By Carol Ann Gregg

Allied News Staff Writer



When dairy prices began to fall last autumn, Bob Gray and the dairy cooperatives in the Northeast began putting together some facts and figures and a game plan to approach Congress.

Gray consults with Northeast dairy organizations and departments of agriculture in Washington, D.C.

“Congress was sworn in on Jan. 6 and we met with members of Congress from the Northeast on Jan. 7,” Gray said at the Dairy Profitability Forum Oct. 28 at Clarks Mills United Methodist Church. The event was coordinated by the state Center for Dairy Excellence.

“They listened and said that they would have to discuss it with colleagues from other dairy states across the country,” he said. “The rest of the country thought we were ‘crying wolf’ and took a wait-and-see attitude.”

When in February and March the bottom dropped out of the market, they began to look at it more seriously.

“There are 140,000 jobs tied to the dairy industry in the Northeast,” Gray said. The collapse of dairy impacts the whole economy.

Gray and others have met with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to see what was available that he could do that would not require legislation.

Vilsack has been working closely with dairy organizations to see what can bring some short-term relief and then look at some long-term solutions to the volatility in the market, Gray said.

The 2008 Farm Bill called for a study of the Federal Milk Marketing Order system that determines the price paid to farmers for their milk, by an appointed commission. To date, no commission has been appointed due to lack of funding.

In the meantime, Vilsack is establishing a Dairy Advisory Committee that will have up to 15 members representing all segments of the industry. Over 200 nominations were received by the Sept. 28 deadline. The committee members have not yet been announced.

There has been an increase in the dairy support of $1.31 for cheese and an increase from 80 cents to 92 cents for non-fat dry milk powder.

Congress has agreed to $350 million, with $60 million to buy cheese for food programs and $290 million in direct payments to dairy producers. It has not yet been determined how the $290 million will be distributed.

As dairy producers wait for prices to increase, they continue to cut costs on the farm to bare bones.

Gray praised the input from Pennsylvania in the efforts with Congress. The Center for Dairy Excellence – specifically the center’s director John Frey – was instrumental in putting together the date for the January meeting with Congress, Gray said.

He also praised the commitment of former Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolff and the acting Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding for their efforts on behalf of the Northeast dairy industry.

Breakout sessions provided participants with opportunities to focus on areas of their dairy businesses that could be adjusted to improve profitability.

A panel moderated by Mike Evanish, director of the MSC Business Services, a program of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, talked about Identifying Low or No Cost Profit Enhancers.

The panelists were: Dr. Dave Medic, Clarks Mills veterinary practice; Jeff Shaffer, nutritionist at Cargill Animal Nutrition; and Dr. David Baver, dairy consultant with Witmer Feeds and private veterinarian.

The panelists said that before changes can be made, a dairy producer must know the cost of producing a hundredweight of milk. As they evaluate their financials, bring it back to the cost per hundredweight.

“Production is king,” the panelists agreed. Every herd has specific differences but the dairy producer must know feed cost of production.

Farmers in the audience asked about feeding round bales and why the milk production fluctuates so much.

While wrapped, round bales are harvested for fermented forage, there are differences between bales. If the same field was harvested into to a bunker or silo the crop is removed around the field making for a more uniform, quality feed.

Evanish asked the panel if there are issues with this year’s crop. Forages seem to be fairly good but the panel recommended testing for microtoxins because of the damp, cool weather.

Some simple things were recommended that every farmer can do to improve production. First, they must realize that there is a natural reduction of production in the fall when new forages are fed before they are at the optimum, Shaffer said.

Medic recommended that farmers cut 15 minutes from their noontime lunch hour and use the time to push up feed to the cows.

Someone from the audience asked if there is any benefit in increasing the number of hours of light in the barn.

“You can’t just light up the bunk and expect an increase in production,” Medic said.

Studies on increasing the lighting in dairy barns caution that the candlepower must be increased over the entire free stall barn to make an appreciable difference.

The panel recommended looking at other things before expending funds on new specialized lighting.

Shaffer reminded the producers to not back off on feed for the heifers. “They are your cows of the future,” he said.

“Be careful when freezing colostrum,” Baver said. “If you touch the inside of the plastic bag, it can be contaminated.”

Medic outlined some procedures at calving time.

“The goal is to have the calf born alive,” he said. “I call it calving etiquette. Start evaluating the cow’s condition early. Is she showing signs that she might be calving soon?

“Check on her at regular intervals. Is the place where she is calving clean? Remove the calf right away.”

The calf’s stomach will absorb anything into the blood stream, that’s why getting good quality colostrum into the calf is so important, he said. But that is why the calf should be removed from the cow immediately so it doesn’t start sucking on its mother’s leg or get exposed to other contaminates.

“The guy who recommended two quarts twice a day should be shot,” Medic said. “That isn’t near enough to keep a healthy calf growing.

“If a calf doesn’t get quality colostrum early on, it will probably have diarrhea when it is about a month old. And if it has diarrhea it probably has pneumonia, too.”



Published November 4, 2009 in Allied News. Pick up a copy at 201A Erie St., Grove City.