this, because there aren’t hardly any of them left anymore,” said Russell, son of Mary and John Rieckmann.

The land was bought by John’s family in the 1800’s.

“My dad, bought it from my grandpa, I bought it from my dad, so I’m the 4th generation down here,” said Rieckmann.

The farm is hanging on by a thread and the bill collectors keep calling which is a constant reminder that times are tough. But the community is trying to help with a Go Fund Me page online, hoping it will keep the Rieckmann’s above water. So far it’s raised more than $5,000.

CLICK HEREto donate to the Rieckmann Family Go Fund Me.

The support means a lot to Mary, John, and their children who want to take it over because it’s not just a farm, it’s the memories, it’s home.

“It’s a hard job, it’s a hard life, but it’s a good life,” said Mary.

Source: wbay.com

Categories : News

Sexing Technologies® opens second sorting lab in India

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

Global livestock semen sorting leader and innovator Sexing Technologies® (ST) has successfully launched a second semen sorting lab in India.

The laboratory, which began sorting semen on Feb. 27, was officially inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Mr. Trivendra Singh Rawat during a ceremony on March 7.

Representatives of Uttarakhand Livestock Development Board (ULDB) and ST signed a memorandum of understanding in August 2018 outlining creation of semen sorting labs in India. ST’s first semen sorting lab in India, opened in association with BAIF at Pune, began semen sorting operations in September 2018.

The ULDB – ST semen sorting project is the first semen sorting laboratory under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission (RGM) of the Govt of India (GOI). Production of sex sorted semen is a major step toward increasing the number of heifer calves born through artificial insemination (A.I.) with the goal of significantly enhancing milk production, boosting rural economies and increasing the income of dairy- producing farmers. Using sex sorted semen further benefits farmers and the local economy by greatly reducing the number of unwanted male calves being born.

The newest laboratory has already started sorting semen from various breeds of cattle and buffaloes and has achieved more than 92 percent female purity. ST’s sex sorting method separates X chromosome (female) sperm from Y chromosome (male) sperm through a process called flowcytometry. The process also removes dead and dying sperm, making the remaining sex sorted semen highly viable and fertile.

The ceremony was organized at Shyampur, Rishikesh by ULDB and featured a number of governmental leaders in addition to Mr. Rawat, including Minister of Animal Husbandry. Mrs Rekha Arya, Member of Parliament Mr. Ramesh Pokhriyal, Deputy Chairman ULDB Dr. Vinod Arya, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Mr.

Premchand Agarwal, Secretary of Animal Husbandry Dr. R Meenakshi Sundaram,

ULDB CEO Dr. M. S. Nayal, Director of Animal Husbandry Dr. K. K. Joshi and several other dignitaries, leaders of local bodies and more than 400 delegates. The Chief Minister emphasized that sex sorted semen will increase the number of cows and milk production significantly, boost the rural economy and double the income of the farmers, which will help realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for increased rural prosperity. Use of female sex sorted semen will also reduce the number of unwanted male calves that consume valuable local resources because cow slaughter is banned in the state, as in many other states in India.

Mrs. Rekha Arya, the Minister for Animal Husbandry, said the ULDB deep frozen semen production center at Shyampur, Rishikesh, is currently supplying frozen semen to 15 states in India and the new sorting laboratory will be able to supply sexed semen to other states as well. She also emphasized the need to provide more information to educate farmers about sex sorted semen technology and its benefits.

Secretary of Animal Husbandry Dr. R. Meenakshi Sundaram said he was proud Uttarakhand was selected as the first state for the sex sorted semen project under the National Mission for Bovine Productivity of the Govt of India.

“This is a historic moment and great achievement for ULDB by completing the project one day ahead of the deadline of 28 February 2019,” Dr. Sundaram said. “We have selected Sexing Technologies because ST is the only company that has been in the business for long time with proven results in conception rate and sex-ratio of 90 percent female calves born. We have also used ST’s sexed semen imported from the USA and had excellent results,” said Dr. Puneet Kumar Bhatt, project coordinator for the sex sorting project at ULDB.

Juan Moreno, CEO of Sexing Technologies, said the new sorting laboratory is “an important milestone and expansion of ST’s operation in India. India is the world’s largest milk producing country, with a fast-growing demand for milk and milk products, and where ST’s technology can have significant impact on improving genetics and enhancing milk production. We believe the new laboratory at Rishikesh will be a source for sex sorted semen from genetically superior bulls of indigenous breeds of cattle, Holstein, Jersey, crossbreds and buffaloes to Uttarakhand and other states in India. Our partnership with ULDB will help to transform the livelihood of many dairy farmers in India and make this a very gratifying venture for us.”

“The latest SexedULTRA®’ technology invented and improved by ST, is already proven all over the world with consistent results in providing greater than 90 percent female calves with conception rates similar to that of conventional semen under similar conditions,” said Dr. Prakash Kalarickal, ST’s VP Business Development for Asia. “The technology is also proven for sex sorting semen from indigenous breeds of cattle and buffaloes, which has immense value in India.

Use of sexed semen will also help to accelerate genetic progress and reduce wastage of animals and genetics through male calves. Sorted semen has other added benefits of improving cow comfort and animal welfare. Cows suffer fewer calving and post calving complications when delivering heifer calves, which reduces potential economic losses to farmers”.

ST began sorting semen commercially in 2004 at its headquarters facility in Navasota, Texas. The company now has 9 sorting labs across the U.S.A and 15 sorting facilities in 13 different countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, France (2 labs), Germany, Italy, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and India (2 labs).

During the past 14 years, ST has produced more than 70 million straws of sexed semen from exotic breeds including Holstein, Jersey and Brown Swiss. The company has also produced more than one million straws of sexed semen from indigenous breeds like Gir, Sahiwal, Guzera (Kankrej), Red Sindhi, Nelore, Tharparkar, Rathi and Brahman, and from different breeds of buffaloes such as Murrah and Jaffrabadi.

Categories : News

2019 Ontario Holstein Branch Board of Directors

Thursday, March 28th, 2019

Front row (l to r): Wilfred Strenzke, Brad Lowry (President), Merina Johnston (GM ), Tara Bullock (Vice-President), David Johnston (Past President). Back row (l to r): Hans Pfister, Cole Verburg, James Cranston, Tom Hawman, Dennis Werry (National Director to the Board).

Ontario Holstein Branch held their Directors Meeting on February 27, 2019, Brad Lowry of Almonte was elected as the new Ontario Holstein Branch President for the upcoming year with Tara Bullock of Lakefield as the new Vice-President.    Brad, Tara, Past President David Johnston and Wilfred Strenzke of Breslau make up the Executive Committee.

The 2019 Board of Directors include the following members:

  • Eastern Ontario Brad Lowry, Almonte, ON; Cole Verburg, Athens, ON
  • East-Central Ontario Tara Bullock, Lakefield, ON; Tom Hawman, Omemee, ON
  • West-Central Ontario James Cranston, Ancaster, ON; Wilfred Strenzke, Breslau, ON
  • Western Ontario David Johnston, Listowel, ON; Hans Pfister, Mitchell, ON
  • National Holstein Canada Director appointed to Board – Dennis Werry, Oshawa, ON
Categories : News

The sad demise of Westland Milk

Wednesday, March 27th, 2019

Selling Westland Milk Products to the Chinese dairy giant Yili may be the right thing but will be the sad end of the cooperative, says Barrytown farmer Richard Reynolds.

“It may be the right decision but it’s a bit of a sad moment, isn’t it? It’s like shooting your old dog that you know needs shooting. It doesn’t mean you enjoy it.”

Along with Waikato’s Tatua, Westland was one of only two co-ops which opted to stay independent in the industry restructuring that created Fonterra.

Now, members are being asked to approve a deal that would see Westland sold to Yili for $588 million, or $3.41 a share versus their current value of about $1.50.

The average Westland farmer would get about $480,000 from the deal.

“Compared to the historic performances of Westland Milk Products over the last five years, this is a good offer,” said Reynolds. “That does not mean this is an enjoyable position to be in.”

He said the figure also must be put into perspective against farmers’ annual milk cheques.

“It is less than a bad annual cheque,” he said. “Is that attractive? Let’s not say this is amazing.”

Like many Westland farmers, Reynolds planned to attend one of a series of meetings with company officials to discuss the offer, which were continuing as Dairy News went to print.

But he wanted to hear alternatives to selling. “What is plan B? Let’s have a discussion about plan B as well as Plan A.”

Reynolds, who has stood unsuccessfully for places on the co-op’s board, also called for discussion of the reasons Westland got into this sad position. 

He said that although Westland was run by well-meaning people, a problem common to all co-ops was underinvestment in the company due to overpaying the shareholders. He believed there had been a failure to hold poor performance to account and the “acceptance of average” by management and governance.

Other shareholders did not want to comment before attending a meeting to hear the board’s reasoning, but spoke of the proposed price being disappointing compared with some of the numbers circulating.

One of Westland’s larger and more recent shareholders, Southern Pastures, had no immediate comment. 

“We haven’t had time to analyse the offer and as such have no position on the announcement,” said Southern Pastures executive chairman Prem Maan.

Described as the largest institutional dairy fund in New Zealand, Southern Pastures had announced a big investment in Westland little more than a year ago. 

The two also formed a 50:50 joint venture, New Zealand Grass Fed Milk Products, to produce a range of premium niche products.

Southern Pastures’ nine Canterbury farms produce 4 million kgMS/year and have supplied Westland since the start of this season. 

Source: ruralnewsgroup.co.nz

Categories : News

Calls for ‘Megadairy’ Moratorium In Oregon Increase

Tuesday, March 26th, 2019

Environmental groups are doubling down on demands for a ‘megadairy’ moratorium in Oregon as a new owner takes over a troubled operation in northeastern Oregon.

The Statesman Journal reports that Easterday Farms, based in Pasco, Wash., just bought the shuttered Lost Valley Farm in Boardman, Oregon, which was permitted to have 30,000 cows. In less than two years in operation, Lost Valley racked up nearly $200,000 in fines for more than 200 environmental violations.

Easterday has hired an Oregon lobbyist, and registered an Oregon corporation called Easterday Farms Dairy, LLC.

Advocacy groups want to make sure Easterday doesn’t reopen Lost Valley, and other operators don’t move into the state, until stricter rules for megadairies are in place.

“Weak rules have allowed industrial megadairies to push family farmers off the land, pollute Oregon’s air and water, and threaten animal welfare,” Amy van Saun, of the Center for Food Safety, said before a legislative committee Thursday.

A coalition of advocacy groups is lining up behind Senate Bill 103, which would apply to large dairies, defined as those with at least 2,500 cows, or those with at least 700 mature cows that do not get seasonal access to pasture.

The bill would place a moratorium on permits for new or expanded large dairies.

It also would define large dairies as industrial, rather than agricultural or farming operations, meaning they wouldn’t qualify for regulatory exemptions available to farmers.

The bills’ opponents say the state’s dairy farmers should not be punished for bad management at one dairy.

“Any bill that threatens right to farm is a threat to the heritage of our state,” said Shannon Lourenzo, who is on the board of the Tillamook County Creamery Association, which bought milk from Lost Valley Farm.

Opponents include all three commissioners in Marion County, which has the state’s second-highest number of dairy farms.

