July 14, 2017
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Dairy
WSDA report identifies ‘gaps’ in rules
Penalties and
manure spreading
considered
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Washington’s oversight of
dairies could be toughened
by stiffer penalties and more
control over manure trucked
to other farms, according
to a new Washington State
Department of Agriculture
report.
The report doesn’t make
policy
recommendations,
but broaches “strategies” for
plugging “gaps” in how the
state’s some 375 dairies man-
age manure to protect water.
WSDA compiled the re-
port at the direction of state
lawmakers and with the ad-
vice of a 15-member commit-
tee, which included several
producers.
“I don’t see that there’s
going to be a huge amount
of regulations coming out of
this,” said Whatcom County
dairyman Larry Stap, a com-
mittee member. “I see this
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
A new report by the Washington State Department of Agriculture
broaches ways for changing how the state regulates manure from
dairies. The ways include more fines, more plan updates and more
control over manure trucked to other farms.
as accountability — proving
we’re doing a good job.”
Lawmakers ordered the
study two years ago to identi-
fy “gaps” in manure-handling
regulations.
WSDA Director Derek
Sandison met six times with
the advisory committee,
which also included represen-
tatives from the Department
of Ecology, Environmental
Protection Agency, Washing-
ton State University, USDA
and several other organiza-
tions.
The report outlines poten-
tial responses to concerns that
emerged from those meetings.
A WSDA spokesman said
Monday that the department
will continue to meet with the
advisory committee.
The department has not
made any policy proposals,
he said.
The concerns that emerged
include:
• WSDA monitors manure
applications at dairies, but
not at other farms. The study
suggests certifying all manure
applicators could “create pari-
ty amongst all manure users.”
Stap said that would hold
other growers accountable for
water quality.
Washington State Dairy
Federation policy director Jay
Gordon cautioned that such a
policy could influence farm-
ers to choose synthetic fertil-
izer over manure. “We do not
want organic fertilizer to be
stigmatized,” he said.
• Penalties for manure-han-
dling violations may not be
high enough, broad enough or
consistently applied, accord-
ing to the report.
For example, dairies aren’t
penalized for applying too
much manure unless WSDA
documents pollution, accord-
ing to the report. Also, dairies
aren’t fined for not following
their
manure-management
plans.
Gordon questioned the
need for such fines because
dairy farmers overwhelming-
ly follow orders by WSDA
inspectors to correct flaws in
how they’re handling manure.
“The philosophy goes back
20 years or more. It’s better to
get the problem fixed than just
paying fines into an account,”
he said.
WSDA says it will review
penalties in the fall. Currently,
WSDA can penalize a dairy
up to $10,000 a day for pol-
luting water. Dairies can also
be fined for failing to have a
manure-management plan or
keeping inadequate records.
Stap said WSDA may need
a “bigger stick for a dairy that
just plain doesn’t care.”
“But how big of a stick?
That’s always the challenge,”
he said.
• All dairies must have
manure-management plans,
but the plans don’t have to be
updated if the dairy expands.
The report suggests requiring
dairies to submit new plans
every five years.
Stap said he told the com-
mittee that soil tests provide
an annual report card on
how well a dairy is handling
its manure. “That is a living
thing that means a whole lot
more than a static thing that
sits on a shelf,” he said.
Global milk production modestly recovering
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Higher milk prices and
more favorable weather are
contributing to a moderate
increase in milk production in
dairy exporting countries, fol-
lowing a sharp contraction in
late 2016.
Those factors are provid-
ing much-needed relief for the
world’s dairy farmers after a
three-year decline in milk val-
ues, although the production
recovery is slower than many
market watchers expected, ac-
cording to Rabobank analysts
in their latest dairy quarterly
report.
Milk prices to U.S. farm-
ers, who have steadily in-
creased production, continue
to track well above prices in
Europe and Oceania, spurred
by local demand and firmer
export trade, they said.
“We expect, given contin-
ued good margins over feed,
that milk production in the
U.S. will continue to grow,”
the analysts said.
They also expect U.S.
consumption of butter and
cheese, after a slight stumble
in the first quarter of 2017,
will continue to drive solid
domestic demand growth.
