Author: dcadmin

House Members Reconstitute Congressional Dairy Farmer Caucus to Assist Dairy Farmers with Key Policy Challenges

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As dairy farmers throughout the country continue to face a pressing financial crisis in their industry, dozens of members of the House of Representatives announced last week that they will reform and reactivate the Congressional Dairy Farmer Caucus.

Led by Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Joe Courtney (CT), Peter Welch (VT), Devin Nunes (CA) and Tim Walz (MN), and joined by Caucus Vice Chairs Tom Petri (WI), Tom Rooney (FL), Chris Lee (NY) and Harry Teague (NM), the organization will help facilitate better interaction between elected officials and dairy producers from across the country. The bipartisan caucus will work with dairy industry leaders to reach common sense solutions to address both the current dairy crisis, as well as other issues of concern to the dairy producer community.

"The complexities of dairy policy, and the diverse size and scope of dairy farming in the U.S., means that we need a forum in Congress for dairy farmers to interact with their elected officials. The Dairy Farmer Caucus will help facilitate the communication between, and education of, members of Congress and the farmers they represent," said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF.

The Congressional Dairy Farmer Caucus was initially started in 2006 to provide a bipartisan forum, involving both House and Senate members, to collaborate on policy issues that addressed the interests of dairy producers nationwide.

"Preserving a vibrant dairy producer community in America is essential to maintaining the health of rural communities across the country, and critical to securing continued access to wholesome, fresh, American-made foods," Kozak said. "We appreciate the leaders of the Dairy Farmer Caucus investing their time and energies in this effort, and look forward to an ongoing dialogue with them about the federal policies that can best help the American dairy producer community prosper."

Kozak said that a national, bipartisan organization will help build consensus on Capitol Hill on the range of issues affecting farms of all sizes in all regions. He added that the Caucus would also help NMPF and its members communicate with the variety of regulatory agencies involved in milk production, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Trade Representative, among others.

Dairy Organizations Praise Prompt Action by USDA on Dairy Export Incentive Program

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NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) applauded U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack for his announcement on July 8 regarding initial allocations under the Dairy Export Incentive Program (DEIP) for the new marketing year July 2009 – June 2010.

"This important action by Secretary Vilsack demonstrates his commitment to continue to offer support for dairy producers at a time when dairy prices are at their lowest in years," said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF.

In order to expedite DEIP allocations, USDA extended the remainder of the uncommitted bids from 2008-2009, making available 48,176 metric tons of nonfat dry milk, 19,235 metric tons of butterfat and 2,878 metric tons of cheese for the new 2009-2010 DEIP marketing year. These quantities will count towards the new marketing year that began July 1, 2009 and that ends June 30, 2010.

"We appreciate USDA's prompt announcement," said Kozak. "Unlike the short period of time given to exporters under last year's DEIP announcement, this swift action by USDA will allow us to properly compete with other subsidized exporters. However, it is extremely important that USDA issue DEIP invitations immediately for all allowable categories of dairy products in a manner that maximizes exports so producers receive the full benefit."

USDA will continue to work with other agencies to make the rest of the full DEIP allocations (20,025 metric tons of nonfat dry milk, 1,862 metric tons of butterfat and 152 metric tons of cheese) available at a later date.

"The FY 2008-09 and FY 2009-10 allocations of DEIP could remove more than 1.5 billion pounds of milk from the U.S. market," said Kozak. "Coupled with actions being taken under our own Cooperatives Working Together program, this will help address, in a meaningful way, the imbalance currently present in our market."

NMPF Announces Winners of 2009 Scholarship Program

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At their June meeting, the NMPF Scholarship Committee was pleased to select five M.S. and Ph.D. students to receive $9,500 in scholarships as part of the 2009 NMPF National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program.

These five scholarship recipients are all conducting research in areas that will benefit dairy cooperatives and producers.

