April 22, 2016
CapitalPress.com
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Greener
Pastures
15
Dairy/Livestock
Bill would amend federal dairy safety net
Doug Warnock
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Managing
early season
grazing
By DOUG WARNOCK
For the Capital Press
O
ne of the many chal-
lenges that graziers
face this time of year
is managing the lush spring
growth of forage grasses.
The cool season type grass-
es that we have in the North-
west experience their fastest
growth in the first two to three
months of the growing sea-
son. When temperatures rise
as spring turns to summer,
the grass rate of growth slows
down. As the temperature in-
creases, the legumes, such as
alfalfa and clover, produce
more growth.
The early season grass
growth is, of course, depen-
dent on having adequate soil
moisture, and we’ve had good
moisture so far this year.
With faster grass growth in
the early season, it is more dif-
ficult to graze all parts of the
pasture before the grass plants
mature. Once the grass plants
mature and begin to produce a
seed-head, they become coars-
er, have more fiber, are lower
in nutritive value and are less
palatable to livestock. We pre-
fer to graze when the grass is
still in its vegetative stage of
development with higher nu-
tritive value.
This is the time of year to
move livestock faster from one
pasture or paddock to the next.
The rule of thumb is, “faster
growth — faster moves” and
“slower growth — slower
moves.” The idea is to move
animals faster and get some
grazing in each pasture unit
and get through as many of the
units as possible to minimize
the maturing of the plants.
Even when moving fast-
er, it is common to have the
grasses in some pastures be-
come too mature during this
period. There are ways to ad-
just during this time of faster
growth.
One of the best ways to
adjust is to use a larger num-
ber of animals during this fast
growing phase, knowing that
the forage base will not sup-
port this higher number for the
entire season.
This works best when graz-
ing stocker cattle or yearling
sheep that can be marketed as
the summer temperatures slow
the rate of growth. Graziers
that have mainly breeding
herds or flocks find it more dif-
ficult to adjust animal numbers
during this time.
Another way to adjust is
to mow part of the pasture
and use the clipped forage for
hay or silage. This feed can
be used to supplement pasture
later in the season or for win-
ter feed.
Still another way is to
stockpile forage. This is
achieved by not grazing an
area and letting it mature for
later use. It is like having
standing hay that can be used
later in the grazing season or
early in the off-season when
other forage supplies run
short.
Using a planned and adap-
tive approach to management
allows the grazier to be cre-
ative and to use any of the
tools needed to achieve the
goals set for that grassland.
Even though we employ
a thorough and written graz-
ing plan, we must be ready to
adjust when monitoring indi-
cates we are getting off track.
Regular monitoring of
both the plants and animals
tells us what is happening.
When we know the current
circumstances, we are able to
change, adapt or modify, as
needed, to make the best use
of the forage and animal re-
sources to meet our goals.
Doug Warnock, retired
from Washington State Uni-
versity Extension, lives on a
ranch in the Touchet River
Valley where he writes about
and teaches grazing manage-
ment. He can be contacted at
dwarnockgreenerpastures@
gmail.com.
A bill supported by three
Northeast congressmen would
amend the Margin Protection
Program for dairy established
by the 2014 Farm Bill to bet-
ter reflect feed costs in differ-
ent regions of the country.
The program allows farm-
ers to insure the margin be-
tween milk prices and feed
costs.
Introduced by Rep. Chris
Gibson, R-N.Y., and Rep. Joe
Courtney, D-Conn., April 11
with co-sponsor Peter Welch,
D-Vt., the bill would require
USDA to use data from each
state to calculate average feed
costs and actual dairy produc-
tion margins.
In that feed cost calcula-
tion, USDA would be required
to take into consideration en-
ergy, transportation and labor
costs, which the congressman
said is necessary to accurately
calculate average feed cost.
The current margin pro-
tection program is harmful to
New York and New England
dairy farms because it uses
feed costs calculations that
are heavily weighted toward
Midwest farming operations,
where energy, labor and trans-
portation are a lot cheaper, the
legislators contend.
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Feed is a major cost for any dairy operation. A group of members of Congress from the Northeast want
to change the way feed costs are calculated for the Margin Protection Program.
