Raw Milk Madness

Drinking raw milk is quite simply, madness. I know and understand that people want to drink raw milk instead of pasteurized milk. I also understand that dairy producers are responding to demand, especially those producers who are near larger metropolitan areas.

I do have a problem, however, with public agencies who are complicit with these activities. You can read more about what's happening in Idaho, as published in the Capital Press Ag Weekly.

"The Idaho State Department of Agriculture has started the process to update its rules governing the sale of raw milk, setting the first meeting for Aug. 10 in Boise. The agency proposes to update milk quality and sanitary requirements for raw milk for human consumption and provide clarity to existing rules for raw milk produced under a "cow-share" program."

This whole business of 'cow-share' is just a wink and nod to marketing raw milk. People feed this raw milk to children.

Lots of people jay walk. Lots of parents jay walk with their children. Should our state agencies help make it legal for parents to jay walk their children across a busy street?

Think about it.

DairyScienceMark


rinking raw milk is quite simply, madness. I know and understand that people want to drink raw milk instead of pasteurized milk. I also understand that dairy producers are responding to demand, especially those producers who are near larger metropolitan areas.

Carbon Footprint

I'd heard and read a lot about carbon footprints, but never understood it very well until I heard a presentation by Jude Capper, now a new Ass't Professor at Washington State Univ. She summarized some work that she had done in conjunction with Dale Bauman and Euridice Castaneda-Gutierrezof Cornell Univ and Roger Cady, now of Elanco. The fundamental component of their work was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2008, but they have expanded it and continued their analysis.

If you haven't heard Jude speak on the topic or are confused about carbon footprint and animal agriculture I suggest that you participate in the eXtension webinar hosted by the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center. Both Jude and Roger will be presenting. Just click on the "Live Webcast" link and then the "Connect Now" link. The webinar room will open about 15 mintues before the start.

The webinar will be at 2:30 PM EDT on 31 July 2009. Let your friends and neighbors know.

Hope that helps.

DairyScienceMark

Disclaimer: Roger Cady and I are old friends. We started Dairy-L, the listserv-software-based virtual community together now 20 years ago. That doesn't mean that I don't chastise him when he needs it, ( :-) ) but he doesn't on this. It's good work.

The economics of dairy farming is getting serious

Today, I was searching dairy-related info on Twitter, and I found a link to the following:

"In the wake of another dairy producer suicide, the California Dairy Quality Assurance Program (CDQA) along with Kings County Ag Commissioner's office and Colorado State University will be offering a webinar on farmer stress, depression and suicide prevention for professionals allied with the dairy industry."

Milk prices are extremely low right now, and they've been low before. They were also at extreme highs not so long ago, and milk prices will rise again. How soon? I'm sorry, but I don't know that.

I do know that if dairy farmers are killing themselves, then things are really getting serious and it's not just a 'rough patch.' Mr. Robert Fetsch was the speaker during the suicide prevention webinar, and he has a website "The Human side of Agriculture: Managing Tough Times."

Dairy Herd Management Magazine had some articles related to the human costs of low milk prices in the May 2009 issue, so if you're a dairy farmer or if you know a dairy farmer, it's worth reviewing the signs of stress and depression, as listed in their article. This is just one of the resources available in their "Crisis Management Resource Center."

If you're a dairy farmer, then don't be afraid to reach out. If you know someone who's a dairy farmer, then reach out to them.

Hope that helps.

DairyScienceMark

Lots of interest in feeding economics

Mike Hutjens, Dave Fischer and Dick Walace from the U of Illinois presented a webinar concerning feeding economics last week. I put a copy of the presentation on my slideshare.net site, and today, I got an e-mail from slideshare saying the following:

"We've noticed that your slideshow on SlideShare has been getting a LOT of views in the last 24 hours. Great job ... you must be doing something right. ;-) #bestofslideshare"

We've had over 300 views of the presentation in a week. That's a lot for a fairly narrow topic, like dairy production. Guess the announcements on Dairy-L and AABP-L helped. Lots of interest in the topic.

