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14 CapitalPress.com January 23, 2015 California tops in margin insurance sign-ups By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press With California produc- ers leading the way, more than half of the country’s dairymen have enrolled more than half of the na- tional milk production in the new Milk Margin Protection Program, provided by the 2014 Farm Bill. Participation details of the first MMPP sign-up were released Friday by USDA Farm Service Agency. The new federal insur- ance program drew 50.4 per- cent of the nation’s 47,273 dairy producers to sign up for basic coverage, guaran- teeing a margin of $4 per hundredweight of milk be- tween a national average milk price and a national av- erage feed cost. Of those enrolled, 55 per- cent signed up for higher Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press Dairy cows feed at this dairy in Twin Falls County, Idaho, on Tuesday, March 25. coverage to guarantee a mar- gin of between $4.50 and $8 per hundredweight of milk. In total, an estimated 119,467 million pounds of milk were signed up for the program from the nation’s total estimated annual pro- duction of 201,816 million pounds. California led the way in production sign-up, enroll- ing 28,457 million pounds of milk, 69 percent of its to- tal annual production. Wis- consin followed with 14,895 million pounds, 54 percent of its production. Idaho weighed in at third with 8,816 million pounds, 66 percent of its production, followed by Texas, 6,790 mil- lion pounds and 71 percent of production; New York, 6,520 million pounds and 48 percent of production; and Minnesota, 6,314 million pounds and 69 percent of production. Fifth-ranked milk pro- ducer Pennsylvania enrolled 3,171 million pound, 30 per- cent of its production. The buy-up coverage in those states was 35 percent in California, 55 percent in Wis- consin, 29 percent in Idaho, 54 percent in Texas, 57 per- cent in New York, 73 percent in Minnesota, and 58 percent in Pennsylvania. Washington enrolled 4,079 million pounds, 64 percent of its production, with a buy-up of 58 percent. Oregon en- rolled 1,595 million pounds, 63 percent of its production, with a buy-up of 28 percent. Enrollment numbers could go a bit higher, Kent Politsch, FSA chief of public affairs, said in a phone interview on Friday. Participation from the ex- tended sign-up deadline of Dec. 19 is still being tabulat- ed. Producers who signed up by that deadline were allowed needed extra time to complete the paperwork, he said. Earlier in the week, FSA announced that more than 23,000 operations — more than half of all U.S. dairy farms — had enrolled in the margin insurance program. To view enrollment de- tails: http://www.fsa.usda. gov/Internet/FSA_File/mpp_ applications_011515.pdf. Cash cheese crashes, butter up By LEE MIELKE C ash cheese prices crashed the second full week of the New Year. The Cheddar blocks closed Friday at their lowest price since Feb. 27, 2012, $1.47 per pound, down 12 cents on the week, 76 cents below a year ago, and 98 cents below their record high hit in September 2014. The markets were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Day holi- day but the blocks inched up a half-cent Tuesday to $1.4750 per pound. The Cheddar barrels gained a nickel last Monday, plunged 15 1/4-cents Wednesday, re- gained 1 3/4-cents Thursday, and then lost a penny Fri- day to finish at $1.45, down 9 1/2-cents on the week, 75 1/4-cents below a year ago, and $1.04 below their Septem- ber record high. They slipped a half-cent Tuesday, to $1.4450. Six cars of block traded hands last week and 13 of barrel. Spot butter closed Friday at $1.55, up a penny on the week, 30 1/4-cents below a year ago when it jumped almost 18 cents, Dairy Markets Lee Mielke and $1.51 below its record Sep- tember 2014 peak. The butter price was unchanged Tuesday. Only one car was sold last week in the cash market. Cash Grade A nonfat dry milk dropped to 95-cents per pound Friday, down 3 3/4-cents on the week, following a 1 1/4- cent decline the previous week. It inched up a quarter-cent Tuesday, to 95 1/4-cents per pound, the first move to the up- side since Dec. 19, but is still at the lowest it has been since Aug. 4, 2009. Global auction up 1 percent The second Global Dairy Trade auction of the New Year, event number 132, saw the weighted average for all products inch up 1.0 percent, following the 3.6 percent jump on Jan. 6. It is the third event in a row to see a positive move. However, unlike the last auction, not all of the products offered were up. SAGE Fact #110 The Columbia River Basin has the best onion yields of any growing area on earth. With rich soil and abundant water, crops enjoy long sunny days with cool nights. The uptick Tuesday was led by whole milk powder, up 3.8 percent. It was up 1.6 percent last time. Rennet casein was next, up 3.3 percent, following a 4.2 percent jump last time. Skim milk powder was up 1.0 percent, following a 2.8 percent jump last time, and butter inched 0.1 percent higher, following a pole vault of 13.2 percent last time. The biggest decline was in buttermilk powder, down 6.4 percent, following a 10.5 percent jump in the last event. Anhydrous milkfat was next, down 5.0 per- cent, following a 6.8 percent gain last time, and then came Cheddar cheese, down 4.3 percent, after jumping 3.2 percent last time. Sweet whey powder rounded up the bottom, down 4.1 percent. It was not offered in the last event. FC Stone reports the aver- age GDT butter price equated to about $1.6168 per pound U.S., up from $1.6141 per pound in the Jan. 6 event ($1.5774/lb. on 