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VOLUME XV, NO. 7 |
TEXAS DAIRY REVIEW |
JULY 2006 |
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House Dairy Panel Hears Praise, Criticism of Current
Dairy Programs DairyFest 2006 was ‘Udder Fun’ and Then Some!
TCAA—June dairy month golf tourney results Beef Cattle Short Course Will Be Aug. 7-9 August Estate Planning Seminar Can Help Keep the Ranch in the Family |
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House Dairy Panel Hears Praise, Criticism of Current Dairy Programs |
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Current federal dairy programs were both praised and criticized by dairy industry representatives, recently, at a field hearing of the House Agriculture subcommittee with dairy oversight. The hearing was one of a series of hearings being held to gather feedback about farm policy in preparation for writing the 2007 farm bill. Farm bill debate is expected to begin early next year. Views on the dairy price support program ranged from getting rid of the program entirely to raising the support price above its current level. Mark Davis, CEO of Davisco Foods International, said the price support program "is causing serious problems in the marketplace." Under the program, handlers are "essentially forced" to make cheese, butter or powder, because if they try to make a derivative of one of those, "the economics won't flow." With the support program, "you are better off making nonfat milk, selling it to the government, and having the taxpayers supporting it," Davis said. "That whole system frustrates the marketing and the modernization of the US dairy industry." There are two reasons why Davisco Foods moved into whey production, Davis continued. First and foremost, "because there are no price regulations to restrict us." And second, because there's a demand, and "we had ever increasing volumes." But price supports even have an impact on the whey business, he pointed out. When the government buys milk powder "week after week, month after month, year after year at prices above their market value, we're ensured surpluses hanging over the market." And liquidating those surpluses "hits the dairy protein market," Davis noted. In 2002, USDA started giving away surplus milk powder for livestock feed in drought areas. But the more powder that came out of government storage, "the more prices in the whey market were undermined." John Vrieze, president of the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association and a dairy farmer from Emerald, WI, believes the support program "needs a major overhaul, if not complete elimination." Although originally designed to help the industry during periods of low prices, the support program "has actually created a small segment of our industry that simply produces milk powder, regardless of true market needs, and sells that product to the federal government" at a cost to all taxpayers. Milk price volatility "does justify the need for a reasonable safety net," but the support program "does not succeed at strengthening our ability to compete and make a living," Vrieze said. He wants Congress to phase out the price support program "and replace it with a new program that encourages the domestic production of milk protein concentrates and other dairy products that are in high demand." Gordon Crow, director of government and community affairs for The Schwan Food Company, said the price support program and the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program "work against each other. They create a heavy financial burden for our government and interfere in the marketplace." The price support program "is the main reason that the US is not a world leader in the production of value-added dairy proteins because the program makes it more profitable for companies to sell nonfat dry milk powder to USDA than to invest in technology to make milk proteins demanded by the market," Crow added. Clint Fall, general manager for First District Association, called the support program "an important program that should be continued," but said it is "equally clear" that the program "is in great need of reform." The current support price of $9.90 per hundredweight is a "very low level of support," but even at that level, the support program "has proven to be a porous and ineffective floor," Fall said. Between January 2000 and February 2003, the Class III milk price fell below support in 12 to 37 months. First District Association supports a proposal by National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) to increase the CCC purchase prices for cheese, butter and nonfat dry milk to reflect the "unique costs" of selling these products to the CCC. These higher costs are associated with CCC processing and packaging standards in inspection and grading requirements that are different from industry standards, as well as higher storage and finance costs because it takes longer for the CCC to take delivery of products and make payment," Fall explained. Bruce Maas, a dairy producer from Walnut Grove, MN, and a member of the board of directors of Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI), called for an increase in the current support price, saying the current price is "inadequate." He also agreed with Fall that the CCC should increase the prices it's paying to remove dairy products form the market. Because of increased manufacturing costs, the support program today gives dairy producers about $1.00 less than congress intended when enacting the support program, Maas said. Dana Allen, a dairy farmer from Eyota, MN, and a member of the board of directors of the Minnesota Milk Producers Association (MMPA), said MMPA wants a price safety net "that effectively sets a price floor higher than" the current $9.90 per hundred. As with the price