November 2, 2018
CapitalPress.com
11
Dairy
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Washington dairies win concession on new manure rules
Ecology to modify
lagoon requirement
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
Washington dairies scored a vic-
tory Oct. 25 as an appeals panel told
the Department of Ecology to revise
its new manure-storage regulations
to conform with Natural Resources
Conservation Service standards for
lagoons.
The ruling is particularly import-
ant for Western Washington dairies,
which faced the prospect of having
to lift NRCS-approved lagoon bot-
toms farther from groundwater. The
Pollution Control Hearings Board
ruled that Ecology failed to justify
modifications that would have cost
hundreds of thousands of dollars per
lagoon.
“That would have been a killer
for a lot of lagoons in Western Wash-
ington,” said Dan Wood, executive
director of the Washington State
Dairy Federation. “I’m happy for the
decision that NRCS standards need
to be followed on lagoon liners.”
Ecology issued new rules for
Don Jenkins/Capital Press
Dairy cows in Whatcom County, Wash. The Washington Pollution Control
Hearings Board has ruled that the state’s manure lagoon standards should match
those of the Natural Resources Conservation Service for the separation between
the bottom of lagoon liners and groundwater.
dairies with more than 200 cows
last year. The rules could affect as
many as 250 dairies that choose to
apply for a confined animal feed-
ing operation permit. A permit may
provide some protection from gov-
ernment fines and lawsuits, but also
comes with new rules on storing and
spreading manure.
Environmental groups, led by
Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, ap-
pealed the rules to the hearings
board, arguing the permit terms were
too weak to prevent manure from
polluting waterways and groundwa-
ter.
The dairy industry appealed lim-
its on spreading manure and require-
ments to test soils more often.
Complaints from both sides were
combined and considered at a two-
week hearing last spring.
The three-member appeals board
upheld all of the rules, except the one
that required at least 2 feet between
the bottom of lagoon liners and
groundwater. NRCS standards call
for the separation to be measured
from the top of the liner.
At a hearing last spring, the dairy
industry offered testimony that the
cost of raising the lagoons could
cause some dairies to close.
“We’ll modify the permit based
on the ruling,” Ecology spokeswom-
an Colleen Keltz said.
The appeals board also rejected
a demand by environmental groups
that dairies install monitoring wells
to ensure manure wasn’t polluting
groundwater. The board agreed with
Ecology that permit requirements
were enough to protect groundwater.
Puget Soundkeeper Executive
Director Chris Wilke said environ-
mental groups will have to review
the ruling before deciding whether
to take their objections to court.
“Right now it seems like a pret-
ty uninformed opinion,” he said. “It
doesn’t take into account the full
pollution that is occurring.”
Ecology has issued only 24 per-
mits so far, including 18 to dairies.
Four beef cattle operations, one
poultry farm and one heifer-raising
operation have also obtained per-
mits.
Wood said dairies have been
waiting to see the outcome of the
challenges to the rules before decid-
ing whether to apply for a permit.
“It’s going to be a farm-by-farm de-
cision,” he said.
Only dairies that discharge pol-
lutants into water are required to
have a permit. Ecology’s position is
that pollutants seep from all manure
lagoons. “We hope that now that
we have a ruling from (the appeals
board) that it will give (animal oper-
ations) certainty about what’s going
to be in the permit,” Keltz said.
The dairy industry did not win
from the board any relief from new
requirements to test the nitrate levels
in fields in the spring, as well as cur-
rent testing in the fall.
Cheese prices continue to sink Dairy foods association seeks
Dairy
Markets
Lee Mielke
in the U.S.”
DMN reports that cream
remains tight in the Midwest,
thus some churns are running
solely to meet contract needs.
The western butter market
undertone seems to be strong.
Several reports suggest that
buyers are looking to pur-
chase butter for the upcoming
holidays and baking season.
Retail and food service or-
ders are more solid as buyers
replenish inventories.
Grade A nonfat dry milk
inched a half-cent lower last
week, to 86 3/4-cents per
pound, 11 3/4-cents above
a year ago. The powder was
unchanged Monday and Tues-
day.
Culling declines
Dairy cow culling dropped
in September and trailed that
of a year ago, according to
the Agriculture Department’s
latest Livestock Slaughter re-
port. An estimated 247,400
head were slaughtered un-
der federal inspection, down
32,300 from August and
2,200 below a year ago.
A total of 2.3 million head
have been culled in the nine-
month period, up 99,200 head
or 4.4 percent from 2017.
