Digest Highlights

Farm wages continue to rise

April 2019 U.S. farm wages were up 7% compared to a year earlier, according to the USDA’s latest Farm Labor report. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average of $14.71 per hour during the April reference week (April 7-13). By category:

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Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy
  • Field workers received an average of $13.80 per hour, up 8%.
  • Livestock workers earned $13.61 per hour, up 6%.
  • The field and livestock worker combined wage rate, at $13.73 per hour, was up 8%.

In the continental U.S., highest livestock worker wages during April 2019 were in the western Corn Belt (Iowa and Missouri) and California, at $14.97 and $14.90 per hour, respectively. Livestock workers received more than $14 per hour in the USDA’s Pacific (Oregon and Washington), Mountain II (Colorado, Nevada, Utah), Corn Belt I (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio) and Northeast I (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont).

Livestock worker wages were under $12 per hour in Florida, Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina) and Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia) regions.

All wage rates are calculated based on total wages paid and total hours worked during the survey week. Wages paid other than hourly (bi-weekly, monthly, etc.), as well as piece-rate wages, are converted to an hourly basis. Benefits, such as cash bonuses, housing or meals, are not included in wage calculations.

Minnesota dairy producers eligible for DMC rebates

Most Minnesota dairy farmers will see rebate payments for federal Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program premiums if they sign up for the five-year program.

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Under a bill approved by the state legislature and headed to Gov. Tim Walz for his signature, producers eligible for the rebates must produce fewer than 16 million pounds of milk in a year (the milk equivalent of about 750 cows). Rebates would be limited to DMC premiums paid on up to 5 million pounds of milk per farm, with a limit of $9,000 per farm. Rebates will average about $3,000 per farm.

The total rebates, capped at $8 million, were part of a legislative package sought by the Minnesota Milk Producers Association (Minnesota Milk).

“On a farm-by-farm basis, this will be a little bit of monetary aid for dairy farmers, but it will be a great mental reminder to dairy farmers that the state of Minnesota supports our farmers,” said Garrett Luthens, Hutchinson, Minnesota Milk policy chair. “We hope it allows Minnesota to have one of the top Dairy Margin Coverage sign-up rates in the country and encourages farms to think long term about their operations.”

Sign-up for the DMC program begins June 17 and runs through Sept. 20 at local USDA Farm Service Agency offices.

Global Dairy Trade index lower

The index of Global Dairy Trade (GDT) dairy product prices posted a 3.4% decline during the June 4 auction. Prices for all major product categories were lower:

  • Skim milk powder was down 4% to $2,436 per metric ton (MT).
  • Cheddar cheese was down 14% to $3,950 per MT.
  • Butter was down 10.3% at $4,805 per MT.
  • Whole milk powder was down 1.5% to $3,138 per MT.

The next GDT auction is June 18, 2019.

EPA rule grants dairy manure air emissions reporting exemption

An EPA final rule grants dairy and other livestock producers an exemption from reporting manure air emissions under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). The rule, which goes into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, provides consistency with an exemption granted under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the rule on June 4, 2019, the latest chapter in a multiyear legal and administrative battle over manure air emission reporting requirements under the CERCLA, created in 1980, and EPCRA, created in 1986. The laws required entities to report the release of hazardous materials into the environment to federal (under CERCLA) and state or local (under EPCRA) agencies.

Two substances included under the reporting requirements – ammonia and hydrogen sulfide – are emitted during decomposition of livestock manure. Reportable quantities for ammonia and hydrogen sulfide were set at 100 pounds per day.

Under a 2008 EPA rule, all agricultural operations were provided an exemption from CERCLA reporting requirements, but certain large-scale concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) were still required to report air emissions under EPCRA.

Environmental organizations challenged the rule, and in April 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Waterkeeper Alliance v. Environmental Protection Agency) lifted the exemptions. Read: Court ruling lifts livestock operation exemptions for emission reporting requirements.

