NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) applauded an introduction of a House bill last week that would allow for open travel for all Americans to Cuba and further facilitate U.S. agricultural exports to that nation.

The Travel Restriction Reform and Export Enhancement Act (H.R. 4645) was offered by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, and is currently co-sponsored by 33 other Members of Congress, including Representatives Jerry Moran of Kansas, Rosa L. DeLauro of Connecticut, and Jo Ann Emerson of Missouri.

Notably, the bill would establish clarity and predictability regarding the “cash-in-advance” provision of the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSREEA) by ensuring its interpretation according to the original intent of Congress to allow for payment in a manner that did not impede trade, while also not offering the extension of credit to Cuba. Prior interpretations of this provision have hampered U.S. dairy exporters’ ability to ship product to Cuba in a safe and cost-efficient manner.

The legislation would also remove a costly and unnecessary burden on U.S. agricultural exporters by allowing payment to pass from Cuba directly to U.S. banks in place of the current, more costly, requirement that payments be routed through banks in other countries.

The other critical element that H.R. 4645 would tackle is to abolish restrictions on Americans’ rights to travel to Cuba. This would facilitate U.S. exporters’ ability to conduct business with Cuba, spurring greater demand for U.S. agricultural products.

NMPF is testifying at a hearing on this bill on March 11. John Wilson of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) will be testifying on NMPF’s behalf in support of this legislation.

NMPF commented last month on the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene national sodium reduction initiative. The voluntary initiative sought to reduce sodium content on a variety of consumer products including cheese and cheese for frozen pizza.

Salt plays a critical role in the cheese fermentation process by controlling activities of microorganisms and enzymes central to the cheese-making process. Salt levels affect cheese flavor, texture, and shelf life. Salt is a significant factor in minimizing spoilage and the growth of pathogenic organisms in both natural and processed cheeses. Production of lower fat cheeses has been an industry priority, a goal consistent with public health and consumer demand for good tasting, low fat foods. Water replaces fat in these cheeses, and salt is needed to maintain the appropriate moisture ratios.

While alternative solutions may become available as a result of on-going research, non-aqueous alternatives currently are not readily available. Therefore, tradeoffs between lower fat and lower sodium products could be necessary. The low sodium cheese options that have been available in the marketplace have not been well received by consumers.

The American Butter Institute (ABI) also submitted comments to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In the comments, ABI noted that unsalted butter is currently available in the marketplace, achieving about 1/5th market share for the entire butter category. Salt is not added to butter for volume/filler purposes, but to achieve the desired safety and organoleptic properties. Salt plays a critical role in the butter manufacturing process by controlling the activities of microorganisms and enzymes. Salt levels affect butter flavor, texture, and shelf life. Salt is also a significant factor in minimizing the growth of pathogenic organisms in butter. While unsalted butter does represent a reduced-sodium alternative for some consumers, substitution of some lactic acid for some salt cannot result in equivalent functionality for its bacteriostatic and organoleptic properties.

In comments to USDA, the National Milk Producers Federation supported efforts to update the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food packages to reflect current nutrition science. However, NMPF disagreed with USDA’s decision to require any changes in the program to be cost-neutral.

As NMPF stated in comments on the proposed rule, this would result in food packages that are based as much or more on cost as on science. In particular, NMPF felt the reductions in the amount of cheese that could be substituted for milk in the food packages were ill advised. Likewise, NMPF also believed that the Department’s interim rule failed to provide a healthy and popular proposed improvement in the WIC program in the decision to not include yogurt in the food packages, as had been recommended by the Institute of Medicine.

The National Milk Producers Federation is now accepting applications for its National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program for academic year 2010-2011.

Each year, NMPF awards 4 to 5 scholarships to outstanding graduate students (enrolled in Masters or Ph.D. programs) who are actively pursuing dairy-related fields of research that are of immediate interest to NMPF member cooperatives. Graduate students pursuing research of direct benefit to milk marketing cooperatives and dairy producers are encouraged to submit an application (applicants do not need to be members of NMPF to qualify). The top scholarship applicant will be awarded the Hintz Memorial Scholarship, which was created in 2005 in honor of the late Cass-Clay Creamery Board Chairman Murray Hintz who was instrumental in establishing NMPF’s scholarship program.

Recommended fields of study include but are not limited to agriculture communications and journalism, animal health, economics, environmental science, food safety, genetics, herd management, marketing and price analysis, nutrition, and product development. Applications are due no later than Monday, April 26, 2010. For an application or more information, please visit the NMPF website or call the NMPF office at 703-243-6111.

The NMPF Board of Director's spring 2010 meeting is scheduled for March 8-9 at the Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

Committee meetings will begin at 8:30 am on the 8th, including the Dues & Budget Committee Meeting, the Political Action Committee (PAC) Meeting, the Officers Meeting, and the Strategic Planning Task Force Meeting. The day will conclude with a membership reception. The full Board of Directors meeting will start at 7:00 am on the 9th.

