USDA raises dairy price support levels

USDA announced a jump in dairy price support levels in an attempt to alleviate the financial stress U.S. dairy farm families are facing.

Effective through the end of October, price support levels are being raised nearly 16 percent. The price support for nonfat dry milk is raised from 80 cents a pound to 92 cents. The block Cheddar support is raised from $1.13 a pound to $1.31. Barrels move from $1.10 to $1.28. The butter support apparently was not changed. The USDA projects that this rise in support levels will generate an additional $243 million in revenue for dairy farmers between now and the end of October.

Under the price support program, USDA serves as the buyer of last resort to help clear commodity dairy markets during periods of exceptionally low farm-level prices, explains the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).

Earlier this year, USDA had liquidated 200 million pounds of surplus milk powder, reauthorized the Dairy Export Incentive Program, and expedited payments under the MILC program.

“Once again, Ag Secretary Vilsack has used the tools at his disposal to help dairy farmers cope with the extreme drop in milk prices,” said Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of NMPF.

Crisis unites California co-ops

Continuing financial crisis has resulted in perhaps an unprecedented level of unity between dairy cooperatives in California.

On July 16, members of the state's four largest co-ops signed documents creating the Western Milk Cooperatives Agency (WMCA). The new organization is a marketing agency in common (MAC) consisting of California Dairies, Inc., Dairy Farmers of America Western Council, Land O’Lakes, Inc., and Security Milk Producers Association. Of the 41 billion pounds of milk produced in California last year, about 33 billion pounds were marketed by all co-ops in the state. The four WMCA members accounted for approximately 31 billion pounds.

Signing the MAC agreement in the accompanying photo were (l-r): Fred Douma, representing SMPA; Tony Mendes, representing CDI; George Mertens, representing DFA; and Cornell Kasbergen, representing LOL.

WMCA spokesman Eric Erba, vice president of government relations for CDI, explains that a MAC is simply a group of milk marketing co-ops that work together in a variety of ways to help market products under a common agreement. He says WMCA’s objective is to identify ways that its members can work together, move milk more efficiently and cost-effectively, and match market supply of dairy products more closely to market demand.

“The first thing we’re going to be looking at is to identify ways to reduce hauling costs for everyone,” Erba adds. “We’re already setting up a meeting with all the transportation and dispatch people at the four co-ops to discuss how we can send one co-op’s milk to another co-op’s customer if it means a shorter haul.”

Hoard's Farm calf trial

As July comes to an end, work still continues at the Hoard's Dairyman Farm. Along with the busy work of cutting hay, getting ready for summer tours, and completing regular chores, Hoard's has been doing a summer calf trial comparing differences in calf grain starter. The purpose of this trial is to identify the differences in calf growth, efficiency, and cost when feeding a pelleted starter versus a texturized starter.

Hoard's is working with Vita Plus, a Wisconsin nutrition management company, for this on-farm calf trial which consists of 13 heifer calves. The trial started mid-May and will continue into September until all of the calves are weaned.

The method of the on-farm trial consists of a control group of seven calves that are fed a 20 percent One Shot Bov/Aureo in Braden bottles starting at Day 1. The treatment group of the other six calves, are fed a 20 percent Momenta Calf RUM starter in buckets starting at Day 3. Each day, individual calf starter is weighed and recorded before being put into the grain bucket or bottle. Spoiled and discarded feed is also measured.

All calves on the trial are weighed and have hip height recorded at birth, Days 14, 28, 45, and when they're weaned at 60 days. Colostrum quality and amount, dystocia level, sickness, and milk fed each day are monitored, recorded, and controlled to ensure accurate results from the trial. Data is currently being compiled and will be completed in September.