U.S. milk production grew
2 percent in the first four
months of the year. Rela-
tively low feed prices should
keep the majority of produc-
ers slightly above breakeven,
but the analysts said increas-
ing labor costs will hold milk
supplies below a 2 percent
increase over the next 18
months.
Around the globe, the an-
alysts expect the shortage of
butterfat in the EU will main-
tain milk prices there. EU but-
ter production was 4.5 percent
below year-earlier levels in
the first three months of the
year, and butter exports were
down 12 percent.
The higher milk pric-
es are expected to increase
milk production in the EU 1
percent year over year in the
third quarter of this year, 2.2
percent in the fourth quarter,
1.2 percent in the first quarter
of 2018 and 0.8 percent in the
second quarter.
In New Zealand, higher
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Cows gather at a dairy in southwest Washington. According to Rabobank, relatively low feed prices should keep the majority of producers
slightly above breakeven.
milk prices have gotten the
2017/18 season off to a more
confident start, with cash
flows giving a much-needed
boost compared to previous
seasons, the analysts said.
Despite low volumes in
June and July, the new season
is expected to start strong with
increased milking herd num-
bers and higher milk prices.
Milk production is forecast to
increase by 2 percent to 3 per-
cent for the full season, and
exports are expected to trend
up slightly the remainder of
the year and be up 1 percent
to 2 percent in the early part
of 2018.
Milk production declines
in key regions in Australia are
starting to slow. The country’s
milk supply fell 8 percent in
the season that just ended,
and exports fell 2 percent year
over year between July 2016
and April 2017.
The
analysts
expect
modest recovery in Austra-
lia’s milk production in the
2017/18 season, saying “sea-
sonal and trading conditions
continue to look mostly favor-
able for dairy farmers.”
Lower production costs
and good weather for pasture
in Brazil are helping farmers’
margins and favoring more
milk production. Despite po-
litical instability, demand for
dairy products has been sur-
prisingly stable during the re-
cession and should remain so
in coming months.
Milk production in Brazil
grew 1.5 percent in the first
half of the year, and the ana-
lysts expect that growth rate
to continue in the second
half.
Higher milk prices in Ar-
gentina are starting to gener-
ate a mild recovery in milk
production, but dairy farmers
have experience a tough cou-
ple of years.
Official data show the
number of dairies declined to
5,300 in March, down from
5,900 in March 2016 and
6,200 in March 2015.
Farmgate prices have
been rising rapidly, jumping
30 percent over the last 12
months — in part, reflecting
the 12.5 percent decline in
milk production in 2016.
“The industry remains in
a very difficult situation, with
no relief in sight,” the analysts
said.
SanCor, the country’s
largest cooperative and milk
processor, continues to show
signs of distress and is depen-
dent on government support.
Other larger players are also
feeling the strain of weak de-
mand less availability of milk,
rising costs and continued in-
formality in the sector.
Argentina’s dairy exports
declined by 20 percent in val-
ue and 33 percent in volume
in the first four months of
2017, negatively impacting
the industry’s income stream,
the analysts said.
Researchers say happiness turns dairy cows into cash cows
By CARRIE ANTLFINGER
Associated Press
SAUK CITY, Wis. —
Dairy farmers, take note: The
key to turning your dairy cow
into a cash cow is udder hap-
piness.
Give her a bigger stall, in-
crease air circulation and pro-
vide some shelter to prevent
overheating.
That’s according to a Uni-
versity of Wisconsin initiative
that focuses on making dairy
cows happier so they provide
more milk.
“I think it’s really important
that we give them the spa treat-
ment,” said Nigel Cook, who
has directed the Dairyland
Initiative at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison’s School
of Veterinary Medicine since
2010.
Cook and his team vis-
it farms to give advice about
several issues, including be-
havior and easing cow stress.
They also provide workshops
and have created a website
to share advice with farmers
worldwide.
Cook said major concerns
11
include leg pain or lameness,
especially among cows that
stand for long periods without
a comfortable resting place.
“It impacts the way she
rests, the way she milks, the
way she eats, her ability to
reproduce and ultimately her
ability to stay on the farm,” he
said.
One solution? Take her to
the beach — or at least the
farm equivalent.
