National Milk Producers’ Federation Representative Chris Galen recently addressed last week’s ABC Nightline program, which was critical of how animals are treated on U.S. dairy farms. He said they knew that it was going to be a negative, critical story from the time they started working with ABC on it last year, but NMPF wanted to provide some perspective on the so-called evidence of abusive practices.

“Going forward, National Milk has to defend practices on dairy farms that are defensible,” Galen charged, “And we have to criticize practices, which are not defensible and, most importantly, we have to have the wisdom and the discretion to understand the difference.”

Galen told reporter Brian Ross that certain things depicted in the videos which had been collected by undercover animal rights sympathizers are not defensible and are not standard operating procedure, but some things need to be done.

One example, according to Galen, is dehorning, a practice which is crucial to animal safety as well as those who care for them. He admitted there are proper and improper ways of doing this, but the idea that it is somehow bad for the animal is “just completely nuts because obviously an animal with horns is a threat not only to its herd mates, but also to people who work with the cows.” Those are the messages we have to continue developing and disseminating, he said.

Tail docking was another practice pictured and it appeared the cow was in pain when it was performed. Tail docking should not necessarily be illegal, Galen countered but, if it is used, it should be done properly and that includes the necessary use of analgesics or anesthetics, depending on the age of the animal.” “You don’t know exactly what happened before or after the videos were shot,” he concluded. “But from what we could tell, they were not best practices used.”

U.S. Congress debates food safety regulations
Congress is debating the need for stricter food safety laws and is considering legislation that includes a loophole that has the potential to undermine the image of dairy as safe and wholesome, according to Ruth Saunders, vice president for policy and legislative affairs at the International Dairy Foods Assoc. Speaking in Wednesday’s DairyLine, Saunders reported that pasteurized milk and dairy products “set the gold standard in food safety.”

Government statistics show that dairy is safer than all other food groups in the relative rates of food-borne illness, according to Saunders, except for unpasteurized fluid milk sold directly to consumers.

“Unfortunately, the recent rise in consumption of raw milk and the resulting rise in dairy outbreaks is tainting the food safety record of all dairy,” Saunders charged, “So IDFA and the National Milk Producers Federation have joined forces to close the raw milk loophole in the pending food safety legislation”
“Our aim is simple,” she said. “We will continue to discourage states from allowing raw milk sales directly from farm to consumer, but in those states where it is legal, require facilities that sell raw milk directly to consumers to be subject to the new law and potential new fees of the Food and Drug Administration just as all pasteurized milk handlers must abide by them.”

She warned that “the growing demand for fluid raw milk is increasing the number of food borne illness outbreaks and has the potential to give all dairy products a black eye with consumers.”
Pasteurization is recognized worldwide as one of the most effective food safety tools available, Saunders said, and when properly conducted, it is the only way to ensure that milk is free from disease-causing microorganisms. 

“We have proposed a simple legislative solution,” Saunders concluded. “Require that any new federal food safety requirements apply equally to states that allow raw milk sales; and clarify that all farms and plants that operate under the pasteurized milk ordinance are already meeting the new food standards.”
“In other words, FDA should direct any new regulations and fees to raw milk, the source of the real threat,” and she encouraged listeners to let Congress know that they want the new food safety legislation to apply to raw milk providers.

Class III milk drops 48 cents in January
The January Federal order benchmark milk price reversed gears following five consecutive monthly gains. The Agriculture Department announced the Class III price at $14.50 per cwt., down 48 cents from December but $3.72 above January 2009, and $1.78 above California’s comparable 4b price.

Class III futures portend additional declines ahead. The February contract was trading late Friday morning at $14.10. March was trading at $13.59, April $13.29, May $13.49, June $14.12, July $14.94, August $15.21, with a peak at $15.50 in September before beginning its seasonal retreat.

The Federal order Class IV price is $13.85, down $1.16 from December, but $4.26 above a year ago, and 10 cents above California’s comparable 4a price.

The four-week, NASS-surveyed cheese price averaged $1.5374 per pound, down 6 cents from December. Butter averaged $1.3610, down 8.5 cents. Nonfat dry milk averaged $1.1929, down 9.3 cents, and dry whey averaged 38.80 cents, up 2.1 cents.

California’s January 4b cheese milk price is $12.72 per cwt., down $2.32 from December, but $3.70 above January 2009. The 4a butter-powder price is $13.75, down $1.01 from December, but $4.22 above a year ago.

The USDA’s December Dairy Products report shows butter production at 149.6 million pounds, up 29.1 million pounds or 24.2 percent from November, but 6.7 million pounds or 4.3 percent below December 2008. Nonfat dry milk output amounted to 126.4 million pounds, up 25.2 million pounds or 25 percent from November, but 28.9 million or 18.6 percent below a year ago.

Mozzarella cheese output totaled 290.1 million pounds, up 8.7 million pounds or 3.1 percent from November, and 10.1 million or 3.6 percent above a year ago.

Total Italian type cheese, at 373.1 million pounds, was up 10.1 million pounds or 2.8 percent from November, and 9.2 million or 2.5 percent above a year ago.

Cheddar production totaled 259.9 million pounds, up 12 million pounds or 4.8 percent from November, but down 23.4 million or 8.3 percent from a year ago.

American type cheese amounted to 349.4 million pounds, up 18.6 million pounds or 5.6 percent from November, but down 9.5 million pounds or 2.6 percent from a year ago.

Total cheese output hit 862 million pounds, up 18.4 million pounds or 2.2 percent from November, but 1.1 million pounds or 0.1 percent below a year ago.