As a member of the Food Industry Codex Coalition, NMPF joined several other agricultural organizations last month in support of a proposal to organize the U.S. Codex Office under the authority of the new USDA Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. NMPF also submitted individual comments on the decision.

NMPF said the reorganization “will elevate the visibility and strategic impact of U.S. Codex engagement and strengthen U.S. leadership in Codex to advance science-based global standards that protect public health and guard against unscientific barriers that impede U.S. food and agriculture trade.”

NMPF hopes that direct engagement by the new Under Secretary for Trade, Ted McKinney, with critically important Codex issues will “build momentum for U.S. Codex strategic priorities while clearly communicating the ongoing U.S. support for science-based food safety standards that are consistent with a rules-based trading system.”

NMPF works closely with the U.S. Codex office and other U.S. delegates to Codex committees – including from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service – as issues of importance to the U.S. dairy industry arise within Codex.

Following the devastating arrival in the southeastern U.S. of Hurricane Irma last month, National Milk helped coordinate the delivery of 17 rail cars of grain, protein and commodity feed to dairy producers in Florida just a few days before farmers would have run out of feedstuffs for their herds.

Before Hurricane Irma had passed through Florida, NMPF staff were alerted by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) about the feed supply situation. Animal feed shipments had been curtailed before the hurricane’s arrival, which meant prior to the storm, animal feed stocks were already running low.

On Sept. 10, NMPF contacted the chair of the federal government’s Critical Infrastructure Cross Sector Council to request assistance with grain shipments to Florida once conditions improved. This council was established by the Department of Homeland Security to facilitate interaction between governmental entities and representatives from critical infrastructure owners and operators. NMPF has been a member of that council since its inception over a decade ago.

The following day, NMPF was notified by the Florida DACS that in addition to animal feed, fuel for generators was also running low. NMPF, in coordination with the department, asked FEMA officials and the National Business Emergency Operations Center to prioritize the distribution of animal feed and generator fuel. NMPF continued to participate in the daily, private-sector FEMA information-sharing calls, and remained vigilant in securing resources for the Florida dairy community.

These efforts paid off when FEMA announced a “grain train” would depart from Georgia at midnight on Sept. 14, and arrive in Okeechobee the next day. Numerous entities, including the Florida DACS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Grain and Feed Association, the Florida Farm Bureau and FEMA were involved in this endeavor.

National Milk has been working closely with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Infrastructure Protection Division and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the last month to secure generators and fuel for Puerto Rican dairy producers affected by Hurricane Maria.

With valuable input from NMPF officer Mike McCloskey, who has extensive family connections in Puerto Rico, National Milk has been able to advocate for the needs of the Puerto Rican dairy industry. The organization urged FEMA and USDA to act on the requested multi-million-dollar aid package that Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue received from the Puerto Rico governor’s office – a significant portion needed for generator fuel and animal feed. On Oct. 19, USDA announced it was providing up to $12 million dollars to enable operators of Puerto Rico’s 253 dairy operations to purchase feed for their cattle.

Roughly 25 percent of the island’s 75,000 cows have died or went missing, barns were flattened, trees stripped of foliage and much of the island has no electricity. Farmers have been using generators to milk their cows, but Puerto Rico’s three processing plants are down, so all milk is being dumped. Fuel is difficult to obtain and overworked generators are breaking down.

Shortly after the hurricane hit, FEMA summoned the leadership of its critical infrastructure sectors to FEMA headquarters to discuss the situation and plans for restoring infrastructure. NMPF’s Clay Detlefsen is the chair of the Food and Agriculture sector. NMPF immediately urged the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to provide generators and fuel to the island’s dairy producers, and participated in the daily calls with the National Business Emergency Operations Center and FEMA. In addition, at USDA’s request, NMPF staff joined the Emergency Support Function #11 team, which focuses on agriculture issues.

National Milk told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month that the dairy industry supports a two-step process to roll back the existing Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) regulation and generate a new policy that provides farmers greater certainty in the future.

NMPF provided comments on Sept. 28 in support of rescinding the 2015 rule so EPA can initiate a new regulatory process defining and regulating groundwater sources. Rescinding the 2015 policy – which is currently not being enforced because an appeals court suspended it last year, pending the outcome of several lawsuits – is the first step in a two-part process. Next, EPA needs to propose a new rule that conforms to the various Supreme Court cases impacting definitions for what is considered a water of the U.S.  In NMPF’s comments, the organization said that EPA and the Army Corps will need to clarify some of the terms and definitions in the 2015 rule, such as “adjacent,” “floodplain” and “significant nexus.”

NMPF has continuously supported efforts by the Trump Administration since January to restart the regulatory process behind the controversial 2015 Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule.

“A fresh start and a more reasonable approach that complies with past Supreme Court rulings will be in the best interests of the environment and dairy farmers,” said Jamie Jonker, NMPF vice president for sustainability and scientific affairs, in comments to EPA.  “We are committed to working with the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers to find effective ways to protect America’s water supplies.”