The bill cites a recent anal-
ysis by Farm Credit East that
showed the average price of
feed in the Northeast could
be 20 percent higher than the
national average used in MPP
calculations.
The proposed legislation
would require USDA to re-
place the national average
proxy used in MPP calcu-
lations with state-by-state
feed costs, meaning different
calculations for each state,
Courtney’s staff said in a writ-
ten response to Capital Press.
The bill, HR 4896, does
not address the national av-
erage all-milk price calcula-
tion, which is the other half
of the equation in determin-
ing production margins and
insurance payouts. Nor does
it address the current national
premium framework.
California producer orga-
nizations welcome a discus-
sion on adjustments to the
program, having long con-
tended the margin protection
program reflects neither actu-
al feed costs nor milk prices in
California.
“It’s something that we’ve
been concerned about … it
needs to be reformed,” said
Lynne McBride, executive
director of California Dairy
Campaign.
With much higher feed
costs than the Midwest and
some of the lowest milk pric-
es in the country, which run
about $2 below the national
average, California has been
at a disadvantage in the pro-
gram from the start, she said.
It doesn’t provide the in-
tended safety net because it
doesn’t reflect actual costs
and income, she said.
Participation in the sub-
sidized, no-premium portion
of the program — which pro-
tects a $4 margin between the
national average feed cost and
all-milk price — is strong.
But participation in buy-up
coverage is low.
In 2016, 1,137 of Califor-
nia’s 1,438 dairies are partic-
ipating at the basic coverage
level, but only 38 signed up
for additional coverage, Mc-
Bride said.
Because MPP calculations
were made in statute, Con-
gress would have to open
up the farm bill to make the
change. That would take some
heavy lifting, said Rick Naer-
ebout, director of operations
for Idaho Dairymen’s Asso-
ciation.
The political reality is leg-
islators are not going to open
up the farm bill mid-stream to
look at only one commodity,
he said.
Dairy groups urge challenge of WHO proposal
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
U.S. milk producers and pro-
cessors are speaking out against
guidelines from the World
Health Organization urging the
prohibition of the promotion
and marketing of milk products
for infants and toddlers.
The guidelines take aim at
breast milk substitutes, includ-
ing milk and other milk prod-
ucts, and rises from concerns
that the “inappropriate pro-
motion of those products has
been undermining progress in
optimal infant and young child
feeding.”
The National Milk Produc-
ers Federation and the Interna-
tional Dairy Foods Association
are urging Congress to insist
U.S. officials at the Department
of Health and Human Services
request a more thorough analy-
sis of the WHO proposal before
it proceeds further.
The groups’ concern is that
WHO is lumping in a prohibi-
tion of dairy products with its
promotion of breast feeding,
said Chris Galen, National
Milk’s director of communica-
tions.
“They’re going beyond just
encouraging breast feeding in
infants and discouraging any
milk consumption under the
age of 3,” he said.
“The reality is most kids ar-
en’t going to be breastfed up to
2 and 3 years old,” he said.
Dairy products, such as
milk, cheese and yogurt, are a
“very important” part of chil-
dren’s diets, and there’s no rea-
son that the nutritional informa-
tion of those products should
be shunned or hidden from
parents, as WHO is proposing,
he said.
The WHO guidance docu-
ment is a “de facto criticism of
all milk consumption by tod-
dlers,” National Milk’s presi-
dent and CEO Jim Mulhern said
in a press release.
“This flies in the face of all
credible, international nutrition
research and would confuse
consumers across the globe,” he
said.
The guidance should be fo-
cusing on how to encourage the
serving of nutrient-dense foods
for young children and toddlers,
International Dairy Foods’ pres-
ident and CEO Connie Tipton
said in the press release.
Butter love affair helps price
By LEE MIELKE
For the Capital Press
A
merica’s love affair with
butter added strength
to the CME cash price
which, after jumping 16 cents
the previous week, hit the high-
est level last Monday — $2.17
per pound — since Feb. 5.
It then plunged 10 cents
Tuesday and closed Friday at
$2.07, down a nickel on the
week but 26 1/4-cents above a
year ago and well above glob-
al levels.
Nineteen cars traded hands
last week at the CME.