Source: Associated Press

Categories : News

U.S. Farmers’ Field of Dreams Is Soaked

Tuesday, March 26th, 2019

Just when it looked like the trade-war pain would ease, flooding across the Midwest has done billions of dollars in damage.

American farmers just can’t catch a break.

With the U.S. agricultural sector facing its worst downturn since the 1980s and record debt levels, there’s been one glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel: that an imminent end to the U.S.-China trade war would see Beijing gorge on farm products, providing the revenue to help repay all those borrowings.

Floodwaters are washing away that dream.

Spring floods this month have inundated a swath of the U.S. grain belt from Nebraska to Iowa, causing an estimated $3 billion of damage. The rising waters have wrecked grain elevators and the makeshift storage bins farmers have been using to accommodate 2018’s record crop.

There could be worse to come. About three-quarters of U.S. corn and soybeans in storage are in states around the upper Mississippi-Missouri basins, where the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects to see major flooding through May as spring rain and melting snow exceed rivers’ capacities. Overall, about $76 billion of corn and soybeans alone have been set aside, according to the Farm Bureau, a lobby group.

As of Dec. 1, about 60 percent of stored corn could be found in the states of Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois and Minnesota alone, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The first two have been worst-hit by the recent weather, and just under half of the country’s soybeans in storage are in the same four states.

Futures markets have also been encouraging farmers to wait for better times. The spread between March and May contracts for soybeans and corn is at its widest in more than two years, a trend that started when the last planting season ended in June. That steepening futures curve, just as China eases an unofficial trade-war boycott, has been a strong incentive to hold onto crops for a few more months and sell at a better price.

Grain that’s been touched by floodwaters is considered contaminated and has to be destroyed, but even crops stored on higher ground could face problems.

Most U.S. Midwestern crops leave the country via barges on the Mississippi. Rising floodwaters can make the river hard to navigate, or even stop movements altogether when the water is high enough to block passage under bridges. Unloadings of grain barges at New Orleans hit their lowest level in three years this month. Anyone looking to sell their crops under a futures contract better be sure they’re in a position to deliver. Farmers’ season from hell isn’t over yet.

 

Source: Bloomberg

Categories : News

A2 Milk appoints China exec to boost market share

Tuesday, March 26th, 2019

Dual-listed dairy producer a2 Milk has appointed a new Shanghai-based executive to help boost its Chinese market share.

Li Xiao will begin his role as a2’s chief executive of Greater China next month, reporting directly to Asia Pacific chief executive, Peter Nathan.

In February, the company – listed in both Australia and New Zealand – reported a more than 50 per cent jump in half-year net profit in February, despite slowing demand in China.

A burgeoning US and China market, coupled with fresh milk sales growth in Australia helped propel the company to a record net profit in the six months to December 31 to $NZ153 million ($147 million).

In a release to the ASX on Monday, a2 said Mr Xiao had helped grow a number of multinational consumer-driven companies in China including Mars, Nike, Burger King, and more recently the high-growth Kids Entertainment Division at Wanda Group.

“[He] will be responsible for maximising the significant opportunities that the China market presents for the company, with an initial focus on delivering against the company’s existing well-developed strategy and preparing for future growth opportunities across Greater China,” the company said.

At the time of the February half-year results, chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said :“In the last six months we’ve spent considerable time deepening our understanding of consumers in China.

“We know brand awareness in China still has scope for growth and that our consumers – once they’ve tried our products – are typically some of the most loyal and committed in the category.

“As a consequence, marketing investment in second half of FY19 will be approximately double the first half, with the majority of that going to brand building activities in China.”

Shares in a2 Milk slipped by 0.52 per cent to $13.34 on Monday, down from an all-time high of $14.27 earlier in March.

 

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Categories : News

All-National Showcase Program Launched by Holstein USA

Monday, March 25th, 2019

Holstein Association USA announces an exciting new award recognizing U.S. Registered Holstein® cows and their owners for exceptional performance at National Holstein Shows. The All-National Showcase Program is designed to add value to Registered Holstein cattle and reward their participation in National Shows.

“Having another recognition program for Registered Holsteins is very exciting for us. A lot of sports have points-driven contests throughout the season to determine the overall best of the best, and this program will mirror that,” says Jodi Hoynoski, executive director, Holstein Identification & Member Services.

To be eligible, animals must be registered in the Holstein Association USA herdbook on or before November 15 in the award year. Animals will be eligible to earn points at each National Holstein Show exhibited at throughout the year. Points are allocated for a top 10 placing in their respective uniform age class, based on the size of the show. Bonus points will be awarded to champions.

In each of the uniform show classes, the top 10 animals earning the most points will be recognized on the Holstein Association USA website and will receive a certificate. For the top two animals, the website will feature a picture and pedigree link, and the recognition will be added to the animal’s Official Holstein PedigreeTM.

All-National results will be posted on the website in December. Full details on the All-National Showcase Program rules and point system can be found at www.holsteinusa.com/showcase. For questions please contact Jodi Hoynoski at 800.952.5200, ext. 4261 or jhoynoski@holstein.com.

 

Categories : News

A More Humane Livestock Industry, Brought to You by Crispr

Thursday, March 21st, 2019

Alison Van Eenennaam at the UC Davis Beef Barn. Christie Hemm Klok

Hopes were running high for cow 401, and cow 401 serenely bore the weight of expectations. She entered the cattle chute obligingly, and as the vet searched her uterus, making full use of the plastic glove that covered his arm up to his shoulder, she uttered nary a moo. A week ago, Cow 401 and four other members of her experimental herd at UC Davis were in the early stages of pregnancy. But now, following a string of disappointing checkups, it was all down to her. Alison Van Eenennaam, the animal geneticist in charge of the proceedings, kept watch from off to one side, galoshes firmly planted in the damp manure, eyes fixed on a portable ultrasound monitor. After a few moments, the vet delivered his fifth and final diagnosis. “She’s not pregnant,” he said. Van Eenennaam looked up. “Ah, shit,” she muttered.

Cow 401 and her herdmates were the product of two and a half years of research, Van Eenennaam’s attempt to create a strain of gene-edited cattle specially suited to the needs of the beef industry. Had everything gone as planned, all the calves in this experiment would have been born male—physiologically, at least. Like humans, cattle carry two sex chromosomes; those born XX are female, and those born XY are male. But it isn’t the Y that makes the man. It’s a single gene, called SRY, that briefly flickers to life as an embryo grows and instructs it to develop male traits. Using Crispr, Van Eenennaam’s team added a copy of SRY to the X chromosome too. That way, even if a cow was born genetically female, she’d be expected to appear male all the same. Since beef ranchers generally prefer males to females (more meat for the money), Van Eenennaam believed there could someday be a market for these Crispr’d animals.

More than that, though, the project was a proof of concept. One of Van Eenennaam’s goals is to make the raising of livestock not only more efficient but also more humane. If a calf’s sex could be altered with a copy-paste of a single gene, that might pave the way for all kinds of experimentation—and not only in the beef business. Although ranchers may prefer male animals, their colleagues in the egg and dairy industries favor females. Since bulls can’t make milk and roosters can’t lay eggs, it’s cheaper to destroy them than raise them to adulthood. But if you could ensure that only heifers and hens are born, the carnage wouldn’t be necessary.

The Davis team wasn’t yet sure what had gone wrong with the pregnancies. They’d done their work with such care. First they located a target area on the bovine genome and created a custom set of Crispr scissors to cut the DNA and insert the new gene. Then they took a trip down the interstate to a slaughterhouse in Fresno, where they purchased a fresh batch of ovaries. Back in the lab, they aspirated the eggs, fertilized them, and set their Crispr scissors loose. They let the resulting embryos grow for a week, biopsied them to make sure the edits had gone as planned, then froze them until the cows were ready for implanting.

Perhaps, Van Eenennaam thought, the arduous process had simply knocked the life out of the embryos. “Science is a bitch,” she said with a shrug. But there was a more troubling possibility—an issue with the gene edit itself. On a map of the bovine X chromosome, the location where they’d inserted SRY seemed to be within a stretch of extraneous code, far from any life-critical genes. But then again, the map they currently had was about as accurate as a 16th-century atlas of the New World, full of unknown and mislabeled territories. Maybe, by tinkering in the wrong place, they had arrested development in the womb.

Twenty-five years ago, Van Eenennaam was a student at Davis in the early days of the GMO craze. Animal scientists, long limited by the pace of traditional trial and error breeding, could now mix and match genetic traits from different organisms, giving their livestock strange new powers. At Davis, for instance, they engineered a line of goats that carried a human protein called lysozyme in their milk. (Later on, researchers realized that, when fed to children in the developing world, that milk could prevent diarrhea.) As a young faculty member at Davis in the mid-2000s, Van Eenennaam explored a method for modifying cows to produce milk with extra omega­-3s. Then, just as she prepared to begin experiments in actual cattle, she says, the money dried up.

Around that time, the Food and Drug Administration had decided to classify genetic modifications to food animals as veterinary drugs. At specific issue were transgenes—DNA ported from one species into another—which, in the agency’s view, altered “the structure or function” of the animal. This meant that scientists would have to submit to an expensive approval process before anything reached the grocery store. There were calls for reform, but policymakers lacked the will to implement regulatory changes that would both promote research and assuage people’s growing fears about GMOs. With no path to commercialization in sight, and with the looming threat of a public backlash, the institutions that had funded the work ended their support. Only one animal from that period, the AquAdvantage­ Salmon, has since been approved for human consumption, though no one in the US is eating it yet, owing to regulatory hand-wringing over how it should be labeled. The lysozyme goats still amble, idly, around a pasture on the Davis campus.

Van Eenennaam argues that Crispr experiments like hers—those not involving transgenes—should be treated differently. As she sees it, the technology is just a faster, more precise version of what farmers have done for centuries, because it makes changes that could have occurred in the organism on their own. The US Department of Agriculture, which oversees gene editing in plants, appears to share this view; in March 2018, it decided, in most cases, to regulate this use of Crispr like it does traditional breeding methods. But the most recent guidance from the FDA, issued in January 2017, seems to lump gene editing in with the old GMO techniques. That’s because, as the agency sees it, both approaches present similar risks, not only to people but also to animal welfare—something the USDA doesn’t have to consider. Van Eenennaam worries that the same fears and heel-dragging as before could scuttle the field before it has a chance. “The engineering debate killed my career,” she says. “Now this editing debate has the potential to kill my students’ careers.”

 

For all the anxiety and ambiguity surrounding Crispr, there’s little doubt that it could revolutionize farming as Van Eenennaam hopes. In January, British researchers announced plans to raise chickens with an immunity to influenza. A small genomic incision, they hypothesized, could prevent the virus from infecting its hosts. That would not only save chickens from untimely demise but also cut out a likely conduit for a devastating human pandemic. You may not like the idea of Crispr meddling with grandma’s chicken pot pie recipe, but would you relent if it could stop the next Spanish flu?

“I’d hope so,” says Randall Prather, a geneticist at the University of Missouri. His lab has raised pigs that are resistant to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or PRRS, an untreatable disease that costs the US swine industry more than half a billion dollars each year. The solution, he says, comes down to modifying as few as two DNA base pairs out of 3 billion. Prather licensed the technology to a British company called Genus, which says it expects to spend tens of millions of dollars on the FDA approval process.

