GDYF 7th Annual Golf Tournament . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thank You Sponsors!   
Thank you golfers and sponsors for supporting GDYF!

Sixty-seven golfers took advantage of a beautiful day for golf today at the 7th Annual Georgia Dairy Youth Foundation Golf Tournament in Bishop.  Many thanks to our sponsors and golfers who supported the event.

General tournament sponsors were: Georgia Milk Producers, Inc.; Dr. Larry and Rachel Guthrie; Southeast Milk, Inc.; Roll-off Systems; Ag Central Farmers; Feed Components; Valley Farm Cooperative; Sam and Sue Mosley; and Carl Blount Insurance Agency.


After registering and receiving goody bags dona ted by 
SUDIA, golfers ate lunch sponsored by Chick-fil-a on Epps Bridge.  During the tournament, golfers also enjoyed ice cream and milk provided  by Mountain Fresh Creamery. 

The 2017 Tournament was held in memory of H. B. "Bud" Wiley, Jr. (1944-2012) who was an avid dairy farm
er and pivotal in organizing the first two golf tournaments for GDYF. Thank you to the GDYF Golf Committee, Peggy Gates, Kellay Watson, Sarah Baker Walker and Farrah Newberry for their work in planning and executing this successful GDYF event.
Morgan County dairy farmer Everett Williams named Georgia Farmer of Year
By Merritt Melancon, UGA

For 39 years, Morgan County, Georgia, dairy farmer Everett Williams has helped chart a new path for the state's dairy farmers.

New technologies and constant innovation have allowed the Williams family to grow the size and productivity of their herd while making WDairy, just outside of Madison, Georgia, a model for stewardship and sustainability in the dairy business.

When Georgia Governor Nathan Deal named Williams Georgia Farmer of the Year, he recognized Williams' lifetime of work and dedication to agriculture.

Williams will represent Georgia at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia, in October, when the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award is present ed.

Nobody is feeling the current labor crunch quite like dairy farmers. You rely on employees to produce milk and finding workers has become a huge challenge despite competitive pay and on many farms, benefits including vacation time and health insurance. 

In a recent MILK Intelligence Survey of large-dairy operators*, more than 53% of respondents described the challenge of finding and keeping good employees as nearly "impossible." Last year, only 30% of those surveyed felt the same way. In 2017, producers increased the wages they pay employees and the number of those who offer health insurance jumped 11% from 2016.    Read more
Shamrock's Virginia Expansion increases Milk needed 4x; adds $24 Million to area Ag Economy!
 By Milkshedsblog.com
$24 Million dollars will be infused into the southeast / mid-Atlantic region's farm economy, with the most impact on Virginia.

Quadrupling the milk purchased by a processing plant is expected;  MD-VA Producers Co-operative is the supplier, and their producers should benefit.


$40 Million invested in new processing facilities, expanding Shamrock's facility in Augusta County, VA after only 2.5 years of operation.     Read more   
Perdue clears Senate Agriculture Committee

WASHINGTON -Things could not have gone better for former Gov. Sonny Perdue at his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday even if he had tried.
The Trump administration's nominee to lead the Department of Agriculture won praise from senators of both parties during his 2 1/2-hour turn before the Agriculture Committee, including the endorsement of the panel's influential top Democrat, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

His confirmation appears all but assured - the real question is when that vote could occur.
The tone at Thursday's hearing was friendly and upbeat, a striking departure from the fiercely partisan battles that marked the confirmation debates of some of President Donald Trump's other Cabinet picks, including that of former Georgia Congressman Tom Price, now the health secretary.

Senators' questions did not focus on whether Perdue was qualified to lead the 106,000 workers in the Agriculture Department. Nor did anyone bring up his biggest controversies from his eight years as governor, including his multiple dust-ups with the state's ethics agency or his finances.
Instead, lawmakers sought reassurance from Perdue that he would look out for farming and agricultural interests in the Trump White House.    Read more 
Bird flu found in Georgia chicken flock

A flock of chickens in a Chattooga County commercial farm has tested positive for a low-pathogenic strain of the avian flu, the state Department of Agriculture said Monday. 

It is the first confirmation of bird flu in commercial poultry in Georgia. 
The entire flock was killed as a precaution, although Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black's office said no infected animals entered the food chain and this strain of the avian flu does not threaten the food supply.    Read more   
U.S. Dairy Consumption is Rapidly Changing. Producers and Processors Need to be Preparing.
http://milkprice.blogspot.com 

U.S. Dairy Consumption is Rapidly Changing. Producers and Processors Need to be Preparing.

U.S. sales and consumption of Dairy products is changing at a brisk pace.  Sales of beverage (drinking) milk are declining rapidly.   Fat free milk sales have declined 40% in just five years.  Reduced fat (1% and 2% fat) milk sales have also declined during this period.   After a ten-year period of growth, yogurt sales have plateaued.   What's increasing?  Cheese sales continue their growth and butter sales are showing an uptick.    Read more  
U.S. dairy exporters set aggressive growth goal
By Dave Natzke, Progressive Dairyman 

With an Asian "middle class" population ready to expand dramatically, the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the nation's largest dairy cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), are eyeing an increased presence in that part of the world, while protecting and growing export markets closer to home. However, in addition to a strong U.S. dollar, headwinds to dairy exports now include uncertainty over the U.S. trade policy, as U.S. competitors aggressively seek bilateral free trade agreements following President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).  Read more   

From certification seals to romance text to website blog posts, many packaged food and beverage brands put a lot of thought (and resources) into creating convincing nutrition-related arguments to persuade buyers. But among Millennials, only 26% of them actually pay attention to these.    Read more  
2017 Forage Field Day at Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge

The Morgan County Cattlemen's Association will host their 2017 Forage Field Day on April 17, at Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge GA.  Speakers will review weed identification, fence systems, pasture management and grazing.  

Attendees will also tour the Camp Twin Lakes Sustainable Teaching Farm and enjoy a networking dinner.  If you are interested in attending, please contact the Morgan County Extension office at 706-342-2214 by April 7.
Mark Your Calendars:
 

June 15: UGA Corn Silage Field Day, Tifton 
GA Dairy Classifieds

FOR SALE:
 150 high quality Holstein cows. Milking 82 lbs per day low scc 35 yrs AI breeding  Ray Ward 706-473-8789, Eatonton

FOR SALE: 
We have a continuous selection of fresh and springing heifers.
 
Call William at  (706) 768-2857 or visit our website at 
 
 

Bullcalves Wanted : Looking for Bullcalves to purchase - Barron Tench 864-844-2295 or  barron.tench@gmail.com     
GA Milk Producers|706.310.0020 |  gamilkproducers@gmail.com | 
www.gamilk.org

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.