Digest highlights

Natzke dave
Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy

Hearing set to consider southeast U.S. FMMO proposals

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) will hold a public hearing, Feb. 23, to consider proposals to amend the Appalachian, Southeast and Florida Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMOs). The hearing will be held at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs Hotel, Franklin, Tennessee, beginning at 9 a.m.

The USDA initially received requests for a hearing, along with proposed changes, from multiple southeastern U.S. dairy cooperatives in October 2022. Additional proposals were submitted in December 2022.

During the hearing, the USDA will hear testimony and receive evidence regarding 11 proposals listed in the hearing notice, published in the Federal Register on Jan. 30.

In summary, the proposals seek to increase transportation credits and/or establish distributing plant and assembly performance credits, providing financial incentives for milk handlers moving milk within and into the region. These dollars could be used by handlers to offset hauling expenses currently paid by dairy farmers.

Advertisement

Proponents of amending the FMMOs contend that the three Southeastern FMMO areas have a chronic milk deficit, creating challenging marketing conditions to ensure that the fluid milk needs of the orders are met. 

For details on the proposals and information regarding testifying at the hearing, click here to email Erin Taylor with the USDA-AMS Dairy Program.

Farmers sought for study about how they balance children and work  

Farm and ranch parents know how challenging it can be to balance children and work, especially when child care options (paid or unpaid) are limited. These challenges can have consequences for the farm business, the safety of children and the well-being of the family as a whole. To better understand farm and ranch families’ lived realities balancing children and work, researchers at the National Farm Medicine Center and Ohio State University are asking farmers to share their experiences balancing children and work through a new national survey.

Led by Shoshanah Inwood, an associate professor at Ohio State University, the survey asks farmers not only about their childcare and schooling arrangements but also about how their decisions are connected to farm safety, the economic viability of their farm business and their household finances.

The results of the survey will be available later in the year and will be shared with farmers, farm organizations, state agencies and policymakers.

With development of the 2023 Farm Bill underway, the survey is especially timely, said Florence Becot, associate research scientist at the National Farm Medicine Center and affiliate of the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety.

Farm families can respond to the survey online here.

JDS: Milk’s packaging influences its flavor

A new study in the Journal of Dairy Science confirms that milk packaging affects taste and paperboard cartons do not preserve milk freshness as well as glass and plastic containers.

“Milk is more susceptible to packaging-related off-flavors than many other beverages because of its mild, delicate taste,” noted lead investigator MaryAnne Drake, with the North Carolina State University Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences.

To quantify the flavor impacts of packaging, the researchers examined pasteurized whole and skim milk stored in paperboard cartons, plastic jugs, a plastic bag and glass.

The samples were tested on the day of first processing, then again at five, 10 and 15 days after. The samples underwent a blind consumer taste test on day 10.

The results showed that package type does influence milk flavor, and skim milk is more susceptible to flavor impacts than whole milk. Of the different packaging types, paperboard cartons and the plastic bag preserved milk freshness the least. While glass remains an ideal container for preserving milk flavor, plastic containers provide additional benefits by limiting light exposure.

With paperboard cartons being the most widely used packaging type for school meal programs in the U.S., the findings are especially relevant for the consideration of how young children consume and enjoy milk.

The article, “The role of packaging on the flavor of fluid milk,” is authored by Dylan C. Cadwallader, Patrick D. Gerard and MaryAnne Drake. It appears in the January 2023 (volume 106) issue of the Journal of Dairy Science.

Other news, briefly

  • U.S./Canada USMCA dairy dispute: Leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee urged the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to hold Canada accountable to its dairy market access obligations under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). In a letter to Ambassador Katherine Tai, U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan), chair, and John Boozman (R-Arkansas), ranking member, called on USTR to initiate a second dispute settlement panel. In January 2022, an initial dispute settlement panel ruled Canada’s distribution of tariff-rate quota allocations (TRQs) for domestic processors undermined U.S. importers’ market access created under USMCA.
  • EPA to evaluate CAFOs. Seeking guidance on potential regulation in the future, the EPA will study water quality impacts of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) under an Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15, announced on Jan. 20. Specific details and a timeline were not announced.
  • Proposal addresses trucking capacity. A proposal to increasing interstate shipping capacity has been introduced in the House. The Safer Highways and Increased Performance for Interstate Trucking Act (SHIP IT Act) was introduced by U.S. Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-South Dakota) and Jim Costa (D-California). Proponents say the proposal would lessen burdens on current and future truck drivers, streamline the commercial driver’s license (CDL) process, provide incentives to recruit and retain drivers, and allow additional flexibilities during times of emergency. The bill has the support of both the International Dairy Foods Association and the National Milk Producers Federation, members of the Shippers Coalition.
  • Livestock auction markets and packers: A proposal introduced in the House would allow livestock auction market owners to own or invest in small and regional meatpackers. The Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the U.S. (A-PLUS) Act was introduced by U.S. Reps. Mark Alford (R-Missouri), Jimmy Panetta (D-California) and Dusty Johnson (R-South Dakota). Proponents say the bill would remove regulatory barriers created under the Packers and Stockyards Act and lead to increased packer competition and additional processing capacity.
  • Ag Census deadline is approaching. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reminds farmers that the deadline to respond to the 2022 Census of Agriculture is Feb. 6. Producers can respond online or by mail.