Yet not all Crispr experiments in livestock offer such unambiguous benefits. Many merely aim to improve efficiency, speeding up the process that gave us broiler chickens four times the size they were in Eisenhower’s day. That fuels perceptions that gene editing will only encourage the worst inclinations of factory farming. In Brazil, for example, scientists recently bred Angus cattle that carry a heat-tolerance gene called Slick. While this could eventually be a path to readying the global cattle industry for climate change, for now it likely means that the Brazilian Amazon will have to support even more cows than it already does.

Robbie Barbero, who led efforts to modernize biotech regulations in the Obama White House, says that it’s time for the FDA to offer some clarity. “In the absence of a regulatory path that’s rational and easy to understand, it will be almost impossible for any animals to make it to market,” he says. With transgenes, he argues, it was possible to wrap your head around the logic of regulating changes as drugs. “But when you’re talking about regulating changes to the genome that could’ve happened naturally, you’re asking to stretch the imagination,” he says. The draft guidance, Barbero notes, was intended as a starting point, not the final word.

If and when the FDA decides to weigh in, says Hank Greely, a bioethicist and professor of law at Stanford, it will have to reckon with the unique risks of gene editing—that an edit might produce new allergens, for example, or spread from livestock to their wild cousins. His underlying fear, however, is “the democratizing nature of Crispr.” An argument against GMOs was that the expense of creating them would consolidate power in the hands of wealthy multinationals; a company such as Monsanto would spend millions engineering a new transgenic crop, then sell it to struggling farmers at an exorbitant price. But the remarkable ease of gene editing, Greely says, could have the opposite effect. It could push certain rogue actors—say, “a guy with a dog kennel or a biologically sophisticated rancher”—toward cavalier, DIY experimentation. That’s why Greely thinks researchers should be required to register their edits.

For now, though, political momentum appears once again to have stalled. That’s left nascent projects, like Van Eenennaam’s, waiting for answers.

If there is a purgatory for gene-edited cattle, it can be found in the Davis Beef Barn, which is home to six young penitents. About five years ago, their father, a bull, was genetically dehorned by a Minnesota-based company called Recombinetics. Just as egg farmers prefer hens, dairy farmers prefer polled, or hornless, cows. Often they’ll prevent the horns from growing by burning them off with a hot iron or applying caustic chemicals. So, using a Crispr-like technology known as Talens, Recombinetics gave the bull two copies of the polled variation, in the hope that none of his descendants would have to undergo the procedure.

Five of those hornless descendants turned out to be male, which meant they wouldn’t be much use to the dairy industry anyway. Van Eenennaam has asked the FDA for permission to sell them as food. “They’re either all going to be incinerated or they’re all going to become steaks,” she explains. One of the bulls gently sniffs her fingers through the wooden slats of the pen. “Sorry to talk about this in front of you guys.”

Princess, the lone polled female, is hanging out a few pens away. Before she and her brothers can be introduced into the food supply, the FDA requires that they pass a range of tests, both genetic and physical. Their gene-edited uncle supplied the meat for quality testing; now Princess will be bred so that, when her milk comes in, it can be analyzed. But Van Eenennaam says the agency hasn’t told her clearly what results it is looking for, almost as though it’s searching for the risks it wants to regulate. For instance, the FDA asked her to confirm, via full genome sequencing, that there had been no unintended edits that jeopardized the animals’ safety. But sequencing the same genome 20 times over, as Van Eenennaam did, will turn up slightly different results with each pass. And besides, she says, even if you could pinpoint any errant edits, what would they tell you about the animal’s health? She advocates a wait-and-see approach: “There’s a natural evaluation process called ‘living’ that will weed out anything that’s weird.” (The FDA does not comment on pending applications.)

Even as Van Eenennaam and her calves are hung up in regulatory limbo, she is looking ahead to the next step in the process: scaling up genetic improvements on the ranch. Unlike pigs and chickens, whose reproduction is strictly controlled, beef cattle tend to procreate unsupervised, out on vast grazing ranges. This makes it hard to ensure that desirable traits, like swift growth or well-marbled meat, get passed down. Van Eenennaam thinks she’s found a solution. She plans to take a group of bulls, knock out the gene that allows them to create sperm, and swap in a replacement from a superior animal—perhaps even one that carries the edits for hornlessness or all-male offspring. The result would be ordinary bulls with, as Van Eenennaam puts it, “excellent balls.” Rather than spreading their own mediocre genes, they’d spread the elite genes of others—and they’d do it faster than ranchers could manage on their own.

Van Eenennaam and her colleagues are also focused on getting their earlier experiment working. After the disappointment of the pregnancy checks, they soon came up with two possible explanations for what went wrong: Either they inserted the SRY gene in the wrong place or they damaged the embryos in the lab—perhaps during the biopsy, when they were checking to see whether the edit took. In the next stage of the project, they’ll investigate both possibilities at once. First, they will insert SRY into a completely different chromosome, at a location where other researchers have successfully dabbled in mice. But this edit will be different from the last one: It will include a gene, borrowed from a jellyfish, for red fluorescence. If the insertion is successful, the cells will simply glow, no biopsy required.

It’s not an ideal solution. If all goes well, Van Eenennaam won’t have gene-edited cattle, as she originally intended; she’ll have a transgenic herd. So while she’d hoped to get the FDA’s blessing to sell the animals at the end of her research, she now plans to incinerate them instead. Even the mothers, which naturally share small amounts of genetic material with their offspring, could be considered tainted. “I’ve been resisting putting a transgene in,” she says. “But we’re just going to have to bite the bullet and kill them and their mothers and everything that touches them.”

Van Eenennaam does the math: $15,000 to buy 10 cows from a local rancher, plus $8 a day, each, to pasture them until a Christmas birth. Her grant will have ended by then, and she worries she won’t get another one.

Source: wired.com

Categories : News

Floodwaters threaten millions in crop and livestock losses

Thursday, March 21st, 2019

Farmer Jeff Jorgenson looks out over 750 acres of cropland submerged beneath the swollen Missouri River, and he knows he probably won’t plant this year.

But that’s not his biggest worry. He and other farmers have worked until midnight for days to move grain, equipment and fuel barrels away from the floodwaters fed by heavy rain and snowmelt. The rising water that has damaged hundreds of homes and been blamed for three deaths has also taken a heavy toll on agriculture, inundating thousands of acres, threatening stockpiled grain and killing livestock.

In Fremont County alone, Jorgenson estimates that more than a million bushels of corn and nearly half a million bushels of soybeans have been lost after water overwhelmed grain bins before they could be emptied of last year’s crop. His calculation using local grain prices puts the financial loss at more than $7 million in grain alone. That’s for about 28 farmers in his immediate area, he said.

Once it’s deposited in bins, grain is not insured, so it’s just lost money. This year farmers have stored much more grain than normal because of a large crop last year and fewer markets in which to sell soybeans because of a trade dispute with China.

“The economy in agriculture is not very good right now. It will end some of these folks farming, family legacies, family farms,” he said. “There will be farmers that will be dealing with so much of a negative they won’t be able to tolerate it.”

Jorgenson, 43, who has farmed since 1998, reached out to friends Saturday, and they helped him move his grain out of bins to an elevator. Had they not acted, he would have lost $135,000.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, who has declared a disaster in 41 of Iowa’s 99 counties, said she planned to press Vice President Mike Pence for a federal disaster declaration during his stops in Omaha to tour flooded areas along the Missouri River.

“It will be helpful for him to see it. I’ve reached out, and we’ve told him it’s catastrophic,” she said.

Pence said the Trump administration would expedite presidential disaster declarations for Nebraska and Iowa. He said he spoke to the governors of both states shortly after arriving to assure them federal aid will soon be on the way.

The flooding is expected to continue throughout the week in several states as high water flows down the Missouri River. Swollen rivers have already breached more than a dozen levees in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.

The flooding, which started after a massive late-winter storm last week, has also put some hog farms in southwest Iowa underwater. The dead animals inside must be disposed of, Reynolds said.

The water rose so quickly that farmers in many areas had no time to get animals out, said Chad Hart, an agricultural economist at Iowa State University.

“Places that haven’t seen animal loss have seen a lot of animal stress. That means they’re not gaining weight and won’t be marketed in as timely a manner, which results in additional cost,” he said.

In all, Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson estimated $400 million of crop losses from fields left unplanted or planted late and up to $500 million in livestock losses.

In a news release issued Tuesday, Gov. Pete Ricketts said there have been deadlier disasters in Nebraska but never one as widespread. He said 65 of the state’s 93 counties are under emergency declarations.

In neighboring Missouri, water was just shy of getting into Ryonee McCann’s home along a recreational lake in Holt County, where about 40,000 acres (16,188 hectares) and hundreds of homes have been flooded. She said her home sits on an 8-foot (2.5-meter) foundation.

“We have no control over it,” the 38-year-old said. “We just have to wait for the water to recede. It’s upsetting because everything you have worked for is there.”

The Missouri River was forecast to crest Thursday morning at 11.6 feet above flood stage in St. Joseph, Missouri, the third highest crest on record. More than 100 roads are closed in the state, including a growing section of Interstate 29.

Leaders of the small northwestern Missouri town of Craig ordered an evacuation. The Holt County Sheriff’s Department said residents who choose to stay must go to City Hall to provide their name and address in case they need to be rescued.

In nearby Atchison County, Missouri, floodwaters knocked out a larger section of an already busted levee overnight, making the village of Watson unreachable, said Mark Manchester, the county’s deputy director of emergency management/911.

Officials believe everyone got out before thousands of more acres were flooded. But so many roads are now closed that some residents must travel more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) out of their way to get to their jobs at the Cooper Nuclear Station in Nebraska, he said.

“It’s a lot harder for people to get around,” Manchester said.

River flooding has also surrounded a northern Illinois neighborhood with water, prompting residents to escape in boats. People living in the Illinois village of Roscoe say children have walked through floodwaters or kayaked to catch school buses.

Flooding along rivers in western Michigan has damaged dozens of homes and businesses.

 

Source: Inquirer.net

 

Categories : News

Progressive Breeders’ Registry Honors Top Registered Holstein® Herds

Wednesday, March 20th, 2019

Holstein Association USA is pleased to announce the recipients of 2018 Progressive Breeders’ RegistrySM. The Progressive Breeders’ Registry (PBR) is given to the top herds that excel at maintaining a balance of production and type performance, with a high percentage of homebred females.

Established in 1937, this is the Association’s longest-running award and honors over 200 breeders annually.

To qualify for the PBR award, a herd must be a member of both their national and state associations, enrolled in the Deluxe or Premier TriStarSM option, and participate in a classification option which provides a BAA (Breed Age Average). The herd’s BAA must be in the top 25 percent of herds classified in the 18 months prior to March 1 of the award year. Herds must have at least 20 cows which are 87% RHA or higher and at least 75 percent of the herd must be homebred.

Herds must exceed award-year production level cut-offs, which are based on the Mature Equivalent (ME) for combined fat and protein, and cut-offs are adjusted on the ME herd averages for that state, to compensate for regional differences in production levels.