The spot price was un-
changed Monday and Tuesday,
as traders anticipated Tuesday’s
Global Dairy Trade auction,
Wednesday’s March Milk Pro-
duction report and Friday’s
March Cold Storage report.
Butter production is active
in the Central region, reports
Dairy Market News, and bulk
inventories are building ahead
of the summer and fall seasons.
Many industry participants
are confused by the sustained
strength of the butter price at
the CME.
Western butter makers re-
port cream supplies are more
than adequate for current needs,
and “processors say stocks have
grown to the point that they do
not want to increase inventories
any further.”
Cash cheese is under pres-
sure from heavy flush milk
production, growing invento-
ry and lagging exports. The
Dairy
Markets
Lee Mielke
block Cheddar closed Fri-
day at $1.4275 per pound, up
three-quarter cents on the week
but 14 3/4-cents below a year
ago, while the barrels ended
three-quarter cents lower, at
$1.41, 21 1/2-cents below a
year ago. Four cars of block
were sold on the week and 17
of barrel.
The blocks were unchanged
Monday and Tuesday while the
barrels ticked up a penny Mon-
day to $1.42 per pound, but
were unchanged Tuesday.
Cheese production in the
Midwest continues to be very
active as many manufacturers
are running full schedules, ac-
cording to DMN. Processors
say milk intakes are up, but
not quite at spring flush lev-
els. Domestic cheese demand
has been good; however, a few
cheesemakers say sales are
down slightly over the past few
weeks. Some Midwest plants
report comfortable invento-
ry, but others suggest stocks
may be heavy in secondary
markets and third-party ware-
houses.
Western cheese production
is steady to higher as milk
intakes continue to rise sea-
sonally. Some manufacturers
say milk supplies are in fairly
good balance with processing
needs.
“It should not restrict the
flow of important information
regarding the nutritional ben-
efits of dairy foods for young
children to parents, caregivers
and healthcare providers,” she
said.
In a letter to congressional
members urging U.S. interven-
tion, the groups said, if adopt-
ed, the document could have
dire consequences for children
worldwide who benefit from
milk and milk products, as rec-
ommended by nutrition experts
around the globe.
“Despite the overwhelming
evidence that the Draft Guid-
ance is unfounded, the WHO
Secretariat intends to push the
World Health Assembly to
adopt it during its annual meet-
ing next month, without con-
ducting a full and transparent
assessment of the evidence and
an impact analysis,” the letter
states.
The U.S. dairy groups don’t
know who specifically is driv-
ing the proposal or what agenda
might be at play, Galen said.
But they want to make sure
an international, non-govern-
ment agency doesn’t dictate pol-
icy that contradicts decades of
U.S. federal nutrition policy and
scientific evidence, Galen said.
The U.S. is a WHO mem-
ber, and the proposal contra-
venes U.S. government advice
in the recently updated Dairy
Guidelines for Americans and
the inclusion of dairy products
in federal nutrition programs,
he said.
Take a new look at an old friend.
Abisha Dunivin
VP of Operations for the Marion-Polk
Food Share and a Member of the
Oregon Aglink Board of Directors
Abisha Dunivin, VP of operations for
Marion-Polk Food Share, found her way into
the food industry in 2006 when she began
working for Truitt Bros., Inc. in Salem. Her
time with Truitt provided exposure to
national branded companies, worldwide
suppliers and local growers. It was here that
her love of food and respect for local agriculture grew
substantially. In 2013, she concentrated that passion for food and
people by joining Marion-Polk Food Share as the Vice President of
Operations. This position has allowed her, “to build deeper
relationships with local growers, processors and retailers as we work
together to find solutions to hunger”she said. She is an advocate for
supporting our agricultural economy and promoting sustainable land
use and food systems. She is a food enthusiast, an avid reader and a
novice runner.
Oregon Aglink plays a key role in connecting people to the food they
eat by making that direct link between agriculture and food supply.
By educating the community (especially our children) about
agriculture, the importance of responsible land management and
where their food comes from, we are taking large strides toward
ensuring the health, vitality and longevity of our local food
supply. In short, educated consumers are empowered consumers.
Become a membeu today!
7360 SW Hunzikeu St., Suite 102
Poutland, OR 97223 • 503-595-9121
www.aglink.oug
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