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GA Milk Weekly Enews - Jan. 13, 2017
Your weekly update for the Georgia Dairy Industry
Brought to you by the Georgia Milk Producers, Inc.
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Wright's Family Dairy, Baxley
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Join us, beginning Monday, for the 2017 Georgia Dairy Conference in Savannah, GA! This year's event will take place at the Savannah Riverfront Marriott on Jan. 16-18. The weather is looking great for our conference, with highs most days in the 70s!
The Georgia Dairy Conference (GDC) is dedicated to providing dairymen with significant and practical "take-home" information. Thanks to support from generous industry supporters, the GDC has earned a reputation as the premier Southeastern dairy conference.
Click here for the full conference agenda
In addition to our quality line-up of educational speakers, we will also host the 3rd Annual Southeast Dairy Student Symposium during the GDC on Monday morning from 7 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. This program is designed to provide students interested in the dairy industry with a platform to explore careers and internship opportunities in the Southeast. The objectives of the symposium are to connect dairymen, industry affiliates and future graduates; promote the exchange of ideas and experiences among students, dairymen and industry affiliates; and to build networking opportunities for future graduates.
Here are a few additional updates on the the 2017 GDC:
1) An online agenda, news blog and other conference information can be found on our website at
www.gadairyconference.com
. Keep up-to-date on conference activities on Facebook and Twitter as well.
2) Martin Luther Parade on Jan. 16: The City of Savannah will hold a Martin Luther King Day Parade on Monday morning, January 16, at 10 a.m. Some roads may be blocked during this time. Please allow additional time to maneuver around the parade if you are driving to the conference on Monday morning. Click here to view the parade route
3) There is road construction underway in downtown Savannah. Click here to view an alternate route to the hotel to avoid construction.
Hotel updates:
4) All attendees will receive complementary internet access in their guest rooms.
5) Parking fee at the hotel is $5 a day, which will be listed on your hotel bill.
6) DAIRY WIVES SOCIAL: The annual Georgia Dairy Wives Social will begin with breakfast in the Plaza room at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 17. After breakfast, the group will participate in a painting session with Savannah's own Painting with A Twist®. No painting experience is needed and each will end up with a one-of-a-kind dairy creation and new found talent! Sign-up for this event is at the registration table.
7) VET CREDIT HOURS: Veterinarians will have the opportunity to earn up to 7 hours Vet Credit Hours throughout the Georgia Dairy Conference. To receive these credits, please sign in at the registration desk.
8) Certified Waste Operators will have the opportunity to earn one (1) hour of continuing waste operator credits. Please attend Dr. Beede's presentation titled "Water Quality and Nutrition" at 8:15 a.m in Savannah Ballroom C on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Dairymen must be present in order to receive their credit hour.
WE HAVE CLOSE TO 400 ATTENDEES REGISTERED FOR THE CONFERENCE, as well as 76 exhibit tables in our exhibit hall. This is a great chance for you to meet with your peers during breaks, meals and at night! There are endless opportunities for growth, both personally and professionally at the 2017 GA Dairy Conference!!
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Last year was a tough one for dairy producers across the count
ry. As the second half of 2016 came to a close milk prices started to improve, providing some relief.
"It looked pretty tough for a while and then prices recovered," Bryan Dohertyof Stewart-Peterson told AgDay host Clinton Griffiths on Wednesday.
Milk prices recovered on declining world production and increasing world demand: Ironic for American producers who actually increased milk production in 2016. While prices aren't fantastic, they are helping most producers break even, Doherty said.
Take Action Now
Currently producers have the opportunity to sell milk on the futures market for a good price. "Recognize that what goes down comes up and what goes up could come down," he said. Doherty recommends producers sell a quarter to a half of their milk next year and then buy a call against it. "Get yourself positioned so that you're well prepared in case prices tip over," he said. "The speed at which markets tip over isn't always lightning fast but it's like trying to catch a falling knife. It's hard to do."
Watch Broadcast Here
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Don't Forget About the Basics
By Caitlin Rodgers, Georgia dairy producers, Hoards.com
Technology won't replace good herdsmanship skills, but when used together on the farm, great success can result.
Many dairies are becoming more advanced and using the latest technologies available, and we also try and "keep up with the Joneses." There are so many different technological advances farmers can get their hands on to make their farms and businesses operate more efficiently. In the "dairy world," just a few examples are activity systems, robotic milking systems, and computer dairy data programs like Dairy Comp, DelPro, and PC Dart. Adding just these few items minimizes time and labor on a day-to-day basis.