All eligible herds are evaluated automatically each year. In 2018, 218 herds earned this distinction.

There were 35 first-time PBR honorees: Anthony L. Musser, Mo.; Barry M. Richardson, Wis.; Bonow Farms LLC, Minn.; Bradley J. Korver, Iowa; Circle Drive Holsteins, Minn.; Dale B. & Kynel Himmelberger, Pa.; Daniel P. Esh, Pa.; Douglas Brander, Wis.; Dwight J. & Anita J. Rokey, Kan.; Evan & Darla Stump, Pa.; Grafton County Farm, N.H.; Haag Dairy LLC, Wis.; Harold K. Christensen, Jr., Wis.; James D. Busch, Wis.; Jason Volker, Iowa; Jeff Petermeier, Minn.; Jeffrey H. Zuck, Pa.; John D. & Joan M. Judd, Wis.; Kylie Konyn, Calif.; Leroy H. Hoover, Pa.; Mark Carviou, Wis.; Marlin J. Bontrager, Iowa; Michael C. Haag, Pa.; Nelson Farms, Calif.; Nolan S. Garman, Wis.; North Dakota State University, N.D.; Peach Brook Farm LLC, Pa.; Robert & Therese Guenther, Wis.; Roger & Cheryl Arn, Wis.; Shannon Dwyer, Wis.; Sheland Farms LLC, N.Y.; Sonnenburg Farms, Wis.; Stephen D. & Sandra L. Haagen, Pa.; Tim Aho, Minn.; and Weis Way Dairy, Wis.

Two herds have qualified for the PBR award for over 50 years: Keystone Farm in Pennsylvania is a 53-year PBR herd, and Walhowdon Farm of New Hampshire has received PBR honors for 58 years.

A complete list of this year’s recipients, along with those from past years, can be found at the Holstein Association USA website, www.holsteinusa.com/awards/herds.html .

Holstein Association USA, Inc., www.holsteinusa.com , provides products and services to dairy producers to enhance genetics and improve profitability–ranging from registry processing to identification programs to consulting services.

The Association, headquartered in Brattleboro, Vt., maintains the records for Registered Holsteins® and represents approximately 30,000 members throughout the United States.

Categories : News

The curious case of tainted milk from a Maine dairy farm

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

For Maine dairy farmer Fred Stone, the discovery in 2016 that his cows were producing tainted milk has since brought financial ruin and threatened to shut down a century-old family business.

Now state regulators and health experts are investigating whether the contamination could reflect a much broader problem for farms that used similar methods to fertilize their land.

The chemicals on Stone’s farm likely came from biosolids, or nutrient-rich sewage from municipal utilities, that he spread across his fields, according to a report last year by Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The chemicals are known as perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS some of which have been linked to cancers, liver damage, low birth weight and other health problems.

The discovery of contaminated sites in Maine and around the country prompted Maine Governor Janet Mills this month to form a task force to study the extent of PFAS contamination and suggest protective measures. The state DEP says testing for the chemicals is underway at more than 95 sites.

“Staff has been specifically working on identifying farms statewide that may have received sludge and identifying the original source,” department spokesman David Madore said in a statement to Reuters.

Patrick MacRoy, deputy director at the Maine-based Environmental Health Strategy Center, said the contamination at the Stoneridge Farm raises questions about the safety of biosolids used at farms nationwide.

“The Stone case is incredibly troubling because the source of exposure – waste sludge – is something that is also spread across hundreds of farms in Maine and thousands nationally, he said.

Experts said that far more research is needed to determine how sludge-spreading programs may be contributing to contamination of groundwater, crops, or finished products such as milk.

Maybe this one farm is an oddball in Maine, but without further testing, theres no way to be sure, said Michael Rainey, a former biosolids inspector at the health department in neighboring New Hampshire.

Alan Bjerga, a spokesman for the National Milk Producers Federation, said that his organization believed the Stoneridge case to be an isolated event.

“We see no wide threat to the milk supply,” he said in a statement.

Grease and water-repellent PFAS have been used for decades in cookware, specialty paper, fabrics, firefighting foam and other products. State and federal regulators have been scrambling to set safety standards for human exposure to some of the chemical compounds.

Scores of lawsuits have been filed in pollution cases seeking billions of dollars from chemical manufacturers and industrial PFAS users. Two major cases have already settled in recent years for a combined $1.5 billion.

‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’

Stone and his wife Laura Stone run the Stoneridge Farm on 100 acres of land in southern Maine, one of hundreds of small-scale dairy operations across the U.S. northeast prized for the quality of their milk, cream and butter.

The Stones started spreading treated sewage in the 1980s as part of a state program that would help utilities get rid of the waste and fertilize pastures. They also used one delivery of sludge waste from a paper mill.

Concerns about PFAS in the farm’s milk first arose in 2016, when the local water district found the pollutants – often referred to as forever chemicals because they dont break down easily – in a well it maintained on the Stones’ land.

Stoneridge informed its milk distributor, Oakhurst, and the state DEP. Additional tests found high levels of PFAS in Stoneridges milk, soil, hay, and cow manure. The areas of highest soil contamination overlapped with where the sewer district sludge had been heaped, Stone said.

The Environmental Protection Agency has said that biosolids spreading programs are active in all 50 states. In Maine, 66 sites are currently permitted for sludge spreading, according to state data.

The numbers were higher during the years Stoneridge participated in the state-sponsored waste-spreading program, between 1983 and 2004. Data compiled in 2000 by the Toxics Action Network, an environmental group, showed that 226 sites, mostly farms, had sludge-spreading permits.

Much of the regulatory push around PFAS so far has focused on water. In 2016, the Environmental Protection Agency set a lifetime health advisory for two of the compounds – PFOS and PFOA, which a growing body of research has linked to health problems. The EPA recommended that drinking water should contain no more than 70 parts per trillion of these chemicals combined.

Theres no federal standard for safe levels in milk. But Maine public health officials said in 2017 that milk with PFOS exceeding 210 parts per trillion should be considered “adulterated” and banned from sale.

So far, this ban has only affected Stoneridge, whose milk had levels as high as 1,420 parts per trillion.

FADING FAMILY TRADITION

Fred Stone, 63, fears hes nearing the end of a century-old family tradition. The contamination ordeal has already put him in $500,000 of debt, he said. Hes considering selling some land and looking for a job.

My grandfather, my father, and myself, weve all been dairy farmers here, he said, wearing coveralls and mud-stained rubber boots as he walked the farmland his family bought in 1914.

Until a few weeks ago, Stone was still trying to salvage his dairy operation. He purchased several dozen new cows, installed a $20,000 water-filtration system and stopped using his farms hay for feed.

The effort at first seem to work. Last year, test results on his farms milk came back clean, and he was allowed to sell milk to Oakhurst again. But PFOS reappeared in the milk within months, causing distributor Oakhurst to permanently end its business relationship with Stoneridge.

When they dropped us, that was the end of our milk market, Stone said. So that was the end of us.

Source: cnbc.com

Categories : News

Cattle TB confirmed in Texas Dairies

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

While Texas State Veterinarian Dr. Dee Ellis says this week’s confirmation of Cattle tuberculosis (TB) in dairy herds at two Panhandle facilities is not expected to affect Texas’ TB-free status, animal health officials say they will immediately begin testing dairy, calf-raising and dairy heifer-raising operations in Texas and other states with epidemiological links to the infected herds to determine the possible origin and the potential for spread of the disease.

The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) announced the news this week (Jan. 13) after a federal testing laboratory confirmed cattle from two dairies in Castro County tested positive for the disease.

A comprehensive and effective animal health surveillance system developed by TAHC is being credited with quick identification and confirmation of the infected animals.

“The detection of these new herds simply indicates our strong surveillance system is effective. The TAHC is working closely with the dairies involved and the Texas dairy industry to ensure the disease is quickly contained and the affected dairies can return to normal business practices as soon as possible,” Ellis said.

Cattle tuberculosis is a chronic, debilitating disease of cattle caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium bovis. Human tuberculosis is caused by a closely related type of bacteria and was historically known as “consumption.” A variety of other species may be susceptible to cattle tuberculosis, including captive elk and exotic deer, bison, goats, swine, humans and cats. Sheep and horses are rarely affected.

Symptoms

Cattle tuberculosis is primarily a respiratory disease affecting lungs and chest lymph nodes. Symptoms can include progressive weight loss, chronic cough, and unexplained death losses.

Tuberculosis has a long incubation period (months to years) and was once the most prevalent infectious disease of cattle and swine in the United States. Bovine TB caused more losses among U.S. farm animals in the early part of the 20th century than all other infectious diseases combined. Through a cooperative state-federal program, bovine tuberculosis has been nearly eradicated from livestock in the United States. Texas has been declared free of TB, but constant vigilance is crucial to maintaining that TB-free status.

While the TABC announcement provided few details about the latest confirmed cases, a USDA-APHIS Cattle TB monthly update posted in November (2014) indicates dairy cattle from a Texas dairy were suspected of M. Bovis tuberculosis in early testing at time of slaughter and that the case was “pending.”

In that same federal update, a new case in a steer slaughtered in Texas was detected in November. Tissues were compatible for mycobacteriosis by histology and PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) was positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. Culture and genotyping were listed as pending. The update indicated the animal came from a lot of Mexican-origin cattle, but did not have official Mexican animal identification present at the time of slaughter.

So far USDA-APHIS has not acknowledged there a connection between the cases confirmed this week and those listed in the November monthly TB update.

In 2000, Texas won a battle against cattle TB, earning the U.S. Department of agriculture’s TB accredited-free status. In 2002, however, that status was revoked when two infected cattle herds were detected. After extensive testing, Texas regained its TB-free status from USDA in October 2006. This effort included testing 2,014 purebred beef operations and all 818 of the state’s dairies. Slaughter surveillance was also greatly enhanced at that time to ensure that any remaining TB infected herds would be detected.

Cattle TB is most often detected through carcass inspection at slaughter plants. Internal lesions that are identified by inspectors are collected and forwarded to a laboratory for confirmation of the disease. Efforts are made to track or “trace” the animal back to its herd of origin so that herd-mates or other exposed cattle can be tested.

Following the last TB incidents, TAHC effected several regulation changes to aid in tracing exposed or diseased animals and to help guard against re-introduction of TB.

Because of wide-scale problems with cattle TB in Mexico, as part of those rule changes, all Mexican-origin cattle are required to be retested 60 to 120 days after entry into Texas from Mexico by a Texas veterinarian. They must also receive a permit prior to entry into Texas from another state. In addition, such cattle originating in Mexico must have an official permanent form of identification and be listed individually on a health certificate prior to entry, and they must possess a current negative TB test performed within the previous12 months at all times.

For information about TB in the Panhandle, contact the Region 1 office at 1-806-354-9335. For general information about TB, call 1-800-550-8242 or visit.

Source: farmprogress.com

Categories : News

A dozen dairy cattle, barn lost in Rock Falls (IL) fire

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

A barn fire around 5 a.m. Monday at 270 Rock Island Road caused extensive damage and killed several dairy cows in rural Rock Falls, Capt. Nathan Hartman said.

Firefighters were called to the scene at 5:04 a.m. and found the barn, which measures about 100 feet by 60 feet, heavily involved. No one was injured, but about a dozen cows were killed and the barn is a total loss, Hartman said.