In August 2018, the EPA issued a final rule incorporating the Fair Agricultural Reporting Method (FARM) Act. Though the FARM Act only directly amended provisions of CERCLA, EPA concluded that the amendment also eliminated any obligation a farm would have to report air emissions from animal waste under EPCRA.

The latest rule creates consistency between CERCLA and EPCRA reporting exemptions. Wheeler said the rule allows local emergency responders to focus on hazardous chemical air emissions, instead of spending time on animal waste emissions.

The head of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) commended the EPA for issuing the final rule.

“We are pleased with the outcome of EPA’s painstaking efforts,” said Jim Mulhern, NMPF president and CEO. “This final rule codifies what’s been the right thing to do all along.”

NMPF has been engaged with the effort since April 2017, filing comments as recently as last December supporting EPA’s efforts to modify its regulations to eliminate the reporting of ammonia or hydrogen sulfide air emissions from manure. EPA’s assessment largely was based on the conclusion that the air emissions were a result of “routine agricultural operations,” exempt from EPCRA reporting.

The battle over manure air emission reporting requirements may not be over: NMPF anticipates the rule will be challenged in court.

FFAR grant funds research to decrease dairy feed costs

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) and Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB) awarded matching $1 million grants to Michigan State University (MSU). The grants will fund research designed to improve dairy cow feed efficiency, which could improve farmer profitability and substantially reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of the dairy industry.

Collaborating institutions include the University of Wisconsin, Iowa State University, University of Florida and USDA Animal Genomics Improvement Laboratory.

Dairy farmers could significantly reduce expenses by selecting cows with the highest feed efficiency. In 2010, MSU researchers participated in a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-sponsored study that found breeding for more feed-efficient cows could save the U.S. dairy sector $540 million a year with no loss in milk production.

The major challenge to achieving this goal has been collecting enough data on enough cows to develop reliable genomic breeding values for feed intake. This project will measure feed intake, milk production, bodyweight and other information on 3,600 dairy cows to add to the existing database created as part of the earlier USDA NIFA project. In addition, the research team, led by Dr. Michael VandeHaar, will use new sensor technologies to monitor dairy cows’ body temperature, feeding behavior and locomotion, along with milk spectral data, to predict feed intake and gather data from thousands of cows to further improve the ability of farmers to select the most efficient cows. The researchers also will evaluate whether their genetic predictions can be used to decrease methane emissions from dairy cattle.

The CDCB plans to provide genomic evaluations for residual feed intake in 2020 so that dairy producers worldwide can include better predictors of feed efficiency in their genetic selection and management decisions.

Additionally, this project will help improve the sustainability of milk production. Feed production is responsible for about 20% of the greenhouse gas emissions for every gallon of milk, according to the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. Reducing the amount of feed dairy cows consume will reduce this footprint and could also reduce emissions associated with manure and digestion.

USDA lowers ag export forecast

Continued trade tensions with China cloud the USDA’s latest ag export forecast, but surprisingly, the outlook for dairy exports improved. However, the estimates were released prior to President Trump’s announcement he would apply new immigration-related tariffs on products imported from Mexico, which could draw retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products. Read: New threat of tariffs on Mexican goods puts dairy exports in crosshairs again.

The agency’s quarterly Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade report, released May 30, raised projected fiscal year (FY)19 (Oct. 1, 2018 – Sept. 30, 2019) dairy exports to $5.6 billion, up $200 million from February’s forecast and about equal to total exports a year earlier. Due to the mixed nature of products, the report does not provide an estimate of estimated volumes.

The USDA also forecast FY19 U.S. dairy imports to remain steady with both the previous year and the February forecast at $3.4 billion, although cheese imports were raised $100 million to $1.4 billion.

Overall, the USDA report cut expected FY19 U.S. ag exports to $137 billion, down about $4.5 billion from the February forecast. The FY19 U.S. ag trade surplus, forecasted at $8 billion in May, was cut by $5.5 billion from February.

Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin election results certified

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) certified the Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin (DFW) 2019 director election results. The DFW board administers the dairy checkoff program in the state.

The following dairy farmers will serve three-year terms on the board, beginning July 1: Mark Leder (Lincoln, Oneida, Price and Taylor counties), Douglas Danielson (Chippewa and Eau Claire counties), Jeff Strassburg (Shawano and Waupaca counties), Steve Pankratz (Portage, Waushara and Wood counties), Mary Cook (Adams, Juneau and Monroe counties), Dean Strauss (Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Washington and Waukesha counties), Gail Klinkner (Crawford and Vernon counties) and Virgil Haag (Dane and Jefferson counties).

There were 14 certified candidates running for eight board member positions. Of the 2,659 dairy producers living in the election districts, 16.8% returned ballots during the election that closed May 24, 2019.

Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board appointees named

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue appointed seven members to serve on the National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board.

Appointed to serve three-year terms (July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2022) were: Robert Knodle, Lynnfield, Massachusetts; Joseph DePetrillo, Dallas, Texas; William Kelly, Chicago, Illinois; Joseph Reske, Dallas, Texas; and J. Everett Williams, Madison, Georgia (at-large, general public). Rachel Kyllo, St. Paul, Minnesota, was reappointed to another three-year term. Timothy Kelly, Phoenix, Arizona, will serve the remaining two-year portion of a vacant position, with the term effective immediately and expiring June 30, 2021.

The National Fluid Milk Processor Promotion Board is composed of 15 fluid milk processors from 15 geographic regions and five at-large members.

The board’s activities are financed by a mandatory 20-cent per hundredweight assessment on all fluid milk processed and marketed commercially in consumer-type packages in the contiguous 48 states and the District of Columbia. Processors who commercially process and market 3 million pounds or less per month, excluding those fluid milk products delivered to the residence of a consumer, are exempt from assessments.

FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative pays milk loss benefits

Eleven FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative members from Wisconsin, Iowa and South Dakota will receive disaster claim payments for milk loss as a result of blocked roadways due to snow, barn collapse due to heavy snow and a barn fire. This wave of payments totals more than $21,000, bringing the total for disaster payments during 2019 to more than $45,000 for 44 cooperative members.

The cooperative’s disaster benefits program provides payments to FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative members who have experienced milk income loss due to the death of a cow by either lightning or electrocution, the loss of electric power, or due to impassable roads due to snow or flooding.

Based in Madison, Wisconsin, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative provides legislative and regulatory advocacy, dairy marketing services, disaster protection, laboratory testing opportunities and industry promotion to dairy farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.

DFA turns social currency into ‘milk money’

Kicked off on World Milk Day, June 1, and throughout the month of June, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) is helping raise awareness and provide relief toward the summer nutrition gap felt by nearly 18 million students who rely on school lunch programs across the country.

To do this, DFA is rallying around the power of social media and the support of celebrity chef Christina Tosi to share out this message and raise donations based on social actions. For each social post during the month of June using #GiveMilkMoney, DFA will donate 1 gallon of milk through its DFA Cares Foundation to kids in need through Feeding America food banks across the country.

World Milk Day was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations to recognize the importance of milk as a global food. It has been observed on June 1 each year since 2001. The day is intended to provide an opportunity to bring attention to activities that are connected with the dairy sector.

To join the #GiveMilkMoney movement and enable DFA to donate milk, simply post on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter using #GiveMilkMoney, and DFA will donate up to 10,000 gallons of milk. For more information, visit the DFA Milk Money website.  end mark

PHOTO: To kick off the #GiveMilkMoney campaign, Dairy Farmers of America set up custom milk money ATMs and a family friendly pop-up experience in the River Market in Kansas City, Missouri. After participants donated their social currency and encouraged their friends to donate through an automated tweet and retweet, they received a free bowl of milk and cereal to further enjoy the goodness of dairy. Photo courtesy of Dairy Farmers of America. 

Dave Natzke