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U.S. retail meat demand for pork and beef both decreased in 2023
Iowa one of the few states to see farms increase in 2022 Ag Census
Trade, E15, GREET, tax credits the talk at Commodity Classic
Ohioan travels to Malta as part of US Grains Council trade mission
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Kerry, Lieberman introduce new clean energy legislation
National Milk’s Chris Galen recently detailed a bill introduced Wednesday by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), dealing with clean energy in an attempt to mitigate climate change. The bill attempts to reign in carbon emissions, he said, and promotes development of clean energy, and is a replacement in many respects to the cap and trade approach, which passed the House last year, but has no prospects in the Senate.”

The bill could provide opportunities for dairy and animal livestock producers to take advantage of the carbon offset market, according to Galen, but it depends how the Senate approaches it. He said that will be a focus of National Milk, though most people do not believe the House or Senate will pass a clean energy climate bill in 2010, with the elections a few months away. “It’s going to be a major issue,” he warned. “And it will also be affected by what’s happening right now in the Gulf of Mexico and the ramifications from that oil spill.”

In yet another issue that could have big ramifications for dairy farmers; the advisory committee working on government dietary guidelines also released its initial technical report on what kind of recommendations should be made to Americans.

National Milk will look for any changes in the recommended daily servings of dairy products for adults and children, Galen said, and will try to shape the discourse on this because this will affect not just what the government tells people to eat but also the types of products that are required to be served in schools and other government feeding programs.

National Milk opposes raw milk legislation
Meanwhile, National Milk and the International Dairy Foods Assoc. (IDFA) have given a thumbs-down to legislation in Wisconsin allowing direct sales of raw milk from farmers to consumers. Dairy Profit Weekly’s Dave Natzke reported Friday that Federal law prohibits the interstate sale of raw milk to consumers, but allows states to regulate those sales within their borders.

Bills allowing raw milk sales advanced in several states this spring, including in Wisconsin, where Gov. Jim Doyle was scheduled to sign a bill this week adding America’s Dairyland to the list of nearly 30 states allowing raw milk sales or distribution. Late word is that Doyle wants more time to consider the bill.

National Milk and IDFA criticize proponents for downplaying the food safety risks related to raw dairy products and fear disease outbreaks related to raw milk could damage dairy’s overall healthy image.

Recently, Whole Foods, the 10th largest food and drug store in the United States, and PCC Natural Markets, the largest consumer-owned natural food retail cooperative in the United States, have ceased raw milk sales over medical liability concerns, Natzke reported.

Raw milk advocates, on the other hand, say properly managed and licensed farms provide no health risks, and that consumer interest in raw milk is growing, spurred on by what they say is greater demand for natural products and a source for locally-produced food. The Second Annual International Raw Milk Symposium was held in Madison, Wis., in April, attracting about 250 people from 28 states and four countries, according to Natzke.

Dairyman praises work of beef checkoff
Maryville, Tenn., dairy producer Mac Pate has been a dairy farmer for 61 years and has seen a lot of change in the dairy industry, as well as the beef checkoff, which has been around for about 25 of those years. Speaking in this week’s “Beef Board Update,” Pate had some advice for his fellow dairy producers; “Stick together and have one voice.” He said he believes some kind of supply management program is needed to control the milk supply. The supply/demand equation is a factor in beef as well though “it seems easier to control the supply in beef and doesn’t vary quite as fast as in the milk business.”

Pate said he has always believed in advertising and promoting and “is one of the main things we can do to increase sales of beef.” He praised the beef checkoff and views it as a good investment for dairy producers. He said he worked hard, as a dairy producer to try to get beef promotion started and has always felt that “it is a good instrument to increase sales for beef.”

He said the Center is a forum of the industry to address the barriers and opportunities for increasing sales and demand for dairy products.

The governing board is made up producers, processors, manufacturers, and exporters, according to Bavido, and has five priorities; health and wellness, product development and information, sustainability, consumer confidence, and globalization. Health and wellness is about the nation’s schools and its kids, he said.

Cheese, butter recoups losses last week
Block and barrel cheese inched higher the second week of May, with the blocks ending the week 8.25 cents higher, at $1.4625 per pound, 33 cents above that week a year ago. Barrel closed Friday at $1.4175, up 4.5 cents on the week and 33.75 cents above a year ago. Six cars of block traded hands on the week and 15 of barrel. The lagging NASS-surveyed U.S. average block price lost 2.2 cents, slipping to $1.4040. Barrel averaged $1.3931, down 0.1 cent.
Cash butter continued to recoup some of the previous week’s loss and closed Friday at $1.6150, up a penny on the week and 35 cents above a year ago. Only one car was sold on the week. NASS butter averaged $1.5865, up 3.7 cents.

Cash Grade A nonfat dry milk closed three quarters of a cent higher on the week, at $1.3350. Extra Grade held all week at $1.30. NASS powder averaged $1.2389, up 2.2 cents, and dry whey averaged 36.07 cents, up 0.3 cent.

U.S. cheese prices are a far cry from the $1.80 that New Zealand cheese is reportedly selling at, but Downes-O’Neill dairy Economist Bill Brooks said “either we don’t have product that the folks out there want or New Zealand might have everything filled up already at those price levels.”

Milk production is having problems there, he said, and that’s tightening their market, and so far the international markets haven’t gravitated to our more than adequately supplied cheese market.”

You would think that U.S. cheese would be considered a bargain at current prices and Brooks admitted that was so, even with transportation costs, “but sometimes U.S. cheese may not meet the quality or quantity that the international markets want,” he said. He added that a lot of what’s traded on the international market is a white Cheddar, while most U.S. Cheddar is yellow “so that takes away some of the market potential.”

The U.S. is exporting a fair amount of cheese, according to Brooks, “But when you look at the overall spectrum of dairy commodities, the U.S. still isn’t geared for that market yet,” he said, and he’s not sure the U.S. ever will be because “we are such a domestic dominated market.”

Brooks looks for cheese to run “sideways” for a while. Prices have traded in the $1.30s to the low $1.50s, he said, and he doesn’t see much change until we get through the flush and warmer weather. We may start to see steady gains by mid-summer, according to Brooks, but he doesn’t expect the run up to levels seen in 2007 and 2008 for some time.
5/20/2010