Firefighters were on scene until about noon Monday.

Source: SaukValley

Categories : News

New bipartisan bill introduced to address labor shortages on dairy farms

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

The American Dairy Coalition supports a new federal bill that has been introduced by Congressmen Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., and John Joyce, R-Pa., to expand the current H-2A visa program, allowing for its use by dairy farmers.

The bill will amend the Immigration and Nationality Act, making it suitable for the year-round labor needs of the dairy industry by allowing for an initial three-year visa with an option to extend for another three years. Under current law, dairy workers are not allowed to utilize H-2A visas because the dairy industry is not considered seasonal. This new legislation will change this and allow workers from outside of the United States to utilize the H-2A to access agricultural jobs on dairy farms.

“It is clear that one of the reasons our dairy farmers in Pennsylvania’s 13th District are struggling is because they are lacking the manpower that they need to produce their goods and get them to market,” said Congressman Joyce in a press release on his website. “Milk production in our country relies heavily on our migrant workers, and for far too long Congress has harmed the dairy industry by failing to fix our broken immigration system. This small change to the H-2A visa classification will come as welcome news to our dairy farmers and will give them flexibility that they need to be more efficient and profitable.”

“As a fourth-generation dairy farmer, my family has poured our hearts and souls into our dairy farm and the dairy industry for over 110 years. Our farm along with many other dairy farms throughout our great country have come to rely on migrant workers to milk, feed and care for our dairy cows on our farms,” said Walt Moore, ADC president. “We need to have a steady, highly skilled, reliable work force to continue to properly care for our cows and to continue to produce one of the safest, healthiest foods in the world. I applaud Congressman John Joyce and Anthony Brindisi for understanding the needs of the American dairy farmer and introducing a bill that will amend the current H2A program to allow dairy famers throughout the country to access year round migrant workers. Please take a few minutes out of your busy day and reach out to your representative in congress to pass this bill into law.”

 

The American Dairy Coalition encourages all ADC members to reach out their legislators and encourage them to support this bill as a significant step forward in securing a reliable labor force to care for your cows.

Categories : News

Australian supermarket giants pledge to raise milk prices by 10 cents a litre — in the short term

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

Major retailers Coles and Aldi have increased the price of cheap milk in a bid to help struggling dairy farmers.

Key points:

  • Both Coles and Aldi will match Woolworths and charge an extra 10 cents per litre for their home brand milk
  • The supermarkets say the measures are temporary, to aid struggling dairy farmers
  • However, both retailers said industry reforms were needed to address the problems facing dairy producers

The supermarkets had been under pressure to follow competitor Woolworths, which increased the cost of its home-brand milk by 10 cents per litre last month.

Agriculture Minister David Littleproud recently called on Australian shoppers to boycott Aldi and Coles for as long as the supermarkets continued to offer cheap milk.

Coles and Aldi both issued statements on Tuesday night announcing the price of two and three-litre home brand milk at their stores would increase by 10 cents per litre from March 20.

Coles described the price increase as an interim measure, and Aldi said the price hike was a short-term solution.

Both supermarkets said the proceeds would be passed on to dairy farmers.

“This victory is a good start in the war against $1-a-litre milk,” Mr Littleproud said.

“I welcome this news and I encourage supermarkets and processors to spread this right across the dairy range.”

Coles chief executive Steven Cain said drought had compounded many of the difficult issues Australian dairy farmers are facing.

Announcing the price increase, Mr Cain said the retailer was “continuing to explore long-term solutions with government and industry stakeholders” to help the dairy industry.

“However, we know that many dairy farmers cannot wait for structural reform to be delivered so we are moving to provide relief right now,” Mr Cain said.

In a written statement, Aldi Australia spokesman Oliver Bongardt said the German retailer would work with dairy processors to support the long-term viability of the dairy industry.

“Our decision to increase fresh milk prices has been reached in recognition of the significant issues currently impacting the dairy industry and the fact that broader government-led policy reform is unlikely to occur in the short term,” Mr Bongardt said.

The price increase comes as Australian dairy farmers are expected to produce the lowest level of milk since the mid-1990s.

A growing number of dairy farmers are exiting the industry, saying it costs more to produce the milk than they are paid for it.

Drought, a downturn in crucial export markets, and high feed, water and electricity prices have made it difficult for farmers to compete since a global downturn in mid-2016.

Source: abc.net.au

Categories : News

ICE raid at NY dairy farm sends shivers

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

The fears weigh on Mike McMahon: If one of his undocumented workers gets a traffic ticket, it could prompt an immigration audit of his entire farm. If another gets detained by immigration agents at a roadside checkpoint or in a supermarket parking lot, the rest may flee. And if his undocumented workforce disappears overnight, there is no one to replace them.

“It keeps me up at night,” said McMahon, who owns a dairy farm south of Syracuse. “There are people out there who just say, ‘Send them all back and build a wall.’ But they would be facing empty shelves in the grocery store if that were to happen.”

It has long been an open secret in upstate New York that the dairy industry has been able to survive only by relying on undocumented immigrants for its workforce. Now, this region has become a national focal point in the debate over President Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants and their role in agriculture.

The tensions have escalated to such a degree over the last year that Gov. Andrew Cuomo described federal agents as reckless, accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement of violating the rights of farmers in pursuing undocumented immigrants.

Cuomo was responding to a high-profile raid on a dairy farm, during which a farmer was briefly handcuffed after protesting that ICE agents were mistreating one of his workers. The farmer claimed ICE did not have a warrant to enter his farm.

Cuomo is a Democrat, but Republicans who represent upstate New York in Congress have also come to the defense of the farmers.

The pressures here reflect broader challenges facing farmers across the country who rely on undocumented workers. The farmers are struggling with a shrinking labor pool as fewer migrants cross illegally into the country and migrants who are long-term residents become too old for field work.

This year the labor shortage has been compounded by Trump’s trade war and extreme weather, forcing some small farmers to switch to higher-value crops, to reduce their acreage and to consider selling their farms.

If anything, the situation in upstate New York is more difficult.

Smaller dairy farmers here have been some of the hardest hit by tougher immigration enforcement because their workers are subject to scrutiny from both ICE and the border patrol, which is allowed to operate within 100 miles of the border — in this case, with Canada.

Agriculture contributes an estimated $37 billion to New York’s economy and is responsible for nearly 200,000 jobs.

“We are seeing that the immigration enforcement is having a tremendous enforcement impact on farmworkers, on farms,” said Mary Jo Dudley, director of the Cornell Farmworker Program. “For many farmers, there’s no alternative labor force.”

To search private property like a farm, ICE needs a warrant that shows reason to believe a particular undocumented immigrant is living or working there. But if undocumented workers leave the farm to go to a grocery store, they can be approached by ICE agents in a parking lot or a roadside checkpoint, detained and deported.

Advocates for undocumented immigrants said ICE agents target immigrants indiscriminately in these public spaces. But ICE disputes those claims.

“ICE continues to focus its limited resources first and foremost on those who pose the greatest threat to public safety,” said an ICE spokesman, Khaalid Walls. “ICE only conducts targeted immigration enforcement. The agency does not conduct raids or sweeps that target aliens indiscriminately.”

Supporters of stricter immigration policies said they were sympathetic to the plight of small farms. But they pointed out that the farms’ reliance on inexpensive, undocumented labor would handicap U.S. agriculture in the long term.

They argue that while immigration crackdowns could force farms to consolidate and mechanize and may be hard for individual farmers, it would make the industry more competitive globally.

“The more productive policy response would be subsidized loans to invest in machinery for small-scale farmers, rather than revising how we import foreign workers and perpetuating the labor-intensive old-fashioned way of doing business,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director for the Center for Immigration Studies, a think tank that favors restricting immigration.

Dairy farmers face particular challenges because without American workers, they have no alternative to migrant labor. The government program that brings in legal temporary workers does so only for seasonal workers and dairy farming is a year-round activity.

In Washington, lawmakers representing dairy-heavy districts have tried to reform the legal foreign workers program to include year-round dairy workers.

But so far, efforts have fallen short. These lawmakers are caught between staunch conservatives who consider any reprieve a form of amnesty and Democrats who want more comprehensive immigration reform, which would also address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, and immigrants with Temporary Protected Status.

Over the last 50 years, U.S. farms have relied on two labor forces: migrants who settled in the country during the migration wave of the 1960s and ‘70s; and those who stayed temporarily, illegally crossing the border for each harvest season. But today, permanent migrants who settled are reaching their 60s, fewer and fewer seasonal migrants are coming to the United States, and enforcement operations are driving the few migrants left out of the state.

Source: AgWeek

Categories : News

Tight Labor Market Raises U.S. Wages on Dairy Farms

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration in the United States is producing higher wages and better working conditions on American dairy farms, the New York Times admits.

Though 1.5 million legal immigrants continue to be admitted to the country every year, and illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border soars to historic levels, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency efforts to go after employers who hire illegal aliens are proving to be an economic surplus for lower-wage workers.

The latest New York Times report on immigration details complaints from dairy farmers who argue that they needed illegal aliens to survive as a viable business. Recent ICE raids of dairy farms, they claim, have made dairy farming more difficult as they can no longer readily rely on cheaper, foreign workers.

Dairy farm workers, on the other hand, are seeing the benefits of Trump’s “Hire American” tight labor market through increased wages and better working conditions:

Without a legal alternative to informal migrant labor, the competition between dairy farms to retain migrant workers is so fierce that farm owners, once notorious for underpaying and mistreating workers, are now improving working conditions and wages to entice employees to stay on their farms, workers said. [Emphasis added]

Victor Cortez is an immigrant who has worked on a dairy farm in western New York for 18 years. A few years ago, farm owners “wouldn’t let us leave the farm,” he said, adding, “They wouldn’t pay us as much as they promised they would.” [Emphasis added]

“But the good thing about it now,” he said, “is that we get paid more and this farmer is good to me.” [Emphasis added]

For decades, a flooded labor market for America’s working and middle class due to mass legal and illegal immigration has produced generations of low-wage workers, stagnant salaries, and a cheaper labor economy — a benefit to employers at the expense of American workers.

Center for Immigration Studies Director Mark Krikorian said that rather than U.S. dairy farms relying on an endless flow of cheaper, foreign workers, the federal government ought to provide subsidized loans for smaller dairy farmers to invest in robots and machines that can do the work more efficiently and without Americans having to subsidize the cost of illegal alien labor.

A Bloomberg report from 2015 highlighted the effectiveness of dairy farmers mechanizing:

A recent analysis by Goldman Sachs revealed how Trump’s tightened labor market for America’s working and middle class helped grow wages by four percent in 12 months.

ICE has played a crucial role in carrying out Trump’s “Hire American” economic nationalist agenda by indirectly reducing the foreign competition, which U.S. workers have been subjected to. Last fiscal year, for example, ICE agents deported more than a quarter of a million illegal aliens, including more than 95,000 deportations of illegal aliens who were living in the interior of the country.

Currently, the nation’s Washington, DC-imposed policy on mass legal immigration — where about 1.5 million unskilled legal immigrants are admitted to the U.S. every year — is a boon to corporate executives, Wall Street, big business, and multinational conglomerates, as working and middle-class Americans have their wealth redistributed to the country’s top earners through wage stagnation.

