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GA Milk Weekly Enews - Jan. 25,
2019
Y
our weekly update for the Georgia Dairy Industry
Brought to you by the Georgia Milk Producers, Inc.
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| 2019 GDC Keynote Speaker, Howard Wasdin |
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THANKS FOR ATTENDING THE 2019 GA DAIRY CONFERENCE!!
Succession planning, strategic decision making, feed efficiency, forage management, robotic milking systems and connecting with consumers and fellow dairymen, were among the many issues discussed at the 2019 Georgia Dairy Conference this week in Savannah.
Close to 500 Southeastern dairy farmers and agribusiness representatives attended the 2019 Georgia Dairy Conference (GDC) and left the three-day event with new insight on a variety of dairy issues and management topics. Proceedings from our speakers will be saved to our GDC website next week.
Georgia Milk Producers would like to thank the many sponsors that participated in the conference. Your support made this year's conference a huge success.
Click here to view our list of sponsors . Special thanks to our Platinum sponsors for this year:
In addition to our quality line-up of educational speakers, GDC hosted the 5th Annual Southeast Dairy Science Student Symposium on Monday, Jan. 21. Students from Berry College, North Carolina State, University of Florida, University of Georgia, ABAC and Mississippi State attended the event that's designed to provide students interested in the dairy industry with a platform to explore careers and internship opportunities in the Southeast. S
tudents also connected with dairymen and
industry affiliates to build networking opportunities and future business relationships.
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UGA Mastitis Workshops in February
The University of Georgia Extension Service will hold 3 mastitis workshops in February in Quitman, Waynesboro, and Madison. The details are as follows:
February 5 Brooks Co. Extension Office, 400 E. Courtland Ave., Quitman, GA
February 27 Burke Co. Extension Office, 715 West 6th St., Waynesboro, GA
February 28 Morgan Co. Extension Office, 440 Hancock St., Madison, GA
11:00 am Introduction
11:15 am Best Milking Practices and the NMC 10-point Mastitis Plan, Dr. Valerie Ryman, Extension
Dairy
Specialist, ADS-Athens, UGA
12:00 pm Lunch
12:30 pm The Right Drugs for the Mastitis Bugs, Dr. Emmanuel Rollin, Clinical Assistant Professor, CVM
- Athens, UGA
1:15 pm How Diet Affects Milk Components and Quality, Dr. John Bernard, Professor, ADS-Tifton, UGA
2:00 pm Questions and answers
Lunch will be provided. Please register with the Extension office by noon the day before the meeting (or as listed below) to reserve your meal, the numbers for county offices are:
Brooks Co: (229) 263-4103 (Call by noon on January 30th)
Burke Co: (706) 554-2119
Morgan Co: (706) 342-2214
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Government Shutdown to End, 3-Week Funding Agreement Reached
By JIM WIESEMEYER, MilkBusiness.com
President Donald Trump and congressional leaders have a deal to reopen government agencies through Feb. 15, providing a temporary reprieve to federal workers who haven't been paid in nearly a month.
Congressional votes are slated later today in both the Senate and House. The House convened for a pro forma session, where stopgap legislation could be approved by unanimous consent or voice vote later today after the Senate acts.
The deal does not include border wall funding but would include a commitment to go to conference on fiscal 2019 Homeland Security appropriations, where border security money will be negotiated during the next few weeks.
Read here
U.S. Department of Agriculture to reopen all farm agency offices
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday it will reopen all Farm Service Agency offices on Thursday to offer services to farmers and ranchers during the partial government shutdown.
Some Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices had been providing limited services since Jan. 17, but the move means all of the agency's offices will be open and will provide more services.
More than 9,700 FSA employees will be temporarily called back to work to keep offices open. For the first two weeks of the plan, the FSA offices will be open on Mondays through Fridays. After that, the agency's offices will be open three days a week, from Tuesday to Thursday.
In addition, the deadline for farmers to apply for relief against tariffs has been extended to Feb. 14 from Jan. 15, the USDA said in a statement.
Read more
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"We've got a bit of a mess on our hands" is the way Mark Stephenson, a University of Wisconsin dairy economist, describes the current dairy market situation in light of the partial government shut down and virtually no dairy market reports being issued.
"We think that when you shut government down, maybe life goes on. But it doesn't. One of the things the market doesn't get is information and data. And it needs that to form price opinions," he says.
Stephenson and Bob Cropp, a fellow economist, painted a bleak picture going forward through 2019 in their January podcast posted this week. Sums up Stephenson, "We don't see a lot to be optimistic about, but we do see improvement [in the latter part of the year]."
Read more
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With the ongoing partial government shutdown and debate over a border wall, proposal to create a "blue card" program for improperly documented dairy and other ag workers and protect them against deportation has been introduced in both houses of Congress.
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (both D-California) introduced the Agricultural Worker Protection Act of 2019 (H.R. 641). Lofgren is the new chair of the House Immigration Subcommittee; Feinstein is ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Under the proposal, farmworkers who have worked in agriculture for at least 100 days in the past two years may earn blue card status, allowing them to continue to legally work in the U.S. Farmworkers who maintain blue card status for the next three years or five years - depending on hours worked in agriculture - would be eligible to adjust to lawful permanent residence (green card) and eventually work toward citizenship.
