14 CapitalPress.com
December 9, 2016
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Dairy/Livestock
Great American Milk Drive passes million-gallon mark
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
While eggnog is the reign-
ing holiday fare, milk produc-
ers and processors are ask-
ing people to think milk this
season and donate a little of
Santa’s favorite beverage to
hungry families in their com-
munities.
It’s as easy as clicking “do-
nate” on the Great American
Milk Drive website.
Launched by the Nation-
al Dairy Campaign and the
Milk Processors Education
Program (MilkPEP) in coor-
dination with Feeding Amer-
ica in the spring of 2014, the
campaign has now delivered
more than 1 million gallons
of milk to Feeding America’s
food bank network across the
country.
The Milk Drive effort
aligns with the 100-year com-
mitment to health and well-
ness from National Dairy
Council and its dairy farmers,
said Jean Ragalie-Carr, pres-
ident of the National Dairy
Council.
“Making sure hungry peo-
ple have access to nutritious
foods such as milk is some-
thing that is important to all
of us in the dairy communi-
ty. Our farmers are especial-
ly passionate about seeing
the milk they produce every
day help nourish families in
need,” she said.
Surpassing 1 million gal-
lons donated is a significant
milestone, said Victor Za-
borsky, MilkPEP vice presi-
dent of marketing.
“In collaboration with
America’s milk brands, dairy
farmers, retailers, shoppers
and our social media commu-
nity, our 1 millionth gallon sig-
nifies great strides in our fight
against hunger — and we’re
just getting started,” he said in
a statement to Capital Press.
According to Feeding
America, milk is one of the
most requested but least do-
nated items at food banks, and
children in need are missing
out on the essential nutrients
and high-quality protein it
supplies. Feeding America
serves more than 46 million
food-insecure people in the
U.S., but donations of milk
gallon of milk to families to
redeem at their local grocery
or convenience store, he said.
“We’re grateful for this
powerful partnership that en-
ables our network to provide
a highly requested food item
to families year round. It is es-
pecially important during the
holidays, when for some fam-
ilies the need is even greater,”
he said.
In addition to donating
online, people can donate
through purchases of Cheryl’s
gourmet cookies and M&M
candies at Wal-Mart stores.
Cheese prices
down; butter slips
In Washington, scavengers play key role in wolf policy
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Ranchers, county com-
missioners and environmen-
talists argued last summer
about when to draw the line
and shoot wolves in the Pro-
fanity Peak pack.
The decision, however,
was more influenced by scav-
engers than anything else.
Several times, GPS col-
lars, tracks and scat placed the
pack at the scene of livestock
depredations in the Colville
National Forest, according to
WDFW reports provided to
the Capital Press.
In some cases, howev-
er, there wasn’t a “smoking
gun” — the lacerations and
hemorrhages caused by wolf
bites. Only scattered bones
remained. Those cases went
down as “probable” wolf at-
tacks and did not factor into
whether WDFW would ulti-
mate cull the pack.
If the cases had been con-
firmed as wolf attacks, the
four-depredation threshold
for initiating lethal remov-
al of the wolves would have
been reached 19 days earlier.
The delay presumably in-
creased livestock losses. Di-
amond M Ranch co-owner
Len McIrvin told the Capital
Press that he estimates he
lost 70 head of cattle. Some
ranchers say earlier interven-
tion would have reduced the
number of wolves that had to
be shot to deter depredations.
“We need to have a seri-
ous conversation about how
these probables fit in,” said
Washington
Cattlemen’s
Association Executive Vice
President Jack Field, a mem-
ber of WDFW’s Wolf Advi-
sory Group.
“It’s really problematic
in a lot of cases,” he said.
are providing less than a gal-
lon of milk per person per
year, according to Feeding
America.
Throughout the holidays,
the Great American Milk
Drive wants to raise aware-
ness of the issue and encour-
age people to donate.
“The Great American Milk
Drive has created a practical
way for food banks to get
milk to families in need,” said
Matt Knott, president of Feed-
ing America.
It allows food banks to
distribute vouchers for a free
By LEE MIELKE
For the Capital Press
C
Courtesy of WDFW
A calf partially eaten by wolves lies Aug. 3 in the Colville National Forest. It was the fourth confirmed
attack on livestock by the Profanity Peak pack, triggering the Washington Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s culling of the pack. In three earlier cases, only bones remained, leaving too little evidence for
investigators to positively identify wolves as the attackers.
“One of the challenges is to
ensure producers don’t fall
into the hole of continuing to
have ‘probables, probables,
probables,’ but never have
confirmed depredations that
trigger lethal removal.”
By the end of the sum-
mer, WDFW had confirmed
10 depredations by the Pro-
fanity Peak pack, with five
more classified as probable.
To stop depredations, WDFW
shot seven wolves. Four pack
members remain.
In all confirmed depre-
dations, there was enough
left of the cow or calf to de-
tect what investigators called
the “signature style wolf at-
tack,” often bites around the
groin.
Former WDFW wildlife
biologist Jay Shepherd, who
investigated many of last
summer’s depredations, said
field investigators required
strong proof, even when
evidence pointed toward
wolves.
“You can’t just assume
they were killed by wolves if
you don’t have the evidence,”
he said. “But it’s hard to stand
there and tell the McIrvins
that. Some of the depreda-
tions are ‘probable’ and some
are ‘highly probable.’”
