2021 | March 12 GMP E Newsletter
Georgia Milk Producers Weekly Enews
Research explains why cool cows can provide more milk
By Allison Fortner for CAES News

With increasing global temperatures, dairy cattle face heat stress more frequently throughout the year than in the past. Thanks to cooling technology, dairy cattle can enjoy a better quality of life, but farmers and consumers may wonder if cattle comfort results in more milk.

A study conducted by University of Georgia researchers determined that dairy cattle cooled with fans and sprinklers respond better to heat stress, produce more milk and have healthier mammary glands.

In a recently published article in the Journal of Dairy Science, UGA scientists determined how evaporative cooling and zinc sources in feed impact mammary glands and heat-shock responses in lactating dairy cattle. The article was authored by Ruth Marisol Orellana Rivas while she completed her doctoral degree in dairy science under the guidance of associate professor Sha Tao and now Professor Emeritus John Bernard in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

“Heat stress represents a major burden to the dairy industry, especially in the United States and I would say worldwide. It has been studied for many years, but there are so many things we still need to understand, especially at the physiological level,” said Orellana Rivas, who primarily conducted cellular lab research for this project.
Should We Keep Adjusting Our Clocks Each Spring?
From Farm Monitor
Every March, clocks across most of the United States are moved forward due to Daylight Saving time. If legislation in this year’s State’s General Assembly makes its way to the Governor's desk, it could potentially be the last switch for Georgia. Something many residents, especially those in ag and dairy, would celebrate.
Georgia Milk Producers Present Raw Milk Info to House Ag Committee
From GA Agribusiness Council

During the House Ag Committee Meeting, Chairman Robert Dickey invited experts within the dairy and food safety sector to speak to raw milk marketing in Georgia. Farrah Newberry, Executive Director of Georgia Milk Producers Inc, began the conversation indicating the organizations evolving opinion on allowing raw milk sales. The organization debated this issue among its diverse dairy members, and staff researched raw milk programs throughout the Southeast to develop a safe and reasonable path forward before ultimately voting to support the regulation and sale of raw milk for human consumption. Newberry noted that raw milk sales are currently operating under a "pet food" label that is well known to be used for human consumption instead. Ms. Newberry detailed a 78% decline in the state dairy industry numbers, attributing high regulatory standards, many milk product competitors, and urban growth as key factors to the decline. Pasteurized Milk is currently subjected to rigorous quality and food safety procedures as it is tested four times before reaching consumers. In Georgia, a gallon of milk averages between $2.99 and $3.99, whereas raw milk- currently sold under a misleading "pet food" license - triples this average, seeing prices as high as $8 to $12 per gallon. Georgia Milk Producers, Inc is concerned with liability issues with the sale of raw milk as pet food as it is not tested or subjected to any regulations currently. Ms. Newbery expressed their desire to work with the Department of Agriculture to develop regulations and open the market up letting smaller farms access to competitive markets at the same time as adding inspection protection to a product that is commonly consumed by many Georgians.

The Director of Food Safety for Georgia Department of Agriculture, Natalie Adan, then spoke to the safety and regulatory side of the issue. Ms. Adan first detailed how the Dairy Program currently functions with regular inspections and testing. Currently, there are 71 operating raw milk licenses for "pet food" within the state and the products sold under those licenses are not routinely inspected and subject to other dairy products. The director detailed the regulatory system that South Carolina uses including: mechanized bottling, retail sale only, quarterly inspections, and regular sample testing. 
 
In response to the complexity of raw milk, Chairman Dickey created a subcommittee headed by Chairman Clay Pirkle to further research and discuss the topic. GAC supports Georgia Milk Producers, Inc. in their effort to increase safety measures to raw milk sales as well as marketing opportunities for small dairies and we look forward to engaging with the sub-committee throughout the year to find a safe and profitable solutions for these dairy farmers. Watch Committee Meeting Here>>> (begins at min 29:07)
March 2021 Dixie Dairy Report
By Calvin Covington
In this report:
  • Dairy product prices
  • Milk production
  • 2020 total dairy consumption up over 2019
  • Milk Prices

Fluid regulation in a manufacturing world
By Maggie Gilles, Kansas dairy farmer

“If you look at the federal order pools back in the 1950s, it was about two-thirds to fluid milk and the other one-third being manufacturing,” University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Mark Stephenson explained during the March 3 Hoard’s Dairyman DairyLivestream. “At that point in time, it made sense to construct federal orders the way they were constructed, and we’ve been evolving them ever since.”

That evolution has aligned with changes in the dairy industry. Today, 60% of milk is used to make cheese. Just one-third of that amount is used for fluid processing.

“It’s a very different market today. We have basically a fluid regulation in federal milk marketing orders in a manufacturing world. We’re seeing some of the stresses and strains of that reality,” he shared. “One of them was played out in full view this past year with the pandemic.”

Specifically, Stephenson detailed the crash of cheese prices in mid-April last year. Those prices went on to hit record levels exceeding $3 per pound. “When you have that much of a benchmark moving milk prices around, it’s certainly going to cause some problems and differences on farms,” he summarized. Read more here>>>
Higher feed costs will ripple through dairy markets
By Nate Donnay, Dairy Foods

With all 10,000 of our lakes here in Minnesota currently frozen solid, this may be a strange analogy, but dairy prices move like the waves rippling out from a rock thrown in the water. The bigger the rock, the bigger the initial waves are, but they eventually get smaller and smaller until everything is back into balance. It takes only seconds for the waves to flatten out on the lake, but it can take one to two years for the dairy markets to find equilibrium after a large shock.

I bet you think I’m going to talk about the pandemic, but I’m not. Another shock to the dairy market will be playing out into early 2022 and deserves some attention.