Working together to educate consumers

Last week, we headed up to the AFACT annual summit in Minneapolis. AFACT stands for American Farmers for the Advancement and Conservation of Technology. This nonprofit agricultural education organization is made up of agricultural producers along with industry supporters. They are working to educate the food chain, especially those in the grocery sector, about modern agricultural technologies that have come under attack in recent years. Topics like animal welfare, BST, antibiotics, and GMO crops were all topics of discussion. The second annual summit was host to speakers like dairy and poultry producers from California who discussed how Proposition 2 will affect their farms. The summit also welcomed Alex Avery, director of research and education at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Food Issues, who discussed the sustainability of modern agricultural practices. Beyond listening to speakers, attendees learned more about the organization and took part in small group discussions on what more can be done to educate consumers while working side by side will all of agriculture.

Monty Miller, a member of the AFACT leadership team, shared some of the group’s efforts in online education. He highlighted a Moodle page (an internet-based learning website) that was used to pilot an online course to educate consumers about food production technologies. Miller believes that education of consumers and improving their science literacy is essential today. “Five to ten years ago we had a choice. Its not a choice anymore, it’s what we have to do,” Miller said.

The Hilmar experience

If you take a trip to California and find yourself surrounded by thousands of little, curious brown cows, you know you’ve entered Hilmar country. This past week Hoard’s staff had a chance to visit Hilmar and some of the dairies that make up Hilmar Cheese Company, which annually produces more cheese from one site than any other manufacturer in the world.

We visited the Charles Ahlem Ranch, owned and operated by Chuck and Mark Ahlem, where 5,000 Jersey cows make their home. This farm features a 50-cow rotary parlor with a robotic postdipping system, and also uses RFID implants in the rear leg to track the animals. The Ahlem Ranch has been a pioneer farm in the dairy industry making use of cutting edge technology such as the robotic postdipper, RFID implants, running a stationary TMR mixer, and being ahead of the game in environmental stewardship.

Chuck is one of the founders of the producer-started Hilmar Cheese Company, which averages nearly two million pounds of cheese made per day.

We also had a chance to visit with the Hilmar farm interns who are scattered across different operations throughout the area. These interns are learning the ins and outs of large-scale farming and are hoping to take home management skills and professional relationships that they can use in the future. Look for more information on the Hilmar internship program in an upcoming Young Dairyman article.

January genetic base change may be smaller than expected

This January will usher in the seventh genetic base change for U.S. dairy cattle populations. Given the high production PTA (predicted transmitting ability) for many Holstein breed leaders, one would think the base change for traits would be quite high. In the Holstein breed alone, the top bulls were plus 2,964 pounds of milk, 89 protein, 106 fat, 4.32 type, 3.62 udders, and 4.06 for feet and legs in the April USDA sire summaries.

While the top bulls keep getting better, remember that base changes are made in relation to the average cow born for a given year. And for the next base change, that comparison will be made to cows born in 2005. With that in mind, USDA officials tell us that the change for PTA milk will range from 53 to 416.5 pounds for all breeds with Holstein leading the group with the biggest adjustment. Other key traits include protein ranging from 3 to 13.5 pounds; fat, 2.5 to 17 pounds; type, 0.2 to 0.87 points; and udders 0.25 to 0.85 points. In all these categories, Holsteins have the biggest adjustment except for fat where Jersey leads the pack.

While most of the change has been positive, some measurements among health traits were mixed. Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DPR), for example, actually posted a drop. Only one breed, Ayrshire, posted a gain in this area. Meanwhile no significant change was posted in somatic cell score (SCS). On a positive note, Productive Life (PL), the cow's ability to live a long life, rose 0.06 to 0.81 with the Milking Shorthorns tops among the six dairy breeds.

Look for all of these adjustments and many others in the January 2010 sire summaries.

Those cow sanctuaries got us to thinking

It was news to us that there is a cow sanctuary in West Virginia, actually, a couple of them. But it shouldn’t be too surprising. Cows are sacred to Hindus, and both New Vrindaban village operated by Hare Kishnas and the International Society for Cow Protection located nearby are run by Hindu groups.