80% butterfat, up from $1.5747/ lb.) Contrast that to CME butter, which closed Tuesday at $1.55 per pound. The GDT Cheddar cheese average was $1.3433 per pound U.S., down from $1.4015. ‘Vote of confidence’ The Agriculture Department provided more specific infor- mation Friday about the extent of coverage chosen by dairy farmers enrolled for 2015 in the new Margin Protection Program, including a state-by-state break- down of the percentage of farms using the new safety net. Earlier this week, the USDA announced that more than half of U.S. dairy operations have en- rolled in the MPP. Today, USDA provided an estimate that 55 per- cent of those farms elected to pay additional premiums to purchase a higher level of coverage above the basic $4 per hundredweight level offered for $100 per year. NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said that the enroll- ment level represents “a vote of confidence in this new program, and highlights the importance of the MPP at a time when farmers need protection as margins will be challenged because of adverse conditions. The debut of the MPP comes during a year when mar- gins will be compressed, making it the right solution at the right time for our farmers.” 4-4/#6 Don Jenkins/Capital Press Washington Rep. Joel Kretz, an Okanogan County Republican, shown here at a Jan. 13 meeting of the House Agriculture Committee in Olympia, proposes to delist wolves by region. Washington lawmaker proposes moving wolves ‘Social acceptance’ vanishing in part of the state By DON JENKINS Capital Press OLYMPIA, Wash. — A northeast Washington legisla- tor has introduced two bills to hasten wolf recovery and the day the predator no longer is protected by the state’s endan- gered species law. Rep. Joel Kretz, an Okan- ogan County Republican, said ranchers can’t wait sev- eral more years for wolves to spread out before measures are put in place to control their numbers. He said “social accep- tance” of wolves has erod- ed in his district because his constituents have suffered the consequences of what’s pur- ported to be a statewide goal. “I’m really concerned about the disproportionate distribution more than any- thing,” Kretz said. “I don’t want to kill the last wolf, but we have to have more man- agement tools than we’ve had so far.” House Bill 1224 would au- thorize the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to study moving wolves to state or federal lands in regions of the state they have yet to venture. House Bill 1225 would allow the state to remove wolves from its endangered species list in regions where recovery goals have been met. Regional delisting would open up discussions about whether to regulate wolves as a game animal in some areas. The state’s recovery plan carves the state into three districts, with each region needing at least four breeding pairs. The plan does not limit the wolf population. The state’s wolf recov- ery plan holds out as an op- tion moving wolves to help the species establish itself throughout the state. WDFW Game Manager Dave Ware said the agency isn’t consid- ering it. At a work session Thurs- day, Ware told the House Agriculture and Natural Re- sources Committee that mov- ing wolves would require studying the environmental impacts. The studies would take years and by the time they were done, wolf recov- ery objectives would probably have been met, he said. WDFW projects recovery could occur as soon as 2021. “Moving a few wolves out of the northeast probably isn’t going to solve your problem because those wolves would probably be replaced pretty fast,” Ware told Kretz at the work session. Kretz proposes waiving state environmental review laws in moving wolves. The state would still have to com- ply with federal laws. Two years ago, Kretz in- troduced tongue-in-cheek leg- islation calling on the Olym- pic Peninsula and Whidbey Island to “enjoy” the “eco- logical benefits” of “apex predators.” The bill this year has a serious tone, calling on WDFW to look for “suitable (wolf) habitat that is located the farthest from any known and recognized wolf packs and the most unlikely to be populated through the natural dispersion of the species.” The bills have been re- ferred to the House Agricul- ture and Natural Resources Committee. Hearings on the bills have not been scheduled. “I think there’s more of a recognition we have a real problem in the northeast,” Kretz said. De-listing wolves by re- gion would erase a lot of the frustration, he said. Western United Dairymen taps interim CEO Paul Martin will return to Western United Dairy- men to serve as interim CEO as the board continues its search for a permanent executive, according to a WUD announcement late Friday afternoon. “The board of directors and the entire staff is truly • Garages/Shops rop-2-3-y#14 For the Capital Press • Commercial • Agricultural • Industrial 503-668-7211 • 855-668-7211 www.WSBNW.com • Sandy, OR Buy Factory Direct & SAVE! 4-2/#8 excited to welcome Paul back to our team,” said WUD Pres- ident Tom Barcellos. “He’s a familiar face to our members, and is more than capable of leading our organi- zation,” Barcellos said. Martin retired from WUD in 2012 after serving as the long-time director of envi- ronmental services. An expert in environmental issues and the California dairy industry, Martin is well regarded both domestically and internation- ally for his work on air and water-quality issues, WUD stated. Over the course of his ten- ure, Martin also built strong relationships with federal and state agencies which is vital to WUD’s progress on issues important to the dairy indus- try and the WUD member- ship, WUD stated.