The Import Watch monitors four types of cheese, according to Tillison, and Cheddar showed the only increase from 2008, but was comparable to imports in 2005-2007. Imports of American, Italian, and Goya cheeses were all down.

Perhaps the most significant figure regards milk protein concentrates (MPC) and similar products, Tillison said. He reported that imports of MPC, casein, and casinates were down significantly in 2009 from 2008 and were at their lowest levels in the last five years.

U.S. manufacturers are also producing more of the products we import. For the first time, USDA’s January report included U.S. production of MPC. Tillison said “That’s significant because it means domestic MPC production is becoming a factor and is hopefully displacing MPC imports with U.S. produced milk.”

The 2010 planting season is getting near, but we haven’t closed the books on the 2009 harvest yet. Dairy Profit Weekly Editor Dave Natzke reported Friday that last fall’s weather-delayed harvest forced USDA to re-survey some Great Lakes and Southeast U.S. crop growers in February, and this week’s crop production report lowered 2009 estimates for both corn and soybeans, although just slightly.

Corn production was lowered 20 million bushels, Natzke reported, but the revised estimate of 13.1 billion bushels is still a record high. Combined with lower expected exports due to large foreign supplies, dairy producers buying feed should see slightly lower corn prices, he said, with the middle of the projected range at about $3.60 per bushel. The news is somewhat different for soybeans however, with 2009’s production revised at 3.36 billion bushels, down about 2 million bushels from the January estimate. Ending stocks were reduced thanks to increased activity in the export market, and this week’s Senate passage of a biodiesel tax credit could mean more soybeans will be used for fuel production, Natzke warned. USDA put the mid-range season-average soybean price at the farm level at $9.45 per bushel, and a soybean meal price at $295 per ton.

Natzke went on to report that the first of five joint Department of Justice (DOJ)/USDA’s workshops on competition and regulatory issues in agriculture began March 12, in Ankeny, Iowa. DOJ’s Antitrust Division Chief Christine Varney and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack were expected to participate.  A session dedicated to concentration and vertical integration in the dairy industry will be held June 7 in Madison, Wis.

Dairy farms play role in local economy
Dairy farms are an important part of a local economy, according to Pennsylvania dairy producer and Beef Council Board member, John Ligo. Ligo pointed out in Wednesday’s “Beef Board Update” that he operates a mid-size operation with about 200 cows and grows most of his crops. He pays wages for about 6-8 employees per year, totaling about $150,000 per year, plus taxes etc., so every seven years he pays out about $1 million in wages, he said.

Ligo reported that he pays taxes on a “fair amount of property” of about $20,000 per year or about $100,000 over a five year period.
He also points out that his operation is not a great user of municipal services in that they do not require much in the way of police or fire protection and there’s no water or sewer services or other things that residential housing requires.

Revenue per cow on a dairy farm runs about $3,000-5,000, according to Ligo, and compares to about $300-500 per cow on a beef operation. Revenue per acre runs about $1,500 compared to $350-$450 on a grain farm, he said. “So the amount of economic activity is very intense.”

The Pennsylvania Center for Dairy Excellence believes that about $13,000 per cow is returned in local economic activity so a dairy like Ligo’s would account for about $3.25 million worth per year, according to Ligo.

Another benefit of Ligo’s dairy is roadside pickup of litter on four miles of frontage, 1,000 acres of recreation, be it for nature observers, hunters, or fishermen, sweet corn sales, and even a little snow plowing. “We’re proud of what we can do for the local area,” he concluded.

DMI outlines checkoff accomplishments
Dairy Management Incorporated’s Joe Bavido completed his series in Monday’s “DMI Update,” outlining the accomplishments of dairy checkoff partnerships in 2009 in driving dairy sales. He emphasized how important collaboration is and how the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy brought industry leaders together to “develop action plans which are in line with dairy producer priorities.”

The Innovation Center focuses on health and wellness, he said, product development and information, sustainability, consumer confidence, and globalization. More than 180 companies and 400 individuals were united in this effort, he said, to “protect and grow sales.”

Producers, through the U.S. Dairy Export Council, continued to help protect global markets for U.S. dairy exports, Bavido reported, and more than 9 percent of U.S. milk in 2009 was exported, despite the global economic downturn.

National and local dairy checkoff organizations also helped recruit thousands of dairy producers to tell their story to consumers, Bavido said. Checkoff staff developed enhanced training workshops that helped dairy producers and allied industries communicate on farm issues, including animal care and environmental stewardship, through community relations, presentations to local organizations, one-on-one conversations, and the newest venue, social media.
“This is just some of the many ways that the dairy checkoff program has been helping to use partnerships and innovation to drive sales in 2009,” he concluded.