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Dairy farmers could stand to profit from U.S.-Cuban trade
The U.S. dairy industry stands to profit from increased sales to Cuba if legislation recently introduced in the House ever becomes law. The bill would foster additional agricultural exports to Cuba and permit open travel there so food sales people could travel there, according to National Milk’s Chris Galen, in Thursday’s DairyLine.
National Milk testified in favor of the bill on Capitol Hill March 11.
Currently, the U.S. market share of dairy exports to Cuba is only about 6 percent, according to Galen, which is ironic considering how close it is, compared to some of the other countries that export to Cuba. Credit restrictions also make it very hard to do business there, he said.

Because Cuba is only about 100 miles off the Florida Keys, it represents an opportunity for the U.S. to grow its export volume. The loss of dairy exports on the world market last year was a big factor in last year’s financial disaster for dairy farmers, he said.
2008 dairy sales to Cuba amounted to about $13 million, Galen reported, and the U.S. Trade Commission says that, if sales to that country were made easier, we could increase U.S. sales by a three to five fold volume. That would mean an increase in the U.S. share from 6 percent to about 20-40 percent.

Does that mean dairy farmers will get some cigars in return? “Trade is a two way street,” answered Galen. “Cuba doesn’t have a whole lot of money,” he said, “But there are many other countries that do business there.”

The U.S. has a geographic advantage , he said, but “the tortured history of the past 50 years has kept the U.S. from taking full advantage of the opportunities, but we think it’s now time, after 50 years, to ease some of the restrictions that would make the U.S. a more competitive player in the Cuban dairy market.”

CWT reactivates assistance
Speaking of exports; the CWT program announced this week it will reactivate its export assistance to, as a press release stated; “boost sales of U.S.-made cheddar cheese.” The program has in the past assisted the export of whole milk powder, butter, and butterfat however the current focus will be on cheddar cheese because “this will have the most impact on farm-level milk prices.”

Fly control was our timely topic in Wednesday’s DairyLine. Katie Carriker, west coast regional sales manager for Texas-based Central Life Sciences, said now is the time to take steps to minimize fly populations on the dairy. ClariFly is a feed through larvicide put into ration supplements, usually minerals, and fed daily. It’s excreted into the manure, the flies lay their eggs there, but the eggs don’t hatch.

House, face, stable, and horn flies are prime targets of ClariFly, according to Carriker, and sanitation is key. “You can never eradicate all of the flies,” she admits, “But you can control them,” and she pointed out that ClariFly is fairly new so there’s no built-up resistance in flies.

ClariFly is just beginning to be made available in the West, but has been and is being successfully used in the East and Midwest for confined dairy cattle, but other options are available for cattle that are not confined, according to Carriker. Central Life Sciences has products for pasture type operations for either beef or dairy and complete information is available at www.centralflycontrol.com

Help tell the dairy story
California dairy producer and Dairy Management Incorporated Board member Brad Scott “told his story” to DairyLine’s Bill Baker at last month’s World Ag Expo and DairyLine listeners got to hear it in Monday’s “DMI Update.” There’s been enough negative press about dairy farms in the past but the dairy checkoff’s “Telling Your Story” program helps farmers defend themselves and their industry.

Scott said he takes every opportunity he can and recommends his fellow producers to do so as well, be a neighbor who stops by, someone at school or church, or someone you see at the supermarket, or the media itself.

Tell them what you do on your dairy, Scott said, what you do for the environment, how your farming practices are sustainable, how you care for the land and your animals, and how dairy farmers provide good, healthy products for the public.

You don’t have to be invited to a forum, according to Scott, you can do this with anyone you come in contact with. He admits that many people have preconceptions about dairy farming and farmers need to take the opportunity to present the truth about the industry.

Class 1 milk price slips $1.12
The April Federal order Class I milk price will move lower for the third consecutive month. The Agriculture Department announced the base price at $13.22 per cwt., down $1.12 from March, but still $2.86 above April 2009. It has averaged $14.36 in the first four months of 2010, up from $11.56 in the same period a year ago, and compares to $18.99 in 2008.

The Class I base is below the Congressionally-mandated trigger so an MILC payment of at least 21 cents is likely and may be higher, according to National Milk’s Roger Cryan, since April feed costs are now projected to be near the trigger for the feed cost adjustor. 

The MILC rate for May is projected at 17 cents, according to Cryan, and June at 6.5-cents. Projected Class I prices are just below projected MILC targets for many of the next 14 months, so that a further weakening of the market below current expectations easily could trigger additional MILC payments, Cryan said.

The NASS-surveyed butter price averaged $1.4249 per pound, up 5.5 cents from March. Nonfat dry milk averaged $1.0459, down 9.7 cents. Cheese averaged $1.4049, down 11.3 cents, and dry whey averaged 38.21 cents, down 1.1 cent.

February milk production in the top 23 states totaled 13.6 billion pounds, up 0.1 percent from February 2009, according to USDA’s preliminary data in the latest Milk Production report. That reverses seven months of decline and adds a bearish tone to the markets. February output for the 50 states totaled 14.8 billion pounds, also up 0.1 percent. Revisions added 14 million pounds to last month’s January estimate but that’s still a half percent below a year ago.
The key factor is February cow numbers totaling 8.3 million head, up 3,000 from January, signaling recovery in cow numbers even though they are 168,000 below a year ago. Output per cow averaged 1,640 pounds, up 35 from a year ago. California production was down 1.6 percent from a year ago, due to a loss of 65,000 cows, however, output per cow gained 35 pounds. Wisconsin was up 5.7 percent, thanks to 5,000 more cows and 80 pounds more per cow. New York was off 0.7 percent, on 13,000 fewer cows, but output per cow was up 20 pounds. Idaho was up 3.7 percent, on 3,000 more cows and a 50 pound increase per cow. Pennsylvania was up 0.1 percent. Cow numbers were down 10,000 head but output per cow was up 30 pounds. Minnesota was up 1.4 percent, due to 2,000 more cows and a 15 pound gain per cow.

The biggest increase was in Washington State, up 6.9 percent, thanks to 6,000 more cows and a 75 pound gain per cow. Wisconsin was next followed by Idaho. The biggest decline was in Missouri, down 9.8 percent, on 6,000 fewer cows and 50 pounds less per cow. Colorado was next, followed by Arizona and Kansas.
3/30/2010