Friday, October 30, 2009

Molds and mycotoxins may damage this year's corn crop


This is a guest blog by Mike Hutjens, Extension dairy specialist with the University of Illinois, Urbana.

Dairy managers and corn growers share the same concern: a wet and late spring delayed planting, a lack of heat (degree days) slowed growth, and a record wet October with cold weather has a huge corn crop at risk with mold development. Moldy corn reduces bushel weight, corn quality, nutrient content, and increases the risk of mycotoxin formation. Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced by fungi (molds) growing on grain or feed in the field or in storage. Mycotoxins associated with cool and wet conditions are deoxynivalenol (also called DON or vomitoxin), zearalenone, T-2 toxin, and fumonisin. Aflatoxin is another toxen, but it is associated with hot weather and/or drought stress conditions.

Signs of mycotoxin in dairy cattle include immune suppression (cattle do not respond to disease challenges), rumen disorders and reduced microbial digestion, loose fecal discharges, reduced dry matter intake, decline in fertility, and hormonal-like changes (udder development and fertility).

Mycotoxin risk levels for dairy cattle are listed below (expressed on a total ration dry matter basis). Dilution with clean feed can reduce mycotoxins, but contaminated feed can vary greatly in concentration (note some toxins are listed as parts per billion; others are parts per million):

DON (vomitoxin) < 5 to 6 parts per million
Fumonisin < 25 ppm million
T-2 toxin < 100 to 200 parts per billion
Zearfalenone < 300 parts per billion
Aflatoxin < 20 parts per billion

If you are concerned that mold risks could be a problem, the following guidelines may be helpful:

1. Testing for mycotoxins can provide an estimation of risk. Tests can be expensive and sampling and feed variation can reduce the usefulness of the results.

2. Adding a mycotoxin binder can reduce the impact of toxins be reducing their impact in the digestive tract and/or not absorbed (binders include yeast cell wall extracts or MOS products and clay binders).

3. Drying wet corn below 15 percent moisture stops further toxin development.

4. High-moisture corn could increase the risk of additional mold grow until the pH of the fermented corn drops.

5. Adding a grain inoculant to speed up fermentation and stabilize the wet corn is recommended.

6. Young animals and pregnant cattle are at higher risk, while steers can tolerate higher levels.

7. Removing fines, damaged seeds, and cracked corn kernels can reduce toxin risk.

8. If you purchase corn screenings, higher levels of mycotoxin risk can be present.

9. Distillers grains produced from ethanol production can concentrate the level of toxins in the original corn used; know your sources of distillers grains.

10. Corn silage made late in the season with mold damage could have toxins, but the low pH will stop additional toxin production.

11. Adding propionic acid at the time of ensiling can reduce mold development in wet corn.

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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Milk: More marvelous every day

The wonders of milk have been known for centuries, and scientists continue to learn more about milk’s special properties. Some of the properties that the scientific community is researching now jive with time-tested advice on feeding colostrum to newborn calves. Researchers are studying properties of human colostrum and whether cows’ milk could be a source of those health-giving compounds in the future.


We’ve been told that feeding colostrum to calves does several  things: First, colostrum contains high levels of certain nutrients needed to jump-start newborns and also immunoglobulins that provide the calf immunity until it can generate its own antibodies. But, in addition, colostrum also acts as a coating for the calf’s digestive system, preventing ingested pathogenic bacteria from being absorbed.


Something similar happens in humans. A multi-disciplined team at the University of California-Davis is studying bioactive and structural elements of human milk. One of their most interesting discoveries has been that human milk contains large quantities of oligosaccharides — complex sugars — that neither the infant nor the mother can digest, according to a California Milk Advisory Board publication. The scientists wondered why such a compound exists in first milk from humans and what role it could play.


Looks like it could be the same mechanism of protection that has been observed in calves. The Davis team found bacteria that could live on milk oligosaccharides just as easily as simple glucose. Drilling into the bacteria’s genomics, the scientists learned that mammals and these specific bacteria have formed a beneficial partnership. Mothers provide the unique and selective food source to the bacteria and, in return, they protect the infant, human and bovine, from pathogens. 


According to the CMAB publication, the National Institutes of Health have funded clinical trials involving use of a combination of the oligosaccharides and the protective bacteria to assist with the health of premature infants in the neonatal unit of the UC-Davis Medical School.


