September 11, 2015
CapitalPress.com
9
Dairy
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Transparency, education focus of dairy tour
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
BUHL, Idaho — Like vir-
tually every other dairyman,
John Brubaker is proud of
his family operation and the
lengths he, his sons and their
employees go to care for their
animals and bring a whole-
some product to the table.
But also like virtually ev-
ery other dairyman, he’s an
independent thinker and until
recently just wanted to be left
alone to run his dairy and pro-
duce quality milk.
During a media tour of the
family’s Knott Run Dairy on
Sept. 3., Brubaker said dairy-
men think the quality of their
product should speak for it-
self, but we’re seeing that
doesn’t work when it comes
to consumer confidence.
Embracing the idea that
transparency is a better
route to consumer trust has
been a learning curve for the
fourth-generation dairyman.
He now operates with a
different mind-set — “Open
up the facility; we’ve got
nothing to hide,” he said.
He led the tour through
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press
John Brubaker, left, owner/operator of Knott Run Dairy in Buhl, Idaho, talks with veterinarian Todd
Wells during a media tour on Sept. 3. Joining in the discussion are Brubaker’s sons and partners, Mike
and Eric, holding their young children.
every aspect of his operation,
explaining everything from
animal health, nutrition and
reproductive cycles to milk-
ing, refrigeration and moni-
toring technology.
He invited members of the
media to go wherever they
wanted and photograph what-
ever they wanted.
His intention, he said, was
to show people who might
not have an ag background
how his operation produces a
wholesome product that’s as
fresh as you can get anywhere
in the world.
His milk is picked up every
morning, year round, maybe
an hour after the milking is
finished, trucked to Glanbia
Foods and is a block of cheese
by afternoon, he said.
“You can’t get any fresher
than that,” he said.
He and his sons, their vet-
erinarian and nutritionist all
responded comfortably to a
battery of questions, includ-
ing those on genetically mod-
ified feed and rBST.
Cindy Miller, senior direc-
tor of consumer confidence
for United Dairymen of Idaho,
said the dairy industry wants
people to come out to the farm
to understand the quality mea-
sures dairymen have in place
and dispel some of the myths
about milk production and an-
imal care.
“A lot of people are really
interested in where their food
comes from. We can’t invite
whole cities,” but UDI holds
media and group tours “to
help people understand the
products on the shelf start on
family farms,” she said.
There are 514 dairy farms
in Idaho, and all of them are
family farms, some smaller,
some larger than Brubaker’s
operation, which milks about
300 cows. The same holds
true across the U.S., where 97
percent of the nation’s dairy
farms are family owned, ac-
cording to USDA.
UDI encourages people to
learn more about dairy pro-
duction. Tours of farms hap-
pen all the time, especially
with school groups, and peo-
ple can request tours through
UDI or their local dairymen,
Miller said.
Personal contact and
hands-on experience are
powerful tools for educating
consumers and promoting the
wholesomeness of U.S. dairy,
Brubaker said.
Active in industry groups,
Brubaker recently went on a
trade mission to Vietnam with
U.S. Dairy Export Council.
USDEC had made videos of
his dairy operation as well as
three other dairymen on the
trade mission.
Traders from Southeast
Asia had the perception that
American dairies were indus-
trialized operations that didn’t
take care of the cows. But they
learned through that personal
contact that U.S. dairies are
far different than their percep-
tion and they were eager for
U.S. product, Brubaker said.
That one day accounted for
sales of 65 million metric tons
of U.S. dairy product, he said.
“It’s all about telling your
story. We really need to be
more transparent so people
know where cheese (and other
dairy products) comes from,”
he said.
New WUD chief
Dairy expansion proposals stir controversy
hits ground running
By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI
Capital Press
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Western United Dairymen,
whose members represent 60
percent of milk production in
California, was looking for an
administrator to re-energize its
members and take the organiza-
tion in a new direction.
Just six weeks on the job
as the new CEO, Anja Rauda-
baugh is already shaking things
up, bringing new energy and
fresh perspective to the 31-year-
old producer group.
She’s been busy taking care
of housekeeping items needed
to transition the organization to
being more inclusive and more
responsive to members, she
said.
She’s also been busy keep-
ing an eye on dairy-relevant
legislation as the state Legisla-
ture winds up this year’s session
in an erratic manner. And she’s
gearing up for the USDA hear-
ing to consider a federal milk
marketing order for the state.
Raudabaugh has big plans
to advance the organization and
the industry, but her first priori-
ty has been to reorganize WUD
delegate bodies to facilitate dis-
cussion on the way in which the
organization should move for-
ward, she said.
“Member input is extremely
valuable. I want to reignite their
passion for having a voice in the
organization,” she said.
And she’s been meeting
with members, who she said are
so kind and genuinely excited
about a change in the organiza-
tion’s direction.
Some of the changes ahead
are directed at closing the huge
gap between the dairy industry
and the urban community and
the gap in the dairy industry it-
self, she said.
Raudabaugh said the indus-
try needs a social and urban
platform to provide unbiased
information and better connect
with consumers and the urban
community.
Raudabaugh said she is pas-
sionate
about
bringing the or-
ganization into
the technology
and global age
through
so-
cial media and
Raudabaugh, an overhaul of
WUD’s website.