The archive of the audio/visual combined presentation is at http://illinois.edu/goto/dews.

The power of the interconnected web is really on display.

Hope that helps.

DairyScienceMark

Organic milk producers dropped in Maine

A group of dairy producers in Maine who were selling organic milk to the H.P. Hood processor were dropped by that processor as reported in the Bangor Daily News.

"Hood ships Maine’s organic milk to New York to be processed and packaged and then returns it to Maine where it is sold as Stonyfield Farm Organic Milk. In the retail market, organic milk can easily cost twice as much as conventional milk and, for the farmer, this translated into premiums and bonuses that lured many conventional dairy farmers to switch to organic, which they believed would be more profitable for them."

People are missing the essential link in the "...fast-growing organic milk industry..." to the rate of growth. While the high costs of organic milk in the retail case is leading to a decline in consumption, the rate of growth was not really related to consumer interest in the product.

Instead, the rapid growth in the organic milk market was related to large processors (Hood, Organic Valley and Horizon, for example) paying grocery store chains for space in the retail dairy case. Those charges are called "slotting fees" and have become somewhat controversial.

"Exactly how sensitive is the food industry to the topic? Despite GAO's best efforts and promised confidentiality, it was unsuccessful in gaining industry cooperation needed to conduct the study." according to Food & Drink Weekly in 2000.

The 'perfect storm' from a natural cycle of a downturn in consumer spending when combined with the percieved, yet artificial, growth in organic dairy product sales may spell the end of the organic dairy industry as we've come to know it for the last few years. Dairy farm advisers should caution their clients about making this kind of very expensive switch.

Hope this helps

DairyScienceMark

A real effort to improve dairy farm profitability

The Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) program was approved for another two years of operation, and this was announced in a news release on the CWT website. This program is the one being pushed by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) as the key mechanism for controlling country-wide milk production.

"“America’s dairy farmers are looking to CWT to help them overcome the dire financial circumstances they are facing,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF, which manages CWT. “I’m pleased that our members are willing to support a two-year commitment to the program, in order to give us the resources necessary now to make a positive impact on farmer income.”"

The newest version of the CWT Program will have two changes. Those changes were described in the press release.

"CWT’s members also approved two changes in program policy. First, all members whose bids are accepted in future herd retirement programs will agree and warrant to cease dairy production for one year. This warranty will apply to both the producer and his/her dairy facility.
The second change is that farmers who were successful participants in past CWT herd retirement rounds will be permitted to bid in the next herd retirement round that CWT conducts."

This program will take approximately one year to have the desired effect for a variety of reasons. While the CWT program works and more than pays for itself, at least from the viewpoint of the producer, this is not a quick fix.

I'm not sure that a 'quick fix' is available for this particular situation.

Hope that helps.

DairyScienceMark

New Niche Market?

I know I sometimes have 'funny' dairy-related items on Fridays at the 'Coffeeshop.' I promise that the following is not a 'funny' item. It's a new niche market for a 'dairy product' in India.

The Food and Beverage News reports in fnbnews.com that:

"...the cow protection department of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), India's leading Hindu cultural group, has invented a new soft drink made of cow's urine and decided to promote its health-giving properties to a wider market in the country."

They also report that:

"In several states, cow dung and urine are sold in regular dairy shops and products ranging from toothpaste, shampoo, soap, face powder and shaving lotion to balm, biscuits, incense sticks, phenyl, mosquito coils and distemper which are being made from cow urine and cow dung. "

They predict that:

""Once the tests show positive results, the department will work its packaging, preservation and marketing," Prakash added. The department claims that the product is an alternative for western cold-drinks and will sweep the Indian market"

The dairy industry is in dire economic straights, and many dairy producers have trouble getting rid of the 'products' that these Indian folks are going to sell or are selling. Is it time the dairy industry tries to 'think outside the box'?

Thinking outside the box isn't limited to the US.

Hope that helps.

DairyScienceMark