We learned of these cow sanctuaries through an article in the Wall Street Journal. Focus of the article was that the people running the cow sanctuaries were having trouble raising enough money to feed and care for the cows. They had started an adoption program of sorts, whereby people could adopt and support a cow in one of the sanctuaries as long as it lived. A main objective of the sanctuaries is to keep cows from being slaughtered.

A couple of thoughts came to mind. One, it is good that people appreciate the economics of caring for farm animals. Neither money nor feed grows on trees, and the sanctuaries are learning that it costs a lot of money to own cattle, regardless of the purpose. Their cows probably don’t eat very much though. Only about six of the 80 cows at New Vrindaban produce milk, with the rest just waiting out their time.

Which brings us to our second thought. Wouldn’t it be better to slaughter cows humanely at the proper time rather than let them die of old age? Actually, we’ve thought about this before. We keep cows to produce nutritious milk, and, when the time comes, we see that they are harvested for their nutritious meat. Thanks to animal behavior specialists such as Temple Grandin and others, care and handling at slaughter has improved greatly. To our way of thinking, that beats the alternative.

More Hoard Farm intern experiences

Wrestling heifers, chasing dry cows, tagging cows, pulling twins at midnight, and being chased by bumblebees are just a few things that have kept my internship memorable so far this summer.

I have had a great learning experience, as well. I work with the herd health manager, Megan Lundy, and the calf manager, Stephanie Ayoub. In addition to breeding cows, I have learned how to IV cows. However, some of my favorite experiences have been pulling twins at 12:30 till 1:30 at night with Stephanie’s help. Both twins had their heads down so we had to push them back and pull the head up so we could pull them. My latest project has been to check cows that need tags, order tags, and finally tag the cow. After hours of tagging with Megan’s help, we were exhausted and happy that the task was complete.

I found a the nest of bumblebees in the straw pile while bedding the dry cows.

As part of my research project, Hoards had the sprinkler systems installed. One system is in the holding pen and the other in the return alleys. The system in the holding pen is on a timer with five individual sprinklers. When the sensors are tripped in the return alley, the cow is sprayed down when she walks though, cooling her before she returns to her pen.

These are just a few experiences of my internship so far. Now I need some hot weather in August to complete my research on heat stress.

Dairy Farmers of America try to ease the producer's pain

Over 10,750 member farms of Dairy Farmers of America will split a $9.5 million cash payment due to the current economic hardships the industry is facing. This DFA initiative will be equivalent to 5 cents per hundredweight for milk marketed through DFA from January to June. Last Friday, checks were sent out to member farms that still remained active as of June 30.

DFA is looking into more opportunities, within the cooperative as well as with other industry organizations, to solve the short- and long-term effects of the crisis. “Obviously, relief has not come as quickly as we hoped, but we are committed to finding ways to ease stress that will have both short- and long-term impact on the dairy industry,” said DFA Chairman Tom Camerlo.

To see the full press release visit the DFA website.

Struggling dairy prices spotlighted on msnbc.com

Alongside stories about tensions in the middle east and health care reform, it was the dairy industry's depressed prices and nonexistent profits that took center stage Monday morning on msnbc.com. The front page photo showed a calf being fed along with the headline "Struggling dairy farmers milk other forms of revenue." The website is closely following the Elkhart, Ind., community of 53,000 that had an unemployment rate of 19.6 percent in February and claims to be the RV capital of the world — an industry that has been hit hard in the economic downturn. The "Elkhart Project," as named by the news group has been visiting with community members in Elkhart, Ind., to see how the economic downturn is affecting their daily lives and how they are keeping a positive outlook. When clicking on the story, you would see a video about a few of the local dairy farms, as well as a farm credit loan officer.

Susan Troyer, one of the farmers in the video says, "I can't believe that there is any dairy farmer in the whole U.S. that is actually making milk for what it is costing them to produce right now." You'll also hear from a farmer who has reduced his herd size and began doing custom calf raising and harvesting just to make ends meet.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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Summertime is finally here

Summertime is finally here which means warm weather, barbeques, baseball games . . . and county fairs. The Hoard's Farm wastes no time in getting involved in its community where it leases out several Guernsey animals to local 4-H youth as dairy projects each year for their annual county fair.