She will also be focused on
energizing the next generation
of dairy farmers by building a
confident outlook with solid vic-
tories for the industry. That in-
cludes mitigating regulatory and
labor challenges, working for a
consistent milk price structure,
and gaining new markets and
better market access to Pacific
Rim countries, she said.
WUD President Frank Men-
donsa is happy with Rauda-
baugh’s work.
“I think we needed a fresh
perspective, and we got one in
Anja,” he said. “She’s all we
hoped for.”
He said Raudabaugh has a
quality background in environ-
mental and legislative issues, a
lot of good ideas and high en-
ergy.
One of the goals of WUD’s
board is to unify the industry
in California toward common
goals, and she has the experi-
ence to accomplish that and lead
the organization in a new direc-
tion, he said.
“She is exactly what we
wanted and is performing out-
standingly,” said Tom Barcellos,
WUD board member and im-
mediate past president.
She brings a lot of experience
to the job, has a broad knowl-
edge of agriculture, politics and
environmental issues and is both
intelligent and energetic, he said.
“I am very blessed and excit-
ed to be in this position,” Raud-
abaugh said.
Raudabaugh came to WUD
from the Madera County Farm
Bureau, where she served as ex-
ecutive director for five years.
There she implemented and de-
veloped local action committees
and several joint powers author-
ities.
SALEM — Expansion
plans at several Oregon dairies
have caused a backlash among
vegans and animal rights activ-
ists, but farm regulators lack
the authority to consider many
of their objections.
Likewise, the Oregon De-
partment of Agriculture can’t
do much about dairy industry
concerns that publicly dis-
closed regulatory filings will
expose farms to trespassing and
vandalism.
As mandated by the federal
Clean Water Act, the agency
issued a public notice in June
that five dairies are seeking to
change their animal waste man-
agement plans.
Wym Matthews, manager
of ODA’s Confined Animal
Feeding Operation program,
said such notices are fairly rou-
tine, but this one was somewhat
unusual because four of the five
dairies want to expand their
herds.
After an article in Salem’s
Statesman Journal described
these plans, the agency re-
ceived enough requests for a
public hearing that one was
scheduled for Sept. 2.
Previously, such hearing
requests were rare, Matthews
said. “I think the interest is
new.”
Several of the people re-
questing a hearing identified
themselves as vegan, he said.
The ODA can only consider
comments that relate directly
to whether the waste manage-
ment changes conform with the
Clean Water Act, not overall
opposition to animal agricul-
ture or CAFOs as being abu-
sive, he said.
“The permit doesn’t regu-
late animal cruelty,” Matthews
said.
The ODA also can’t con-
sider comments that endorse
particular management sys-
tems, such as organic or pas-
ture-raised, he said.
Many of the comments
made during the Sept. 2 hear-
ing appeared to fall outside of
the ODA’s purview, as they
opposed CAFO expansion
generally without identifying
specific problems with the
proposed waste management
plans.
Some commenters men-
tioned antibiotics, which the
agency does not regulate as a
pollutant.
“They end up in the meat,
in the manure and in the water-
ways,” said Niko Morozov, a
college student.
Others objected to the
amount of water used to pro-
duce milk, which also isn’t reg-
ulated under the Clean Water
Act.
Nic Shipley, another college
student, claimed dairy water
use is excessive.
“Is milk really worth it?” he
said.
The issue of animal welfare
was also brought up.
“In an ideal world, we
wouldn’t treat animals the way
we do and have massive me-
ga-farms,” said Laurel Hines.
“My opposition is to the large
farms, the farms that aren’t or-
ganic.”
Gavin Curtis expressed dis-
may with the practice of culling
young calves for “bob veal.”
“These two- to three-day-
old babies are torn from their
mothers and then slaughtered,”
he said.
U.S. dairy prices defy global reality
By LEE MIELKE
For the Capital Press
U
.S. dairy prices con-
tinued to defy global
reality going into the
Labor Day weekend.
CME block Cheddar got
up to $1.75 per pound Tues-
day but relapsed and closed
the first Friday of September
at $1.6950 per pound, down
a half-cent on the week and
65 1/2-cents below a year
ago, but a more typical price
spread with the barrels was
restored.
The markets were closed
Monday for the Labor Day
holiday and Tuesday the
blocks remained at Friday’s
close. The barrels rolled out
the week at $1.67, up 7 cents
Dairy
Markets
Lee Mielke
to restore the typical spread,
but also 65 1/2-cents below a
year ago. They were also un-
changed Tuesday. Nine cars
of block traded hands last
week and three of barrel.
Global Dairy Trade Ched-
dar was at $1.3215 per pound
U.S. on Sept. 1.
Midwest milk produc-
tion is in a slow, late summer
decline, says Dairy Market
News. The current heat wave
and bottling demand are push-
ing milk intakes slightly low-
er but manufacturers report
available milk is adequate.
Western milk intakes are re-
duced, due to increases in bot-
tling demand and the seasonal
decline in milk production but
manufacturers report cheese
production has remained ac-
tive.
Export opportunities for
cheese are down but domestic
demand is good and is keep-
ing inventories from getting
out of control.
Cash butter finished Friday
at $2.4525, up 11 1/4-cents
on the week but 39 1/4-cents
below a year ago when it was
trading at $2.8450 and on its
way to set a record high that
eventually topped $3 a pound.
The spot butter was steady
Tuesday.
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