Reduce your environmental hoofprint

You hear about it all the time in the news or on television, and your kids probably learn about it in school. The environment. Believe it or not, even your cows are leaving behind an environmental hoofprint.

A recent study done by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), a USDA research agency, examined the environmental impact of solid dairy manure, liquid dairy manure, and commercial fertilizer on phosphorus contamination in watersheds. Results showed that solid dairy manure was the least harmful in excreting phosphorus followed by commercial fertilizer and, finally, liquid manure.

Twenty-four soil columns were evaluated after being spread with either solid or liquid manure or monoammonium phosphate (MAP), a commercial fertilizer. These columns were irrigated 13 times over the nine-week test period and the leachate, liquid drained out of the soil, was collected and analyzed for concentrations of phosphorus, carbon, calcium, iron, and manganese.

ARS scientists Tarkalson and Leytem found that phosphorus in commercial fertilizer was more mobile than phosphorus in the solid manure. They also found that phosphorus moved through soil in much larger quantities with liquid manure versus the other two fertilizers.

What does this mean for farmers?

If you’re concerned about watersheds in your area, you can take steps to reduce your environmental impact. A few solutions include spreading your manure across a larger area of land, avoid spreading manure near waterways (however small), trying not to spread on the same piece of land repeatedly, and investigating new options in manure management.

Sunny means money at California dairy

“Golden sunshine” is a phrase that has more meaning than ever these days at Scott Brothers Dairy in San Jacinto, Calif.

That’s because about 30 percent of the electricity used at the 1,000-cow dairy is produced by photovoltaic solar panels mounted on its commodity barn roof. Founded in 1913, the family operation run by Stan Scott and his sons, Bruce and Brad (pictured here), is one of just a handful of dairies in the state that are generating zero-emission renewable power from the sun.

Installed last November, phase one of the Scotts’ solar setup consists of 312 photovoltaic panels that convert sunlight into electricity throughout the day which is put back into the utility grid operated by their local electric company. Second and perhaps third phases of the system may eventually be added to roofs that span the calf area and the maternity/hospital area.

Although expensive at roughly $400,000 up front, Bruce estimates that electric bill savings, state renewable energy rebates, federal tax credits, and tremendously accelerated depreciation rates make payback period for the current system less than five years.

“On top of that, the public relations benefit for this is fantastic,” he says. “We process our own milk and make several dairy products, and our customers ask us all the time for “image-conscious” products that are environmentally friendly. They get very excited when we tell them our dairy is solar-powered.

“Being proactive is the only way dairying and agriculture are going to keep any kind of positive image with consumers; we can’t hide from sight,” he adds. “Solar is something that can work for many dairies; plus it requires practically no maintenance.”

Mold can grow on your feed, but it won’t grow on you

Veterinarians from across Minnesota and the upper Midwest gathered recently at the University of Minnesota for the Minnesota Dairy Health Conference. Just one of the two days of speakers was Lon Whitlow of North Carolina State University. He shared why we should pay attention to our practices and, more specifically, our feed in order to prevent the growth of molds that produce detrimental mycotoxins. “It’s the low levels of mycotoxins over long periods of time that will cost producers the most,” Whitlow said.

Many producers first realize they have a mycotoxin problem if milk production drops substantially or a cow dies. However, Whitlow says that continuous low levels present in feed can take a cut out of your milk check. Another speaker at the conference, Jeremy Schefers, shared what cows and brewmasters have in common. That commonality was that the quality of the end product could be impacted heavily by the presence of mold. He recommends finding a reputable, cost-effective forage-testing lab that will test for molds to see if you are being challenged with mycotoxins.

Another topic at the conference we thought was really interesting was the topic of stockmanship. Paul Rapnicki of the University of Minnesota presented a how-to of calm cow handling and key concepts of Bud Williams, a well-known educator on low-stress livestock handling. Learn more at the Bud Williams website here.

Should our industry consider "supply management"?

There has been more talk that our industry should implement some form of supply management. Here is a brief discussion of some plans.

Dairy Price Stabilization Program. This is a national, mandatory supply management program administered through USDA-FSA offices that is being presented by Holstein Association USA. An industry panel would determine milk production needs for each quarter and establish “allowable milk marketings” for each producer. Those who expanded production above their base would pay a “market access fee”, perhaps, $2 to $3 per hundredweight on all milk sold. Developed by Gordon Cook, a Massachusetts Holstein breeder and John Meyer, CEO of Holstein USA, with input from University of Wisconsin dairy economist Bob Cropp. Supporters of this plan include Milk Producers Council, a southern California producer group, which had developed a similar plan.

Market impacts of a growth management plan. This is an analysis of the Dairy Price Stabilization Program mentioned above.

