Friday, January 21, 2022
Economist
forecasts
$22 milk
By CAROL RYAN DUMAS
Capital Press
The stage is set for strong
milk prices in 2022, but that
doesn’t guarantee healthy
profit margins for dairy
farmers.
Cost of production could
temper the prospect for prof-
itability, said Mark Stephen-
son, director of dairy policy
at the University of Wiscon-
sin’s Cen-
ter for Dairy
Profitability.
“ I ’ m
really look-
ing at some-
thing that
would be a
Mark
pretty sub-
Stephenson s t a n t i a l
increase
from where we were last
year,” he said in the latest
“Dairy Livestream” podcast.
He’s forecasting an aver-
age all-milk price of about
$22 per hundredweight,
compared to about $19 in
2021.
“It could be a good milk
price as long as your costs
of production are not that
high. So if you’ve got ade-
quate feed in the bunk that
you have produced and har-
vested already, it might be a
decent year,” he said.
But margins could be par-
ticularly thin in parts of the
country where dairy farm-
ers buy more of their feed
inputs. That would make it
more difficult to make the
decision to produce more
milk, he said.
In places where farmers
have lots of feed and quality
is relatively good, it’s going
to be attractive to produce
more milk, he said.
“We will find some farms
that will have pretty good
margins as long as they keep
all their other costs, input
costs, relatively low,” he
said.
With high fertilizer costs,
producers could draw on the
banked fertility in the soil
and not put as much fertil-
izer on crops. They might
also switch back to feeding a
little more alfalfa and a little
less corn silage, a more fer-
tilizer-intense crop, he said.
Input costs aside, market
fundamentals are supportive
of good milk prices.
“We’ve had good domes-
tic demand. There’s been
some product shifting, but
demand has basically been
good,” he said.
It’s a little lackluster
right now, but there’s been
strong demand even through
a hard year. Domestic sup-
ply of dairy products is a lit-
tle tight, particularly in the
West, he said.
In
addition,
export
demand has been really
strong across all product
categories, he said.
“The world is tight on
supplies, and I think that
there’s going to be opportu-
nity to sell more product out
here,” he said.
Milk production in both
the European Union and
New Zealand is below
year-earlier levels. There’s
been some friction for U.S.
exports, but port congestion
is getting better and U.S.
prices are competitive in
world markets, he said.
“I think that we should
pick up share because of this
over this next year,” he said.
Inflation is the big
unknown, however, and
producers should be cau-
tious with investments, he
said.
“I think it’s going to be
a good year for milk prices
but continue to look at
risk-management options,”
he said.
Class III milk prices were
recently at $22 per hundred-
weight. Producers should
put a floor under some of
those opportunities as they
appear and always look to
control their variable costs
of production, he said.
Find us online:
capitalpress.com
CapitalPress.com 5
High court tosses vaccination order
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
The Biden administration over-
reached when it mandated COVID
vaccinations for 84.2 million pri-
vate-sector workers, failing to dis-
tinguish between the risks faced by
lifeguards and meatpackers, the U.S.
Supreme Court ruled Jan. 13.
The 6-3 decision stayed a rule
that would have required workers
at businesses with more than 100
employees to be vaccinated. As an
alternative, companies could have
let workers stay on, but only if they
wore masks and were tested weekly.
In an unsigned opinion, the
court’s majority said the rule was a
“blunt instrument.”
“Most lifeguards and linemen
face the same regulations as do
medics and meatpackers,” the court
wrote.
The rule would not have applied
to employees who work “exclu-
sively outdoors,” potentially exclud-
ing some farmworkers. The court,
however, said the exemption was
“IF THE COURT APPROVED IT, WHY NOT
50, 25, 10 (WORKERS)? THE ENEMY OF
BUSINESS IS UNCERTAINTY, ESPECIAL-
LY WITH AGRICULTURE. WE ALREADY
HAVE TOO MUCH UNCERTAINTY.”
— John Stuhlmiller, Washington Farm Bureau CEO
“largely illusory.”
The Labor Secretary esti-
mated only 9% of landscapers and
groundskeepers qualified for exemp-
tion, according to the court.
Washington Farm Bureau CEO
John Stuhlmiller said he was pleased
with the ruling. If the court had sup-
ported the rule, it could have been
extended to farms with fewer than
10 workers, he said.
“If the court approved it, why not
50, 25, 10?” he said. “The enemy of
business is uncertainty, especially
with agriculture. We already have
too much uncertainty.”
In a separate ruling Thursday,
the court, in a 5-4 decision, upheld
a Biden administration rule that will
withhold Medicare and Medicaid
payments from health-care services
that don’t require their employees to
be vaccinated.
In a written statement, President
Biden said he was happy about the
health-care ruling.
