Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 16, 2018)
8 CapitalPress.com November 16, 2018 Subscribe to our weekly dairy or livestock email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters Court expands beef checkoff lawsuit By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press A U.S. district court in Montana has granted R-CALF USA’s motion to expand its lawsuit against USDA over the constitution- ality of the beef checkoff to include 13 states in addition to Montana. That court previously granted a preliminary injunc- tion prohibiting USDA from compelling cattle producers in Montana to pay checkoff money to fund the Montana Beef Council without obtain- ing producers’ consent. R-Calf argues that action violates the First Amendment because state beef councils are private entities funding private speech that cattle producers disagree with and cannot influence. Because USDA has no role in directly supervising the councils, R-CALF argues their promotions do not con- stitute government speech, which is exempt from the First Amendment. The lawsuit now also ap- plies to checkoff funding for state beef councils in Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Da- kota, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Morris’ ruling doesn’t apply the temporary injunc- tion in effect in Montana to those states. But if R-CALF is successful in seeking a per- manent injunction, it would likely apply to the additional states, R-CALF stated in a press release. R-CALF’s members, in- cluding those in the 14 states included in the lawsuit, ob- ject to both the beef check- off’s messaging and the fact that state beef councils are entirely unaccountable, R-CALF stated in court pa- pers. It alleges checkoff money is used to undermine inde- pendent cattle producers by promoting multinational beef companies. Checkoff dollars are reg- ularly used to promote a false equivalency between domestic and imported beef because this allows multina- tional beef companies to im- port cheaper beef and pass it off to consumers at the same price as domestic beef — but with wider margins, R-CALF stated in court papers. “This reduces the amount of beef purchased from do- mestic independent cattle producers and the prices they receive for their products,” it stated. National Cattlemen’s Beef Association was quick to respond to the court’s rul- ing, stating R-CALF’s al- legations are without merit and only serve to divide beef producers and distract beef councils from building de- mand for beef. The Federation of State Beef Councils is a division of NCBA. “The simple fact is that regular audits of the beef checkoff and NCBA have found both to be compliant with the laws governing the checkoff,” Kendal Frazier, NCBA’s CEO, said. In addition, two audits conducted by the USDA’s Office of Inspector General have also come back clean. R-CALF’s accusations to the contrary are false, he said. “R-CALF has become nothing but a front group for activists seeking to divide the industry, lessen beef demand and drive producers out of business,” he said. One of R-CALF’s attor- neys on the case is David Muraskin, an attorney with Public Justice who focuses on litigation to promote sus- tainable alternatives to in- dustrial animal agriculture, according to Public Justice’s website. Dairy/Livestock Dairy farmers consider supply management By CAROL RYAN DUMAS Capital Press Four years of low milk prices and the loss of near- ly 7,000 U.S. dairy opera- tions has many dairy farmers warming to the idea of a na- tional milk supply-manage- ment program. National Dairy Produc- ers Organization has been imploring farmers for years to balance milk supply with profitable demand. Now, the Wisconsin Farmers Union is also trying to unify dairy farmers on that front. WFU started looking into the dairy crisis in 2016, noting an average loss of 500 Wis- consin dairy farms annually. Bobbi Wilson, WFU govern- ment relations associate, said a survey of the state’s dairy farmers opened the organiza- tion’s eyes to the severity of the crisis, and it began look- ing at options to address the situation. This spring, it hosted a se- ries of events with Canadian Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press The downward spiral in milk prices is fueling conversation on supply management in the U.S. dairy farmers explaining how their supply-management program supports milk prices. Participation was high, and WFU was flooded with calls from dairy farmers across the country. That launched Dairy Together, an effort to change the dairy situation in the U.S., she said. The goal is not to get peo- ple to support the same sys- tem used in Canada, which includes quotas that prohibit expansion, she said. “But we need a mecha- nism to press the brake pedal when there’s too much (milk) and press the gas pedal when there’s not enough. We need a way to balance the milk sup- ply with a price that’s profit- able for farmers,” she said. The industry is relying on increasing exports, but that’s not sustainable and is part of the problem, she said. “It’s a race to the bottom to create the cheapest product for world markets,” she said. WFU is seeing growing acceptance of supply man- agement and market stabili- zation among producers. The National Farmers Union sup- ports inventory management, and it was one of the talking points to lawmakers about the farm bill during the Septem- ber NFU fly-in to Washing- ton, D.C., she said. The conversation on sup- ply management among law- makers is shifting. There’s still some pushback, but there is a realization that something probably needs to be done, she said. Lawmakers said they need to hear from dairy farmers, particularly the National Milk Producers Federation, which represents about 80 percent of the national milk supply, she said. In the 2014 Farm Bill dis- cussions, there was support for supply management from producers in the suite of what NMPF was proposing to im- prove the dairy safety net, Alan Bjerga, NMPF senior vice president of communica- tions, said. Dairy prices dive before holiday bump C ash dairy prices could draw no strength from last week’s Global Dairy Trade auction and most fell the following day and then some. Block Cheddar cheese closed Nov. 9 at $1.38 per pound, down 7 3/4-cents on the week, the lowest CME price since March 16, 2017, and 33 cents below a year ago. The barrels finished at $1.3050, 3 1/2-cents lower and 44 3/4-cents below a year ago. The blocks lost 3 cents Nov. 12, slipping to $1.35 per pound, lowest CME price since May 25, 2016, then regained 2 1/4-cents Nov. 13, clawing back to $1.3725. The barrels picked up a penny and a quarter Nov. 12 and tacked on 3 3/4-cents Nov. 13, hit- ting $1.3550, re-establishing 46-4/100 Dairy Markets Lee Mielke a more typical spread of 1 3/4-cents below the blocks. Dairy Market News reports that spot milk loads bound for the cheese vat are “diminishing” and a growing number of cheesemakers say they will forgo the spot mar- ket until after the Thanksgiv- ing holiday, when discounts are expected to reappear. Milk was also less avail- able week over week, and milk handlers report getting requests that are impossible to fill on a regular basis. Spot milk prices ranged from $1 to $2 over Class. Some cheese- makers suggest that markets are negatively affecting sales. Others say little to no change has occurred since the price downslide began, and sales are “steady to improved. “ Western cheese output continues at a brisk pace with ample milk flowing to the vat. “While teams playing on the gridiron have put fans into the mood for pizza and marketers say retail and food service cheese sales have been solid, manufacturers are eager to see a demand in- crease for the holidays,” says DMN. “So far, buyers have stayed mostly on the sidelines and the sales bump has yet to fully materialize. Exports have also not met expecta- tions. Price dips may prompt some immediate activity, but not to the level desired. As a result, inventories remain heavy and are not clearing as anticipated.” Butter saw a Nov. 9 close at $2.1925 per pound, down 10 3/4-cents on the week, lowest since Sept. 5, 2018, and 6 1/4-cents below a year ago. Only 6 cars traded hands on the week. Nov. 12’s butter reclaimed 3 1/4-cents, then gave back 2 1/2-cents Nov. 13, slipping to $2.20. Cream availability re- mains sparse in the Central region but there was a little more last week, according to DMN. “Bulk butter, like cream, is more available in the West. However, as trucking woes pervade the dairy industry, among other agricultural sectors, this is an added difficulty and ex- pense for Midwestern butter makers. Butter markets are generally steady and range bound.” 46-3/HOU