For some reason, these complex sugars are not as abundant in cow’s milk as they are in human milk. But, some day, we may be isolating these special carbohydrates from cow’s milk and using them to save lives.

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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Producers testify at Senate Ag Committee hearing

Representatives from the dairy industry testified in a senate ag sub-committee meeting yesterday in Washington D.C. to discuss the current dairy crisis and options to aid in both the short and long term. Two panels presented testimonies during the hearing. The first panel, consisting of dairy producers, included Eric Ooms, N.Y.; Paul Toft, Wis.; Ray Souza, Calif.; and Doug Nuttleman, Neb. The producers all shared with the committee their own firsthand accounts of the amount of stress current prices have put on their own operations. They also urged for swift action to help ailing farmers and a serious look into dairy pricing policy. Nuttleman, an NMPF board member, told the committee that, “Producers, like me, agree that the more than 70-year-old safety net programs need revamping.” According to NMPF, Nuttleman also urged the committee to thoughtfully consider recommendations to reform or reshape dairy policy in the future.

The second panel included processors as well as representatives with policy proposals. Those panelists included Ed Gallagher, Dairylea Cooperative, N.Y.; Russell Redding, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture; Paul Kruse, Blue Bell Creameries, Texas; Lucas Sjostrom, Holstein Association USA. We’re pleased that dairy is being heard in our nation’s capitol, but are unsure what or when something will happen, or if much will wait until the next farm bill — a few years away.

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Hoard Farm 2 -year-olds shine

Just like any farm, it takes a while to get information in the system. We recently updated our files from appraisal day when the American Guernsey Association (AGA) evaluated 268 milk cows at the Hoard's Dairyman Farm earlier this month. In addition to those cows, there were 54 cows that were either dry or have been scored in their first, second, and third lactation which makes them permanent in the Guernsey breed. With those additional cows, there are 322 with appraisal scores in the herd. (Shown to the right is one of our new Excellents, Sunset Farms Hawk Daisy.)

After reviewing the data, the Hoard Farm ended up with:
• 20 Excellent (90 points and higher)
• 186 Very Good (80 to 89 points)
• 109 Desirable (70 to 79 points)
• 6 Acceptable 60 to 69 points)
• 1 Fair (Under 59 points)

The entire herd averages 81.33 points for cows that average 2.53 lactations at last calving. The oldest cow in the herd, Ruthie, is EX-91. She has calved 10 times.

There are 122 first-lactation cows. They average 78.87 points. In recent years, the AGA also has put udder and feet and legs scores on cows. This group of 2-year-olds average 79.29 on udders and 80.39 on feet and legs. Our 2-year-olds are the shining stars at the Hoard Farm as their feet and legs scores rank higher than their older herdmates, while the udder scores are almost even. What's more, our 2-year-olds ME (mature equivalent) is 21,653 pounds of milk, 4.7 percent, 1,020 pounds of fat, 3.2 percent, and 692 pounds of protein. That is nearly 1,000 pounds more milk, 36 pounds of butterfat, and 26 pounds of protein higher than the next best group which is our 3-year-olds.

A complete list of appraisal scores can be found be downloading the file below.
hoard_farm.pdf

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Monday, October 26, 2009

National FFA dairy winners announced

Last week, about 55,0000 attendees descended on Indianapolis, Ind., for the 82nd National FFA Convention. Included in the week's activities was a variety of dairy-related competitions, including dairy judging, dairy foods evaluation, dairy showmanship, and proficiency awards for dairy placement (working on a dairy farm) and dairy entrepreneurship (owning your own dairy herd.) We are pleased to announce the following winners and offer our sincere congratulations:

Dairy Cattle Evaluation (Dairy Judging)
High Team: Prairie Central FFA, Ill.; Trent Kilgus, Samantha Ropp, Lyle
Schaffer, and Micah Zehr
High Individual: Trent Kilgus, Prairie Central FFA, Ill.

Dairy Foods Evaluation
High Team: Fair Play FFA, Mo.; Mason Gjerde, Cody Rash, Jacob Wallen,
and Caleb Whaley
High Individual: Jacob Wallen, Fair Play FFA, Mo.