The 2009 Hintz Memorial Scholarship, given to the top scholarship candidate, was awarded to Matthew Ranieri. As a student at Cornell University, Ranieri is working toward his Ph.D. in Dairy Science, Microbiology, and Applied Economics and Management. His research will examine the development of a single raw milk assay to predict shelf-life performance of pasteurized milk. Ranieri hopes to provide the dairy industry with appropriate tests for measuring raw milk quality that would accurately predict the performance of the milk in commercial products.

The four other scholarship recipients were:

  • Jessica Tekippe, a student at Pennsylvania State University, is pursuing her M.S. in Animal Science. Tekippe's research will study the effect of plant extracts on production, nutrient utilization, and ruminal fermentation.
  • Jaime Curbelo is working for his Ph.D. in Animal Physiology at Mississippi State University. He will be researching the use of biophotonic imaging technologies as a novel approach to understanding pathogen progression in bovine uterine infections.
  • Amy Hazel is pursuing her M.S. in Animal Science at the University of Minnesota. Hazel's research will examine rotational crossbreeding in 10 Minnesota commercial dairies.
  • Corwin Nelson, a student at Iowa State University, is pursuing his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Immunobiology. Nelson's research will study the effects of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 on the expression of genes involved in the immune response of the bovine mammary gland.

If you have any questions or comments about the NMPF National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program or the NMPF Scholarship Committee, please contact Sarah Olson.

Jonker Promoted to NMPF Vice President of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs

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To further enhance NMPF's efforts in the constantly evolving regulatory arena, NMPF staff member Dr. Jamie Jonker was promoted to the position of Vice President of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs. He assumed the lead     regulatory role with NMPF following the resignation of Dr. Rob Byrne, who is now working for Schreiber Foods.

In his new role, Jonker will expand his current responsibilities in regulatory affairs, including animal health and welfare, animal biotechnology, dairy farm bio-security, dairy farm air and water quality, dairy processing and products, and technical service issues. He will also continue to coordinate relationships with NMPF's Animal Health & Welfare Committee, Regulatory Committee, NCIMS Committee, and Environmental Task Force; and with the National Institute for Animal Agriculture and Animal Agriculture Coalition.

Jonker actively represents NMPF on numerous national and international committees, including the Johne's Disease Working Group, the National Dairy FARM Program, and the in-country U.S. Delegations to the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs and the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Food Derived from Biotechnology. In 2008, he was appointed to the USDA Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture and the International Dairy Federation's Standing Committees on Animal Health and Farm Management.

Jonker received a Ph.D. in Animal & Avian Sciences from the University of Maryland. Prior to joining NMPF, his career included six years of experience in agricultural policy including service at the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture.

He spent his formative years on a 100-cow family dairy farm in New York, participating in all aspects of dairy production from crop production to animal health to nutrition.

Dairy Industry Groups Participate in House Subcommittee Hearings

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Dairy Industry Groups Participate in House Subcommittee Hearings

The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Dairy hosted three hearings last month to examine the dire economic state of the dairy industry. Subcommittee Chairman David Scott (D-GA) had met with NMPF in June and expressed his desire to better understand the current dairy crisis.

As a result, twenty people representing myriad views testified before Congress within three weeks. The industry groups included NMPF, the International Dairy Foods Association, Select Milk Producers, Inc., Western United Dairyman, the National Farmers Union, the National Family Farm Coalition, Associated Milk Producers Inc., Braum's Ice Cream & Dairy Stores, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and Holstein Association USA.

NMPF was represented at the initial hearing on July 14, 2009, by Board member Tom Wakefield of Bedford, PA.Wakefield outlined NMPF's perspective on the causes of the crisis, and renewed the Federation's request that Congress work with USDA to maximize the use of the Dairy Export Incentive Program (DEIP) and boost price support levels, which USDA subsequently did.

Wakefield also discussed the creation of the NMPF Strategic Planning Task Force, which, similar to the congressional hearings, is intended to build consensus across the dairy producer community with respect to the underlying factors affecting producer prices, and to examine ways in which the producer community can realistically work to address those factors.

