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March 2023 – Issue No. 524

Inside this months issue  …

OUR STORY OF THE MONTH (Click the blue title below to read "the complete story"):

FDA’s Draft “Guidance” OKs Clearly Illegal Labeling of Plant-Beverages as “Milk”

More Milk & Lower Retail Sales Push Down Commodities’ Prices (p. 1):  Dairy commodities’ prices are generally down in recent weeks.  Milk supplies are growing and retail sales are below year-ago levels during 2023’s first two months.  Good news?  Chinese buyers are very active, and  cull cow prices are strong.  California’s flooding should impair that state’s milk output – bad news for California.

China’s Reopening Economy Boosting Asia’s Dairy Demand (p. 1): Chinese dairy buyers are back in the market, buying and forward-ordering nicely.  China’s opening up its Covid restrictions means other Asian nations that are tourism destinations for Chinese are also buying more dairy. 

Grain Markets Sliding Backwards in Mid-March 2023 (p. 2):  Slow export sales are pushing down current cash grain prices.

Feb. ’23 Manufacturing Milk Classes Decline Again (p. 2):  All manufacturing Classes of milk declined, price-wise, in February.

DAIRY PRIDE Act Re-Introduced in Congress After FDA “Guidance” (p. 3):  Wisconsin U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin has rounded up numerous co-sponsors and has reintroduced legislation that would order the FDA to enforce the law when it comes to standardized dairy products’ names.

Danone for Offer Horizon Organics for Sale (p. 3):  The French corporate parent of Horizon has put up a “For Sale” sign.
 
Red Stag: New Entrant in Eastern NY Trucking (p. 3): Curious: a new player has appeared in milk trucking in eastern NY.  Red Stag is taking over hauling for Horizon and Horizon is soliciting producers.

Boosting Class I Milk Prices: Milking a Sick Cow? (p. 3): As Class I use sinks lower and lower, the dairy co-op lobby is seeking at least two moves to boost consumers’ beverage milk costs.   How smart is that?

Jan-Feb ’23 Dairy Retail Sales Declined Sharply (p. 4): Ouch.  The financial squeeze of food inflation is reducing dairy products’ sales volume. 
Order 30 Class I Use in Dec. & Jan.: 5.6% (p. 4):  Class I sales in the Upper Midwest federal milk order have demised to a miniscule level.

NZ’s North Island Slammed by Cyclone; Disastrous Flooding (p. 5): Jan Shepel reports on terrible flooding in New Zealand’s North Island that hit in mid-February.  Readers may view a video of a dairy cows swimming for their lives across a flooded river, heeding their owner’s summons: “Come here, girls.”

Checkoff Reform Legislation Re-Introduced (p. 5): Once more, concerned legislators have introduced proposed legislation in Washington, D.C. to reform how agricultural commodities’ promotion funds are spent.

FDA’s Draft “Guidance” OKs Clearly Illegal Labeling of Plant-Based Beverages as “Milk” (p. 6-7):  HUGE ISSUE!!!  Pete Hardin takes apart FDA’s recent draft “Guidance” that would allow plant-based beverages to be called “milk” – even though that agency acknowledges that in numerous cases, such plant-based products are nutritionally inferior to old-fashioned cow’s milk.

USDA Posts Final Rule on Enforcing Organic Foods’ Integrity (p. 8):  This horse escaped from the barn more than a decade ago.  No guarantee that USDA’s promise to better enforce organic food rules will be any better than past failures.

Dairy Checkoff Funds F.A.R.M. Program, NMPF Runs it: F.A.R.M. Rules Cause Some Producers to Lose Milk Markets (p. 8): Hard to believe, but dairy promotion checkoff money is funding the F.A.R.M. program, operated by National Milk Producers Federation.  And dairy farmers have lost their milk markets for alleged failure to comply with F.A.R.M. rules.

Prairie Farms’ FY 2021-22 Saw $26.478 Million Net Loss (p. 8): Worst year in Prairie Farms’ history.

Corporate Resolutions Committee Nixes Proposal to Reveal DFA’s Directors’ Per Diem Payments (p. 8):  On February 28, DFA’s resolutions committee killed a proposed resolution to make available to members information on directors’ compensation.

Many battles at the dairy case (p. 10):  Pete Hardin takes a long look at the battles taking place at the dairy case, and how many of these battles are harming dairy sales.

Mexico Can’t Be Forced to Import U.S. GM Corn, Study Says (p. 11):  Paris Reidhead explores the major brouhaha between the U.S. and Mexico over Mexico’s refusal to accept imports of GM corn for human use.

Maple Leave Cheese Co-op Bankruptcy: Judge Accepts and Unseals Settlement (p. 11): We reveal details of the Settlement between parties in the aftermath of the Maple Leaf Cheese Co-op bankruptcy.  That failure occurred in December 2020 in Green County Wisconsin.  Both parties wanted the Settlement sealed, but the judge refused and made it public.

Pictures of Former Dean Foods’ Corporate Headquarters’ Demolition (p. 12):  Pictures show the destruction of the former Dean Foods corporate headquarters in Franklin Park, Illinois.

Too Much Moisture: Snow & Rain Forebode Massive California Flooding (p. 12):  Huge volumes of rain in the valleys and snow in the mountains mean California’s current flooding will last for a long time.



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