Georgia Milk Producers Weekly Enews |
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Partnerships, high-tech ag and industry expansions
Betty Darby, Georgia Trend Magazine
Cows and robots. Agriculture and technology. The rural past and the technologic future.
Contrasts keep coming up in McDuffie County, a farming-heavy community to the west of Augusta/Richmond County. Its roots are decidedly rural, but its residents are looking ahead to high-tech possibilities. Consider, for example, those robots. Five of them now work at Hillcrest Farms, Georgia’s first robotic milking dairy.
“After Clemson [University], we were the first robotic milking dairy in the Deep South,” says dairy farmer Mark Rodgers as he leads visitors on a tour of the new facility, installed in late 2019. And as he explains the process, cows are literally lining themselves up to step into the apparatus. Rodgers and his brother run the dairy, founded by their grandfather in 1941, and the younger generation in the form of their children has already stepped into their role.
Forget the anthropomorphic robots of science fiction. These milking robots, part of the Swedish-made DeLaval Voluntary Milking System V300, are actually long arms similar to those seen in auto plants. As the cow comes up the ramp and into the milking area, the arm first washes the cow’s udder and then, using combinations of military-grade cameras and artificial intelligence, connects with the four teats. Using data from the radio-frequency identification device each cow wears, the machine records how much milk each one gives and from which chamber of the udder. While all this is going on, the cow is busy licking up a special fortified feed that’s one reason she went into the stall in the first place. It’s an on-demand system and the cow decides when she needs to be milked instead of waiting for regimented shifts, Rodgers says. Read more here>>>
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No Match Social Security Letters Discontinued
From Wimberly & Lawson law firm – August 2021 Newsletter
In the past, the Social Security Administration (SSA) during periods of time has issued so-called "no-match letters" to employers with "at least one name and combination submitted on Form W-2 that do not "match" Social Security records. This has created difficult issues for employers as to the extent they must investigate such discrepancies, terminate employees having such discrepancies, or face issues of "constructive knowledge" of unauthorized workers. SSA has now announced that it is discontinuing such letters and will try to find other ways to make reporting wages better. For more information click "Educational Correspondence to Employers" on the page https://www.ssa.gov/employer/notices.html. The elimination of these no-match letters will relieve some employers of the burden of facing this dilemma.
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U.S. milk production update
From DFA Today
According to the USDA Milk Production report for June, U.S. milk production reached nearly 19 billion pounds, up 541 million pounds (2.9%) from the prior year.
The U.S. dairy herd size was reported at 9.5 million head, up 153,000 cows (1.6%) from the prior year, but down 1,000 cows (0.01%) from the prior month. June milk production per cow was reported at 1,994 pounds, an increase of 26 pounds (1.3%) from the prior year.
U.S. milk production year to date for 2021 reached 114.9 billion pounds, up 2.7 billion pounds (2.9%*) from the same time frame in 2020.
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Senate hearing focuses on need for ag labor reform
By Jacqui Fatka, Feedstuffs
The future of undocumented farmworkers and needed changes in securing agricultural labor were the focus of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on July 21 featuring over two hours of questioning of Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack during the first panel and additional testimony offered by the United Farm Workers as well as a pork producer and dairy farmer.
During his opening statement, Vilsack discussed the important role immigrant farmworkers have in the food and agriculture industry and the overall economy. He also voiced support for passage of the bipartisan, House-passed Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021, legislation that would provide undocumented farmworkers – many of whom have lived in America for years – an opportunity to earn citizenship.
“We have an uncertain and, we can argue, a broken immigration system. The availability of H-2A workers is always in question. Wage increases and decreases are fluctuating year-to-year on an uncertain path. There’s a cumbersome process involved. There are uneven worker protections,” Vilsack testifies.
