Digest Highlights

Coming up: DMC, crop acreage updates

Several USDA reports with potential impacts on dairy producers will be released to end this week.

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Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy

On June 27 (after PD Extra’s distribution), the USDA’s Ag Prices report includes factors impacting May 2019 Dairy Margin Coverage program payments.

On June 28, the USDA will release a quarterly Grain Stocks report, with estimates of crop inventories as of June 1, and the annual Acreage report.

The Acreage report is based on grower surveys from earlier in the month, which was marked by planting delays and may provide a weak indication of actual soybean acreage this year, according to Todd Hubbs, ag economist at the University of Illinois. Read "Soybean Stocks and Acreage."

Late June plantings were further clouded by the evolving nature of policy announcements concerning the USDA’s Market Facilitation Payments and prevent plant payments.

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As of June 24, the USDA’s Crop Progress report indicated about 96% of corn acreage and 85% of soybean acreage had been planted. Those numbers come with a caveat in that they don’t necessarily reflect the percentage of acreage producers originally intended to plant in the USDA’s March Prospective Planting report, according to Jim Mintert, Chris Hurt and Michael Langemeier, ag economists with the University of Purdue.

Check the Progressive Dairy website, or see next week’s PD Extra for summaries.

Proposal would provide student loan forgiveness for young farmers

A bipartisan House proposal, The Young Farmer Success Act, would incentivize careers in agriculture by adding farmers and ranchers to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. The bill was introduced by Reps. Joe Courtney (D-Connecticut), Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-Pennsylvania), Josh Harder (D-California) and Lee Zeldin (R-New York).

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is an existing program that currently includes teachers, nurses, first responders and other public service professions. Under the program, eligible public service professionals who make 10 years of income-driven student loan payments can have the balance of their loans forgiven.

In 2011, the National Young Farmers Coalition (NYFC) conducted a survey of 1,000 young farmers and found that 78% of respondents struggled with a lack of capital. A 2014 follow-up survey of 700 young farmers with student loan debt found the average burden of student loans was $35,000, and 53% of respondents are currently farming but have a hard time making their student loan payments, while another 30% are interested in farming, but haven’t pursued it as a career because their income as a farmer wouldn’t be enough to cover their student loan payments.

Johne’s disease vaccine investigators use bacterium's own protein against It

A team of USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists is investigating a new “ingredient” for use in vaccinating cattle against Johne’s disease.

The ingredient is a type of protein on the surface of the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), which causes Johne’s disease. The researchers found that the protein, dubbed 35 kDa membrane peptide, helps the bacterium invade epithelial cells lining the cow's small intestine, thickening it and blocking the uptake of nutrients from feed or forage. This can lead to diarrhea, weight loss, diminished milk production and sometimes death.

Vaccinating the animals with dead MAP cells can prevent fecal shedding. However, this process can also generate misleading false positives when vaccinated cattle are tested for bovine tuberculosis, a disease caused by a close relative of the bacterium.

An alternative approach could come from vaccinating the animals with specific pieces of MAP rather than using the entire bacterium, notes John Bannantine, a microbiologist with the ARS National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa.

Results of a study, reported in the May 2019 issue of Vaccine, showed the peptide helps prime immune cells seek out infected cells and kill MAP bacteria present within them.

Upcoming studies will focus on ways to formulate and deliver the peptide, and then conduct cattle vaccine trials. Ultimately, the research could open the door to a new way of preventing Johne's disease without interference with bovine tuberculosis tests.

Partnership building more California dairy biodigesters

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and California Bioenergy LLC announced a joint investment in a holding company with California dairy farmers to produce and market dairy biomethane as a vehicle fuel.

The holding company, CalBioGas LLC, secured funding from Chevron to build infrastructure for dairy biomethane projects in California’s San Joaquin Valley. Chevron will also provide services to bring renewable natural gas (RNG) into the California vehicle fuels market.

Chevron will fund as many as 18 digesters across three geographic “clusters” in Kern, Tulare and Kings counties. The dairy biomethane projects are designed to send dairy biogas to a centralized processing facility where it will be upgraded to RNG and injected into the local gas utility’s pipeline. The RNG is then marketed as an alternative fuel for heavy-duty trucks, buses, and eventually off-road and farm equipment.