The bill would also offer protection for spouses and children already physically present with the worker, according to Charlie Garrison, federal dairy lobbyist, writing in a Western United Dairymen newsletter.
Read more
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Multiple news outlets have dubbed 2019 as "The year of the vegan." Headlines like "Everything is ready to make 2019 the 'year of the vegan'. Are you?" and "The year of the vegan" have appeared in
Forbes and
The Economist. Numerous other news outlets are commenting on this idea as well.
The sad and humiliating part is that no one on this panel had an agricultural background. As a result, questions about the environment and how food is produced were answered by a dietitian, chef, and medical doctor.
I know this makes many of us upset, but we need to ask ourselves: Why aren't people reaching out to us?
Read more
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They call it "the dairy farmers' youth wellness program," but GENYOUth is under the thumb of USDA with some questionable corporate alliances and trends underway.
This multi-part series looks at GENYOUth's founding, its alliances, its mixed-messages, intended and unintended consequences, its partners and the new alternative products they are and will be introducing into the nutritional vacuum paved by low-fat and fat-free promotion, the winners and losers, and the impact on our dairy farms, and our children.
Helping America's youth lead better and healthier lives is a worthy pursuit, and there is no intention here to blame good-hearted people trying to do good within the straight-jacket of USDA control. What is being questioned is the direction. What is being exposed is the roots of the oak tree and its impact on our dairy farms and our children.
The problem with the GENYOUth model is that it is primarily funded by mandatory dairy check-off dollars and the government control of it.
Read more
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My father-in-law is a former politician who used to hold two types of fundraisers. One was a basic pig roast that wasn't too expensive and designed for one group of people. The other was held at a restaurant and he invested a little more money to appeal to another group.
I'm reminded of his latter strategy and the importance of adapting to different audiences each time I attend the annual GENYOUth Gala. It is a formal affair held in New York City that draws business leaders and famous athletes, as well as students and educators from across the country. It is a long, long way from our farms ... and my father-in-law's pig roast.
If you're only into optics, then maybe this doesn't pass the eye test for an organization that was founded by dairy farmers through our checkoff. But I encourage you to look much deeper, well past the glitz of the evening, and into the real mission of why we gather annually in such formality.
The gala is GENYOUth's largest fundraiser of the year. It is underwritten through third-party sponsorships, table sales and in-person donations. After costs, this year's gala netted $1.4 million that will go toward GENYOUth's youth wellness programs, including the flagship program - Fuel Up to Play 60, which we founded in 2007 with the NFL to advance our school-based priorities. Read more
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GA Dairy Classifieds
Young Stock Supervisor wanted -
Hart Agriculture Waynesboro GA
Grazing 500-1000 animals,
Must be familiar with rotational grazing and breeding
Dairy Manager wanted -
Hart Agriculture Waynesboro GA
300-700 milking cows,
60 bale rotary, New Zealand style grazing system
18 Bred Registered Holstein Heifers. Big heifers 6 Due in November, 5 Due in December, 3 Due in March
50 years in the Dairy business, Top herd in South Carolina. RHA 25,000, Closed Herd, All AI Sired, all AI Bred, and Vaccinated. Contact: Debbie Glenn at 864-376-8582.
Bull Calves WANTED: Competitive pricing with 6 day a week pickup. Brandon Mason Cattle Company 912-632-4490
For HIRE: Southeast DHIA
has a position to fill in the
West Central Georgia area for a
FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIAN.
Responsibilities include data
collection on area dairy farms
during milking time. S
chedule is somewhat flexible
but the hours are non-typical. S
ome travel and out-of-town
work likely.
Applicants should be comfortable
with computers and software and
have good communication and
organizational skills as well as
reliable transportation. Pickup Truck required. I
f interested send a resume to
For Sale: Custom manure application and Dryhill manure equipment sales.
Contact Edwin @ 478-299-0717 with
Agboys Custom Services LLC -
New 8"x52' lagoon pump with outriggers $24,000 (Pictured right)
For Sale 3000 gallon Surge/Westfalia milk tank and wash system. Three phase condensers. 2002 model. Excellent condition. John B Gay, 478-494-5107
WANTED: DeLaval
Westfalia
Neck Transponders: TN Dairy seeking used Westfalia neck band transponders.
Please contact Bill or Peggy Howell if interested at 423-972-9254 or 423-371-3032.
WANTED: Looking for used pasteurizing and bottling equipment in working condition; Linda and Darrell Rankins, Jr.; 334-745-2357 (best times: mid-day and after 8 p.m.)
For Sale:
Jersey cows, heifers and calves for sale. Registered with AJCA, all ages! Contact Matt Holton at 770-718-8271, call or text. Dawsonville, GA.
FOR HIRE: Custom Silage Harvesting. Late model JD chopper. Will travel. Let me put your quality forage up! Nic Haynes, Muddy H Farms, 678-617-3379.
FOR SALE:
We have a continuous selection of fresh and springing heifers.
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Upcoming Events:
Feb 5 - UGA Mastitis Workshop, Quitman
Feb. 27 - UGA Mastitis Workshop, Waynesboro
Feb. 28 - UGA Mastitis Workshop, Madison
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