The Hoard's Farm was well represented as nine Guernsey heifers were exhibited last weekend at the Jefferson County Fair. Six young people, including Jason Yurs's (the Hoard's farm manager) two children, each showed their animals at the Jefferson County 4-H show. Preparation for the county fair started early in the summer where the animals were selected and separated to be put on their show cow diet which consisted of hay, grain, beet pulp, and water.

The 4-H'ers took turns each day feeding, watering, and bedding these show heifers to make sure they were in prime condition for show day. The month of June was a busy time at the Hoard's Farm as there was always someone feeding or leading their heifer around outside.

In recent year's, the Hoard's Dairyman Farm has a tradition of showing registered cattle at the local level. Each year, several kids from around the county come to the farm hoping to lease an animal as a dairy project for the summer. The farm strongly believes in getting young people involved in the dairy industry.

"Showing animals is a great way to get kids involved and to show them what the dairy industry is like," says Jason Yurs. "They quickly learn the meaning of responsibility, hard work, and patience when they agree to take on a 4-H dairy project, while having fun in the process."

With another successful summer fair come and gone, the Hoard's farm is already looking ahead for more to come in the future.

Bigger bulk tanks are becoming a necessity

Steadily declining farm numbers, but generally stable total cow numbers, have been parallel trends for many years in the U.S. dairy industry. As a result, there has been remarkable growth in average herd size which in 2008 reached 163 cows.

Just by themselves, more cows will eventually test the milk storage capacity of every dairy that is growing. But that isn’t the only pressure being applied because average production per cow also tends to increase each year. Ups and downs do occur, but the average gain is typically about 350 pounds per year.

More cows per herd making more milk means that today’s average dairy is producing far more milk per year than it did a decade ago, and for some that may create a need for bigger bulk tanks – or more of them.

In 1992, the average dairy milked 75 cows that averaged 15,415 pounds per year. In 2008, the averages had grown to 163 cows and 20,396 pounds. As a result, the growth in total production per farm is eye-opening:

• In 1992, the average U.S. dairy produced 1,153,092 pounds of milk per year.
• In 2008, the average dairy produced nearly three times as much: 3,325,726 pounds per year.

That’s just the average, though. Some states have total production averages miles above that. New Mexico leads the rest of the country with an average of 49,115,763 pounds per farm per year -- or more than 134,000 pounds per day. Missouri had the lowest average of 917,625 pounds per farm per year.

CWT herd retirement No. 8 could be huge

The clock is ticking fast for dairy producers to submit bids in the second installment of the Cooperatives Working Together Herd Retirement program for 2009. Postmark deadline is July 24, eight days from today.

Even though it comes just 10 weeks after the close of the huge Herd Retirement Round No. 7 in May, and there are many new rules about bidding and participation, and there is a $5.25-per-hundredweight limit on how much producers can bid, we have a feeling participation from the West and Southwest in retirement Round No. 8 could be huge. Continued steep losses in the dairy economy since Round No. 7, plus a weak milk price outlook that extends well into next year, are big reasons why.

A tiny two-week window for bidding, which is by far the shortest in program history, and a $5.25 bid limit are odd features of Round No. 8. As seen below, average bid price accepted in both rounds in 2008 were above $6. (CWT officials have not announced the average price in Round No. 7 and pointed out there is no guarantee that $5.25 offers will be accepted this time.)

CWT Herd Retirement average bid prices accepted:
Round No. 1 (2003) – $4.02
Round No. 2 (2004) – $5.24
Round No. 3 (2005) – $6.75
Round No. 4 (2007) – $5.50
Round No. 5 (2008) – $6.10
Round No. 6 (2008) – $6.49

For cows producing the 2008 U.S. average of 20,396 pounds per year, a $5.25 bid translates into $1,070 per head which is right in line with current market prices. Producers also receive whatever beef price is realized. With most herds estimated to still be losing between $3 and $5 per cow per day, that three-part combination may be all the incentive they need to get out while it is still possible to do so.

