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March
2023 –
Issue No. 524
Inside this
month’s 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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