“At the same time, I am disap-
pointed that the Supreme Court
has chosen to block common-sense
life-saving requirements for employ-
ees at large businesses that were
grounded squarely in both science
and the law,” he said.
Justices Stephen Beyer, Sonia
Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dis-
sented from staying the vaccination
mandate for large employers.
They called COVID an “unparal-
leled threat” and said that the Occu-
pational Safety and Health Admin-
istration had authority to protect
workers from “grave dangers.”
They accused the majority of
displacing the “judgments of gov-
ernment officials” and “experts”
and claimed the rule didn’t actually
require vaccinations.
“And, of course, the standard
does not impose a vaccine man-
date; it allows employers to require
only masking and testing instead,”
according to their dissenting opinion.
The majority noted that employ-
ers were not required to test and
mask as an option to vaccinations.
In a concurring opinion to court’s
ruling, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote
that if an administrative agency
seeks to regulate the daily lives of
millions of Americans, it must have
clear congressional authority.
Congress can’t just hand off
power to agencies, wrote Gorsuch in
an opinion joined by Justices Clar-
ence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
Dara named director of OSU’s N. Willamette research center
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
AURORA, Ore. —
Oregon State University
has chosen a new director
for the North Willamette
Research and Extension
Center.
Surendra Dara will lead
the agricultural experi-
ment station following the
retirement of longtime for-
mer NWREC director Mike
Bondi. His first day is Jan.
18.
Dara comes to OSU from
the University of California
Cooperative Extension pro-
gram in San Luis Obispo.
He brings 25 years of expe-
rience in research and
extension, and is recognized
for his work in sustainable
crop production — includ-
ing integrated pest manage-
ment, microbial control and
biological soil amendments.
Research stations play
OSU
Oregon State University has named Surendra Dara
director of the North Willamette Research and Exten-
sion Center.
a critical role in the local
economy and contribut-
ing to farmers’ success,
Dara said. He was drawn
to NWREC by its location
in the heart of Oregon’s
diverse specialty crops, and
proximity to Portland, a
major urban center.
“So much about this posi-
tion, the station and the col-
lege align with my values
and goals,” Dara said in a
statement released by OSU.
“I am eager to get started and
take this opportunity to make
a meaningful difference.”
Nearly 40% of Oregon’s
$5.7 billion of farm gate
value is produced within a
50-mile radius of NWREC.
That includes nursery crops,
hazelnuts, berries, Christ-
mas trees and specialty
seed, among other agricul-
tural commodities.
Established in 1957,
NWREC primarily serves
growers in Clackamas, Mar-
ion, Polk, Yamhill, Wash-
ington, Multnomah and
Columbia counties. Its orig-
inal three research pillars
were greenhouse and nurs-
ery, berries and commercial
vegetable production.
That has since expanded
to 10 programmatic areas,
more than any other OSU
station. With 35 full-time
faculty members, research-
ers focus on crops such as
Christmas trees and hazel-
nuts, as well as new crops
not yet commercially grown
in the Willamette Valley
such as olives and almonds.
Four programs also cut
across these different crop-
ping systems — including
small farms, organic pro-
duction, pesticide research
and a new project studying
agrivoltaics, called the Sta-
terra Center, expected to
begin later this summer.
Alan Sams, dean of the
College of Agriculture at
OSU, said Dara’s “expertise
in innovative agricultural
production and his passion
for connecting with people
from all backgrounds is crit-
ical to a region that relies
on agricultural production
for its economic and social
vitality.”
“We are excited to have
Surendra join the team and
take on the leadership role
at one of the most agricul-
turally diverse experiment
stations in the state,” Sams
said.
John Deere Dealers
See one of these dealers for a demonstration
Belkorp Ag, LLC
Modesto, CA
Campbell Tractor &
Implement
Fruitland, ID
Homedale, ID
Nampa, ID
Wendell, ID
Papé Machinery, Inc.
Chehalis, WA
Ellensburg, WA
Eugene, OR
Four Lakes, WA
Lynden, WA
Madras, OR
Merrill, OR
Moscow, ID
Ponderay, ID
Quincy, WA
Sumner, WA
Tekoa, WA
Walla Walla, WA
Tri-County Equipment
Baker City, OR
Enterprise, OR
La Grande, OR
ANY AGE. ANY MAKE. ANY BUDGET.
No matter the age or make of your equipment, the parts counter at your
John Deere dealer is the one-stop shop to keep you up and running.
With an extensive and always expanding in-stock selection to fit any
budget, you can be confident knowing you’re getting the right part at the
right price—all backed with the warranties and support you’d expect
from your John Deere dealer.
JohnDeere.com/Parts
JohnDeere.ca/Parts
Credit Available
**
**Subject to John Deere Financial approval. Minimum finance amount may be required.
See JohnDeere.ca (or participating dealer) for details.
S266469-1