For copies of each testimony submitted during the hearing process, please visit the House Agriculture Committee website at http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/statements.html.

 

CWT Finishes Spring Herd Retirement Round

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CWT Finishes Spring Herd Retirement Round

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 had a special CWT ear tag applied, and the farmers were allowed 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.

Tillison said some farmers' names have yet to be posted online from this seventh round, but will be in coming weeks as they are sent their payments. He added that additional CWT herd reduction activities are likely in 2009, given the depressed state of milk prices and the continuing imbalance between supply and demand.

The totals for each region in the Spring 2009 herd retirement round include:

Region
Northeast
Southeast
Midwest
Southwest
West
Total
Total Farms Audited
41
52
125
63
86
367
Total Cows Retired
5,121
6,400
8,153
43,121
38,245
101,040
Total Milk Removed
104.3 million pounds
107.2 million pounds
147.3 million pounds
844.4
million pounds
759.9 million pounds
1.96 billion pounds

 

NMPF Calls on USDA to Bolster Price Support Program

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The National Milk Producers Federation last month asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to boost its purchase prices for cheese and milk powder in order to bolster the current rock-bottom milk prices that are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of dairy farmers.

In a letter sent June 25th to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, NMPF requested that the USDA raise the purchase price for cheese blocks from $1.13/lb. to $1.19; raise the purchase price for barrel cheese from $1.10 to $1.16/lb.; and raise the purchase price for nonfat dry milk powder from $0.80/lb. to $0.84. These price levels are identical to those suggested by NMPF to Congress as it wrote the farm bill in 2007 and 2008. Higher product prices will translate into higher farm-level prices, according to NMPF.

The current price levels were written into the 2008 Farm Bill, passed by Congress a year ago, but the USDA has the authority to increase those prices, according to NMPF. The letter to Vilsack asks the USDA to temporarily boost those purchase prices for a three-month period of July through September.

NMPF Addresses Producer Confusion about MILC Eligibility Regarding Adjusted Gross Income

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NMPF Addresses Producer Confusion about MILC Eligibility Regarding Adjusted Gross Income

Some dairy producers were misinformed about their eligibility for the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program due to concerns about their Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).

The MILC payments are limited to producers with non-farm AGI below $500,000. However, for the MILC program, there is no limit with respect to farm AGI.
Farm AGI was redefined last year to include many farm-related enterprises (http://www.fsa.usda.gov/Internet/FSA_File/agi2009.pdf).

A careful reading of the form CCC-926, the "Statement of Adjusted Gross Income", required for these payments makes this clear:

"For commodity, price support benefits, disaster assistance programs, and for the Milk Income Loss Compensation Program, if the person or legal entity has:

  • "average adjusted gross non-farm income greater than $500,000, the person or legal entity is not eligible for payments and benefits from these programs.
  • "average adjusted gross farm income greater than $750,000, the person or legal entity is not eligible for direct payments under the Direct and Countercyclical Program." This does not apply to the MILC payment.

NMPF Supports Legislation to Improve Trucking Efficiency

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NMPF Supports Legislation to Improve Trucking Efficiency

NMPF sent a letter to the House of Representatives in June urging them to approve the Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (HR 1799). The bill would responsibly raise truck weight limits to allow American businesses to meet demand with fewer trucks-removing unnecessary trucks from the highway, reducing our carbon footprint and improving shipping productivity.

The legislation would allow individual states to increase their interstate vehicle weight limits to 97,000 pounds for vehicles equipped with a sixth axle. Following NMPF's letter, several additional Representatives have joined as co-sponsors. NMPF will continue to work with interested members on advocating for this bill to help improve coops' transportation efficiencies.

 

NAIS Concludes Listening Sessions

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NAIS Concludes Listening Sessions

The final USDA National Animal Identification System (NAIS) listening session occurred on June 30th in Nebraska. In all, USDA held 14 NAIS listening sessions across the country to allow producers and other interested individuals to provide input on animal identification.