Feed costs have shifted dramatically higher in the past six months. There wasn’t a large driving event that tightened feed supplies, but rather it has been a number of smaller issues all coming together at the same time. U.S. corn and soybean yields weren’t horrible, but they were below trend. Crops in parts of Europe and the Black Sea region also suffered some adverse weather this season. Read more here>>>
What’s in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for Agriculture?
From American Farm Bureau Federation Market Intel

In early March the Senate passed, on a party-line vote, the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package (The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021). The legislation goes back to the House – likely this week – before it can go to the White House for final approval. While much of the coverage of the legislation has focused on the $1,400 stimulus checks for qualifying individuals, extended unemployment benefits, a moratorium on evictions and foreclosures and increased assistance through USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, there are several agricultural-related provisions.

Combined, the nutrition and agricultural provisions are estimated at $22.7 billion. Today’s article reviews the agricultural provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Agricultural Provisions
Agricultural provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 appropriate an estimated $10.4 billion for programs designed to strengthen the agricultural and food supply chain, e.g., animal surveillance or COVD-19 mitigation efforts for agricultural workers; additional resources to purchase and distribute agricultural commodities to nonprofits, restaurants or other food-related entities; increase access to health care in rural communities; and provide debt relief and other support programs for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. Read more here>>>
2021 GDYF Annual Golf Tournament

Join us for the 2021 GDYF Golf Tournament on March 26th in Bishop. Help us continue to support our dairy FFA, 4-H and collegiate youth programs in Georgia!! Lunch will start at 11 a.m. and Tee Time is at noon.

For more information go to our event brochure online:


Dairy Foods Innovations Must Intrigue and Entice as We Take Baby Steps and Reenter Society
By Donna Berry, Berry on Dairy

It’s a year from that historic Friday the 13th when many packed up their corporate desks and moved into a home office. This past Monday my husband and I received our first Pfizer vaccine. Our arm was a little sore and we had fatigue for a few days…but now, we have started the journey of reentering the world. 

While waiting for our vaccines at a Meijer store—we arrived a half hour early and they were running about 15 minutes behind schedule—I chatted with the other masked patients anxiously awaiting their injection, many of them much older, some even with a caretaker. And the consensus was that they were tired of living in fear and want to start doing things they use to do. For many, that includes in-person grocery shopping. 

I’ve not stopped exploring supermarkets this past year. While I love Amazon Prime for household and office-type items, even non-perishable staples like the herbal tea I cold brew and the 5-pound bags of specialty roasted whole coffee beans I grind myself, I only used home delivery of perishable and everyday foods twice during the pandemic. The first time was when I had no car and decided to host an impromptu outdoor driveway Halloween party because the weather cooperated. After all, Halloween was on a Saturday and temps were in the 50s in the Midwest. That is worth celebrating. The other time is when my eldest son and I tested positive for COVID-19 and had to quarantine. 

Many of those folks waiting for vaccines shared with me that they plan to ditch their COVID-19 ways and take baby steps back to doing what they like to do and how they like to do it. A key activity is grocery shopping. Read more here>>>
Other Stories to Check Out This Week >>>
GA Dairy Classifieds
TO ADVERTISE: EMAIL AD AND CONTACT INFORMATION TO FARRAH NEWBERRY at gamilkproducers@gmail.com

Seeking fulltime farm worker at heifer replacement farm in Eatonton, GA. If interested, please contact Mike Rainey at 706-473-0730.

Seeking Beef and dairy crossed bullcalves/heifers bottled or weaned. Please contact Victoria Rowland at 404-922-0938 or 423-946-5869

Will Raise Heifers for GA Dairy Farms: Hello we are located in Southern Illinois and have an abundance of pasture and cheap feed available looking to contract with a dairy to grow heifers for them, out location offers mild climate and we are just 558 miles from Montezuma Ga. Please contact 817-528-6645 very reasonable daily rates.

For Sale- DeLaval 84 Vacuum Pump on Stand, Oil Reclaimer, 10 HP- 3 Phase Electric Motor. New Bearings, New Oil Seal, New Belts. $2000
For more Information Call Tony Strickland , 229-254-6871; deepsouthai@gmail.com

For sale - Please contact Archie Felder for more information at 803-682-3426:
  • Dairy Tech Bay Pasturizer - $4,000
  • Tidenberg Hydraulic Hoof Table (like new) - $5,000
  • Claas Silage Choppers - 960 1875 cutterhead hours, 4WD, 600 orbis, HD300 PU - $180,000
  • Koomin John Deere Corn Header adapter for Claus Silage Chopper Used - $6,000
WANTED: Peter's Cattle Co. will buy any dairy, beef, and cross, bottle or weaned, bulls, heifers or free martins. Pick up weekly 7 days a week. Chris- 470-255-8515
 
Bull Calves WANTED:  Competitive pricing with 6 day a week pickup. Brandon Mason Cattle Company 912-632-4490

FOR SALE :  We have a continuous selection of fresh and springing heifers.   Call William at   (706) 768-2857  or visit our website at   crumpdairyreplacements.org  
Farmer to Farmer Support Program Available for SE dairy farmers
Farmers across the Southeast are experiencing uncertain times like never before. All aspects of agriculture have been hit by market losses due to COVID-19, but dairy has reached a level of uncertainty that many have never experienced.

As we navigate through these next few months, dairy producers across the Southeast have come together to introduce the "Farmer to Farmer Support Program." If you find that you need support or would like to talk to a fellow farmer or industry friend, they have several volunteers that are willing and able to help. Georgia Milk Producers has also put together a packet on the program that you can access by clicking here. 

For more information on the program, please reach out to Farrah Newberry at gamilkproducers@gmail.com