Enhanced Demand through Price Stability. More of a marketing concept than a policy plan, EDPS would involve dairy co-ops (or other groups representing dairy producers) establishing long-term supply contracts (at least three years) with milk buyers. The contracts would be for a specific amount of milk, with some flexibility) and the milk price would be adjusted every 6 or 12 months based on the cost of inputs (corn, soybean meal, diesel, and interest rates). The architect of this concept is Jim Stewart, an Idaho dairyman.

Dairy Pricing Association. Proposed by a southwest Wisconsin group, DPA would be a farmer-formed business entity that would purchased excess milk from plants, when wholesale dairy product prices were below a certain level. Excess milk would be used to make powder for feeding programs or disposed of to maintain stable prices.

The Federal Milk Marketing Act of 2009. Reintroduced by Senators Spector (D-Penn.) and Casey (D-Penn), U.S. Senate Bill S-889 would establish the value of all manufacturing milk based on the national average cost of production as determined by USDA-ERS. A lower price is received for “excess” production, especially for those shipping more than 3 million pounds per year. Includes 1-year, new producer exemption.

What do you think? Do any of the plans appeal to you? Let us know your thoughts on the pro’s and con’s of supply management for our industry.

April milk production stable

Despite today's low milk prices, milk production figures held steady for April. National milk production was down just 0.1 percent, while figures for the top 23 dairy states (which produce 92.5 percent of the nation's milk) were up 0.1 percent. Cow numbers were down slightly with 3,000 fewer cows compared to April 2008 and 2,000 fewer head than March 2009, according to the USDA report released May 18.

Among the top dairy states, milk production in:
• California was down 2.3 percent
• Wisconsin was up 1.6 percent
• New York was down 0.5 percent
• Idaho was down 1.5 percent
• Pennsylvania was down 1.9 percent
• Minnesota was up 2.9 percent

Other states of note included:
Texas up 7.2 percent
Florida up 5.9 percent
Kansas up 5.o percent
Washington down 3.4 percent
Vermont down 5.0 percent

Online courses aren’t just for college kids — try this free one about Johne’s

For college students these days, it can sound appealing to skip the traditional classroom format of their coursework and head to the internet for online instruction. The new wave of online education has become very popular, and now dairy producers can join in. The University of Wisconsin’s School of Veterinary Medicine has developed a free online course for dairy producers interested in learning and testing their knowledge of Johne’s disease. Plus, it won’t take more than 45 minutes to complete, and you can stay in your barn overalls if you like.

The course was made possible through a grant from the USDA and developed by the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine. To access the course, visit this link. You’ll have to create a username and password, and take brief pre and post-tests. Otherwise, all you need to do is sit back and listen as experts Michael Collins and Beth Patton help you learn more about this lurking disease that could be cutting your profits.

CWT accepts 388 bids representing 102,898 cows

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) announced today that it has tentatively accepted 388 bids representing 102,898 cows and 2 billion pounds of milk production capacity in the first of a series of herd retirements planned over the next 12 months. The number of cows and pounds of milk represent the largest single-herd retirement carried out in the six-year history of CWT.

Dairy farmers in 41 states submitted a total of 538 herd retirement bids by the May 1 deadline. The 388 bids tentatively accepted represent 72 percent of the total bids received by CWT. The number of cows now scheduled to be removed account for 64 percent of the total number of cows offered, and the 2 billion pounds of milk account for 67 percent of the milk production offered. “The high percentage of bids CWT selected this time around is an indication that producers understood that CWT would only be able to accept reasonable bids per hundred pounds of milk in order to adjust the nation’s dairy herd and better align supply and demand,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) which administers CWT.

Starting next week, CWT field auditors will begin visiting the 388 farms whose bids were accepted, checking their milk production records, inspecting their herds, and tagging each cow for processing. All farms should be audited by early July, and cows should begin moving off dairies by late May. All bidders will be notified no later than June 12, 2009, as to whether their bid was among those accepted.

“The bids selected ranged from farms with fewer than 50 cows to dairies with over 5,000, demonstrating that farms of all sizes in all areas are facing a very difficult year in 2009,” Kozak said. “Those who took advantage of CWT’s offer to retire their herds will aid others still wanting to farm by reducing the amount of milk coming to market and strengthening prices going forward.”

USDA provides first forecasts for 2010

Early looks at what’s ahead on both the income and expense sides of the business were provided by yesterday’s USDA publication, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates-WASDE-470. It’s a 40-pager, but the first five pages have enough meat and potatoes for most of us.

Milk production is expected to decline in 2010 because of the problems our industry is experiencing this year. Cow numbers will go down with only slight gains in milk per cow. The All-Milk price forecast is $14.70 to $15.70 per hundredweight, compared to an expected $11.85 to $12.35 this year.