Here at Hillcrest, we do not have a robotic milking system (although that has been at the forefront of our minds), but what we do have is a DelPro activity system, a DelPro data computer program, and also PC Dart. Ever since we started to use these systems in sync with one another, data is more readily accessible. This has made our business run more efficiently. We are able to catch cows that need attention a lot faster, whether it be for breeding or other purposes.
Read more
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Commit to Sugar Reduction in 2017
By: Donna Berry Berryondairy.blogspot.com
If you think sugar is under attack now with the many sugary drink taxes being implemented and more restrictions being placed in school meal programs, just wait. There may be many uncertainties awaiting the food and beverage industries in 2017, in particular in the U.S. with its many unknowns regarding the new administration, but there's one thing for sure, "added sugars" will continue to be scrutinized, demonized and avoided by many. Read more
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By Progressive Dairyman Editor Dave Natzke
Along with the hope milk prices and income margins will increase in 2017, dairy farmers will likely encounter something else they haven't seen in a while - rising interest rates.
After raising the benchmark interest rate just once in the last seven years (0.25 percent in December 2015), the Federal Reserve added another 0.25 percent in December 2016, and hinted three more increases may be coming in 2017.
Why the increases? In short, the U.S. economy is improving.
Read more
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Americans Are Drinking Less Milk, But They Can't Get Enough Cheese
Americans love their cheese, but maybe not as much as dairy farmers do.
Even after people cut back on milk use for decades -- a consequence of more drink
options including juices, sodas and sports drinks -- U.S. cows are producing the most ever. While the glut has eroded dairy income, the industry is getting a jolt from demand for high-fat byproducts that have given the world creations like the
Grilled Cheese Stuffed Crust Pizza and led
McDonald's Corp. to start using butter on its Egg McMuffins rather than margarine.
Read more
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GA Dairy Conference to Host 1st Dairy Girl Network Welcome and Networking Event in SE
Calling all Dairy Girls. The Dairy Girl Network will be hosting the organization's first southeast Connect networking event on Sunday, January 15th, 2017, in conjunction with the Georgia Dairy Conference. The reception on Sunday night will be an informational session and networking event for ladies involved in dairy in the southeast. All women students, industry professionals, dairy producers are invited to the event which will begin at 7 p.m. in the Academy room of the Savannah Riverfront Marriott.
The event will include a background on the Dairy Girl organization and ways to get involved in the organization going forward. The evening will be a time to network and meet with all of the other conference ladies. For the $10 registration cost, there will be a drink ticket included and a dessert bar during the reception event.
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Science is rallying behind dairy fats
By Corey Geiger, Hoard's Dairyman
"Recent findings in nutrition science are rallying behind dairy fats," said The New York Times best-selling author Nina Teicholz. "One we've known for a long time is that saturated fats are the only food that consistently raises high density cholesterol (HDL) or good cholesterol," noting dairy and animal-based foods are leading sources of saturated fats.
Read more
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Jan. 16-18 - SE Student Symposium & GA Dairy Conference, Savannah
Jan. 18: GA Ag Forecast Mtg: Macon (GA Farm Bureau Building)
Jan. 19:
Marietta (Cobb County Civic Center)
Jan. 20:
Carrollton (Carroll County Ag Center)
Jan. 23:
Tifton (UGA Tifton Campus)
Jan. 24:
Bainbridge (Decatur County Ag Center)
Jan. 25:
Lyons (Toombs County Ag Center)
Jan. 26:
Waynesboro (Burke County Office Park)
Jan. 27:
Athens (Georgia Center for Continuing Ed.)
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GA Dairy Classifieds
FOR SALE: (1) Registered Holstein bull 12 months old. (1) Registered Brown Swiss bull from Franks Farm, 14 months old. (1) Cross Breed Bull from WDairy. Call Randall Ruff at 706-498-4344 for more information.
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For 2016, Georgia Milk Producers, Inc. has once AGAIN been named an All Star Award winner by
Constant Contact, Inc.
, the trusted marketing adviser to hundreds of thousands of small organizations worldwide. The annual award recognizes the most successful 10% of Constant Contact's customer base, based on their significant achievements leveraging online marketing tools to engage their customer base and drive results for their organization.
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