Dairy Cattle Handlers Activity (Dairy Showmanship)
High Individual: Matthew Stanton of North Bedford FFA, Pa.

Dairy Placement Proficiency National Winner
Tanner Bradley, Fort Atkinson FFA, Wis.
We would like to give a special congratulations to Tanner, a Hoard's Dairyman Farm employee — way to go Tanner!

Dairy Entrepreneurship Proficiency National Winner
Jason Hartschuh, Wynford FFA, Ohio

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Friday, October 23, 2009

$290 million is coming to producers, but how?

OK, so the federal government has decided to throw piles of money at the dairy industry to help rescue it from financial catastrophe. Milk producers can certainly use all of the help they can get, even if it comes with a high public relations cost.

A simple question, however, remains oddly unanswered about the $350 million emergency ag appropriation package that President Barack Obama signed into law on Wednesday. Namely, how is the $290 million that is earmarked for direct payments to producers going to be distributed?

Since the government is involved, it’s a question worth asking. It’s also one that sparks imagination about multiple possible answers, all of which involve added questions like, what date must dairies have been in business in order to qualify, and will payments be made to dairies of all sizes? Here are three that come to mind:

Will payments be divided equally among all producers? Using USDA data for the number of licensed dairies in 2008 (57,127), that works out to about $5,076 each.

Or will payments be made on a per-cow basis? Based upon 9.315 million head in the U.S. in 2008, that works out to about $31.13 per cow. But, that would mean the average dairy in Rhode Island (55 cows) would get about $1,712, while the average dairy in Arizona (1,550 cows) would get about $48,251.

Or might payments be made on a per-hundredweight basis? If so, that works out to 15.26 cents per hundredweight based upon 2008 production totals. That approach would mean the average dairy in Missouri would get about $1,400, while the average dairy in New Mexico would get about $75,011.

Maybe there are another possibilities we haven’t thought of yet, and perhaps they would not result in bickering throughout the industry like we suspect all three of these would produce.











Thursday, October 22, 2009

USDA decides on large producer-handler definitions

Just yesterday, the USDA published its decision for producer-handler definitions in all Federal Milk Marketing Orders in the Federal Register. A recommendation was made so that only farms with bottled milk sales of three million pounds or less per month remain exempt from the pooling and pricing provisions. Producer-handlers with sales more than this will be treated as other bottling operations and will have to share their Class I proceeds with other farms in their Federal Order Regions.

The National Milk Producer’s Federation called it a victory for farmers everywhere. “Once it is finalized, this ruling will accomplish what NMPF sought in its initial petition: to stop about a half-dozen large producer-handlers from cherry-picking Class I milk sales at the expense of other producers in Federal Order pools and to discourage other handlers from growing through the use of this unfair exemption,” said Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of NMPF. “These largest operations should no longer enjoy a regulatory loophole intended for smaller players. Once you’re bottling three million pounds of milk monthly, you’re a large plant and should contribute to the marketing pools just like any other large Class I handler.”

Comments on the decision are due on December 21, 2009, and according to the timelines required under the 2008 Farm Bill, a final decision would be due February 22, 2010.











Wednesday, October 21, 2009

September milk production down 0.7 percent

Announced on Tuesday, September milk production was down 0.7 percent. That’s more than the 0.1 percent (revised) decline in August. In the 23 major dairy states, production totaled 13.9 billion pounds, down from 14 billion in September 2008. Cow numbers declined by 32,000 from last month, and now total 8.34 million milk cows. That’s 168,000 fewer than a year ago. In response, milk futures shot higher yesterday, along with butter and cheese.

The three states with the largest decline in milk compared to 2008 all were western states, including Arizona at a loss of 10.8 percent; Colorado, 7.1 percent; and California, 6.4 percent.

Midwest states and Texas had the largest gains in September. Top three gainers included Indiana that increased production by 5.8 percent; followed by Wisconsin, 5.2 percent; and Texas, 4.9 percent when compared to 2008.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Higher milk prices ahead, but . . .

Fortunately, higher milk prices are on the horizon. However, they may not be as high as they might have been, and, certainly, won't be what a lot of us would like to see.

Two developments that are dampening the milk price outlook is that cow numbers are not declining as fast as they might, and milk per cow is expected to climb with some strength next year.