Ratio up
A higher U.S. All Milk
price average nudged the Sep-
tember milk-feed price ratio a
little higher, the highest level
since January 2018, though
feed prices crept higher as
well.
The Agriculture Depart-
ment’s latest Ag Prices report
shows the September ratio at
2.10, up from 2.03 in August
but down from 2.46 in Sep-
tember 2017.
The index is based on the
current milk price in relation-
ship to feed prices for a dairy
ration consisting of 51 percent
corn, 8 percent soybeans and
41 percent alfalfa hay. In oth-
er words, one pound of milk
today purchases 2.10 pounds
of dairy feed containing that
blend.
candidates for summer internship
Capital Press
International Dairy Foods Association is
taking applications for a 2019 summer in-
ternship to focus on legislative and regulato-
ry issues in the dairy industry, IDFA said in a
press release.
The selected candidate will work in Wash-
ington, D.C., for a firsthand view of IDFA
efforts on dairy policy with Capitol Hill law-
makers.
The internship, which is a paid position,
will start in May or June and last 10 to 12
weeks. The successful candidate will work
with IDFA’s legislative and regulatory af-
fairs teams on special projects, research and
events.
Students with an interest in food and agri-
culture policy are encouraged to apply.
Candidates must be currently enrolled in
or have recently graduated from an accredit-
ed college or university.
They must also be pursuing or have ob-
tained a bachelor of science or bachelor of
arts degree with a major in business, political
science, international affairs, agriculture, the
food and beverage industry, food science or a
related field.
Each candidate will be required to submit
an application, a resume, a one-page essay
and references.
To learn more about the internship and to
apply, students can visit IDFA’s internship
page or contact Heather Soubra, IDFA chief
of staff, at hsoubra@idfa.org or (202) 220-
3551.
All applications and supporting material
must be submitted by Jan. 15.
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C
heese prices fell last
week, taking futures
with them, but then ral-
lied a bit. Block Cheddar fell to
$1.47 per pound last Wednes-
day, the lowest price since
June 26, 2018, but closed Fri-
day at $1.5150, up 1 3/4-cents
on the week and ending three
weeks of decline, but still 23
cents below a year ago.
The barrels plunged to
$1.2075 Wednesday, lowest
price since June 27, 2018, and
an earshot away from a 9-year
low. They finished Friday at
$1.25, down 1 3/4-cents on
the week and 45 1/2-cents be-
low a year ago.
The blocks held at Fri-
day’s close Monday while
the barrels rolled 1 3/4-cents
lower. The blocks inched a
quarter-cent lower Tuesday,
to $1.5125, as traders antici-
pated Thursday’s September
Dairy Products report. The
barrels climbed 1 1/2-cents
Tuesday, hitting $1.2475, put-
ting the spread at a still too
high 26 1/2-cents.
FC Stone dairy broker
Dave Kurzawski wrote in his
Oct. 23 Early Morning Up-
date: “This is the first time
in 12 years that the price of
barrel cheese fell below $1.30
during the month of October.”
He also points out that the
10-year October block price
average is $1.7761, far above
where it is today.
There is plenty of milk
being produced, along with
plenty of cheese, plenty in
inventory, and with cheese
prices falling, buyers will
likely hold off some of their
purchases, not having to be
concerned over shortages and
big price rises ahead.
Dairy Market News warns
that some Midwestern cheese-
makers are beginning to build
inventories as buyers hesitate
to take on extra cheese while
markets falter. Cheese pro-
ducers have generally had a
healthy demand season and
new customers are showing
interest. Retail demand and
prices have also shown rela-
tive stability. But, record price
splits between process cheese
and blocks, followed by con-
tinuing price slides “have tak-
en their toll.”
Western cheese makers
say there is a lot of milk and a
lot of cheese. Inventories are
heavy, especially for barrels
and mozzarella. Demand is
good, but not great and it has
taken some time for holiday
retail demand to get started.
“Export sales seem to ebb and
flow according to price, with
processors’ phones ringing
more as cheese prices fall.”
Spot butter fell to $2.1950
per pound last Tuesday, low-
est price since Sept. 5, 2018,
but closed Friday at $2.2325,
down 2 3/4-cents on the week
and 7 cents below a year ago.
Monday’s butter lost
three-quarters and stayed
there Tuesday at $2.2250.
FC Stone blames contin-
ued weakness in the world fat
market “finally spilling over