Digest Highlights

Senators urge CFAP 2 payments for cull cows

A group of U.S. senators has called on U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue to make dairy cows culled for beef eligible for payments under the second Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2).

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Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy

Under terms of CFAP 2, announced in September, dairy and beef producers are eligible for payments of $55 per head on bull calves and fed cattle (including dairy steers) but not on breeding animals culled for beef. The payments are based on a producer’s owned inventory of eligible cattle on a date selected by the producer from April 16-Aug. 31, 2020.

In a letter to Perdue, the lawmakers said the provisions in CFAP 2 reversed those in CFAP 1, which compensated dairy farmers and other livestock producers for losses related to meat produced from breeding animals. They said the change was harmful to dairy producers, many who rely on significant revenue coming from the sale of cull cows, and especially smaller, diversified farms, which may have been forced to sell cows due to low milk prices.

“Considering the dairy industry’s traditionally tight margins, USDA’s decision to shift course and arbitrarily exclude dairy farm losses related to meat production is a significant blow,” they wrote.

Should the USDA determine that culled breeding animals are typically worth less than fed cattle, the USDA could establish a separate, lower per-head CFAP 2 payment rate. Congressional approval of funding for the Commodity Credit Corporation, enacted on Sept. 30, provides the USDA with sufficient resources to make the payments, they added.

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Senators signing the letter included those representing several major dairy states, led by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee. Others were: Patrick Leahy and Bernie Sanders, both of Vermont; Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin; Robert Casey, Pennsylvania; Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, both Oregon; Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Minnesota; Patty Murray, Washington; Kristen Gillibrand and Charles Schumer, both New York; Chris Murphy, Connecticut; Gary Peters, Michigan; and Angus King, Maine. All are Democrats except King, who is an Independent.

November 2020 Class I base: $18.04 per cwt

The up again-down again Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) Class I base price is up again in November. At $18.04 per hundredweight (cwt), it’s $2.84 higher than October’s Class I base price but a dime below November 2019.

Through the first 11 months of 2020, the Class I base price average is $16.64 per cwt, about 14 cents less than the same period a year ago.

Foremost Farms selling Minnesota plant

Midwest dairy cooperative Foremost Farms is selling a Preston, Minnesota, facility to Diversified Ingredients. Terms of the sale, scheduled to close on or before Nov. 18, were not announced.

The new entity will be called Preston Protein Products and will be a joint venture between Diversified Ingredients and Johnson Farms Inc. Lime Springs, Iowa.

The Preston plant offers milk separation, condensing and drying services for organic dairy fluid and ingredient marketers, and Foremost Farms has primarily focused production of whey products infant formula markets. However, the plant, built in 1924, is not set up to meet the demanding requirements of this customer base and is better suited to serve smaller, specialized product markets, according to Foremost Farms.

Diversified Ingredients, headquartered in Ballwin, Missouri, is an employee-owned company providing products and services to the food ingredient, pet food and feed industries. Foremost Farms USA is owned by 1,100 dairy farmers in seven Upper Midwest states.

USDEC opens center in Singapore

For the first time in its 25-year history, the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) opened an overseas facility. Located in Singapore, the U.S. Center for Dairy Excellence will focus on market development for U.S. dairy products in Southeast Asia.

Funded by U.S. dairy farmers and processors through the national dairy checkoff, the center represents a gateway for collaboration between the U.S. dairy community and Southeast Asia’s food and beverage stakeholders, health professionals and others.

Southeast Asia is well on pace in 2020 to be the top market of U.S. dairy exports by volume, according to USDEC. In 2019, the region was the second largest destination for U.S. dairy by volume (457,000 metric tons) after Mexico, with an export value of $928 million.

Funded by U.S. dairy farmers and processors through the national dairy checkoff, the center features a demonstration kitchen, sensory evaluation lab, meeting and training rooms, and video broadcasting capabilities. While pandemic social distancing guidelines will constrain the ability to host guests in person until 2021, virtual programming will begin on Nov. 18 with an online seminar on U.S. dairy proteins, featuring nutrition experts from Singapore and Japan.

Dairy supply management video to premiere, Oct. 28

The Wisconsin Farmers Union (WFU) will host a webinar and premiere of a video, ”Supply management and how it can save our rural economy,“ on Oct. 28. The video will begin at noon (Central time zone), followed by a farmer panel discussion.

“There are a lot of misconceptions floating around about supply management, but this event will offer an opportunity to see the big picture,” said Darin Von Ruden, WFU president and a dairy farmer from Westby, Wisconsin. “Many of the myths around supply management are just a smokescreen for the fact that big agri-business corporations with well-funded lobbyists want to be able to buy cheap surplus commodities from farmers and sell them at a steep markup to consumers. The environment, taxpayers, farmers, workers and rural communities are bearing the cost of this broken system.”

Click here to register and receive a link to attend the webinar via Zoom.

FARM Program to host ‘Quick Convo’ informational sessions

The FARM Program will host a series of online informational sessions, beginning Nov. 4. The “Quick Convos” series will feature FARM Program staff and industry stakeholders discussing program components, expectations and available resources, according to Emily Yeiser Stepp, vice president for the FARM Program at the National Milk Producers Federation.

Scheduled sessions include:

  • Nov. 4, FARM Program overview
  • Nov. 11, Farmers roles within the program
  • Dec. 2, Animal care
  • Dec. 16, Environmental stewards
  • Jan. 6, Antibiotic stewardship
  • Jan. 20, Workforce development

All sessions begin at 1 p.m. (Eastern time zone). Each 30-minute, livestreamed segment will be hosted on Zoom and streamed via Facebook, enabling participants to engage and ask questions. Recordings of the conversations and supplementary material will be available after each session.

To register, visit the FARM Quick Convos webpage and follow the Register link. Email for more information or for help with registration.

Beginning in February, additional sessions will delve into industry-specific topic areas like disbudding, the role of the veterinarian within the FARM Program, and more.

Impossible Foods boosting research and development

Impossible Foods, manufacturers of plant-based foods designed to replace animal-sourced meat and milk, announced plans to double its research and development team over the next 12 months.

Makers of “Impossible Burger,” the company also announced the launch of the “Impossible Investigator” project, a program to recruit scientists to work on technologies for turning plants into meat, fish and dairy alternatives.

According to a company press release, Impossible Foods has raised approximately $1.5 billion since its founding in 2011, including $700 million in 2020.

Impossible Foods’ CEO and founder, Patrick Brown, calls reliance on animal agriculture “the most destructive technology on earth.”  end mark

Dave Natzke