The USDA's recently published outlook report predicts that cow numbers will continue to decline slowly during the rest of 2009 and during 2010. In 2010, the average size of the national dairy herd is expected to average below 9 million cows. That would be the first time that has happened in decades.

On the other hand, the rise in milk production per cow is expected to be 1 percent during 2009 and go up another 1.8 percent during 2010. That increase for 2010 is above the five-year average gain in milk per cow.

The decline in cow numbers will not be enough to offset the rise in milk per cow. Total milk production in 2010 is forecast to decline to 187.2 billion pounds. That would be down just slightly from milk production for 2009 projected to be 188.9 billion pounds. And that is why milk prices during the months ahead may not be as high as they might have been otherwise.

Thanks largely to recovering dairy product exports, we can expect dairy product prices to rise in late 2009 and during 2010. As a result, USDA is expecting the benchmark Class III price to average between $13.85 and $14.75 next year. That compares to an anticipated 2009 average Class III price of just over $11. The Class IV price next year is expected to average between $12 and $13. It should end up averaging about $10.45 this year.

The All-Milk Price during 2010 is expected to average in the range of $14.70 to $15.60, says USDA. For 2009, the All-Milk Price should average around $12.40.

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Monday, October 19, 2009

Alfalfa crop remains stable at 20.982 million acres


Although the number of acres dedicated to alfalfa and alfalfa mixes rose only 2,000 acres during the past year, yield on that acreage rose 3.4 percent, reveals data in the October 2009 Crop Production published by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). In all, there were 20.982 million acres of alfalfa in U.S. farm fields this past year. That land produced 71.977 million tons of forage with an average yield of 3.43 tons per acre.

Among the top dairy states, California produced 6.533 million tons of alfalfa which was tops in the U.S. That forage came from some 975,000 acres. Impressive as those totals are, California's production is down 8.3 percent from 2007 when California produced 7.128 million tons of forage.

South Dakota, with 2.4 million, and Montana, with 1.65 million acres, are tops in the nation for land dedicated to the crop. Next comes Wisconsin with 1.55 million acres which yielded 4.185 tons of forage (sixth in the nation). Minnesota ranked fifth in acres and tons with 1.25 million acres that produced 3.5 million tons. Idaho, top five dairy state harvested 4.674 million tons of alfalfa (third most in the nation) from 1.14 million acres (sixth nationally). Of note, Pennsylvania recorded the largest yield increase, producing 3.7 tons per acre which compares to 3 tons last year.

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Friday, October 16, 2009

Tail-docking law signed in California

The nation’s largest dairy state will also be the first to make tail-docking of cattle illegal effective January 1, 2010.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who earlier this summer derided Senate Bill 135 banning the practice, approved the measure October 11 in a mass signing with 477 other bills. It adds cattle to an existing State Penal Code Section covering horses which makes it a misdemeanor to cut the solid part of the tail, except in medical emergency. Trimming of tail switches is not prohibited.

Introduced in February by State Senate Food and Agriculture Committee Chairman Dean Florez, SB 135 encountered little opposition as it sped through the legislative process. It was approved 58-15 by the State Assembly on September 3, and 26-12 by the State Senate on September 8.

Although relatively few California cows are believed to have their tails docked – industry estimates are just 1.5 to 3 percent – tail-docking is a practice that even the American Veterinary Medical Association has officially opposed since 2004.

California does not figure to be the only state banning the practice for very long. The Humane Society of the United States has already said it will now work for the same legislation in other major dairy states.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009

What got us into this mess


With cheese prices up notably and milk futures edging up, we may have begun the long-awaited turnaround needed to at least get back to break even on our farms. But we still have a long way to go.
A presentation by Tom Suber of the U.S. Dairy Export Council at the National Dairy Leaders Conference helped us see what got us into this mess and what is going to have to happen to get us back to positive margins again.
As shown in the chart, the problem started back in early 2008. There was strong food and fuel inflation, which raised the prices of many commodities including dairy products. Milk output was flat in the European Union and down in New Zealand and Australia due to drought. China's dairy product consumption was soaring.
But then, milk production came back in New Zealand, Australia, and South America. As food and dairy product prices rose, demand faltered. As demand softened, product inventories began to build up.
Then there was crash of markets and the housing crisis here and around the world started what became a global financial crisis. About that time, the melamine contamination hit China, and demand for dairy products there dropped drastically. That caused further buildups of dairy product inventories around the world.
As the world's credit sources shut down, no one had any money to do anything. For example, neither the grocery store chain in Egypt nor the firm that imported products for the chain could get financing. Without the loans, there were no sales.
This combination of factors is going to have to be reversed before we can get out of this mess. There is some evidence that economies around the world are strengthening. Credit availability seems to be improving.
Things are looking brighter, although we have a long way to go. The improving outlook is the topic of an editorial on page 654 of our October 25, 2009 issue.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