“The deep soft bedding of
sand creates an environment
where cows can rest half the
day,” Cook said.
Other recommendations
include adding sprinklers and
feeding cows at the same time
— since herd animals prefer to
do things together. And while
you’re at it, regroup cows
less around birthing time to
decrease stressors associated
with establishing a hierarchy.
It’s advice Mitch Breunig
has been closely following
with his 400 cows at Mystic
Valley Dairy in Sauk City,
about 25 miles northwest of
Madison. He has spent over
$100,000 in improvements
aimed at making his cows
happier and says it’s been
worth it. He has even added
an automatic brush in his barn
that constantly cleans dust off
his cows.
“If you take away their
stress, they actually produce
more milk, and the other thing
that is actually interesting is
they do it by eating less feed,”
Breunig said.
Breunig has seen milk pro-
duction increase from about
13 gallons of milk a day per
cow to 15 gallons. He said his
cows also have fewer injuries
and live about a year longer.
Dairy
Markets
Lee Mielke
Dairy prices
inch higher
on CME
By LEE MIELKE
For the Capital Press
C
ME dairy trading
was lackluster in the
Fourth of July hol-
iday-shortened week. The
block cheddar closed Fri-
day at $1.5525 per pound,
up 2 3/4-cents on the week,
the first week of gain in six
weeks, but 7 3/4-cents below
a year ago, when cheese pric-
es were inverted with barrels
atop the blocks by 9 cents.
The blocks inched a quar-
ter-cent higher Monday and
jumped 6 cents Tuesday, to
$1.6150, the highest price
since June 15, as traders
awaited USDA’s latest milk
production and milk price
estimates on Wednesday.
Traders are also watching the
rising temperatures and wild-
fires in the West. Thousands
of dairy cows in California
have died from the heat.
The barrels finished
Friday at $1.3750, up
2 1/4-cents on the week and
34 1/2-cents below a year
ago.
They gained a penny
Monday and 3 1/4-cents
Tuesday, hitting $1.4175
on 19 trades, still at a too-
high 19 3/4-cents below the
blocks.
Milk production has be-
gun to taper in the Midwest,
reports Dairy Market News,
but cheese plants continue to
take spot loads at $1 to $3 un-
der class. Cheese production
continues strong, demand is
somewhat steady, and most
inventories are long. Con-
tacts are anxious over the
large barrel-block price gap,
ongoing since May.
Western cheese output is
strong due to higher volumes
of milk available. Demand
is good. Exports are expect-
ed to increase due to U.S.
cheese prices being so com-
petitive internationally.
Spot butter fell to $2.5725
per pound Thursday but
closed Friday at $2.5850,
down 5 3/4-cents on the
week, first loss in four weeks,
but still 30 1/4-cents above a
year ago.
The butter was up 3
cents Monday but gave back
three-quarters Tuesday, slip-
ping to $2.6075.
Butter production is ac-
tive and producers are stor-
ing it for upcoming demand
and inventories are building.
Cream supplies in the
West are less available as
seasonal demand from Class
II manufacturers is active.
The Daily Dairy Re-
port’s Sarina Sharp wrote
in the June 30 Milk Pro-
ducers Council Newsletter
that butter prices in Europe
are “climbing relentless-
ly, while the government’s
mountain of milk powder
languishes.”
“U.S. dairy exports to
Russia, as well as those from
Canada, the European Union,
Australia and Norway, will
not improve,” according to
the July 5 DDR, as “Rus-
sia has extended its import
ban until December 2018 in
response to economic sanc-
tions placed against Russia
following its annexation of
Crimea and actions in eastern
Ukraine.”
Cash Grade A nonfat
dry milk finished Friday at
86 3/4-cents per pound, up
2 1/4-cents on the week but
2 1/4-cents below a year ago.
Monday saw the pow-
der inch a half-cent higher
and hold there Tuesday, at
87 1/4-cents per pound, with
31 cars trading hands.
Milk heads to vat
USDA’s latest Dairy
Products report shows May
cheese output totaled 1.05
billion pounds, up 0.8 per-
cent from April and 4.0 per-
cent above May 2016. Year
to date cheese output stands
at 5.1 billion pounds, up 2.5
percent from a year ago.