Cattle prices are expected to be higher in 2010 due to tighter supplies and improved demand both here and abroad.

USDA projects feed grain and oilseed prices will remain relatively high in the year ahead. The agency estimates the price of this year’s corn crop will be around $4.10 a bushel, plus or minus about 40 cents. That’s a far cry from the $7.50 corn we saw last year, but it still is well above traditional corn prices.

Soybean prices, USDA projects, could be in the $9.45-a-bushel area, plus or minus $1. Soybean meal prices are expected to be around $290 a ton, plus or minus $30.

Corn planting has been slow. As of last Friday, 48 percent of corn had been planted, compared to a five-year average of 71. Beans were only 14 percent in, compared to typical 25 percent on that date. Corn planting is behind the most in the eastern Corn Belt. Continued wet weather could shift more acres to soybeans as happened last year, further tightening supplies of corn.

Nearly a billion go hungry

Just this week, the Washington Post published an article about recent world hunger estimates from the U.N. food aid organization. It says that the number of hungry people in the world could soon reach a new record of 1 billion. What’s hungry? Well, by their definition: Hungry is those who receive fewer than 1,800 calories per day. According to Food and Agriculture Organization experts, it is likely that well over 100 million more people will go hungry this year. They say this is due, in part, to the global economic crisis. Many of those individuals are from developing countries with low, yet rising, consumption of meat and dairy products. What can be done to change this?

To start — by the year 2050, we will need to produce 100 percent more food, with only 10 percent more tillable land not already in agricultural production. Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco, recently authored a whitepaper which addresses this growing challenge of feeding our world’s population. Simmons cites the FAO saying, “The FAO concludes that 70 percent of the world’s additional food needs can be produced only with new and existing agricultural technologies.” The dairy industry has made great strides in efficiencies and production within the last century. Will we continue this progress, or will consumer groups challenge this? How can we (as dairy advocates) promote farming efficiencies at home, abroad, and especially in developing countries in order to feed the world? Discuss below.

Another call to action against those who would destroy animal agriculture

Not so slowly, and very surely, a growing number of agricultural spokespersons are taking off the kid gloves when they discuss the threat to all food animal producers that is posed by vegan wolves disguised in animal rights clothing.

A case in point came during the National Dairy Leaders Conference April 20 and 21 in Denver, Colo. That’s when Gatz Riddell, D.V.M., executive vice-president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, added his voice to the growing chorus urging livestock industries to proactively adopt animal care practices that resonate with consumers – and consider abandoning those that don’t.

“Groups like Humane Society of the United States are never to be believed,” he said. “We have to remember that their true agenda is the abolishment of animal agriculture. Our best defense is to remove our opponents’ offense. We need to identify the “low-hanging fruit” in terms of our procedures and protocols that are easy to take issue with, address them before others do, and correct or eliminate them.”

Riddell cited several practices that are either under increased public scrutiny now or are likely to be in the near future. These include:

• tail docking
• dehorning
• surgical procedures without the use of anesthesia
• lameness
• low body condition
• culling rates
• failure to provide bull calves with colostrum
• disposition of bull calves in general

CheeseCupid offers matchmaking service

It may not be Valentine's Day, but that shouldn't prevent you from matching your favorite drink and cheese this evening. CheeseCupid is the place to go to find the perfect pairing of cheese and your favorite red or white wine, beer, or other spirit. This cleverly designed site will find a cheese soul mate for up to 25 different drinks.

The site is so easy to use. A simple point and click will lead you to your favorite beverage. For example, a click to the red wine Merlot yields 10 potentially great-tasting cheeses for your consideration. A further click on the cheese gives you a detailed idea of your potential dining experience. One of the 10 selection options for Merlot is Brick. By selecting Brick as a pairing option, you will learn some history of the cheese, more about its flavor, and other foods that taste good with it. Be sure to have your computer's audio turned on so you can listen to the clever dialogue, as well.

Iphone users can download the entire CheeseCupid program and take it with them where ever they go. For those on Facebook, there is a fan page that has 527 fans at the time of this blog post. Be sure to check it out.

Spring smoothie

Finally! The weather is getting warmer in the Midwest, and temperatures have been rising around the country. When that happens, the craving for something cool and sweet gets stronger. Luckily the 3-A-Day website has plenty of recipes that are cool, sweet, and contain nutritious dairy products that won’t break the calorie bank. We tried the Yogurt Mango Smoothie. It only took about five minutes to make. The challenge of cutting a fresh mango may have turned you off to the idea, but we used canned mangos, and it tasted great (note a small slice of fresh mango was used as garnish.) See the 3-A-Day website for the recipe, but you don’t really need one. Vanilla yogurt, ice, and mangos whirled together in a blender is a cool, creamy, fruity treat for anyone to enjoy.