Antibiotics spotlighted in Washington

Animal agriculture has once again taken the stage in Washington. According to the New York Times, Obama administration officials recently announced that they will seek a ban on routine use of seven classes of antibiotics on farm animals. While the ban would not stop the use of antibiotics completely, it would stop the use of antibiotics within those classes without the guidance of a veterinarian. Not surprisingly, most farm animal groups oppose the proposed legislation. However, while defending our current practices is needed, a more proactive approach to the criticism might be warranted, as well. A renewed commitment to educating ourselves as producers about antibiotics could be just what consumers are looking for.

In this month’s issue of the Journal of Dairy Science, a research project regarding bovine veterinarian’s knowledge, beliefs, and practices regarding antibiotic resistance on Ohio dairy farms was published. While the research was limited to Ohio bovine veterinarians and had a goal of discussing antibiotics' impact on animal rather than human health, it was clear that those surveyed believed they could be doing a better job of communicating improved protocols. Of the small group that was surveyed, only 23 percent reported that they consistently provided customers with treatment protocols each time antibiotics were prescribed. More than 75 percent of those surveyed believed that one-on-one meetings and handouts including good management practices, diagnosis descriptions, and appropriate dosages of antibiotics would be effective ways to educate clients.

CWT announces eighth herd retirement

Last Friday, Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) announced that it will conduct its eighth herd retirement and second retirement of 2009. CWT announced that this round the bid submission time frame will be shortened, and they will instate a maximum bid level in order to have a more immediate impact.

The bid window has been reduced to two weeks and will have a maximum bid level of $5.25 per hundredweight. According to Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, “Carrying out a second herd retirement right on the heels of the largest-ever herd retirement should give us a double-barreled attack on milk production in a very short period of time, resulting in a farm level price recovery several months sooner than would otherwise occur.”

Farmers will also have the option of offering all bred heifers at a price of $700 per animal. Herds retired in any of the previous seven rounds will not be allowed to bid again. Bids are due July 24 to CWT. More information, including bid forms, can be found at CWT’s website.

National Dairy Shrine names award winners

National Dairy Shrine (NDS) is pleased to announce the winners of the Pioneer, Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder, and Guest of Honor Awards for this year. These awards were designed to honor dairy industry leaders who have contributed to strengthening and enlivening the dairy industry.

Dr. William Sandine is the Guest of Honor, the highest award from the National Dairy Shrine. This award goes to an individual who has had a dramatic impact on the dairy industry and its future. Dr. Sandine had an illustrious career at Oregon State University. He mentored over 70 graduate students and developed several patented processes to improve cheese making and extending the shelf life of cheese and other processed foods. He truly changed the efficiency of the production of cheese. His patents are still being actively used today by cheese plants all over the world.

The NDS Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder is Duane Conant from Canton, Maine. The Conant Acres prefix is known throughout the world for quality Holstein cattle and friendly hospitality. Duane also has served on several Maine and national boards and committees. He has shown great leadership abilities and the foresight to try innovative breeding ideas.

Through an anonymous selection committee, Ernest Berousek, Phil Higley, Truman Graf, and Harry Roth were selected as National Dairy Shrine Pioneers. This year’s honorees are an exemplary display of what this award is about. Ernest Berousek has made significant contributions through his teaching at Oklahoma State and Rhode Island and to his devotion to the Guernsey breed. Phil Higley is best known for starting the business of commercial artificial insemination in 1941 and later became president of American Breeders Service. Professor Truman Graf, University of Wisconsin, was the most prominent dairy economist during the 1960s-1980s in the field of milk marketing. Finally, Harry Roth from Atlantic Breeders Co-op, Pennsylvania, is a true giant in the artificial insemination industry whose career includes buying elite sires to sales manager to general manager of the company.