support program, views expressed at the hearing concerning the MILC program ranged from scrapping the program entirely to renewing it in the 2007 farm bill. First District's Fall said that, because of its counter-cyclical nature, the MILC program "has proven to be very effective. Assistance is only provided to producers when market prices fall below target levels and remains dormant when market prices are strong." The MILC program "has proven beneficial to the vast majority of dairy farms in the nation," and in the Upper Midwest, "there is no doubt that the program has helped us to maintain our productive capacity during low milk price cycles," Fall said. He said it is "critical for our dairy industry and our rural communities" that the next farm bill continues the MILC program or a similar type of counter-cyclical safety net. The MILC program, he continued, "distorts the marketplace signals to the producers. They don't have to make economic and competitive enhancing investments and institute practices that increase their production efficiencies." One of the results is that "Minnesota dairy farm production is not economically competitive with other growing production regions of the country," Davis added. "And soon neither will our manufacturing sector be competitive." Vrieze called for a "sensible counter-cyclical program that treats all operations, regardless of size and location, fairly. While the existing MILC program has been a lifeline for many of the farm families in Wisconsin, we should not expect that level of assistance to keep us in business." Jim Green, president and CEO of Kemps LLC, said classified pricing under federal milk marketing orders "is at the root of many of the industry's problems," particularly in the Upper Midwest. The "complexity and stagnation" of federal orders "have created a system of milk price regulation that often stands in the way of milk moving to its highest value use from the most efficient production areas," Green said. "As a result, we have a system that causes regional price distortions and has grown so cumbersome that even the simplest changes take years to make." Vrieze called the federal order system "a hodgepodge of outdated rules and regulations that have divided the major milk producing regions of our country for years. A four class pricing system, combined with various pricing differentials and complex blend price formulas have long outlived the original purpose of making sure Americans had access to enough bottled milk." The federal order system has encouraged not true competition or innovation "but rather bureaucratic paper pooling practices that serve no function in the marketplace," Vrieze continued. He wants the government to "eliminate the outdated and antiquated federal milk marketing order system," and phase in a new and simplified pricing structure to replace it. Several speakers called on Congress to make permanent forward contracting under federal orders. A pilot forward contracting program expired at the end of 2004. Risk management tools like permanent forward contracting "must be expanded to all producers regardless if they ship their milk to proprietary or cooperative owned processing plants," Vrieze said. |
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Shipping Dairy Calves to New Mexico? Don't Forget Their "Identification!" |
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New Mexico livestock health officials have implemented and are enforcing animal identification requirements for dairy calves shipped into their state to assist in tracking potential disease introductions, particularly cattle tuberculosis (TB). Dairy cattle are no more susceptible to TB than beef cattle, but in confinement operations, such as dairies, infected animals may transmit the disease more readily. Commercially produced milk is pasteurized, or heat-treated, to kill bacteria and ensure product safety. "New Mexico requires dairy calves to be individually identified with an official USDA ear tag, or a commercially produced ear tag that shows the state and premises of origin, if the calves are not imported into the state as part of a cow/calf pair. If commercial tags are used, the original owner's name, address and an individual animal number must be imprinted on the tag, and the commercial tags must be pre-approved by the New Mexico Livestock Board," said Dr. Dee Ellis, head of animal health programs with the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock and poultry health regulatory agency. The New Mexico Livestock Board may be reached in Albuquerque at (505) 841-6161. Dr. Ellis noted that New Mexico requires dairy and beef cows and bulls from all states to have a negative TB test within 30 days prior to importation, and these animals are tagged. Calves entering New Mexico, however, are not TB test-eligible until they are 12 months old, and many would not otherwise be identified. By requiring dairy calves to be tagged, New Mexico livestock health authorities can notify the state of origin, if an imported calf later tests positive for cattle TB. This action may also protect New Mexico's TB-free status, which was regained in 2005, with the exception of a small zone in the southeast portion of the state. "New Mexico is working to protect its cattle TB-free rating," commented Dr. Ellis. "Texas lost cattle TB-free status in 2002, and since then, more than 500,000 cattle in Texas have been tested. The U.S. Department of Agriculture may reinstate Texas as TB-free later this year, and like New Mexico, we also will guard that hard-earned status. Currently, TAHC entry requirements specify that each sexually intact dairy calf entering Texas have an official USDA ear tag, but identification to the herd of origin is not required." |
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DairyFest 2006 was ‘Udder Fun’ and Then Some! |
