Farm bill momentum could fade with new Congress

The House passed its farm bill in April, and the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version this fall. Midwest Council on Agriculture President Perry Aasness is encouraging Congress to keep the process moving after the midterm elections. “If they don’t get it done by the end of the year, the calendar turns to the next Congress,” Aasness said. “There’ll be new leadership, new issues; it’s going to be really hard to see a path forward to getting something done very soon in the next Congress.” If passed in the Senate, the farm bill will also need to be conferenced with the House. “It’ll likely be attached to some sort of must-pass legislation before the end of the year,” Aasness said. The current farm bill was passed in 2018, and Aasness said agriculture has changed considerably since then. Aasness is the vice president of legislative affairs for Compeer Financial.

Baldwin: disappointed in matching funds requirement

Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, who authored the Dairy Business Innovation Act that is part of the 2018 farm bill, remains upset with a U.S. Department of Agriculture decision to require matching funds. Baldwin said the matching fund requirement is too high to be accessible; it’s “so high that none of the four centers across the United States have that money at their disposal to be able to keep on being a part of the program if this goes through, and so it was a shock.” Baldwin said a matching fund requirement was never part of Congressional intent; “It would be such a disappointment to see the administration go through with these crazy plans.”

Beef-on-dairy keeping cows in production longer

CoBank dairy economist Corey Geiger sees one of the biggest drivers in today’s dairy market as the value of beef-on-dairy calves. Geiger says beef-on-dairy has kept more cows in production; “Five years ago, beef-on-dairy, cull cows and beef-on-dairy calves were contributing about 5% to on-farm revenue, with milk checks being the other 95%. Today, we are nipping and pushing close to 20% of revenue on farms coming from cull cows and beef-on-dairy calves, and so what’s happening? We’re retaining older cows. The dairy herd is now at the highest level in 34 years, and we’re making a lot of cheese.” Geiger points to changing consumer habits as another reason for optimism about dairy demand. For people on glucagon-like peptide-1 weight-loss meds, the demand for protein is pushing sales of beef, whey protein isolates, milk protein concentrate and yogurt.

GLP-1 drugs could reshape food demand

The rapid growth in GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could have long-term implications for agriculture as consumers eat less and change what they put in their grocery carts. Gallup reports 11% of U.S. adults currently use GLP-1 medications for weight loss. Terrain research points to lower overall food consumption and changing food preferences among users. Terrain specialty crop analyst Matt Woolf said farmers need to pay attention to those trends when making long-term production and marketing decisions. “In ag, we tend to focus quite a bit on the beginning of the supply chain, talking about weather, talking about cost of production,” Woolf said. “What we’re trying to do with this report and subsequent reports that Terrain will be releasing is focus on the other side of the supply chain.” Woolf said consumer behavior can change quickly, while agriculture takes much longer to adjust.

Dairy purchases announced

USDA is using its Section 32 purchasing authority to purchase up to $472.5 million in food products to create market opportunities for farmers and helping stock food banks and nutrition assistance programs.
The largest allocation is $165.5 million for dairy product purchases.

NMPF board endorses risk management enhancements

The National Milk Producers Federation is backing changes designed to strengthen two key dairy risk management programs. Its board of directors approved support for proposed improvements to Dairy Margin Coverage and Dairy Revenue Protection. The board also supports changing the federal standard for nonfat dry milk.

Milk production pushes higher

Milk production in the 24 major dairy states during September totaled 18.7 billion pounds, up 2.7% from one year ago. In Wisconsin, milk production rose 3.3% due to the addition of 26,000 milk cows in the past 12 months.

Animal rights activism takes to the skies

The Animal Agriculture Alliance is raising concerns about drones being used around livestock operations, bringing farm security and privacy into question. “We’re seeing activists fly these drones over properties to kind of surveil the land, get a layout, see where certain barns are on the property to see where different things are taking place, but we’re also seeing them use those drones to record and capture photos and videos that they can then splice together into these videos that you oftentimes see on social media that negatively depict or portray animal agriculture.” The conversation surrounding animal agriculture is also reaching the ballot box. “We’re actually keeping an eye on two different ballot measures, one in Washington, DC, and then one in Denver, Colorado. Both of those are seeking to ban foie gras sales in the city.” Emily Ellis, director communications and marketing, Animal Agriculture Alliance, sees these votes as a precedent for future restrictions on livestock products, raising questions about how far local governments may go in regulating animal agriculture.

Major expansion for Plymouth facility

Sartori Companies is expanding its whey-converting dairy facility in Plymouth, investing $47 million in the project. The 68,000 square foot expansion adds to the existing 106,000 square foot facility.

Herrick returns to IDFA as president/CEO

At the beginning of the year, Matt Herrick will take over as president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association. Herrick returns to IDFA after serving in a similar role for the International Bottled Water Association. He previously spent seven years on the IDFA executive team, including time as executive vice president and chief impact officer. Herrick previously served in senior leadership roles at USDA and the U.S. Agency for International Development in both Democratic and Republica administrations. Herrick succeeds Michael Dykes, who is retiring.

Alma FFA is national proficiency award winner

A member of the Alma FFA Chapter is the National FFA Dairy Production-Placement Proficiency winner. Addison Johnson is herd manager for Trout Creek Dairy, a 160-head Holstein and Jersey cow operation where she is responsible for dairy herd health, breeding, culling and management decisions. Her parents are Beau Johnson and Jenny Johnson. Christine Jumbeck is her FFA advisor.

FFA alumni association recognized

The National FFA presented the Wisconsin FFA Alumni and Supporters with its outstanding FFA alumni association award. The award was presented at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis.

The Voice of Milk expands team

The Voice of Milk, is a collaboration between the Dairy Business Association, Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative and Minnesota Milk Producers Association, has announced a new member to its member services team. Barb Grzywinski will serve as a strategic account manager and work with members in Wisconsin. She has spent the majority of her career in agriculture, including 20 years as a dairy nutritionist.

Trivia challenge

In 1969, delegates to the National Future Farmers of America voted to admit female members to the organization. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, how many pounds of milk are needed to manufacture one gallon of ice cream? We’ll have the answer in our next edition of the Dairy Star.

Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two sons, Tony and Sam, and five grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.