The dairy industry provided a nearly universal voice in support of USDA moving forward with its existing authority to implement mandatory animal ID. These listening sessions were a follow-up to several recent congressional hearings, and Secretary Vilsack's meeting with industry on animal ID. Because NMPF has taken a strong stance on the necessity of mandatory animal ID as a collective insurance policy for the industry in the event of an animal disease outbreak, both USDA and Congress are taking note of the dairy industry's support for mandatory animal ID.

NAIS opponents were in force at these sessions, offering the same excuses against mandatory animal ID. NMPF has addressed these concerns with USDA (https://www.nmpf.org/files/file/IDairy%20USDA%204-15-09.pdf) and Congress (https://www.nmpf.org/files/file/Jordan%20Testimony%203-11-09.pdf) and believe now is the time for USDA to act on mandatory animal ID.

For more information on dairy animal ID, visit www.idairy.org.

 

NMPF Study Finds Dairy Farms Rely Heavily on Foreign Workers

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NMPF Study Finds Dairy Farms Rely Heavily on Foreign Workers

A comprehensive national survey of the employment practices of America's dairy farmers found that they rely heavily on foreign-born workers. The survey, sponsored by NMPF and released on June 4th, determined that the loss of immigrant labor would cripple many farms and create a ripple effect of job losses through the rural economy. An electronic copy of the survey can be found at www.nmpf.org.

Working with researchers at Texas AgriLife Research, a component of the Texas A&M University System, NMPF surveyed more than 2,000 dairy farms last fall to assess their hiring practices. The survey found that U.S. dairies employed 138,000 full-time equivalent workers, of which 57,000, or 41%, were foreigners.

Respondents reported that they paid their workers $506 in average weekly wages, while most also reported providing at least one non-wage benefit to employees, such as paid vacation, housing, and/or insurance. Those non-wage benefits brought average dairy workers salaries in 2008 to $31,521, significantly higher than salaries in the landscaping, ranching, and fast food sectors, which employ similar proportions of immigrant workers.

Texas AgriLife Research estimated that if federal labor and immigrant policies were to result in the loss of just half of the 57,000 foreign-born dairy workers, an additional 66,000 workers would also be lost, due to the closure of some dairy farms, and the resulting multiplier effect of fewer jobs in grain and fertilizer production and sales, veterinary services, milk hauling, and related agricultural service jobs. This would produce an economic loss of $11 billion.

"At a time of rising unemployment across America, our elected officials need to understand that the need for rational immigration reform is all the more imperative," said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. "Congress needs to act quickly to pass legislation such as the AgJobs bill, recently introduced in both the House and Senate. AgJobs is a step towards comprehensive reform of the nation's immigration laws, which is clearly needed."

The dairy analysis also indicated that consumers likely would see higher retail dairy product prices, as the loss of farm labor would, in turn, cause farms to reduce or cease their production, reducing the overall U.S. dairy supply. Texas AgriLife Research calculated that a 50% reduction in the dairy immigration workforce would lower milk production by 7.9%, leading to a 30% increase in retail prices.

 

FARM Program Outreach Continues

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FARM Program Outreach Continues

NMPF continues to tout the benefits of uniform, standardized animal care system in the form of the National Dairy FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) program. NMPF staff have conducted briefings with a variety of cooperatives and processors to explain why FARM will bring consistency and uniformity to on-farm care, and provide reassurance to consumers that the dairy products they purchase are from farms practicing responsible animal husbandry.

In Michigan, the state is considering codifying the FARM program's tenets into state law. NMPF Treasurer Ken Nobis, who is President of Michigan Milk Producers Association, describes the process that has culminated in the creation of the National Dairy FARM ProgramSM. Click here to view the video. (www.nationaldairyfarm.com/video.html).

The educational manual outlines best practices on the farm for a variety of animal care issues, including animal health from birth to end of life, housing, nutrition, and transportation and handling. The manual will be available in the fall at the National Dairy FARM website, www.nationaldairyfarm.com.