All of these outstanding winners will be honored at the annual National Dairy Shrine Awards Banquet at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., on Thursday, October 1, 2009. Please contact Dr. David Selner if you want to reserve banquet tickets at info@dairyshrine.org or at 920-863-6333.

More milk produced farther from consumers

People are getting more interested in where their food is produced, as well as how it is being produced. Consider the proliferation of farmers’ markets in cities large and small across the country. Some food industry observers see this trend continuing with people wanting to know more about where their food comes from.

We thought of this when we saw the May 2009 issue of Marketing Service Bulletin from the Central Milk Marketing Order office. The article, “Cows versus people” compared milk marketings (federal order plus California) and population figures (dairy production consumption) for the four U.S. time zones. The analysis assumes that dairy product consumption is the same in all time zones and that it amounts to 50 pounds of milk per month . . . 25 pounds for fluid and Class II products and 25 pounds for cheese, butter, and so forth.

For December 2008, the Eastern time zone had 47.8 percent of the population but produced only 30 percent of the milk. That resulted in a deficit of 21.7 pounds per person or 3.1 billions of milk for the month.

The Central time zone was closer to balance with 30.9 percent of the milk and 29 percent of the population. Still, that time zone was deficit 172.9 million pounds of milk for the month.

Taken together, the Eastern and Central time zones were deficit about 3.3 billion pounds of milk for the month.

By contrast, the Pacific time zone has 29 percent of the milk marketings but only 16.5 percent of the population. It had a 1.4 billion-pound surplus for the month. The Mountain time zone had 10.2 percent of the marketings and 6.6 percent of the people.

This underscores the amount of milk (dairy product) that moves from west to east in this country. Many people on both the milk-producing and milk-processing sides of the business are concerned about where milk is being produced and the cost of moving dairy products to market. This a worthy concern as we look at higher transportation costs in the years ahead and the changing way that consumers view their food supply.

Top 10 tips for sensational summer grilling

July is National Beef Month, and remember, dairy producers are beef producers, too. The beef check-off's website is a great resource for all of your summer grilling needs. See their tips for having a spectacular summer grilling season. Also, you can see some great grilling recipes in our August 10 issue.

1. Keep beef refrigerated. Grilling times are based on beef being taken directly from the refrigerator to the grill – not at room temperature.

2. Trim, if necessary. Remove visible fat from meat and poultry before grilling to help prevent flare-ups and excess smoke formation.

3. Marinating mantra. Always marinate in the refrigerator. Tender beef cuts can be marinated for 15 minutes to 2 hours for flavor. Less tender beef cuts should be marinated at least 6 hours – but no more than 24 hours – in a mixture containing an acidic ingredient or a natural tenderizing enzyme.

4. Grilling temperature matters. Grilling over medium heat ensures even cooking and flavorful, juicy meat. If beef is grilled over too high heat, the exterior can become overcooked or charred before the interior reaches the desired doneness.

5. Watch the charcoal. Never grill while the coals are still flaming. Wait until the coals are covered with gray ash (approximately 30 minutes) and spread in a single layer.

6. Know your gas grill. Since gas grill brands vary greatly, consult the owner’s manual for information about preparing the grill for medium heat.

7. Turn properly. Use long-handled tongs for turning steaks and spatulas for burgers. A fork will pierce the beef, causing loss of flavorful juices. And don’t be tempted to press down on burgers – it only releases the juices and creates flare-ups.

8. Use a thermometer. The best way to determine doneness of burgers and steaks is to use an instant-read meat thermometer, inserted horizontally from the side to penetrate the center of the meat. Allow 10 to 15 seconds for the thermometer to register the internal temperature.

9. Internal temperature matters. Cook burgers to at least 160°F. The color of cooked ground beef is not a reliable indicator of doneness. Cook steaks to at least 145°F (medium rare doneness). The color will be very pink in the center and slightly brown toward the exterior.

10. Practice food safety. Keep raw meat separate from other foods both in the refrigerator and during preparation. Wash hands, all utensils, and surfaces in hot, soapy water after contact with raw meat. Never place cooked meat on platters that held raw meat.