USDA’s Farm Service Agency reported that the monthly Margin Protection Program (MPP) feed cost for August was $7.73/cwt.  The feed cost in the MPP is based on corn and alfalfa hay prices reported by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and soybean meal prices reported by the department’s Agricultural Marketing Service. All three feed cost components in the formula were down significantly from their July levels, which cut the August feed cost price from July’s number by $0.49/cwt. NASS also reported that the U.S. average all-milk price was $18.00/cwt. in August, $0.70/cwt. higher than the July all-milk price. The monthly MPP margin for August therefore rose by $1.19/cwt. to $10.27/cwt. from July’s margin of $9.08/cwt. The bimonthly margin average for the July-August period was $9.67/cwt.

The CME futures currently indicate that the monthly MPP feed cost will rise slowly from its current level through the end of next year, but remain below $9.00/cwt. throughout that time period. The CME dairy futures currently suggest that the all-milk price will decline slowly from its current level but remain mostly above $17/cwt. through the end of next year. Combined, the futures currently indicate little probability that the MPP margin will drop below $8.00. As shown in the accompanying chart, the USDA MPP Decision Tool projects that the MPP margin will remain well above $8/cwt. through 2018, based on the Sept. 29 CME futures settlements.

USDA’s MPP margin forecasts are updated daily online. NMPF’s Future for Dairy website offers a variety of educational resources to help farmers make better use of the program.

With assistance from Cooperatives Working Together, member co-ops secured 48 contracts to sell 6.84 million pounds of American-type cheeses and 1.32 million pounds of butter in September. The product will go to customers in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Oceania, and will be shipped from September through December of 2017.

These transactions raise the total CWT-assisted net product sales year to date to 55.15 million pounds of cheese and 4.33 million pounds of butter. The products are going to customers in 21 countries in five regions, and will move the equivalent of 606.56 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis overseas through December 2017.

Helping CWT member cooperatives gain and maintain world market share through the Export Assistance program in the long-term expands the demand for U.S. dairy products and the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This, in turn, positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

All cooperatives and dairy farmers are encouraged to add their support to this important program. Membership forms are available on the CWT website.

NMPF’s “Peel Back the Label” campaign, launched earlier this year to reveal how some food companies employ misleading product labeling tactics, has unveiled five more examples of this fear-based marketing trend designed to increase their sales and confuse consumers.

The five additions range from including “non-GMO” labels on their products – even though no genetically modified version exists – to using “no added hormone” labels on poultry products when federal law already prohibits the addition of hormones to poultry. These companies join five of Peel Back the Label’s “bad actors,” which were unveiled when the campaign launched last month: Hunts, Florida’s Natural, Dannon, Himalania Rock Salt and TruMoo. They can all be found on the Peel Back the Label website.

The new examples are:

• Del Monte Canned Sliced Carrots: Del Monte’s canned sliced carrots include large “Non-GMO” seals on their labels, but there is no such thing as a genetically modified carrot, nor are the other three ingredients listed on the can genetically modified.
• Cuties Mandarin Oranges: Cuties’ label proclaims the product’s GMO-free status, but every citrus product on the market is already free of any GMOs.
• Bibb Lettuce from Living Fresh: Living Fresh claims that “we supply the Southeast with the freshest non-GMO produce,” but there is no such thing as genetically modified lettuce of any type.
• Tyson and Perdue: Tyson and Perdue adorn their packaged chicken with labels like “No Added Hormones or Steroids” or “No Hormones or Steroids Added,” but according to the USDA, it is illegal to sell poultry in the U.S. that was raised with added hormones.

“Fear shouldn’t be a factor when consumers are grocery shopping,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We are engaged in this effort because consumers deserve to know the truth behind the label. With Peel Back the Label, we will continue to help consumers by putting a spotlight on deceptive, fear-based marketing.”

Through the Peel Back the Label website, the campaign is giving consumers access to the tools they need to separate hype from fact as they work to make informed food decisions for their families. Since its launch, Peel Back the Label has grown its community of supporters in social media to more than 22,000.

For the second year, the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program and the National Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Program hosted a half-day session on Sept. 14 at the AABP Annual Conference in Omaha, Neb.

Dr. Keith Belk and Dr. Jeff Savell provided results of the cull cow and bull component of the National Beef Quality Audit conducted in 2016. The results showed advancement in the quality of beef products that both dairy and beef producers provide to the market. Dr. Hans Coetzee and Dr. Nigel Cook shared their perspectives on today’s emerging issues. Ranging from housing styles to pain management, both presenters spoke about pressure points from customers and consumers that the dairy industry must address, with continuous improvement in cow care at the forefront.

The final portion of the session consisted of a crisis drill, which allowed attendees to role-play different food chain stakeholders confronting a drug residue violation. Recognizing decisions from a different point of view was not only entertaining but challenging to the participants.