The agricultural industry and the nation rely on approximately 2.4 million farmworkers, including the roughly 1.2 million U.S. citizens (29%) and legal permanent residents (21%), combined with the roughly 49% who are undocumented. In FY 2020, more than 213,000 agricultural workers entered the country to perform seasonal and temporary work with H-2A visas, explains Arturo Rodriguez, president emeritus of the United Farm Workers union and long-time advocate for a pathway to citizenship for farmworkers.
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July 2021 GA Mik Review
From GA Milk Producers, Inc.
In this edition:
- Lawmakers urge reimbursement for Class I mover-related losses
- Commissioner Black Announces Run for Senate; Harper, Swan Announce Run for Ag Commissioner
- Georgia Milk Hosts Legislative Tour in Macon County
- Blend Prices Move Higher
- Dr. Janemarie Hennebelle Appointed as Georgia's Next State Veterinarian
- Schaapman Appointed to GA ACC for Milk Board of Directors
- January-May 2021 DMC payments top $550 million
- Dixie Dairy Report
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Our own worst enemy
By Tyler Ribeiro, California dairy farmer, Hoard's Dairyman
Dairy’s biggest hurdle may not be what you might think. It is all too easy to call out nut juices and lab grown proteins as dairy’s biggest obstacles, but you would be wrong. The dairy industry’s biggest hurdle is us.
With so many passionate individuals looking to better not only themselves but the industry, it is no wonder that we have so many different opinions being tossed around. Honestly, that is the best thing in the world to have. It is comforting to know that we have so many talented and passionate people in the dairy industry working diligently for us all. With that being said, sometimes it’s hard to get all the “horses in the same direction,” so to speak.
It really does not matter the topic or the issue, everyone has a differing opinion on how things should be handled. This is great, but when it comes down the implementation and unity in the decision, sometimes it is difficult to stay on the same page.
It is most definitely okay to not agree with each other on everything. It is 100% okay to not get along all the time. However, when it comes down to protecting dairies and holding the fort down in order to accomplish bigger and greater things, setting aside past differences or uniting over a common goal is in the best interest of everyone — even if we don’t all get along.
There is strength in numbers, but if we as an industry continue to quarrel amongst ourselves on a local, state, and federal level instead of communicating until issues or concerns are resolved, we are fragmented. We lose our strength and damage our own reputation.
Communication and patience are two of the hardest skills to practice. However, if we work together on both of these pillars of success, we will be unstoppable. Read story here>>>
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Senate dairy hearing planned after congressional recess
By Dave Natzke, Progressive Dairy Editor
We won’t know the date but U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) said she continues to move forward on scheduling a Senate Ag Committee subcommittee hearing on dairy policy, according to the American Dairy Coalition (ADC). Gillibrand chairs the Dairy, Livestock, Poultry, Local Food Systems, Food Safety and Security subcommittee.
We won’t know the date but U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) said she continues to move forward on scheduling a Senate Ag Committee subcommittee hearing on dairy policy, according to the American Dairy Coalition (ADC). Gillibrand chairs the Dairy, Livestock, Poultry, Local Food Systems, Food Safety and Security subcommittee.
Floor sessions in both the House and Senate are suspended during most of August through mid-September, with committee activity resuming in early September.
The hearing is expected to include a panel of dairy farmers, as well as representatives from cooperatives and processors and dairy policy and economics experts. Topics could include the Class I milk pricing formula, negative producer price differentials (PPDs) and their impact on risk management tools.
A separate track for potential reform is a Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) hearing. However, no formal hearing has been requested or scheduled. Read more here>>>
May 2021 Fluid Sales Were Down
By Dave Natzke, Progressive Dairy Editor
With schools only partially open last spring, fluid milk sales suffered. Here’s an update on U.S fluid milk sales data from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service for May 2021.
- Total sales: May 2021 sales of packaged fluid milk products totaled 3.64 billion pounds, down about 4.3% from the same month a year earlier. At 18.74 billion pounds, year-to-date (January-May 2021) sales of all fluid products were down 4.8%.