China's dairy industry still trying to recover

After last year’s scandal, which killed six children and affected over 294,000 people, the dairy industry in China is still on the rebound. A 2008 disclosure about the addition of the industrial chemical melamine to milk products led to company losses of nearly $140 million. The added melamine made it appear that milk from undernourished cows had higher protein levels to get a better ‘quality check’ from the milk company.

China Mengniu Dairy Company, the nation’s biggest supplier of liquid milk, was one of the hardest hit with a loss of $138 million last year after being one of the firms found at fault in the scandal.

The company is expecting a net profit this year between $102 and $117 million with large thanks to state-owned and private equity firms. State-owned firm, Cofco, and private equity firm, Hopu Investement Management Company, are joining forces to invest $780 million for 20 percent stake in Mengniu.

While other smaller dairy companies are still suffering, Mengnui will use the added funds, as advised by the government, to enhance product quality.

Improved results with 3x milking

June 15 was an exciting day for Hoard's Dairyman. After months of discussion
and planning, the farm finally made the switch to 3x milking. Even though
the obvious reason for the change was to increase overall milk production,
there were other motives for moving to 3x milking.

"We wanted to show that Guernsey cows not only can perform, but also be
profitable in the modern dairy industry," said Jason Yurs, the farm manager.

Moving away from the previous 2x milking at 3 a.m. and 3 p.m., the milking
times at Hoard's Dairyman Farm are now at 4 a.m., 12 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. The
farm has already seen promising results. Of the 300 cows milking at Hoard's
Dairyman Farm, milk production increased an average 3 pounds/cow within a week
of the switch. Milk production continued to climb until the Wisconsin summer
weather moved in where there were a few days with a heat index above 100
degrees Fahrenheit.

There is a lot more planning when deciding to switch to 3x milking than one
might realize. The change has caused the farm to rearrange its entire daily
schedule. More employees are being trained to fill in the extra milking
times. Also the previous milkers and other farm employees have reorganized
their routine and working hours to fit around the new milking times. Calves
are now being fed earlier, and herd health check has moved to Monday afternoon
instead of Monday evening.

The farm will look for increased milk production throughout the summer.

Vermont's Cobb Hill wins North American Jersey Cheese Awards

At an event the first of its kind, it was Cobb Hill Cheese's Ascutney Mountain variety that took home top honors in the North American Jersey Cheese Awards. The awards program was held during the American Jersey Cattle Association and National All Jersey annual convention. See our last blog for more about the convention. This new event, the North American Jersey Cheese Awards, was organized by U.S. Jersey staff and the World Jersey Cattle Bureau to showcase cheese produced around the continent from 100 percent Jersey milk. A similar event, the World Jersey Cheese Festival, was held at the breed's original home on the Isle of Jersey in the English Channel last year.


Seventy-seven cheese entries from 29 producers in 15 states and Quebec were submitted to the competition. Cheeses were judged on both technical and aesthetic characteristics by a panel of esteemed cheese experts and cheese enthusiasts. Kathy Guidi, a 35-year cheese expert, Dean of the Cheese Education Guild, and President of Artisan Cheese Marketing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, served as lead judge.

Medal winners were showcased at Sycamore Hill Gardens in Marcellus, NY, during an evening dinner and garden tour at the former Jersey farm. Of the group, 48 received either a gold, silver, or bronze medal award. Cheeses that earned between 36 and 40 points received bronze awards, those with between 41 and 45 points earned silver medals, and those with 46 to 50 points received gold medals. Guidi praised the Ascutney Mountain cheese from Cobb Hill for it's excellent flavor, texture and beautiful rind. The runner-up was Blau Wein Kase of Flat Creek Lodge cheese in Georgia. Second runner-up recognition was given to Tarentaise, a cheese from Spring Brook Farm, from Vermont. A photo of the winning Ascutney Mountain cheese is shown below.