Taiwan company selects Idaho for dairy powder plant

Taiwanese dairy product manufacturer and co-packer Jetton Biochemistry Co. Ltd. will locate a new blended dairy powder facility in southwest Idaho, according to Idaho Department of Commerce Director Tom Kealey. The location in Nampa, Idaho, was selected over sites in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and other parts of the U.S.

The JBC facility will produce branded and private-label dairy powder products for the Asian export market. Processing capacity is estimated about 2.4 million pounds of milk annually, according to an Idaho Department of Commerce release.

Huffman to lead First District Association

Minnesota-based dairy cooperative, First District Association, named Bob Huffman as CEO and president, effective July 1, 2019.

Huffman has 13 years of dairy industry operations management experience, most recently serving as vice president of manufacturing operations for Dairy Farmers of America (DFA).

FARM Program announces safety, HR educational resources

The FARM Program announced two new manuals and other materials as part of its FARM Workforce Development program area.

The FARM Safety Reference Manual provides information on workplace safety and health meant to help dairy owners and employees develop and implement a robust and practical safety program. It is a collaboration between the Idaho Dairymen’s Association, the Idaho Milk Processors Association and National Milk Producers Federation.

The FARM Human Resources (HR) Reference Manual helps dairy farm owners, managers and other relevant staff develop an on-farm HR program. A downloadable, customizable set of HR templates and a sample employee handbook accompany the FARM HR Manual. Spanish-language versions of the manuals and templates will be available soon.

Maryland to cover DMC premium costs in 2019

Maryland dairy farmers can have their 2019 Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program premiums paid for by the state under a cost-share program. Producers who sign up for the full five-year length of the program at the $9.50 per hundredweight (cwt) margin protection level will have their 2019 premium costs covered on the first 5 million pounds of milk, according to Steve Connelly, assistant secretary of agriculture with the Maryland Department of Agriculture.

Gov. Larry Hogan included $1.5 million in his supplemental budget, Connelly said. Premiums will be paid directly from the Maryland Department of Agriculture to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) on behalf of the state’s producers.

Wisconsin Dairy Task Force 2.0 adopts final report, ‘dairy hub’ funding advances

The Wisconsin Dairy Task Force 2.0 unanimously adopted their final report and submitted it to Gov. Tony Evers, with a major initiative already included in a state budget proposal.

One of its chief items included among the report’s 51 recommendations is creation of a Dairy Innovation Hub, a proposal to add researchers at the University of Wisconsin (UW) system’s three agricultural colleges – in Madison, Platteville and River Falls. The research would focus on land and water use, human health and nutrition, animal health and welfare, and farm businesses and rural communities.

In its proposed state budget currently under consideration in the Wisconsin Legislature, the Joint Finance Committee designated $1 million in the first year of the two-year spending plan and $7.8 million in the second year. University of Wisconsin officials would need to present a more detailed plan before any funds would be dispersed.

The committee’s budget plan now moves to the Legislature and requires approval from both the Assembly and Senate before heading to the governor, who has veto authority. Action could come by the end of this week.

“The dairy hub would keep farmers, processors and others at the forefront of innovation and help secure a successful future for America’s dairyland,” said Amy Penterman, a dairy farmer from Thorp, Wisconsin, who served on the dairy task force and is a member of the Dairy Business Association’s (DBA) board of directors. “Financial challenges, customer trends and other factors make this is a critical time for our dairy community. We are at a crossroads.”

Five groups – the Cooperative Network, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association, Wisconsin Farm Bureau and Wisconsin Farmers Union – joined DBA in a joint letter to legislators and the governor’s office emphasizing the critical importance of the dairy hub proposal.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) and the UW system established the Dairy Task Force 2.0 in June 2018 to enable stakeholders to make recommendations on actions needed to maintain a viable and profitable dairy industry. The 31 members of the Dairy Task Force 2.0 includes farmers, processors and representatives of allied organizations, and is chaired by Dr. Mark Stephenson.

The recommendations were developed after more than 45 in-person meetings and teleconferences. The report highlighted the need for additional investments in research, increased innovation, expanded market development and strengthened connections across the industry. In addition to the recommendations, the report provides information about milk production, milk price volatility and changing farm structure across the country.

Access the Dairy Task Force 2.0 final report.  end mark

Dave Natzke