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VOLUME XVI, NO. 4 |
TEXAS DAIRY REVIEW |
APRIL 2007 |
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Shankle's Responds to TDR Plea Still time to apply for Dairy Merit Award |
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Shankle's Responds to TDR plea — letter dated 2/27/2007 |
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Click Here to read TDR's letter. Dear Ms. Webb: I’m responding to your February 27, 2007 letter related to pending concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) dairy permit applications in the Bosque River watershed. I understand your concern about the Bosque dairies operating under the revised CAFO rules and obtaining updated water quality permits. In order to improve water quality in the area, the TCEQ has developed a Total Maximum Daily Load and associated implementation plan for segments 1226 and 1255 of the Brazos River Basin due to nutrient impairment. As one part of this effort, updated permits which implement the revised CAFO rules and require additional controls need to be issued to Bosque dairies. My staff is committed to expediting the processing of these permit applications. Unfortunately, many of the Bosque dairy permit applications that have been submitted to date have had significant technical deficiencies, which do not allow a full technical, review which is required before a draft permit can be completed. My staff is working closely with the dairies and their consultants to obtain the necessary information to further process these applications. The TCEQ has been able to process the applications in a timely fashion once technical deficiencies are addressed. Of the 50 dairies in the Bosque, one final permit has been issued, two applications have been through public notice, one is currently in public notice, and three additional permits have been drafted and will be sent to the permittee for review and comment by the end of this month. One was sent to the permittee on March 6, 2007, and the other two will be sent by March 26, 2007. The remaining applications are in different stages of technical review. We will continue to work through the technical issues with each permit as they are reviewed and will review any public comments consistent the TCEQ rules. Your letter suggests that the TCEQ avoid delays in the public participation process and deny public meeting and public hearing requests on these applications. Texas law and TCEQ rules require dairies in the Bosque River to obtain individual water quality permits and establish a public participation process for environmental permits in the State of Texas. TCEQ is required by law to follow this process. We review public meeting requests and determine if there is significant public interest, which would warrant a public meeting. The Commissioners make the decision on the resolution of hearing requests. Thank you for your interest in water quality issues in this area of the state. Should you need any additional information or wish to discuss this matter further, please feel free to contact L’Oreal Stepney in the Water Quality Division at (512) 239-4554. Sincerely, Glenn Shankle, Executive Director, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality |
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Still time to apply for Dairy Merit Award |
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Dairymen still have time to qualify for a 2007 Dairy of Merit Award. In an effort to encourage producers to keep their dairies neat and attractive and enhance their overall appearance, the Erath County Dairy Committee and the Stephenville Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Dairy of Merit Award program each year. If producers would like the opportunity to receive a Dairy of Merit Award for 2007, they will need to complete and return a nomination form available at the Erath County Extension office, 254-965-1460. The form can be faxed to producers. Forms are due in the Extension office by May 21 and judging will take place during the last week of May. |
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The Mid-South Ruminant Conference coming up April 18-19 |
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The 2007 Mid-South Ruminant Nutrition Conference (MSRNC) will be April 18-19 at the Hilton Arlington Hotel, Arlington, Texas. The hotel is located at 2401 E. Lamar Blvd. in Arlington. Sponsored by the Texas Animal Nutrition Council and Texas Cooperative Extension (Texas A&M University System), the conference will provide several guest speakers and a golf tournament. Schedule of Events MSRNC Golf Tournament Wed., April 18 12:00 Noon -4:00 P.M.-4 man scramble Riverside Golf Course Arlington, TX. $55 per person 4:30 P.M. MSRNC Registration 6:00 P.M. Hospitality Hour Hilton, Arlington Conference Agenda Thurs., April 19 Morning Session 7:30 A.M. Registration 8:00 A.M. Welcome 8:05 A.M. Facing the Diminishing Corn Supply: Dairy Alternatives 9:05 A.M. Digestibility of Starch from Silages 10:05-10:30 A.M. Break 10:30 A.M. CPM Model with a Texas Twist 11:30 A.M. The Economics of Feed Variability in Dairy Afternoon Session 12:30 P.M. Lunch Provided 1:30 P.M. Nutrition-Reproduction Interactions 2:30 P.M. Nutritional Impacts on Health 3:30-3:50 P.M. Break 3:50 P.M. How Milk Price is Determined 4:50 P.M. TANC Meeting For more information, please contact the Texas Animal Nutrition Council, Dr. Ellen R. Jordan, Texas Cooperative Extension, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX. 75252-6599 or call 972-952-9201. |
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CWT round 4 herd retirement in full swing |
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The Cooperative Working Together (CWT) herd retirement program initially implemented in 2003 is in the throes of Round 4 at present. This newest action by CWT will remove more than one billion pounds of milk from the dairy industry’s supply to help strengthen and stabilize farm-level milk prices. According to the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) projects a 2.3 billion pound increase in milk production by 2007. The CWT program effectively reduces that projection by 45%. On Mar. 19, auditors began visiting dairies, whose bids were accepted by the CWT, to check their milk production records, inspect their herds, and tag each of the cows for slaughter. On-farm audits are critical and necessary to ensure the integrity of the program. It is a requirement of the program that farmers send their animals directly to slaughter once the auditing process is complete. Producers retain all proceeds from the sale of their cows. All producers were notified by April 15, as to whether their bids were accepted. The CWT had a total of 1,397 bids submitted to them in Round 4. This is more bids than submitted in the total of Rounds 2 in 2004 which was 736 bids and in Round 3 in 2005 of which 651 bids were submitted. ‘‘The combination of economic indicators that we’ve been monitoring told us that this was the right time to act,’’ said Jerry Kozak, NMPF president. ‘‘As a result of the strong response to this next round, we were able to select bids at a much lower cost per hundred pound of milk removed and spend less of our overall budget than we had anticipated. This will provide more funding going forward for future herd retirements and for our very active export assistance program.’’ The CWT program applied its regional safeguard limits so that no region of the country suffers a disproportionate loss of milk supplies. The safeguard thresholds are for five separate regions of the country, limiting the milk withdrawals possible in each. The only safeguard limit reached was in Region 2, the Southeast, said the NMPF. The two Western regions will contribute 65% of the milk removed in Round 4, a proportion similar to previous rounds. CWT started in July 2003, when producers representing nearly 2/3 of the nation’s milk production pledged five cents per hundredweight. Growth of CWT membership to 70 percent of the nation’s milk supply prompted a 10 cent per hundredweight increase last year. Since CWT’s inception in July 2003, the all-milk price has been at above-average levels. By removing cows when growing production threatens to hike industry output above consumer demand, and by removing occasional gluts in finished product markets, the CWT has effectively created a floor for milk prices. |
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