Research by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has discovered that immigration to the country shifts about $500 billion in wages away from working and middle-class Americans to new arrivals and economic elites.

Source: breitbart.com

Categories : News

Small Pennsylvania family farm shares concerns of dairy industry

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019
A Mercersburg farmer believes price fixing is negatively impacting the dairy industry for small farms natiowide.

 
“The problem in the dairy industry today is the low milk prices that’s being paid to the farmers and the reason that’s happening is because the usda has the authority to set the price of milk,” Charles Goetz, dairy farmer, said.
 
Goetz even went as far as writing a letter to President Donald Trump expressing his issues with surplus and milk production.
 
He says that his cooperatives require a certain amount of milk for each pck-up. Economically, Goetz said his production has became a full time job.
 
“Once you go above 40 cows that is your job you can’t make money off the farm anymore, that’s your full time job so if your taxes go up well you got to milk a few more cows which adds to the surplus,” Goetz said.
 
Goetz thinks the U.S. Department of Agriculture authorizes the milk prices which he believes are too low to sustain a well working farm.
Source: localdvm.com
Categories : News

Holstein USA 2019 Member Update Meeting Videos Now Online

Tuesday, March 19th, 2019

Holstein Association USA (HAUSA) invites all to view videos from the recent Member Update Meeting. The meeting was held in conjunction with the California Holstein Association State Convention.

“We have furthered our market reach through the Basic ID Program, as we now touch 380,994 Holsteins through this program. This compares to the 105,853 head that went through the program in 2003. This represents an increase of 275,141 animals.

“Clearly there is value in Registered and identified Holsteins. That’s why you have increased the number of Holsteins we’re identifying by 90 percent in 15 years,” says John Meyer, CEO of Holstein Association USA.

The meeting is broken down into several sections for ease of viewing. See the following video presentations:

HAUSA Staff Presentations

  • 2018 State of Association Address – HAUSA CEO John Meyer
  • HAUSA Director Elections – Bill Genasci, Region 9 director
  • HAUSA Products and Services Update – Lindsey Worden, executive director, Holstein genetic services
  • AgriTech Analytics (ATA) Update – Bill VerBoort, ATA general manager
  • Calendar of Events – Jodi Hoynoski, executive director, Holstein identification and member services

Guest Speakers

  • Better Cows, More Profit – How Genetics Paves the Way – Dr. Jason Osterstock, Zoetis, executive director, global genetics
  • A Data Driven Approach to Sourcing the Profit Focused Beef Bulls for Your Registered Holstein® Program – Chip Kemp, director, ASA & IGS commercial and industry operations, American Simmental Association
  • Holstein USA and Allflex – From Animal Identification to Animal Intelligence – Glenn Fischer, president, Allflex USA and Darin Johnson, manager, dairy ID programs for HAUSA

This is the sixth year that HAUSA has recorded its Member Update Meeting and posted videos online. They can be viewed at www.youtube.com/HolsteinUSA or by visiting the Holstein USA website, www.holsteinusa.com and click on Meetings & Conventions in the main menu, select Member Update Meeting.

 

Categories : News

Feed truck catches fire at Washington State University Dairy

Monday, March 18th, 2019

A barn was damaged at the Washington State University Knott Dairy Farm when a feed truck caught fire inside the building Saturday morning. No cows or people were hurt in the blaze. Whitman County Fire District 12 Chief Lester Erwin said the cattle were released from the barn to protect them from injury.

Erwin said the fire likely began when an employee tried to start the truck, causing the starter to issue sparks beneath the vehicle and ignite hay on the ground below. Catching fire inside the facility’s freestall barn, farm employees quickly released the animals from the barn allowing them to escape the flames. Fortunately, no animals, students or employees were harmed.

While there was some minor damage to the barn, including melted lighting and electrical components, officials said WSU will still be able to use the structure to house cattle and feed.

Categories : News

72nd Alice in Dairyland Top Candidates Announced

Monday, March 18th, 2019

Five top candidates for the 72nd Alice in Dairyland were announced today, a key step in the process of selecting Wisconsin’s next agricultural ambassador.

The five top candidates ­were announced at a press conference held at the New Glarus Hotel in New Glarus. Following an extensive interview process, the 72nd Alice in Dairyland will be selected from among the five candidates at the conclusion of the Alice in Dairyland Finals Program, scheduled May 9-11 at various locations in Green County.

The five top candidates are Sarah Achenbach, Eastman; Cassandra Krull, Lake Mills; Abigail Martin, Milton; Mariah Martin, Brooklyn; and Tess Zettle, Juda.

“While the end destination is naming the 72nd Alice in Dairyland, the journey through the coming weeks is one in which each top candidate will gain from this professional development experience,” said 71st Alice in Dairyland Kaitlyn Riley. “The various components of the extensive interview process allows each candidate to showcase communications and public relations skills required for being Wisconsin’s agricultural ambassador. The personal growth they will experience from this process will carry far into their future careers.”

About the candidates:

Sarah Achenbach grew up learning about hard work and dedication while helping her parents raise crops and livestock on their diversified farm, and by helping at her uncles’ dairy farms. Achenbach participated in her local 4-H and FFA clubs, where she held multiple leadership roles. Achenbach shared her love of Wisconsin agriculture as the 2010 and 2011 Senior Fairest of the Fair, and the 2014 Crawford County Fairest of the Fair. She graduated in 2018 from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with a degree in therapeutic recreation with an emphasis in communication. While at UWLC she held officer positions in Student Senate, Therapeutic Recreation Club, Tri Sigma, and Gamma Sigma Sigma. With her degree, she strives to connect individuals with disabilities to life on the farm.

“As Alice in Dairyland, I will use my leadership skills and abilities to communicate to inform consumers from diverse backgrounds about the importance of the agricultural industry in Wisconsin, where their food comes from, and the farming community,” said Achenbach.

Cassandra Krull developed her work ethic and go-getter attitude from farming alongside her parents and siblings on the family dairy farm. Striving to be the fourth-generation farmer at Krull Farms, she completed her degree in animal science with a dairy emphasis from the University of Wisconsin- Platteville in December 2015. Upon graduation, she started her professional career with Cargill Animal Nutrition, working with customers on all phases of the farm to improve dairy cow and farmer profitability. Currently, she works for STgenetics as a call center sales specialist, providing dairy farmers with different genetic opportunities throughout their herd. In her free time she gives back to the organizations that helped mold her into the individual she is today. She helps with Jefferson County Dairy Youth, coaching dairy quiz bowl and jeopardy, teaching fitting and showmanship clinic; and she oversees dairy youth exhibiting at the Wisconsin Junior State Fair.

“As the 72nd Alice in Dairyland, I will strive to create awareness of Wisconsin’s diverse agriculture industry through different channels of communication and education,” said Krull. “As Alice, I will share our Wisconsin agriculture story, as well as traditions and values, to many audiences throughout my travels of our beautiful state.”

Abigail Martin has a passion for all things Wisconsin: good cheese, the Wisconsin Badgers, and her Wisconsin farm family. She is the fourth generation on her family’s registered Holstein farm. It was there that she found a love for dairy cattle, and long summer days at the county and state fairs. Her interest in agriculture led her to pursue a degree in dairy science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. On campus, she was involved in the Association of Women in Agriculture, Badger Dairy Club, Collegiate Farm Bureau, and was on the intercollegiate dairy judging team. She has held previous roles in marketing at the Rock County 4-H Fair, East Central/ Select Sires, and Babcock Hall Dairy Store. Upon graduation in May 2018, she accepted a role with DeLaval Inc. in their North American marketing and communications department.

“Being chosen as Alice in Dairyland would be an extreme honor,” said Martin. “As Alice, I would demonstrate a strong commitment to learning and sharing about our great state and its robust agriculture industry.”

Mariah Martin is the seventh generation in her family to be involved in the agriculture industry. Her love for Wisconsin agriculture began with her involvement with the Brooklyn Mighty Mites 4-H club. Martin graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in life sciences communication and a certificate in agricultural business management. Her passion for agriculture has led her to work for and with farmers as an account associate at Osborn Barr + Paramore, an advertising agency with a focus in the rural and agriculture landscape. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and her involvement with Association of Women in Agriculture Benefit Corporation and Farm Bureau.

“From the farmer’s gate, to the consumer’s plate, the diversity of Wisconsin agriculture is evident. As Alice in Dairyland, I will use my gift of gab and passion for sharing farmers’ stories to deliver the value and economic impact of agriculture to diverse audiences throughout our great state,” said Martin.

Tess Zettle found her love for agriculture at a young age. Growing up on her family’s dairy farm, she learned firsthand about the hard work and dedication involved with farming. Zettle was an active member of 4-H, FFA and the Wisconsin Junior Holstein Association, and she also served as her community’s Dairy Queen and Green County Fairest of the Fair. In 2015, she graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a degree in animal science, with an emphasis in dairy and a minor in public relations. She currently is employed at Kuhn North America, an international innovator in agricultural forage and manure handling implements. As product management administrator, she is responsible for the creation of catalogs for domestic and export products. Zettle had the opportunity to travel to Kuhn’s home office in Saverne, France, and, while in France, she tasted some locally made cheeses, further driving her passion and love of all things cheese. As such, this past fall, she proudly represented the dairy industry and Swiss heritage as the 2018 Cheese Days Ambassador.

“Sharing the story of Wisconsin agriculture is my passion, from cheese to cranberries, ginseng to mink pelts and more,” said Zettle. “As Alice in Dairyland, I will promote and educate the public on the diversity and importance of agriculture in our state.”

(l-r): Sarah Achenbach, Cassandra Krull, Tess Zettle, 71st Alice in Dairyland Kaitlyn Riley, Abigal Martin, Mariah Martin.

Alice in Dairyland is a one-year, full-time public relations position with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The start date for the 72nd Alice is June 3, 2019. Top candidates completed an application and a preliminary interview.

In this highly visible and fast-paced position, Alice in Dairyland travels throughout the state teaching rural and urban audiences of all ages about Wisconsin’s extensive agricultural industry. In the position, Alice cultivates relationships with television, radio and print media outlets; writes and delivers speeches; and utilizes social media to tell the stories of Wisconsin agriculture. Additional duties include developing and executing marketing plans, delivering classroom presentations, and networking with industry professionals.

Each year, a different Wisconsin county hosts the Alice in Dairyland interview and finals activities, with Green County serving as the host county this year. The 72nd Alice in Dairyland will be selected at the conclusion of the three-day finals program, May 9-11.

The public is welcome to attend two public events during the finals in Green County in May:

Candidate Discussion Panel, Friday, May 10 (Albany Lions Club): dinner, 6 p.m.; discussion panel, 7 p.m. Ticket required ($15). Join the 72nd Alice in Dairyland candidates as they take part in a discussion panel addressing agricultural topics.

72nd Alice in Dairyland Finale Program, Saturday, May 11: social, 5:30 p.m.; dinner, 6 p.m.; finale, 7:30 p.m. Tickets required: Dinner (Monroe Turner Hall) and Finale Program (Monroe Middle School Auditorium), $30 for both; Finale Program only, $10.

For more event information, visit aliceindairyland.com.