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DairyFest 2006 was a huge success as the community celebrated the influence of the area dairy industry on our local economies. Thousands of festival goers filled up on a variety of delicious dairy products and enjoyed dairy related games and entertainment. A celebration this big was made possible by the many dairy farm families in the tricounty area and the many businesses and organizations who contributed time or gave financially to help with the annual event. The weather also cooperated perfectly with much needed rain both before and after the celebration! Over 200 community volunteers came together to pull off the DairyFest celebration, which allowed attendees to enjoy over 6,000 pints of milk, 3,000 cheeseburgers, 2,000 grilled cheese sandwiches, 1,500 yogurt smoothies and an enormous amount of ice cream cups and ice cream sandwiches along with all the other fun activities and entertainment! TriCounty Agribusiness Association would like to extend a huge thank you to the following area businesses, organizations and individuals for their support: SPECIAL THANKS TO: • Stephenville Parks & Recreation Department for all their help with the event • Southwest Dairy Farmers for bringing the Mobile Dairy Classroom • DairyMAX for giving out all the gotmilk? goodies • Stephenville Chamber Ambassadors and Optimist Club members for cooking and serving the thousands of cheeseburgers • Andrew & Debbie Moerman, Susan Hutchins, family & friends for mixing up all the delicious yogurt smoothies • AgTexas Farm Credit Services employees and Lextron Dairy Services employees for cooking and serving grilled cheese sandwiches • Bramlett Implement for letting us use their Gators to haul milk and ice around • Tractor Supply Company for use of their tubs and fans • Gary Henderson for organizing the Antique Tractor Pull • Local dairy producers for providing dairy heifers of different breeds for the kids to pet • Veterinarian's Outlet employees for blowing up all the gotmilk? balloons for the kids • Littlejohn’s Produce for slicing up all the delicious watermelon • Dublin DrPepper for providing their drink wagon for a fundraiser for 4-H & FFA students • DeJong Family for giving rides on their horse & buggy and tractor & trailer • Area dairymen for providing funding for the inflatable games • Area youth including 4-H, FFA, & TSU Ag Ambassadors for volunteering to work booths • Local entertainment including the Cody Gill Band, PDA, and 7 Pound Hole • TexStar Ford, CTFAC & SPARD for sponsoring the Davin James concert • And, of course, the TCAA Board of Directors for their time, effort and sweat in planning and organizing the huge, family fun community event! HEB is a major partner and was a tremendous support with their donation of ice cream as well as their service in getting all the food to the park and keeping it cold until it was served. Thank You, HEB! Many other organizations and businesses contributed to the success of DairyFest by working game booths and sponsoring activities. Thank you to everyone for showing your support for an industry so vital to our communities! A complete list of all our event sponsors can be found on our website: www.tricountyag.com. For more information on other upcoming dairy-related events or to find out how you can support area agribusiness contact TriCounty Agribusiness Association Executive Director July Danley at 254-965-2406 or visit us on the web at www.tricountyag.com. |
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TCAA—June dairy month golf tourney results |
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TriCounty Agribusiness Association would like to thank all the golfers that showed their support for agribusiness at the annual June Dairy Month Golf Tournament. A special thanks goes to the crew from Gore Bros. Feeds and TCAA directors that helped cook the cheeseburger lunch for the golfers. Thanks also to the many businesses who donated great door prizes. A fun time was had by all and close to $3,000 was raised to help fund our promotion of the area's largest industry! Winners were as follows: 1st FLIGHT 1 - Jam Dot Dairy Team (57) John Traweek, Matt Miller, Stephanie Traweek, Ricky Traweek - $400 2 - Butch Jackson, Bill Hyman, Dennis Richter, Denver Doggett (58 - score card playoff) -$200 3 - 1st National Bank Dublin Team (58 - score card playoff) Andrew Kinser, Jimmy Leatherwood, Rod McNeal, Robert Campbell - $100 2nd FLIGHT 1 - Farm Bureau Insurance Team (60 - score card playoff) Joe Thompson, Nick Heupel, Brandon Carrell, Eric Hargrove - $400 2 - KSTV Team (60 - score card playoff) Jason Beyer, Todd McEvoy, Boots Elliott, Bob Haschke - $200 3 - Pro-Con Team (61) Glenn Trimble, Eddie Ray Johnson, Dean Mayfield, Junior Savage - $100 LONGEST DRIVE Stephanie Traweek $100 CLOSEST TO THE PIN Aaron Carroll $100 MILK DUD AWARD FOR LAST PLACE Shamrock Fertilizer & Chemical Team (71) Brandon Haile, Bobby Cowan, Jordan Phillips, Colby Boatwright Thanks to all for supporting our efforts to promote the area's largest industry! |
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Africanized Bee Appearance in Texas Panhandle Calls for Caution |
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Bees confirmed as the Africanized strain have been found in the Panhandle, prompting a word of caution from a Texas Cooperative Extension specialist. Dr. Carl Patrick, Extension entomologist in Amarillo, said this summer he has received two to three samples of bees a week to send for testing, compared to two to three a month in the past. "We just need people to understand we have them (Africanized honey bees) in the area, and there will be bees throughout the Panhandle that act a little more aggressively than they have in the past," he said.