The shared FARM-BQA booth was a popular stop for veterinarians and industry stakeholders to grab copies of the FARM Drug Residue Pocket Guide. The Pocket Guides are available from the FARM Store.

FARM teamed up with BQA again at this year’s World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis., to share the results of the 2016 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) commissioned by the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program. According to the results, the cattle industry continues to make progress in reducing defects that negatively impact beef quality, but the industry should more effectively communicate beef’s benefits to consumers.

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent enforcement action against a Massachusetts granola maker for listing “love” as an ingredient in its product is a clear indication that the agency has time and resources to enforce regulations against the use of the term “milk” on the labels of plant-derived dairy imitators, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said today.

In a letter to FDA, NMPF pointed out that many of the same criticisms leveled by the agency against Nashoba Brook Bakery’s granola and bread products apply to the manufacturers of plant beverages that are in violation of FDA standards of identity defining milk as the product of a dairy animal.

“While we have no doubt that the folks at Nashoba do indeed put love into the manufacture of their product, we hate to see misleading food labels that don’t comply with legal standards that other companies follow,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF.

“We hope that the agency’s enforcement action against a small New England baker for misusing food labeling standards, innocuous though this violation might be, is a prelude to FDA taking action against the myriad companies that manufacture hundreds of dairy imitators that also misappropriate federally-defined terms such as ‘milk’ and ‘yogurt,’” NMPF said in its letter to FDA.

In a warning letter sent recently to Nashoba Brook Bakery, FDA cited the company for listing “love” as an ingredient in its granola: “’Love’ is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not part of the common or usual name of the ingredient,” the letter said.

The FDA letter also warned the Concord, Mass., bakery that its whole wheat bread “fails to conform” to the standard of identity for products made from whole wheat flour: “This product contains wheat flour and corn meal. Therefore, it does not meet the standard of identity for whole wheat bread.”

NMPF has been engaged in on-going efforts to highlight similar deficiencies with the misleading use of the term “milk” on products made from nuts, grains, and seeds, yet “no enforcement activity has taken place,” Mulhern said. He noted that NMPF has provided FDA this year with multiple examples of misbranded imitation dairy foods, mostly recently the artificial dairy beverage Blue Magic Cashew Milk.

“FDA’s labeling enforcement must be consistent. The agency needs to enforce the proper labeling of all products that are currently playing fast and loose with federal food standards,” NMPF wrote the agency.  “Any food product that uses a food name established by a standard of identity but does not conform to the essential characteristics established by that standard is by law misbranded (21 U.S.C. §343(g)).”

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.

MADISON, WI – The U.S. beef industry, of which dairy cows comprise a significant portion, continues to improve the quality of its management practices, according to the 2016 National Beef Quality Audit (NBQA) commissioned by the Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program. BQA and the National Dairy FARM Program shared the results at a news conference today at the 51^st World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisc.

“As dairy cows continue to grow as an integral part of the U.S. beef supply, these results demonstrate that producers are dedicated not only to producing a safe, wholesome, high-quality milk product but also to showing that same dedication to the meat produced by the dairy sector,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. “The FARM Program’s partnership with BQA has produced valuable resources that help nurture an environment of continuous improvement for beef and dairy cattle.”

Any dairy farm participating in FARM Animal Care Version 3.0 will receive BQA certification equivalency. The two programs work collaboratively through their partnership to provide a collection of resources for producers. One example is a dairy stockmanship training video released earlier this year.

For 25 years, the beef checkoff-funded National Beef Quality Audit has delivered a set of guidelines and measurements to help cattle producers determine quality conformance of the U.S. beef supply. Today, dairy cows represent 20 percent of the U.S. beef supply, a sharp increase from 5.5 percent in 2011.

The NBQA results through the years have helped improve cattle and beef production and now also capture insights on beef quality and information related to food safety, sustainability, animal well-being and consumer preferences.

According to the 2016 results, the cattle industry continues to make progress in reducing defects that negatively impact beef quality. For example, lameness in cull cattle has improved significantly: Today, 76 percent of cull cattle are identified as sound. Body condition scores of cull cattle have also improved: Only 9.3 percent of cattle were identified as “too thin,” compared to 22 percent in 2007. Additionally, the number of blemishes, condemnations and other attributes that detract from value remain minimal.

One improvement the audit revealed is that the industry can more effectively communicate beef ’s benefits to consumers. “The research proved the cattle industry has a great story to tell, but also suggests we aren’t getting that story to as many people as we should,” said Josh White, executive director of producer education for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “Utilizing the Beef Quality Assurance and the FARM programs and the shared principles more uniformly throughout the beef and dairy industries can not only enhance industry commitment to better beef, but would help increase consumer confidence and encourage greater beef demand. This research suggests that carrying the BQA and FARM message throughout the industry will benefit every beef audience.”

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.