 

Categories : News

‘Highly Aggressive’ Bull Mounts Car, Attacks Woman in New Jersey: Police

Friday, March 15th, 2019

A “highly aggressive” bull in New Jersey went berserk, attacking its owner and charging at police officers after it got out of its enclosure.

Officers got several calls about a cow approaching cars on Houses Corner Road in Sparta around 3 p.m. on Friday, Sparta Township police said on Monday.

One of the calls was from the animal’s owner, who told police the cow was actually a bull, and said the animal had been acting “highly aggressive” recently.

When Sparta Police Officer Arlene Lippencott got to Houses Corner Road, the bull’s owner was already at the scene in her own car, police said.

 

The bull initially started following his owner’s car up a gravel road toward the farm, but soon began bumping against the car and trying to mount it, according to police.

When the owner arrived at the farm, she got out of her car and tried to get the bull to go through a gate and back into its enclosure, at which point the bull started attacking her and throwing her around, police said.

“[The owner] was screaming that the bull was going to kill her and needed to be shot,” police said.

Officer Lippencott tried to distract the bull and managed to get the woman into her police car, at which point several other officers and EMS arrived at the farm, according to police.

Two other officers put the bull down after it charged at their police car, the department said.

The bull’s owner was taken to the hospital, where she got stitches on her head and was treated for lacerations and bruises on her upper body, police said.

She told police the bull had recently attacked her husband, but said that attack hadn’t been as serious.

Source: nbcphiladelphia.com

Categories : News

Heavy snow causes partial collapse of Cattle Barn roof at State Fairgrounds

Thursday, March 14th, 2019

A portion of the roof of the Cattle Barn at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds collapsed Tuesday evening, weighted down by successive rounds of snow and rain.

The Falcon Heights building, which is used mainly for storage during the off-season, was unoccupied at the time of the collapse and no one was injured, the Minnesota State Fair said in a news release.

Part of the southeast corner of the roof on Judson Avenue gave way about 6:15 p.m. due to sliding snow, according to the St. Paul fire department. Members of the fire department and a structural engineer assessed the building and determined the rest of it remains structurally sound. Damage to the items stored in the barn has not yet been assessed.

The 1920 brick building, which has space for about 1,000 head of cattle, also houses the Fair’s milking parlor and the Moo Booth — an informational exhibit about dairy farming, according to the State Fair’s website.

Also on Tuesday night, the roof over the pool at a Super 8 Motel in Shakopee collapsed, the Shakopee Police Department said on Twitter.

The pool was closed at the time of the collapse because it had been sagging earlier in the day. The motel was evacuated.

In northwestern Minnesota, heavy snow also caused a warehouse roof at the Tuffy’s pet food plant in Perham to collapse on Saturday. No one was injured, and work at the factory resumed on Monday.

A number of other structures around the region failed following the weekend’s accumulation of wet, heavy snow.

Source: twincities.com

Categories : News

Ask a Dairy Farmer: What Are You Doing for the Environment?

Thursday, March 14th, 2019

“I think any dairy farmer is a steward of the environment,” says Stephen Maddox of Maddox Dairies in California in this latest “Ask a Dairy Farmer” video. And while that may sound self-serving, dairy farmers have a long legacy of environmental stewardship. Even before anyone knew what a carbon footprint was, dairy farmers have improved breeding techniques, quality animal care, specialized feeding practices and technology. Today, each gallon of milk produced requires 90 percent less land and 65 percent less water, with a 63 percent smaller carbon footprint than it did almost 70 years ago.

That commitment to change on behalf of the environment to help contribute to a sustainable food system is top of mind to today’s dairy farmers, regardless of where they farm.

“We’re really working with our land and our animals to make sure we’re going to be around for several generations,” says Abigail Copenhaver of Ivy Lakes Dairy in New York.

“What we are today is going to be different than what we are 10 years from now,” says Jim Werkhoven of Washington’s Werkhoven Dairy. “Just like our farm today is way better at what it does than what it was a generation ago.”

Dairy contributes to a natural nutrient cycle, from nourishing communities to nourishing animals to nourishing the land. Dairy farmers and the dairy community have a long-standing stewardship commitment to health and wellness and contributing to sustainable food systems.

You can read more about dairy’s environmental commitment in these stories, “Ask Dr. Dairy: Is Dairy Environmentally Friendly?” and “Taking Care of the Land (video tour).” And read on for even more dairy cow facts.

Categories : News

Research Shows Tainted Wisconsin Water Tied to Animal Waste

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019

Scientists are one step closer to understanding how dangerous contaminants from fecal matter are entering private wells in a northeastern Wisconsin county. New research by U.S. Department of Agriculture microbiologist Mark Borchardt shows nitrate and coliform in the water mostly comes from agriculture — and not human waste.

“Where we see the strong relationships, the strong linkages, those are with agricultural factors. So that would suggest that agriculture is primarily responsible for those two contaminants,” he said in an interview.

Kewaunee County, where cattle outnumber people nearly 5 to 1, is a focal point in Wisconsin over whether local, state and federal governments adequately protect drinking water from manure from dairy farms, especially in areas of fractured bedrock, which is common in northeastern Wisconsin. The fractured bedrock allows for water to easily infiltrate to the subsurface, especially after rain or snowmelt.

 

The nonprofit news outlet Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism provided this article to The Associated Press through a collaboration with Institute for Nonprofit News.

Borchardt presented his updated findings on the risk factors associated with contamination in wells at the Midwest Manure Summit in Green Bay on Feb. 27. In 2017, his research found over 60 percent of wells sampled in Kewaunee County were contaminated with fecal microbes, which can come from both septic systems or animal waste.

The new study aims to understand the precise sources of contamination and how certain factors can reduce or increase the risk of tainted drinking water. Borchardt used models to predict how those factors — like the distance of a well from a manure lagoon or agricultural field, weather and the quality of well construction — can impact contamination levels.

Borchardt’s study found that the No. 1 risk factor for contamination was the proximity of a well to a manure storage pit. Borchardt said the closest well in the study was 150 feet from a manure pit, but even wells three miles away still have some risk of being contaminated with coliform.

Borchardt called coliform an “indicator bacteria” for the presence of other bacteria and pathogens.

According to state regulations, manure lagoons are allowed to leak 500 gallons per acre, per day. Borchardt said contamination of nearby wells may be due to leakage from the lagoon, as well as the tendency of farmers to spread liquid manure close to the location of their pits.

According to a spreadsheet of permitted manure storage pits in Kewaunee County from 2017, some of the largest pits for which dimensions were listed span more than 4 acres. Borchardt said there are around 270 manure pits in the county.

″(The findings give) policy makers and other stakeholders interested in working on solutions the information they need to think about solutions, instead of just saying ‘Hey, your wells are contaminated,’” Borchardt said.

The contaminants investigated were nitrate, coliform bacteria, human fecal microbes, bovine fecal microbes and other fecal microbes regardless of the source. The models accounted for the effects of multiple risk factors at the same time.

Don Niles, a Kewaunee County dairy farmer and president of the nonprofit Peninsula Pride Farms, said the findings “tell me that we need to come up with better management practices, working together as farmers to find out how we can reduce nitrates in areas where they tend to be concentrated.”

Niles’ group advocates for practices such as applying manure to fields twice a year rather than once in order to minimize nitrate density, and planting cover crops to absorb more manure.

He said for farmers, solving the problem may not be straightforward

“In some cases (we’re) changing farming practices that are over 100 years old, and we want to make sure we’re going in the right direction and not the wrong direction,” Niles said.

The contamination of drinking water by manure has become a key political issue in Wisconsin, with Gov. Tony Evers declaring 2019 “the year of clean drinking water.” In recent years, the struggling dairy industry has consolidated and increased production, with smaller farms closing and Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations expanding to house thousands of cows.

The average dairy cow has gotten larger, eats more and produces more manure. As cows are concentrated in certain areas, their manure is too. And that is causing major problems.

This manure and its components, including bacteria, nitrate and harmful illness-causing pathogens, create a public health hazard for more than 100,000 families, the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism found. Nitrate is a serious health hazard to babies and pregnant women, and people who consume water high in nitrate face increased risk of colon, kidney and stomach cancers.

Nancy Utesch, a Kewaunee County beef farmer and member of advocacy group Kewaunee Cares, said the results of the new study show the existing manure rules and enforcement are not strong enough.

“A lot of this pollution is from intentional, deliberate actions that are not best management practices that do a lot of harm. Like spreading close to waterways, spreading when you know rain is going to happen . and overapplication (of manure),” she said. “And I think we really need to stop digging manure pits. This is from the dark ages. Stop permitting them. All manure pits leak — it’s just a matter of when.”

Shelly Mayer, executive director of Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, said assigning blame will not solve the problem. She wants stakeholders to come up with ways to produce food with less water pollution. Mayer called for a “holistic approach.”

“We have to focus on solutions, and be realistic that the minute we’re born, we all have an impact on our environment,” she said. “We all want to source our food locally . where we know the farmer and have oversight over that food.”

Borchardt’s study found that septic systems were not linked with coliform and nitrate contamination, suggesting the sources of these contaminants are agricultural, and that coliform bacteria contamination is linked with how close a well is to a manure lagoon.

The study also found that high nitrate contamination (greater than the health limit of 10 parts per million) is linked to presence of agricultural fields around a well, distance to the nearest agricultural field, distance to nearest manure lagoon and depth to bedrock.

Borchardt also found that the higher the number of septic system drain fields around a well, the greater the probability of the well becoming contaminated with human waste.

The timing of the research is significant, as the Legislature’s new bipartisan Water Quality Task Force is aimed at investigating how to improve drinking water in Wisconsin. Among the strategies to be considered: best practices for soil mapping and data collection; identifying sources of contamination; better management of runoff; and improving well and septic system construction. Republican Rep. Joel Kitchens of Sturgeon Bay, whose district includes Kewaunee County, is a member of the task force.

Borchardt plans to repeat the same study in southwest Wisconsin with a team of researchers. His recent study showed 42 percent of private wells tested in Iowa, Grant and Lafayette counties were contaminated.

Said Utesch: “The general population of Wisconsin is really tired of getting together and talking about doing another study and work group. If I had something to say to Tony Evers it would be ‘We want to see action now.’ ”

Source: The Associated Press

Categories : News

President’s Budget Yet Again Neglects Severity of Farm Economy

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019

President Donald Trump today revealed his proposed fiscal year 2020 budget, proposing cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other federal agencies in order to increase spending on a proposed border wall and defense initiatives.

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson said the proposal continues the administration’s disturbing trend of neglect for the welfare of farm families across the United States:

“There is a very clear disconnect between President Trump’s priorities and the economic realities facing family farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. Despite the rapid decline in the farm economy, additional damages from self-inflicted trade disruptions, increasing demand for credit, overloaded farm hotlines, and deteriorating infrastructure in rural communities, the White House today called for significant cuts to the one department tasked with serving farm families, rural residents and those struggling with food insecurity.”

“Passing the 2018 Farm Bill was an important, bipartisan accomplishment. Rather than turning right around and proposing cuts to farm programs, the President should be working to build on that success by providing needed additional support for family farmers and ranchers.