The first confirmed case was collected
Jan. 30 in Armstrong County, Patrick said. Since then, bees from Amarillo
in Randall County were collected and tested positive on April 19, May 16
and June 1. "We knew they had moved as far north as Swisher County in the
past Distinguishing between native honey bees and the Africanized strain cannot be done visually, Patrick said. All bees must be sent to the Texas Honey Bee Identification Lab in College Station to be confirmed through genetic tests or by measurements.
Africanized honey bees were brought to
Brazil in 1956 to improve honey production of the European honey bee, he
said. In 1957, containment measures failed and several swarms escaped into
the countryside. The Africanized bee passed on its aggressive traits
through mating The Africanized bees are more aggressive in protecting their brood, Patrick said. European honey bees may chase intruders up to100 feet from the colony, but the Africanized bees will go as far as 400 feet. The sting is the same whether the bee is European or Africanized, but many more bees will aggressively attack if it is the Africanized bee, he said. "What we've learned over the years is certain things really irritate the Africanized bees," Patrick said. "They don't like small engines, such as lawnmowers, weed-eaters and chainsaws." Also, the European honey bees tend to nest aboveground in houses, trees or vacant structures, he said. In addition to those nesting sites, Africanized bees also nest in holes in the ground, irrigation pipes, control boxes and underneath houses. Patrick offered some advice for individuals coming in contact with any bees: - Stay away or get away as quickly and as far as possible. - Get into a vehicle or house or if it is a brushy area, put as much brush between the source of the bees and yourself. - Call 911 if you witness someone being stung, and be sure to tell emergency personnel exactly what the situation is so they can come prepared to deal with the bees when trying to administer aid. - Scrape stingers from the body, don't try to pull them out. Each stinger has a venom sack and pulling only mashes more venom into the wound. "People who know of an established colony should call someone in the pest control industry to take care of it," Patrick said. "It's not for the novice person to deal with. There are a few pest control folks who will do it. They charge, but to me, it would be worth it." For more information on Africanized honey bees, go to: http://honeybee.tamu.edu. |
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Beef Cattle Short Course Will Be Aug. 7-9 |
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The 52nd annual Texas A&M University Beef Cattle Short Course will be held Aug. 7-9 at the campus' University Center and Rudder Tower. Drought and increasing expenses have made this a challenging year for cattle producers, said Dr. Jason Cleere, Texas Cooperative Extension beef cattle specialist and conference coordinator. Fortunately, good beef cattle prices have helped offset the higher costs, Cleere said, but producers are wondering how long the higher prices will last. One of this year's new sessions will focus on reducing winter feeding costs. Industry experts also will discuss drought management strategies and rising energy costs during the general session. The Cattleman's College will return with concurrent sessions on basic ranch management, nutrition, reproduction, genetics, pastures, carcass evaluation and record keeping. The animal handling programs will feature demonstrations on chute side calf working, cattle behavior, penning, sorting and selection. Participants will be able to obtain a pesticide applicator's license or add continuing education units if already licensed. More than 100 agricultural businesses or services will be featured in this year's trade show. Registration is $120 per person and includes educational materials, a copy of the proceedings, trade show admittance, and tickets to the prime rib dinner and five additional meals. Complete information and scheduling will be mailed to previous participants in June. Producers may register online at http://animalscience.tamu.edu or by contacting Cleere's office at (979) 845-6931. |
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August Estate Planning Seminar Can Help Keep the Ranch in the Family |
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Ranchers can learn how to reduce their
taxes and make effective estate planning decisions by attending an estate
planning seminar scheduled for Aug. 9-10 at the College Station "Our goal is to help families make wise estate planning decisions by providing a wealth of information on tax- and estate-planning matters," said Dr. Wayne Hayenga, Texas Cooperative Extension economist and attorney. "This information should be useful for married couples, potential estate executors, and those who want to make estate settlement less burdensome for their loved ones." The seminar will run from 1 to 5 p.m. on Aug. 9, and from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 10. The first day's agenda will cover basic devices such as wills, living trusts, estate tax deferral, and gifts. The second day's agenda will focus on estate taxes, how to keep the ranch running well, corporations and partnerships, special use land valuation, and life insurance in estate planning. Registration costs $100 per person. The fee covers all materials, refreshments and lunch on Aug. 10. For more information or to register, contact Sharon Wehring at 979-845-2226 or by e-mail ats-wehring@tamu.edu. |
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