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CapitalPress.com
Friday, December 20, 2019
Dairy/Livestock
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Workforce bill a win for dairy
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
The Farm Workforce Modern-
ization Act just passed in the U.S.
House of Representatives proposes to
relieve some of the strain of a chronic
labor shortage in the dairy industry,
which requires year-round workers.
The bill, H.R. 5038, would allow
immigrants working in agriculture to
apply for legal status and would add
year-round visas for foreign workers
to the H-2A temporary, seasonal visa
program.
Labor is a huge issue, Rick Naer-
ebout, CEO of the Idaho Dairymen’s
Association, said.
All the dairymen he talks with
are short of workers, and the issue
remains IDA’s biggest focus, he said.
“We’re trying to alleviate that
stress point for our dairymen — it’s
borderline crisis level,” he said.
IDA has been working on immi-
gration reform for more than a
decade and has worked with Rep.
Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, on lan-
guage in the House bill since April,
he said.
Allowing existing foreign work-
ers — who’ve worked full-time in
agriculture for at least two years —
to stay in the U.S. and apply for legal
status is one of the better pieces in
the bill, he said.
“It protects them and their family
members from deportation,” he said.
Those workers and their fami-
lies currently live in fear their lack
of legal status will be discovered,
and that keeps them from being fully
engaged in the local community, he
said.
Carol Ryan Dumas/Capital Press File
Employee Juan Cortez prepares cows for milking at Knott Run Dairy
in Buhl, Idaho. The new agricultural labor bill would at least partially
ease the labor shortage at U.S. dairies.
Without that fear, they’d be more
engaged “and that benefits all of us,”
he said.
A legal workforce is important in
all of agriculture. According to the
U.S. Department of Labor, nearly
half of the agricultural workforce is
here without legal status, he said.
The bill would also provide for
20,000 year-round visas annually,
with 10,000 for dairy.
While IDA appreciates the recog-
nition of the dairy industry’s need, it’s
concerned the number of visas is too
low, he said.
“We’re concerned demand is
going to exceed the 20,000 per year
that’s allocated,” he said.
Hopefully that issue will be taken
up in the Senate, he said.
National Milk Producers Federa-
tion is also concerned by the visa cap,
Paul Bleiberg, NMPF’s vice presi-
dent of government affairs, said.
The primary issue is that it might
not provide enough workers and just
fill some shortages. But there is the
ability to increase the number over
time, he said.
Under the bill, the 20,000 cap
would be in place for the first three
years. But the number of those visas
can increase 12.5% annually starting
in year four, and the bill prescribes no
cap in year 10, he said.
NMPF would like to see dairy’s
access to visas enhanced, but the
framework of the bill is strong, he
said.
It addresses two issues import-
ant to dairy farmers — a legal work-
force and access to year-round for-
eign labor, he said.
“We think it’s a great step forward,
and we’ll be eager to work in the Sen-
ate now,” he said.
Immigration reform is something
Washington dairy farmers have been
seeking for quite a while, Scott Dil-
ley, communications director for
Washington State Dairy Federation,
said.
“Dairy farmers have had trouble
finding workers for decades,” he said.
Opening the H-2A program for
year-round workers for agriculture
and dairy in particular will allow
access to more workers, he said.
“It’s a good step for a good, sus-
tainable workforce both now and into
the future,” he said.
That’s a big issue and a key con-
cern, he said.
Allowing foreign agricultural
workers to earn legal status will also
help agriculture move forward in a
sustainable fashion, he said.
“We certainly would like to see
workers in agriculture be able to stay
and continue to work in agriculture,”
he said.
It’s more than just a business
issue. It’s not just about employers
and employees. It’s also about com-
munities and rural economies, he
said.
Beef exports contribute to ‘solid’ year ahead for industry
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
Associated Press File
A sales person at Jusco Supermarket arranges U.S. beef
products in Tokyo. Exports to Japan and China will con-
tribute to a “solid” year ahead for the U.S. beef industry,
a University of Idaho Extension educator says.
th
50
c
c
c
c
c
c
Anniversar
A strong U.S. econ-
omy is keeping domestic
beef demand steady, but
a growing global appetite
for beef is reshaping U.S.
markets.
The U.S. beef indus-
try has moved from a sup-
ply-driven market to a
demand-driven
market,
Joel Packham, University
of Idaho Extension educa-
tor, told producers during
the University’s Ag Out-
y
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slaughtered in the U.S., he
said.
“That’s a big boon. That
$400 is really a valuable
thing,” he said.