“For three years now, President Trump has been calling for cuts to important programs within USDA. Yet for the third straight year, a majority of American farmers and ranchers are expected to lose money farming. Major relief is needed to weather these tough times in agriculture. It’s time the President’s policy proposals and rhetoric acknowledge the financial pain in farm country.”

 

Source: NFU

Categories : News

Wisconsin Is Building a Cheeselandia State Fair in the Middle of SXSW

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019

Cheese Fantasies to Become a Reality at South by Southwest in Austin

When it comes to cheese, no state does it “grater” than Wisconsin, and this year the State of Cheese is sharing a massive wedge of Wisconsin wonderful by creating a cheesy state fair in the center of the SXSW conference. Badge holders can escape to a place only found in wildest of cheese dreams at the JW Marriott in downtown Austin on March 12-13. 

First and most importantly, there will be thousands of pounds of assorted artisan cheeses, but Wisconsin also brings a un-brie-lievably unique spin with special touches like a Ferris wheel of award-winning cheeses, three 7-liter gourmet fondues, custom swag, and at certain times throughout the day, fair favorites like fried cheese curds and boozy snow cones. A cast of characters will make special appearances including a magician and juggler as well as a woman in a dress made of champagne flutes. This must visit SXSW lounge is designed with social sharing in mind so everything is curated for the perfect picture. 

“We wanted to give SXSW attendees a festive place to escape and recharge where they can not only try a variety of incredible cheeses but also experience the magic of Wisconsin,” says Suzanne Fanning, Chief Marketing Officer for Wisconsin Cheese. “What’s more fun than a state fair? How about a state fair with all-you-can-eat cheese?” 

Last year, the Wisconsin Cheese SXSW lounge featured a 3D printed barn and a massive cheeseboard display, and Wisconsin went on to officially set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS® title by creating the World’s Largest Cheeseboard. This year attendees will not only enjoy even more cheese, but they will also have access to an immersive digital experience that leverages gamification, augmented reality and a cheese matchmaker (Chee-harmony) to guide them through the cheese paradise that awaits them behind the doors of Cheeselandia.

There’s more “gouda news” for cheese lovers visiting Austin. They can keep the party going when they return home by joining the Cheeselandia community, which combines a mix of online and offline experiences across the country. Can’t make it to the event? Follow along on social media with the hashtag #SXSWisconsin.

 

Source: PR Newswire

Categories : News

Dr. Stan Hendreson Receive Dairy Challenge® Founders Award

Wednesday, March 13th, 2019

North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge® (NAIDC) awarded Dr. Stan Henderson, Professor Emeritus from Cal Poly, the Dairy Challenge Founders Awards during the Western Dairy Management Conference in February. The Dairy Challenge Founders Award was established in 2016 to recognize volunteers with extraordinary, consistent contributions and/or distinguished service to NAIDC.

Renee Smith, Western Sales Manager for Virtus Nutrition and Publicity Chair of the Dairy Challenge Board of Directors, presented the award and highlighted the tremendous contributions that Dr. Henderson has made to the Dairy Challenge program over the years. Dr. Henderson is known worldwide for his expertise in dairy judging and has an accomplished career at California Polytechnic University. He has been an active supporter of Dairy Challenge through the years, first as a coach of the Cal Poly team, and as an active member of the Western Regional Committee where he continues to be enthusiastically involved in the planning of events, including several California-hosted regional events. Dr. Henderson was also a key driver on the 2017 and 2018 National Dairy Challenge host committees when the national events were held back-to-back in Visalia, California.

“Henderson has been a constant encourager for students at Cal Poly to get involved and to learn all they can through the hands-on experience that Dairy Challenge provides,” said Smith. “He has made a lasting impact on countless students and the Dairy Challenge program through his enthusiastic support and willingness to serve.

Past recipients include Kas Ingawa, Dairy Records Management Service; Barry Putnam, Farm Credit East; Michael Van Amburgh, Cornell University; Dave Thorbahn, Select Sires, Inc.; Linda Hodorff, Second Look Holsteins; and Dave Selner, National Dairy Shrine, Don Rogers with Farm Credit East, Dave Winston, Virginia Tech, and Dr. Larry Muller, Penn State University.

To watch a short video from Dr. Henderson accepting the award, visit the Dairy Challenge You Tube link: https://youtu.be/RIqmSZUwBUc

 

Categories : News

ABARES says $1 a litre milk has limited impact on most dairy farmers income

Tuesday, March 12th, 2019

Commenting on the state of the dairy industry, as ABARES released its March outlook yesterday, chief commodity analyst Peter Gooday said dairy was a “notoriously volatile” commodity, but this was largely due to its exposure to seasonal conditions — such as droughts that drove up fodder prices — and to world markets.

“Dairy has a lot of trade exposure. We have to remember that about 74 per cent of Australia’s milk is exported, so what happens on the world dairy product markets flows through to the farm gate,” Mr Gooday said.

“$1-a-litre milk may have an impact on some farmers, but historically, the relationship between farmgate milk prices and world dairy markets is very strong.

“Retail prices here do make a bit of a difference, (but) the exchange rate variation and world dairy prices explain most of the changes (at farm ate).

“That is going to happen when three-quarters of milk is exported.”

His comments come as the ABARES report confirms Australian dairy incomes have plummeted in the current financial year, largely due to rising costs caused by the drought.

Seventy-five per cent of dairy farms were expected to record lower farm cash incomes in 2018-19.

Nationally, average dairy farm incomes were expected to fall from $160,900 in 2017-18 to $93,000 this financial year.

While ABARES has forecast a rebound in farm production across all commodities next year, this was conditional on a return to normal rainfall.

Dairy continues to rate as the fifth-best commodity, in terms of rate of return on investment, according to the latest ABARES figures.

The five-year average ROI figures for broadacre commodities, including land value appreciation, has dairy returning 5.2 per cent.

Cropping returned 8.2 per cent, followed by sheep-beef enterprises at 6.4 per cent; mixed livestock and cropping businesses 6.3 per cent, sheep at 5.3 per cent, with beef only farms at 4 per cent.

Source: The Weekly Times

Categories : News

Dairy Girl Network Spanish Courses Now Open to the Public

Tuesday, March 12th, 2019

Dairy Girl Network is Now Enrolling for their March Spanish on la Granja (on the farm) courses!

After a successful launch of their Spanish on la Granja 101 course in January, Dairy Girl Network is now re-offering the course as well as an intermediate 201 level. Both Spanish courses are completely virtual, 8-weeks long and tailored to aiding in Spanish speaking on dairy farms. 101 is a beginner course focusing on the basics like numbers, colors (leg bands), the alphabet and simple dairy focused words and phrases. The new 201 intermediate course is for those with some previous Spanish knowledge and will further skills by focusing on past and future tenses, advanced farm focused vocabulary and will improve sentence and conversational abilities

Enrollment for Spanish on la Granja 101 and 201 is now open to the public. This includes the entire dairy industry; both men and women, members and non-members. The enrollment deadline is March 16th, or until each class reaches capacity.

 

The Spanish on la Granja courses consist of 16 lessons over 8 weeks. One-hour long classes are on Tuesdays and Thursdays and recorded for students to watch when they can. Enrollment in the course includes the ability to schedule one-on-one calls or video chats with the instructor weekly for additional help as well as helpful links, games and more for curriculum reinforcement. All course links and items will be housed on the Dairy Girl Network website and students who complete the course will receive a certificate

All courses will be taught by Katie Dotterer-Pyle of Cow Comfort Inn Dairy, a farmer and Secondary Education Spanish major. Katie mentioned, “You will be amazed at how much you’ll improve your relationships with Spanish-speakers when you learn and use their language with them. It shows you appreciate them as a person and respect their culture.”

These courses are officially open to both DGN members and non-members. To sign up for a Spanish on la Granja course, please visit https://dairygirlnetwork.com/spanish-on-la-granja/.

 

Categories : News

CDC Probing Suspect Raw Milk at Pennsylvania Dairy

Monday, March 11th, 2019
Federal health officials are investigating a possible case of exposure to bacteria from raw milk sold at a farm in Pennsylvania.

The investigation comes after a New York resident became sick in November. The patient drank raw milk purchased from Miller’s Biodiversity Farm in Quarryville, PA, and was later diagnosed with brucellosis.

The milk tested positive for brucella, the bacteria that cause brucellosis. This is only the third known case of brucellosis in the United States in the past 2 years. Brucella bacteria are passed on from animals to people through raw dairy. Raw dairy products are not pasteurized, which kills dangerous bacteria.

The CDC has warned the public not to eat or drink the unpasteurized products and recommends throwing away products from Miller’s Biodiversity Farm in Quarryville. The state of Pennsylvania quarantined the farm in December and banned sales of dairy products made from raw cow’s milk.

The company did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Brucellosis Gone Viral

As of  Jan. 22, people in 19 states had bought or consumed raw milk from Miller’s Biodiversity Farm, according to the CDC. Officials recommend that anyone who has consumed raw dairy since January 2016 watch out for symptoms. Eating or drinking unpasteurized dairy products is the most common way to get the disease in the U.S.

During pasteurization, milk is heated to kill dangerous bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. Pasteurization was created when bacterial foodborne illnesses, such as typhoid fever, were spreading rapidly, often causing death. Removing germs from food prevents deadly diseases like these from resurfacing, as well as reduces more common foodborne illnesses today, such as salmonella or E. coli.

“Treating brucellosis early is easier, but when it becomes chronic is when it is difficult to treat,” says Lee Riley, MD, a professor of epidemiology and head of the infectious diseases division at the University of California, Berkeley. Riley says at chronic stages, as is the case with other severe illnesses, health professionals often can only treat a patient’s symptoms.

Symptoms

Brucellosis can be difficult to identify at first because symptoms are similar to the flu. Early signs of the infection include:

When the disease is more serious, it can last a long time and cause inflammation or infection of joints and organs. At that stage, the bacteria are resistant to some treatments.

People who are most likely to get brucellosis are those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, older adults and pregnant women, as well as people who work with animals. People who have been exposed to contaminated raw milk less than 6 months ago are also at higher risk and should become familiar with brucellosis symptoms to look for signs of infection.

If symptoms of brucellosis appear and it has been longer than 6 months since the last exposure to contaminated raw milk, get a blood test from your doctor.

The Raw Milk Myth

People may choose to drink raw milk because they believe nutrients are lost during pasteurization and natural enzymes in raw milk kill bacteria, but there is little evidence to back up these claims, the CDC says.

“That’s an absolutely wrong idea that [raw milk] is more nutritious,” Riley says. “It has all of the risks and no benefits.”

Raw Regulation

Even though less than 1% of the population drinks raw milk and most research advises against it, more than half of U.S. states allow the sale of raw dairy products.

The sale of raw milk is legal in 30 states in the U.S., and the states, not the FDA, regulate it. Officials with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the FDA, and the CDC agree that the lack of benefits and presence of risks from these products are significant.

Marion Nestle, Paulette Goddard professor and professor emerita of nutrition and food studies at New York University, says public pressure is the main reason it is still legal to sell unpasteurized milk.

“This is a complicated issue that requires nuanced understanding of the issues,” she says.

“Raw milk is risky, but it’s hard to say how risky. That always makes these kinds of issues difficult to deal with.”

Source: webmd.com

 

Categories : News
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