How will an early frost affect forages?

An early frost in many parts of the country has dairy producers asking, “What effects will the frost create for livestock feeds?” says Dave Fischer, University of Illinois Extension dairy educator. Following frost, producers should be cautious when grazing cattle with crops in the sorghum family. Grazing other grasses and legumes will not be a problem.

Grazing sudangrass, sorghum-sundangrass hybrids, grain/forage sorghum. These crops are members of the sorghum family and will produce a glucoside called dhurrin that breaks down to release a toxin called prussic acid. A crop stress, such as frost, causes the prussic acid to be released at a rapid rate and the intake of high levels may be lethal to cattle. Clinical signs of prussic acid poisoning include rapid pulse, labored breathing, and eventual suffocation. Producers should move cattle away from grazing these forages for several days following a frost. If the crop was safe to graze prior to frost it, will again be safe to graze 3 to 5 days following the frost. Remember, sudangrass should be greater than 18 inches tall or sorghum-sudangrass greater than 24 inches before it is safe to graze under any conditions.

Baling or ensiling sudangrass, sorghum-sundangrass hybrids, and grain sorghum immediately following or shortly after a frost is safe because the prussic acid will break down and dissipate during the harvesting process. Therefore, waiting 7 to 10 days after harvesting those crops made into hay or silage will be safe to feed. However, allowing the feed to cure or ferment in the silo or bale for 2 to 3 weeks before feeding will give you an added safety factor, says Fischer. Certainly, do not feed the material as green-chop.

Grazing alfalfa, clover, and other perennial forages is not a concern following a frost because they do not produce toxins and can be grazed or baled and fed to livestock even after a frost. The only caution will perhaps be a slight chance for ruminants to bloat if grazing pure legume pastures. They should be offered other feedstuffs to avoid overeating the succulent pasture.

Harvesting alfalfa after a killing frost is acceptable only when the plant is going into dormancy. This killing/dormant frost occurs when temperatures reach 28 degrees Fahrenheit, or lower, overnight (4 hours or more). If the plants are harvested predormancy and regrowth occurs 1 to 2 weeks before going dormant, significant plant damage can occur during overwintering due to reduced food reserves in the plant to survive the cold temperatures, notes the Illinois Extension specialist. If the forage is not needed, it is advisable to leave the crop uncut for the winter.

Immature soybeans that are caught by the frost due to late plantings can be harvested for forage if the crop is free from applied pesticides. The soybean forage should be cut, wilted, and harvested at similar moisture levels as would be used for alfalfa or other legumes. It is best to begin harvest no later than when the bottom leaves turn yellow and begin to drop off. Since late fall drying conditions are very marginal, chopping as silage is preferred over baling.

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Monday, October 12, 2009

University of Wisconsin-Madison Dean heading to Washington

Molly Jahn, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has just accepted a presidential appointment to serve as Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics within the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In this new role, Jahn will provide leadership for the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the Economic Research Service, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service. The largest of those units, the ARS, funds approximately $1.1 billion in research projects annually. Some 2,100 scientists and 8,000 employees work at more than 100 ARS research facilities around the nation. For long-time readers of Hoard's Dairyman, you will be familar with one of the many research functions provided by ARS — USDA sire and cow evaluations.

Jahn will begin her new duties November 9. University of Wisconsin Chancellor Biddy Martin has granted Jahn a one-year leave from her duties as Dean to accept the post. The chancellor will confer with Provost Paul DeLuca and others before identifying a transition plan for CALS leadership.

Jahn has served as CALS Dean since August 2006 when she became the college’s first female
Dean. Her tenure has included several major landmarks for the college, including winning a $130 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to establish the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center on campus. Since her arrival, extramural research funding at CALS has increased by 48 percent.

