USDA has put forth a trio of options as alternatives to the farm subsidy program. A safety net for agriculture is more than only subsidies, said USDA Secretary Mike Johanns at a food industry conference.

Mainstream groups want the 2002 farm law to continue pretty much as is, but the costs have risen to about $20 billion a year. The farm policy is set to be overhauled by lawmakers in 2007.

Source: Reuters/ Mark Weinraub, May 8, 2006
Source URL: http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=2006-05-
08T162232Z_01_N08182227_RTRIDST_0_FOOD-FARMBILL-USDA.XML

Milk was the top growth segment in the vending industry in 2005, according to a new survey commissioned by the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP). Specifically, the number of milk-specific vendors increased almost 6% and sales increased 10% versus the previous year.

The report, conducted by Beverage Marketing Corporation (BMC), consisted of interviewing more than 800 vending operators, more than 1,000 school officials, numerous processors and industry experts. BMC also examined articles and other materials on milk vending.

Source: International Dairy Foods Association/ News Release, May 3, 2006
Source URL: http://www.idfa.org/news/stories/2006/05/vending.cfm

Following are a few of the news headlines from articles of the past week:

• Cattle Death Losses: Respiratory Ills No. 1 Cause
• More Diners Saying, ‘Cheese, Please’
• Are You Ready for the Ethanol Plant Next Door?
• It’s Small vs. Large in Organic Dairy Business
• Dairy Cows Satisfy Sweet Tooth in Nova Scotia

Click to read more about these and other news stories.

The demographics of milk production are well known and the economics of scale have been applied in many regions of the country. The question was posed on how we can attain consumer trust and confidence when marketing the dairy industry? Four major areas of concern were recognized as challenges which are again familiar but the emphasis was to acknowledge these in a proactive way for the industry’s benefit:

Source: University of Minnesota/ Hugh Chester-Jones, May 6, 2006
Source URL: http://www.extension.umn.edu/dairy/dairystar/05-06-06-Chester-Jones.htm

Sustained massive growth in U.S. milk production continues to overpower milk and dairy product prices. Since the beginning of 2006, Class I milk prices have plunged by $2.60 per hundredweight (cwt.), or more than 15 percent. Cheese and butter prices have also followed suit where both of these products have seen prices plummet by 20 to 25 cents per pound. While dairy product prices have stabilized since mid-April, processors are very nervous about whether the market can withstand the huge onslaught of milk output. Dairy farmers may be able to offset some of these losses in milk sales revenues through Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program payments, which were recently extended through the end of September 2007. The Farm Services Administration (FSA) is calling this extended program MILCX and announced that the first MILCX payments should have been mailed by mid-April, which is at least a month before many industry people expected this to occur. Details and a complete description of the MILCX program can be found at: ftp://165.221.16.16/public/LD_565.pdf. The May 2006 MILCX payment will be 92.48cents per cwt, or about $1,850 on 200,000 pounds of milk. If you have not done so yet, don’t to forget to take your milk production records to your local county FSA office to qualify and become eligible to receive MILCX countercyclical payments.

Source: Mississippi State University/ Bill Herndon, May 2006
Source URL: http://www.agecon.msstate.edu/research/dairy_newsletter/NEWSLT06MAY.pdf

Following are headlines from the markets highlighted this week:

• Bailey’s Dairy Market Outlook   
• Dairy Products: Cheese Wheeling Upward
• Markets Rise for UK Cull Cows
• Weekly Roberts Commodity Market Report
• Tracking Corn Prices with an Ear to the Ground
• Annual Brazil Soybeans: Acreage, Income Shrink

Click to read more from these market analysis and articles.

The data used in the present study were derived from a 2 ( genotype) x 2 ( plane of nutrition) factorial design production study using Holstein-Friesian ( n = 32) and Norwegian ( n = 32) first-lactation dairy cattle offered grass silage-based diets from 1 to 44 wk of lactation.

It is concluded that Holstein-Friesian cows can produce more milk energy than Norwegian cows, mainly as a result of higher ME intake and because of a greater ability to partition more energy into milk and less into body tissue. The effect on energy partitioning mainly occurs in early and midlactation and is particularly evident with high concentrate diets.

Source: Effects of dairy cow genotype with two planes of nutrition on energy partitioning between milk and body tissue. Journal of Dairy Science 89 (3): 1031-1042, 2006. Yan, T.; Mayne, C.S.; Keady, T.W.J.; Agnew, R.E.

Environmental samples collected from each of 3 locations on 23 large California dairies were cultured to evaluate the utility of this approach for identifying herds infected with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis. Results were compared with concurrent ELISA testing of >= 60 animals in each herd, and with previously performed individual and pooled fecal cultures of 60 animals.

Of the sampling locations that were evaluated, samples of lagoon water (15/23; 65%) were significantly more likely to yield a positive result than were composite manure samples (8/22; 36%) collected from the sick/fresh cow pen or from the alleyway (9/23; 39%) where cows exited from the milking parlor. Environmental sampling was an effective and inexpensive method of identifying herds infected with Mycobacterium avium ssp. paratuberculosis.

Source: Environmental sampling for detection of Mycobacterium avium ssp paratuberculosis on large california dairies. Journal of Dairy Science 89 (3): 963-970, 2006. Berghaus, R.D.; Farver, T.B.; Anderson, R.J.; Jaravata, C.C.; et al.

Different chemical treatments, including lactic acid, acidic calcium sulfate, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, caprylic acid, ozone, butyric acid, sodium benzoate, and competing E. coli, were tested individually or in combination for inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 in the presence of rumen content.

Such treatments may best be applied periodically to drinking water troughs and then flushed, rather than being added continuously, to avoid reduced water consumption by cattle.

Source: Inactivation of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli in Rumen Content- or Feces-Contaminated Drinking Water for Cattle. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2006, p. 3268-3273, Vol. 72, No. 5. Tong Zhao, Ping Zhao, Joe W. West, John K. Bernard, et al.

Lameness is a major economic and welfare problem on our dairy farms. Prevalence of lameness in the U.S. has increased in recent years. It had been about 15 years since the last study on prevalence of lameness in Minnesota dairy farms had been conducted. The dairies involved in that study were mostly tie stall herds. The current trend in the dairy industry is for housing cows in free stall systems with concrete flooring. Research has indicated that exposure to concrete flooring can potentially increase the proportion of cows with hoof disorders in comparison with other systems.

Therefore, we conducted a field study in 50 Minnesota free stall dairy herds (5626 Holstein cows housed in 53 high production groups) to determine the current prevalence of lameness.

Source: University of Minnesota/ Marcia Endres, April 22, 2006
Source URL: http://www.extension.umn.edu/dairy/dairystar/04-22-06-Endres.htm