African swine fever and
Australia’s drought will
also limit U.S. imports
from Australia — as well
as New Zealand, which is
also sending more beef to
China, he said.
The U.S. brings in beef
from those countries for
grinding. The talk has been
the price of U.S. ground
beef is going to jump as
U.S. processors use whole
muscle cuts for grinding,
he said.
In addition to fewer
imports, there’ll be fewer
dairy cull cows as higher
milk prices have put the
industry in an expansion
phase, he said.
“The price of cull cows
is going to be pretty high,
and (beef) people will be
more willing to cull,” he
said.
Expansion of the beef
herd already appears to be
leveling, and the industry
looks to be at the end of
another cycle, he said.
“We think we’re at
the turning point. We’re
retaining a few less heif-
ers for replacement, and
that signals a decreasing
cow herd for expansion,”
he said.
Projections are for
slightly
higher
cattle
prices in 2020 — with an
average of per hundred-
weight price of $118 for
fed steers, $146 for 750-
pound steer calves, $165
for 550-pound steer calves
and $65 for utility cows.
It’s
“not
anything
earth-shattering but a
good, solid year for the
beef industry,” he said.
Lee
Mielke
Cheese
prices
plummet
By LEE MIELKE
For Capital Press
C
ME cheese prices
continued their
descent the sec-
ond week of December.
The barrels closed Friday
the 13th at $1.6950 per
pound, down a record sin-
gle week decline of 53.25
cents, but still 38.5 cents
above a year ago.
The hemorrhaging
leaked onto the blocks,
which finished at $1.7975,
down 17.25 cents on the
week and 39 cents above
a year ago. Twenty cars
of barrel sold last week at
the CME and 4 of block.
The blocks lost
2.75 cents both Mon-
day and Tuesday as trad-
ers absorbed the morn-
ing’s GDT auction and
anticipated Wednesday
afternoon’s November
Milk Production report.
Tuesday’s price was at
$1.7425, the lowest block
price since June 5.
The barrels plunged
8.5 cents Monday and lost
4 cents Tuesday, dipping
to $1.57, lowest since
June 12, and 17.25 cents
below the blocks.
Dairy Market News
reports that central cheese
sales are steadying and
warned that demand, in
some cases, is falling
behind stronger produc-
tion and growing supplies.
Milk is readily available
and a number of cheese-
makers are forgoing the
spot milk market because
they are at capacity.
Producers are hope-
ful the football playoff
season will keep buyers
busy. Milk production is
higher in the region and
cheese market tones are
on “shaky ground,” says
DMN.
Western cheese intakes
are stable for retailers
and food service. Export
demands are at seasonal
levels. Buyers have been
getting only what they
need the past few weeks,
says DMN, but if the
declines in prices are sus-
tained, cheese sales are
likely to become more
active. Production contin-
ues to increase ahead of
the holidays as milk sup-
plies are plentiful in the
West.
Cheese traders will
have a new tool in 2020.
The CME will begin list-
ing block cheese futures
and options beginning
Jan. 12. Contact your bro-
ker for details.
Butter up
Butter saw its first pos-
itive move since Nov. 18
last week, closing at $1.96
per pound, up 4.5 cents
on the week but 23 cents
below a year ago.
The butter gained 2
cents Monday and added
0.75 cents Tuesday, reach-
ing $1.9875.
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look con-
ferences
last week.
“ T h a t ’s
somewhere
we haven’t
been in a
while. We
Joel
have
lots
Packham,
of supply,
just
now
demand is driving mar-
kets,” he said.
African swine fever in
China and growing econ-
omies among some U.S.
trading partners has USDA
projecting
U.S.
beef
exports will be up 5% in
2020 and imports will be
down 2%, he said.
China’s pork produc-
tion is way down, and
it’s trying to make up for
it by importing more ani-
mal protein. Australia is
shipping all the beef it can
to China, leaving little to
export to the U.S., he said.
“China is taking all they
can get,” he said.
Australia is also ship-
ping beef to Japan, but
drought will limit Austra-
lia’s beef supply, he said.
The U.S. doesn’t have a
full trade agreement with
China in place, but the new
U.S.-Japan trade agree-
ment should lead more
U.S. shipments to Japan,
including markets given
up by Australia’s limited
supply, he said.
Exports are a huge
driver in U.S. beef
demand, and they pump a
lot of money into the U.S.
industry, he said.
The value of total U.S.
exports of beef and beef
byproducts is nearly $10
billion annually. By 2025,
exports are projected to
add a value of $400 per
head to every beef animal
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