Prior to arriving at the UW, Jahn served as a professor of plant breeding and genetics and plant biology at Cornell University from 1991-2006. She earned her bachelor’s degree in 1980 from Swarthmore College. She holds graduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Cornell University.

"There are many exciting and important changes already underway at USDA
with the inauguration of the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture," notes Jahn. "In my position, I will join the team charged with
transformative change to this federal agency whose history and future
is so tied to the land grant university system and to our nation's
agriculture and food supply. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be
a part of the conversation about our national priorities relating to
agriculture, food, nutrition, energy, and the environment, and I
believe that this opportunity will allow me to build on some of the
great work that we all have done here in CALS and apply it on national
and international levels," she went on to say.

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Friday, October 9, 2009

The world will need 70% more food in 40 years

The statistics are not only grim, but they also harshly illustrate why the world is, and will continue to be, in desperate need of all the food that farmers can possibly produce for decades to come:

#1 – The United Nations projects the world’s population will increase by 2.3 billion people (33 percent) by the year 2050.

#2 – According to the U.N. Human Rights Council, an estimated 36 million people in the world die directly or indirectly from hunger each year now.

#3 – In addition to more mouths to feed, it says demand for food will also increase as a result of higher standards of living in developing countries, where most of the population growth is expected to occur.

#4 – The net result will be a need for 70 percent more food worldwide than is produced today, in order to prevent even more deaths from starvation.

Increased yields from existing farms would be highly unlikely to meet these growth needs, even if all of them were to stay in business. Projections are that an astounding 300 million acres of new arable ground will have to be put into production in order to keep up.

World leaders will gather in Rome, Italy, next week to discuss this potential crisis at a forum entitled, “How to Feed the World in 2050”, in preparation for the World Summit on Food Security in Rome in mid-November.











Thursday, October 8, 2009

Cheese substitute news caused a stir

Always, there’s lots of excitement at World Dairy Expo, and this year was no exception. However, there were some downers. Certainly, the past months of losses affected the attitudes of the dairy farmers attending the show. One aggravation was the group of ill-informed PETA activists who demonstrated at the entrance to the Expo grounds.

There also was grousing about a product designed to replace cheese in pizza. Word of that untimely news spread through the Expo grounds like flu through a middle school. It gave us all something else to worry about at a trying time for our industry.

Turns out, it was the “Texturing Solutions” division of Cargill in Belgium that had made the announcement in mid-September. That group has come up with a chemical concoction (there’s no other way to put it) that “replicates the functionally of dairy protein . . . at an outstanding cost advantage." The press release claimed the product (Lygomme) would cost a pizza maker 60 percent less than imitation cheese (15 percent dairy protein) and 200 percent less than real cheese. Just what we need, right?

One Hoard’s booth at Expo is across the aisle from Cargill Animal Nutrition. We felt sorry for our friends there, who had to have heard a lot of complaints about this new product developed by a different division of the giant company half a world away. They pointed out to us (and anyone else who would listen) that the new product is for the European market only at this point and that, in part, it is aimed at consumers with allergies to dairy proteins or are lactose intolerant.

We noted that in Europe the product appears to be positioned for the frozen pizza market. That perhaps gives a clue about its taste and mouth feel (or lack of it) on a fresh pizza. Plus, in a world paying more attention to the quality and source of its food, chemical cocktails such as that new replacement for cheese are going to hold less and less appeal.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Water 'n Poo: a recommended YouTube view

You've maybe heard us mention The Dairyman's Blog by Will Gilmer before. He's a real farmer in Alabama and shares the adventures of life on a dairy farm on this blog. Recently, he posted a video on YouTube and his blog about responsible nutrient management by dairy farmers. The song is titled "Water 'n Poo." It's creative, humorous, simple, and very informative. It has already gotten over 1,700 views as of this morning. Share it with anyone for its humorous value; they might just learn something about the not-so-glamorous side of dairy farming. 












Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Hoard Farm appraisal day goes well

Just two days after the close of World Dairy Expo, Brian Schnebly, an appraisal specialist (classifier) with the American Guernsey Association, stopped by and evaluated the entire Hoard's Dairyman herd which included looking at 268 milk cows.

