July 2010 Issue No. 372
Cream Scarce, “Multiple” High (p. 1):
Cream supplies in the U.S. are impossibly tight in
early summer, driving up costs to processors.
June 2010 Class III Price $13.82 – June Class IV $15.45 (p.
1):
Manufacturing milk prices in USDA’s federal milk
orders are inching up.
DOJ/USDA Dairy Antitrust Workshop: Listening & Posturing
(p. 2):
The Madison, Wisconsin dairy antitrust workshop on
June 25 drew 600+ attendees. Pete Hardin details the high points and the low
points. The good news: dairy antitrust issues are hot, and DFA is running
scared.
No Further Details on Threatened China’s Ban of U.S. Dairy
Imports (p. 2):
In negotiations … the headline tells it all.
Upscale Emmi Yogurt: Retail Price +$400/cwt. (Contains
MPC!) (p. 3):
At $1.59 per six-ounce cup, one might hope that
Emmi yogurt firm could market their upscale yogurt without using Milk Protein
Concentrate (MPC) as the second leading item in their “plain” variety. The
package claims that the product is based on an “Original Swiss Recipe” – raising
the question: Is MPC a legal food ingredient in the European Union and
Switzerland?
NMPF’s “Foundation for the Future” – Roadmap to Hades (p.
4):
The dairy co-op lobby has done it again – proposing a
dramatic change in federal dairy policies that contains some very bad, and ill
thought-out ideas. NMPF proposes junking USDA’s safety net programs for dairy
producer income (MILC & the support price program) in favor of a mandatory milk
margin insurance program that nets out to a $4.00/cwt. loss.
Marvin Hoekema Analyzes NMPF’s Foundation for the Future”
(p. 4):
We quote liberally from a seven-page analysis of
NMPF’s proposed dairy policy changes by Visalia, California dairy consultant
Marvin Hoekema. Marvin really puts the wood to NMPF.
Did ’09 Failure to Export Surplus
Powder Cause Current Cheese Glut? (p. 5):
We offer this analysis as
July’s second
“Story of the Month.”
Latest CWT Export Scam (p. 5):
John Bunting writes about a recent subsidy of
$1.40 per pound paid by Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) to several big
co-ops to export cheese to the Middle East. With conventional cheese prices in
the $1.39 range – the co-ops received roughly $2.79 per pound for their product!
What a scam!
Take a Long, Long Look at Butter & Cream (p. 6-7):
John Bunting analyses historic and present
supplies of butter and cream, and their increasing demand factors. He also
explains the “Cream Multiple” – which at present is near an all-time peak.
“Gulf-Hopping” Spotlights Ag Solutions to Energy Dilemma
(p. 8-9):
Paris Reidhead investigates many facts and details
about the globe’s oil supply, with a special focus on facts concerning the Gulf
of Mexico oil reserves. Conclusion: the U.S. must look to farmland as an
increased source of its energy to provide fuel for transportation in the future.
Dairy Cattle Replacement Prices at Auction Markets Across
the USA (p. 9):
On a market to market basis, dairy livestock
prices are steady to declining. Prices for springing heifers are generally down
about $100 per head in the past month. Livestock prices are collapsing in Texas.
1930s U.S. Supreme Court Dairy Decisions Relevant (p. 9):
Ah, the good old days, when the U.S. Supreme Court
recognized the law of the land to be that dairy is an industry whose good
fortunes are in the public interest and that USDA’s role is to sustain farmers’
purchasing power as a matter of national economic interest. The laws are
basically the same, only the enforcement is lax.
Butter & Milk Powder Tight; Plenty of Cheddar (p. 10):
Pete Hardin reviews current dairy commodity
events. Butter and cream supplies are very tight.
Divergent Chorus: “Blame the Supermarkets” (p. 11):
At the June 25 dairy antitrust workshop in
Madison, Wisconsin, Pete Hardin found it humorous that directors and senior
staff members of Dairy Farmers of America chose to blame the supermarkets for
dairy’s pricing inequities. That same theme was reached by UCONN economist Dr.
Ronald Cotterill. The “blame the supermarket” chorus is picking up members, some
of whom probably want to divert attention from their own misdeeds.
Good Idea: USDA/Dairy Industry Advisory Panel (p. 15):
At a recent dairy industry convention, Hilmar
Cheese’s Rick Kaepernick suggested a formal dairy industry advisory to USDA, to
try to keep gov’t bureaucrats from issuing such stupid edicts. Good idea, but a
group of three to five persons would probably be better.
Organic Raw Milk Souring Political Battles Shift to
Wisconsin and Massachusetts (p. 12):
Will Fantle of the Cornucopia Institute updates
the latest events in the expanding, raw milk battle front.
RR Alfalfa: Monsanto Misfires on Reporting High Court
Ruling (p. 12):
Paris Reidhead details the recent U.S. Supreme
Court decision regarding USDA’s environmental impact oversight of Monsanto’s
genetically-modified alfalfa. Monsanto promoted the decision as a “win” … but
that’s not completely accurate.