- Conventional products: May sales totaled 3.41 billion pounds, down 3.9%. Flavored milks were the only major categories showing growth, with sales of flavored whole milk up 17% and flavored fat-reduced (2%) milk up nearly 48% from the same month a year earlier. Those two flavored milk categories make up about 10% of total conventional milk sales volume. Year-to-date sales of conventional products were down 5.1% at 17.54 billion pounds.
- Organic products: Monthly sales totaled 225 million pounds, down 10.6% from a year earlier. Only 2% flavored milk posted a sales gain compared to May 2020, up 9.5%. At 976 million pounds, 2021 year-to-date sales of organic products were up 26%. Organic represented almost 6.2% of total fluid product sales in April 2021.
The U.S. figures represent consumption of fluid milk products in FMMO areas and California (now a part of the FMMO system), which account for approximately 92% of total fluid milk sales in the U.S. Sales outlets include food stores, convenience stores, warehouse stores/wholesale clubs, nonfood stores, schools, the food service industry and home delivery.
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The Manufacturing Mindset
Think like a manufacturer to make your dairy farm more efficient
Data is valuable — when it’s put to good use. Here’s how to think about it.
Your dairy farm is a kind of manufacturing operation. You may not like the sound of that, but think about what happens in a manufacturing plant.
Manufacturers produce a product at scale while driving costs down and improving product quality. A plant will break down the work into processes, and then track and analyze those processes.
That’s exactly what a well-run dairy farm does.
To accomplish this there are four things you must do on your dairy farm:
- Use the software you already have to its full potential.
- Put it all together.
- Give everyone access.
- Interpret what you see.
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Making Ice Cream a Pandemic Trend that Continues to Grow
From Donna Berry, Berry on Dairy Blog
This past Sunday, July 18, was National Ice Cream Day. I ventured with the family to one of my all-time favorite places--Sherman’s Dairy Bar—in South Haven, Michigan. My friends at Hudsonville Ice Cream produce product for Sherman’s using the Sherman family’s proprietary formulas. The Holland-based company started doing this in early 2020 after Sherman’s decided to stop production after the 2019 summer season. Thank you, Hudsonville, for keeping this Southwest Michigan tradition alive. I enjoyed the limited-edition Super Scoop, which is swirled Blue Moon, Black Cherry and Vanilla ice creams.
National Ice Cream Day was a great start to this week’s annual conference of the Institute of Food Technologists, which was held virtually under the banner of FIRST (Food Improved by Research, Science and Technology). A recurring theme in many of the sessions was the evolving interpretation of health and wellness, and how companies that adapt to this, along with incorporating sustainability efforts into their business plans, may be what is necessary to keep the sales momentum of the pandemic on an upward trajectory.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity for the food industry to stick to those gains and retain those gains,” said Nicholas Fereday, executive director at Rabobank. “It’s theirs to lose.”
Joan Driggs, vice president of content and thought leadership at IRI said, “Whenever you have a major change, a major disruption in the market, it does spur innovation,” as she compared the pandemic to the recession from 2007 to 2009. Read more here>>>
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Other Stories to Check Out This Week >>> |
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TO ADVERTISE: EMAIL AD AND CONTACT INFORMATION TO FARRAH NEWBERRY at gamilkproducers@gmail.com
Looking for calves for 200 head calf barn with auto feeders in Arcadia
FL: Please call Brian 863-444-0060
Delaval meters, Germania entrance and exit gates with tailboards and indexing tail, Muller plate cooler, receiving jar, filter housing and lowline stainless pipeline. Serious inquiries call 864-617-5911, Iris Barham
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Expanding or looking for top quality herd replacement?
Available at all times:
Fresh two and three year old's and total herds; Also springing heifers and heifers of all ages. Service age bulls with top genetics available all year round. All different breeds and crossbreds also available. Last two loads of fresh two and three year olds Holsteins went on the trucks averaging 115 lbs and 112 lbs! One load to TN and the other to Wisconsin.
Contact:
Les McCracken
608-214-6484. Cell
608-879-2653. Fax
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 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
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