Work got underway at sunrise which takes place at 6:30 a.m. in southeast Wisconsin these days. Schnebly moved briskly through the herd, and, other than a half-hour break for lunch, the team worked steadily through the herd and wrapped up the project at about 5:30 p.m.

As shown in the photo above, nearly all the cows were evaluated in the free stall barn. A small group of 2-year-olds were looked at as they stood in the holding pen. Shown above is Brian Schnebly evaluating a cow with associate editor Corey Geiger keeping the cow in position.

We keep an Excel Spreadsheet on the entire herd. By weeks end, we should have classification, udder, and feet and leg averages for the 2-year-olds, as well as the entire herd. In the meantime, we can give you some highlights . . . we had one cow go EX-92 and four new Excellents:

Rutter Bros Royal Oaks Dawn EX-92, EX-92 MS

• Rolling Prairie Lucky EX-91, EX-90 MS
• Howerton Farms Dee Nutmeg EX-90, EX-90 MS
Sunset Farms Hawk Daisy EX-90, EX-90 MS
• Howerton Farms Roy Pistachio, EX-90 MS, EX-91 F&L

Those going VG-88 for the first time included:
• Dairyman Regis Dimple VG-88, EX-90 MS
• Rolling Prairie Dee Pony VG-88, VG-87 MS
• Rolling Prairie Colgate VG-88, VG-87 MS
• Dairyman Storm Bonella VG-88, VG-87 MS
• Dairyman Regis Nancy VG-88, VG-88 MS
• Dairyman Sam Britain VG-88, EX-90 MS
• Dairyman Lamar Rum VG-88, VG-88 MS
Rolling Prairie P King Pansy VG-88, VG-88 MS

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Monday, October 5, 2009

Teaming up to support Action for Healthy Kids

We had a great week in Madison last week and, if you missed anything, you can visit our Hoard’s @ Expo blog for a recap. Thank you to those of you who followed along with us on the blog. We’re back here on the HD Notebook blog for the rest of the year.

While we were at World Dairy Expo, we had the proud opportunity to present a check to Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK.) The group addresses the epidemic of overweight, sedentary, and undernourished youth by focusing on changes in schools to improve nutrition and increase physical activity. The National Football League and the dairy industry are two of the program’s major sponsors. We’re part of that. We teamed up with Ag-Bag Products, Bayer Animal Health, Fort Dodge Animal Health, New Direction Equipment (NDE), Pfizer Animal Health, and Select Sires to present a check for $10,500.

Pictured in the photo left to right are: Gary Vorpahl, Hoard’s Dairyman; David Juda, Fort Dodge Animal Health; Laura Pires, Pfizer Animal Health; Terri Smith, Select Sires; Dainna Smith, Bayer Animal Health; Taylor Weinsensel, Ag-Bag Products; and Gerald Fieser, Florida Dairy Producer. Not pictured is Heather Reif, New Direction Equipment Company.

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Friday, October 2, 2009

Another CWT herd retirement announced

You have until October 15 to submit a bid if you are interested in participating in the Cooperatives Working Together herd retirement round announced Thursday, October 1. This is the third herd retirement in 2009 and the fourth during the past 12 months. 
To submit a bid, you must have been a member of CWT either through membership in a CWT member cooperative or as an individual effective January 2009. Those who participated in a previous herd retirement will not be eligible to bid again.

Again during this round, successful bidders will be paid in two installments. Ninety percent of the payment will be made when the cattle have been shipped, with the remainder paid at the end of 12 months if neither the producer nor the facilities go back into milk production.

Maximum bid again will be $5.25 per hundredweight. CWT will select bids beginning with the lowest. CWT officials say there is no guarantee that those bidding $5.25 will have their bids accepted.

In other news, House and Senate conferees kept in the Fiscal Year 2010 budget the $350 million dairy amendment that Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) successfully added to the ag appropriations bill. Under language of the bill now, $60 million of that money is to be used to purchase surplus cheese and other dairy products to be distributed through food banks and similar locations, perhaps, overseas. According to Bob Gray of the Northeast Dairy Farmers Cooperatives, the remaining $290 million would be used in a "timely manner" to supplement income to dairy producers in some way. That could take a variety of forms, although there will be some pressure to make direct payments.