Anyone with questions about the Board of Directors meeting should contact Anuja Miner.

The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) will host the Animal Care and Handling Conference for the Food Industry from March 25-26, 2010, in Kansas City, MO. The conference is the leading animal welfare educational opportunity for meat companies, their customers, and those involved in the production and management of livestock and meat products. NMPF is a co-sponsor of the conference.

After being part of the NMPF staff for six years, Mary Knigge (Manager, Government Relations) left the organization in February to join the House Agriculture Committee professional staff. In her new role, she will be assisting the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee for Chairman David Scott (D-GA) and Ranking Member Randy Neugebauer (R-TX).

Dairy animal care is likely to get additional attention regionally and nationally in 2010, and NMPF’s response to that focus is to both stress the steps farmers take to provide proper animal husbandry, and tout the benefits of the new National dairy FARM program unveiled in 2009. The Farmers Assuring Responsible Management program offers a nationwide, verifiable animal well-being program that demonstrates U.S. milk producers are committed to the highest quality standards.

The FARM program’s quick user reference guide is now available for distribution to producers, as a prelude to the on-farm education process later this year. NMPF cooperatives interested in sharing that information with their farmers should contact Betsy Flores on the NMPF staff.

Certain animal care practices, such as tail docking and dehorning, have been portrayed by animal rights groups and some in the media as unacceptable practices that should be banned from on-farm use. With the proper protocols in place and the use of anesthetics, these practices can be used safely and completed with minimal pain to the animals. Producers using these practices should consult with a veterinarian to review protocols and procedures.

In a letter sent last week to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), NMPF again pressed for full exclusion of New Zealand’s dairy products in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This new U.S. trade initiative would include New Zealand, Vietnam, and Brunei, as well as four existing U.S. FTA partners: Australia, Chile, Singapore, and Peru.

Although NMPF believed in the importance of balanced trade and in the potential for well-negotiated trade agreements to benefit the U.S. dairy industry as a whole, each agreement must be judged on its own merits.

A U.S.-New Zealand TPP would negatively impact the U.S. dairy industry. NMPF estimated that milk prices received by producers would drastically drop and gross revenues received by U.S. dairy farmers would plunge by a cumulative $20 billion over the first 10 years of the FTA if U.S. dairy restrictions on exports from New Zealand were fully phased out in the TPP FTA.

Nearly 50 House members of the Congressional Dairy Farmer Caucus also sent a letter to USTR Ambassador Ron Kirk expressing their support for exclusion of U.S.-New Zealand dairy trade under the TPP.

The International Trade Commission (ITC) will hold a hearing in March on the economic impact of this new FTA. NMPF has already met with ITC staff about their analysis and plans to testify at the hearing.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), introduced a disapproval resolution last month to stop the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. The Senator was joined by 40 Senate colleagues, including Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee Blanche Lincoln (D-AR).

Should the resolution pass, it would not only prevent EPA from moving forward on regulating greenhouse gasses, it would also send a clear signal that the Senate is not ready to move on climate change legislation this year. There is no word yet regarding when the resolution would come up for a vote, but it will not likely be before March. A similar or companion resolution has not been introduced in the House of Representatives, but there are several pieces of legislation that restrict EPA from regulating greenhouse gases.

NMPF, along with more than 130 other agriculture organizations, signed the letter supporting Sen. Murkowski’s resolution. The letter is available on the NMPF website.

The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) held its 91st annual meeting in Seattle last month. The delegates debated resolutions and policy amendments, and dairy policy was debated for nearly an hour.

The Farm Bureau passed a resolution stating the organization’s opposition to mandatory supply management. AFBF policy continues to support the CWT program. Delegates removed a resolution supporting lower somatic cell counts in fluid milk. Lastly, AFBF reiterated support for more dairy products to be consumed through the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) nutrition program.

In order to bolster NMPF’s capabilities regarding scientific and technical issues, NMPF has hired Dr. Beth Briczinski as the Director of Dairy Foods & Nutrition. She began on Feb. 1.

Briczinski’s main responsibilities include food processing and security, food safety and public health, human nutrition, labeling, and domestic and international standards of identity. She joins Jamie Jonker, Vice President of Scientific & Regulatory Affairs and Betsy Flores, Director of Regulatory Affairs in the regulatory department.

Originally from Camp Hill, PA, Briczinski earned a BS, MS, and PhD in Food Science from the Pennsylvania State University, where she eventually specialized in dairy foods research. Her thesis research focused on dairy microbiology, specifically the physiology and characterization of lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria.

Briczinski came to NMPF from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she served on the staff of the Food Science Department and developed and taught courses in the undergraduate curricula for both Food Science and Dietetics majors. She can be reached at bbriczinski@nmpf.org.