Scavenging birds led
WDFW to the first depreda-
tion, in fact. A WDFW offi-
cer saw the birds and found a
dead calf. Enough remained
to see that the animal had suf-
fered wolf bites, according to
WDFW reports.
On July 14, a bear was
seen scavenging a Charolais
cow. Ravens were on scene,
too, according to investigators.
A majority of the meat had
been consumed, but there was
enough left for investigators to
find wounds consistent with a
wolf attack.
A third depredation was
confirmed July 23 and a fourth
on Aug. 3. By then, WDFW
had classified three other at-
tacks as probable. Those at-
tacks did not factor into WD-
FW’s decision to initiate lethal
removal, said Donny Mar-
torello, the department’s wolf
policy leader.
“It wasn’t part of the deci-
sion-making because we were
sticking to the protocol to the
letter,” he said.
Whether to consider prob-
able wolf attacks in deciding
whether to remove wolves
will be something for the Wolf
Advisory Group to discuss, he
said.
“It’s a situation that evolved
with the Profanity pack. It
highlights that we need to have
that conversation,” he said.
On July 12, WDFW inves-
tigated two separate reports
of dead calves. Radio collars
worn by two wolves showed
the Profanity Peak pack had
been in the area. Tracks and
scat were nearby. “But the ev-
idence had been consumed,”
Shepherd said.
Only scattered bones re-
mained. “You look at the to-
tality, and it’s highly probable.
It probably didn’t get hit by a
pickup, but there’s that doubt,”
he said. “I don’t know why
they can’t have the flexibility
to say, ‘We have two proba-
bles that are highly probable
and that these two probables
should count.’”
On one day, WDFW inves-
tigated three attacks on calves
on the same grazing allotment.
GPS signals from the two col-
lared wolves showed the pack
had been at the scene.
In two cases, the carcasses
had been completely scav-
enged, leaving only skeletal
remains, according to investi-
gators, who put the depreda-
tions down as probable wolf
attacks.
ash cheese prices start-
ed December heading
lower.
Block cheddar dipped to
$1.76 per pound Wednesday,
but rallied and closed Friday
at $1.81, still a nickel lower
on the week but 29 1/4-cents
above a year ago.
The barrels closed at
$1.6150, down 7 1/2-cents on
the week and 13 cents above a
year ago.
The blocks dropped a
nickel Monday and shed 2
3/4-cents Tuesday, dipping
to $1.7325 per pound, lowest
price since Oct. 28.
The barrels lost a pen-
ny and a half Monday and
three-quarters Tuesday, slid-
ing to $1.5925, the lowest
price since Oct. 27, and an
unsustainable 14 cents below
the blocks.
Cash butter jumped 5
1/4-cents last Monday and did
a 13-cent pole vault Wednes-
day, hitting $2.23 per pound,
the highest spot since Aug. 16,
only to give some back Thurs-
day and Friday and close at
$2.1850, up 13 3/4-cents on
the week but still 71 3/4-cents
below a year ago.
It dropped 7 1/4-cents
Monday
but
regained
three-quarters Tuesday, inch-
ing back to $2.12 per pound.
Grade A nonfat dry milk
closed Friday at $1.0075 per
pound, up 10 1/4-cents, 20
3/4-cents above a year ago,
and the highest since Oct. 7,
2015.
It reversed gears Mon-
day, giving back a penny and
three-quarters, and lost anoth-
er penny and a half Tuesday,
dipping to 97 1/2-cents per
pound.
Federal benchmark
jumps
The November federal
order benchmark Class III
milk price was announced at
$16.76 per hundredweight,
up $1.94 from October, $1.46
above November 2015, and
equates to about $1.44 per
Dairy
Markets
Lee Mielke
gallon, up from $1.27 in Oc-
tober and $1.32 a year ago.
The 11-month Class III av-
erage stands at $14.64, down
from $15.92 at this time a year
ago and down from $22.75 in
2014.
Class III futures, as of
Monday’s settlements, por-
tended a December Class III
at $17.03; January, $16.75;
February, $16.83; and March
at $16.79.
The Class IV price is
$13.76, up a dime from Oc-
tober but $3.13 below a year
ago. The Class IV average for
2016 is at $13.66, down from
$14.24 a year ago and com-
pares to $22.58 in 2014. It is
the lowest November Class
IV price since 2009.
California tops
federal order
California’s November 4b
cheese milk price, compara-
ble to the federal order Class
III price, is $17.45 per cwt.,
up $3.02 from October, $3.02
above a year ago, and the
highest 4b since November
2014.
It’s also 69 cents above the
FO Class III price, the first
time the 4b price has topped
the Class III price since De-
cember 2009. The 4b has
trailed the Class III by as little
as 39 cents in October to as
much as $1.39 in May, despite
the temporary state-mandated
change in the 4b pricing for-
mula with respect to whey.
The gap in 2015 ranged from
a low of 53 cents in August to
a high of $2.43 in January.
The 2016 4b average
stands at $14.06, down from
$14.61 a year ago and $20.40
in 2014.
The November 4a but-
ter-powder milk price is
$13.69 per cwt., up 58 cents
from October but $2.88 below
a year ago. The 4a average is
at $13.29, down from $14.06
a year ago and $22.49 in 2014.
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