Jersey worlds combine in upstate New York

We're keeping busy this summer bringing you coverage of each of the breeds' annual meetings. This week is no exception as we joined over 400 Jersey breeders and enthusiasts from around the country and world in Syracuse, N.Y. for the annual meeting of National All Jersey, the American Jersey Cattle Association, and the World Jersey Cattle Bureau. Activities started Wednesday and will continue through Saturday.

Wednesday evening highlighted the accomplishments of six outstanding young breeders who have developed well-established Jersey breeding programs in just their short time breeding Jerseys as all honorees were under the age of 40. Those winners included Roger and Cathleen Alexander of Liberty, Pa., Kimberly Clauss of Hilmar, Calif., Eric Daggett of Derby, Vt., Jake and Kate Hardy of Belleville, Pa., Shari Strickhouser of Elkhorn, Wis., and Ron and Nicole Wussow of Cecil, Wis.

Thursday started off with National All Jersey's annual meeting, as well as a seminar regarding Jersey beef research that was recently completed at Oregon State University. The afternoon included a visit to Silver Spring Farm, owned and operated by convention co-chairs Chuck and Sue Luchsinger. After lunch and tour, the farm was the site of the Jersey research auction which impressively raised over $18,000 for Jersey-specific research. Thursday evening showcased award winners of Jersey's top honors. This year's honorees included William and Carolyin Ahlem, Sabino Ahlem Herrera, and Ed Fisher, all of Hilmar, Calif., who were named Master Breeders. Robert and Helene Dreisbach of Mercer, Pa., were given the Distinguished Service Award and the Award for Meritorious Service was given to Ronald Pearson of Virginia Tech and Blacksburg, Va.

Be sure to watch for our August 10, 2009, issue which will have a full report of each convention, including association financial reports and convention sale reports.

CWT finishes latest herd retirement round, removes 101,000 cows

Cooperatives Working Together has now finished the farm audits of its seventh herd retirement round since the program was started in 2003, removing 101,040 cows that produced almost two billion pounds of milk.

At the completion of the on-farm auditing process at the end of June, CWT removed 367 herds in 41 states, comprised of nearly 101,000 cows that produced 1.96 million pounds of milk. These figures reflect the final number of dairies that successfully were audited in the herd retirement process in May and June.

CWT had received 538 bids from 41 states during the bidding process in April. As has been the case with its previous herd retirement rounds, most of the cows removed were in the western regions of the country. This round also removed 818 bred heifers.

"Even though this was by far the largest of CWT's seven herd retirement efforts, we were able to move quickly in May and June to audit the participating farms," said Jim Tillison, chief operating officer of CWT. "The national dairy herd will be noticeably smaller this summer as a result of CWT."

CWT auditors were sent to each of the farms whose bids were accepted. Once the information submitted by the farmers with their bid was verified, each of the cows has a special CWT ear tag applied, and the farmers were given a brief amount of time to sell their cows for processing. Once the sales receipts for the animals are verified and ear tags are returned to CWT by the processing plants, farmers are issued payment, and their names are posted at www.cwt.coop.

HSUS aligns itself with Bank of America

A cute orange cat is the face of a new credit card for the Humane Society of the United States. Offered by Bank of America, the card offers a free HSUS t-shirt with credit approval, you can still get the same great card rewards, and you can help support the missions of the HSUS. Bank of America will be providing 25 cents for every $100 in purchases. This donation has already generated hundreds of thousands of dollars with a growing cardholder population of over 50,000. What could be better, right?

However, as many of us know, the HSUS missions to combat animal cruelty and care for animals in need, are not always as they seem. The HSUS underlying mission is to stop animal agriculture, and its new alliance with Bank of America has the cattle industry in an uproar.

Thanks to efforts by the Cattle Network, the Bank of America has been alerted of industry disagreement and is bringing the matter to an elevated level. W. Ashley Allen, Sr. Vice President of Bank of America responded to the Cattle Network and fellow industry people’s complaint letters, saying Bank of America is very supportive of the cattle industry and will look into the matter.