January 2010 Issue No. 366
2010: Milk Supply Will Sharply Decline, Raising Prices (p.
1):
Several factors—grain and forage quality, dairy farmers
ceasing production, and tight finances/credit – will all conspire to drive down
2010’s U.S. milk production.
December 2009 Class III Price $14.98 – November Class IV
$15.01 (p. 1):
Take a good look. Prices are heading down in January.
USDA/DMI Contract to Reduce Dairy’s Greenhouse Gas Output
(p. 2):
USDA has contracted Dairy Management, Inc. to
oversee a 25% reduction in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by the U.S. dairy
industry by 2020. The major emphasis will be to build methane digesters at all
U.S. dairy farmers with 1000 or more milk cows. The Milkweed contends that such
an effort is a waste of taxpayer funds and an environmental travesty.
USDA Announces 17-Member Dairy Advisory Committee (p. 2):
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced the
seventeen dairy industry persons who will help USDA try to forge a long-range
strategy for federal dairy policy.
Finally: USDA Issues Dairy Farmer Assistance Payments (p.
2):
At long last, dairy farmers finally received the
DELAP emergency payments around Christmas.
Feature Story #2: Costs for
USDA-Recommended Animal ID Package: $9,995 (p. 3):
With start-ups cost like this, what will
government bureaucrats and their anointed corporate beneficiaries conjure up
next? Read all about it here.
Kraft Sells Off Frozen Pizza Unit, to Raise Cash for
Cadbury Takeover (p. 3):
Kraft Foods sold its frozen pizza unit to Nestle,
in order to assemble cash for a hostile takeover of the British candy company,
Cadbury. Logic behind Kraft’s move seems fuzzy.
“Milking the Street” at CME (p. 4):
Writer John Bunting has researched the Cheddar
trading patterns at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for 2009, with particular
emphasis on the run-up and decline of block Cheddar prices in the fall and early
winter.
Global Dairy Commodity Prices Remain High (p. 4):
In early January, according to USDA’s Dairy Market
News’ global analysis, Cheddar at the dock in New Zealand is priced at $1.81 to
$2.04 per pound. That range is $.40 to $.60 per pound higher than CME prices.
Wisconsin Gifts Foremost Farms $3.4 Million (p. 5):
In last-minute state budget negotiations last
fall, Wisconsin State Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse area) snuck in a
“lulu” that ended up with Foremost Farms being the only applicant for a $3.4
million dollar grant to expand cheese plant capacity. The line item was written
specifically so only Foremost Farms could qualify for it.
Dairy Labor Costs Track Perfectly with Petroleum Costs (p.
6):
Writer John Bunting has researched the seemingly
perfect correlation between farm costs for petroleum and labor all the way back
to 1940. Labor costs are going up!
“Muscle Milk” … Not Cow’s Milk & Not Much Human Kindness
(p. 7):
We see “Muscle Milk” in stores. Sounds great,
until you look at the ingredients. Muscle Milk is not what the dairy industry
thinks of as “milk.” But that hasn’t stopped the products owner from suing a
wide range of companies that incorporate the world “milk” in their name.
Dairy’s Beef: No Respect at the Slaughterhouse (p. 7):
Max Thornsberry, D.V.M. (president of the board of
R-CALF-USA, a ruckus-raising livestock producers’ organization), details why
dairy beef is undervalued by slaughterhouses.
Dairy Manure Management & Methane Digesters … Green or
Dirty Brown? (p. 8-10):
Writer Paris Reidhead explores the science behind
producing methane from livestock manure and then burning the resulting gas to
produce electricity. Each pound of methane burned produces 2.75 pounds of Carbon
Dioxide – another bad greenhouse gas. Access this must-read report
here.
Strong (+7%) Retail Cheese Trends Persist; Fluid Sales
Slowing (p. 11):
The September-November 2009 period showed
continued solid strength in retail cheese sales. For that period, retail cheese
sales rose 7.0%. Fluid milk sales gains are slowing. That same period saw fluid
milk sales rise only 0.3%.
Health Reform Legislation: Who May Be Exempt from Penalties
for Failure to Obtain Insurance? (p. 12):
Writer Mary Zanoni reviews the complex matter of
which persons, due to their long-term religious beliefs, may be exempt from
penalties for failing to participate in the brewing national health care
program.
Control Freak: Vilsack Increasingly Despised within USDA
(p. 12):
USDA chief Tom Vilsack really has the troops
scratching their heads, wondering at his control fetishes. Example: employees at
USDA’s federal milk order program cannot talk to reporters. Apparently,
agency-wide, Vilsack doesn’t want anyone except “talking heads” to talk to the
media … and make sure Vilsack gets credit for all good deeds.
Dean Foods/DFA “Smoke Peace Pipe” Over Milk Supply Squabble
(p. 13):
Dean Foods and DFA have settled their squabble
over milk supplies. DFA milk going to a dozen-plus Dean Foods plants is now
being invoiced by Lone Star Milk Producers, effective January 1, 2010. Three
months ago, Dean Foods had told DFA, “You’re outta here!”
Cheddar Block Prices Collapse Just Prior to Christmas (p.
14):
Our commodity watch focuses on the price collapse
of block Cheddar just prior to Christmas. Block Cheddar prices collapsed about
$.30 per pound.
We Can’t Afford to Repeat 2009 (p. 15):
Pete Hardin details what went wrong in 2009 and
what concerned dairy persons need to do to make 2010 a much better year.
Methane Digesters: Dirty Brown Scam (p. 15):
Pete Hardin rips into the foolish waste of money
and pending environmental disaster at hand, if USDA proceeds with plans to build
methane digesters on every dairy farm with 1,000 or more milk cows.
A. J. Bos Wins Courtroom Battle to Build IL Mega-Dairy (p.
16):
California dairy impresario A. J. Bos won the
legal battle against neighbors trying to block construction of a mega-dairy in
Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Bos is proceeding with construction. Plaintiffs are
plotting their appeal of the case.