Brownfield» Dairy

Iowa State celebrates Dairy Month June 8

John Perkins — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:53:35 +0000

Iowa State University’s Dairy Farm will be open to the public Friday, June 8 from 6 to 11 AM in celebration of Dairy Month.

Free samples of milk, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream will be provided by Iowa’s dairy processors, with tours of the barns from 6:30 to 10:30 AM and a discovery center for children opening at 7 AM.

The facility is located three miles south of Iowa State’s campus in Ames.

The 2012 Fastest Rookie

Meghan Grebner — Tue, 22 May 2012 22:27:04 +0000

The American Dairy Association of Indiana has been the sponsor of the Fastest Rookie Luncheon since it began in 1975. Deb Osza with the ADAI says it’s a great opportunity to explain milk’s importance to the Indy 500 to the new crop of drivers. “It’s great to have milk in the spotlight – to have race fans around the world to see milk in that light as ‘The Coolest Prize in the Sports World’,” she says.

This year’s Fastest Rookie was Josef Newgarden with a speed of 224.677. The 22-year-old driver from Hendersonville, TN said he didn’t even realize he was the fastest rookie.

“This really means a lot for myself and for my team,” he says, “it show the hard work from the crew through the entire group.” Newgarden tells Brownfield, “You can really feel the tradition here at the Fastest Rookie Luncheon with the American Dairy Association of Indiana and all they put into this and all that they do for the race.”

He says, “This is a fantastic race and this award makes it even better.” Newgarden was awarded a $5,000 prize and his name engraved on a trophy on permanent display in the Speedway’s Hall of Fame Museum.

Cheese stocks grew in April

Bob Meyer — Tue, 22 May 2012 21:15:50 +0000

No big surprise, the monthly Cold Storage Report from USDA shows total cheese stocks increased 2 percent in April to 1.024 billion pounds. The number is one percent less than April of last year. American-type cheese in storage totaled 628.4 million pounds at the end of April, up 4 percent for the month but 5 percent less than a year ago.

Milk production has been strong all this year with a lot of that extra milk going into cheese and a lot of that cheese going into storage.

Butter stocks were 253.85 million pounds as of April 30th, up 22 percent from March and 79 percent higher than April of 2011.

Dairy Market News does report milk production has peaked-out in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast and may be at-peak in the west. Dairy processors say intakes have backed-off a little. In the meantime, there are indications more retailers are starting to feature cheese, they had been holding-off waiting to see how low the price would go.

Nice gains in Class III futures on Monday

Bob Meyer — Mon, 21 May 2012 21:31:31 +0000

Solid gains in Class III futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Monday, while May and June added a nickel each, July increased 39 cents, August jumped 51 cents higher, September increase 32 cents, October up 24 cents and November added a dime.

The dairy markets are getting a little support from several different areas: the weekly report from Dairy Market News says production has leveled-off in the west, just in time for the summer heat to step in. Meanwhile production has peaked and is starting to nudge-back a little in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast.

Butter prices are surprisingly nudging higher even though cream is readily available and churns are running at or near capacity.

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 24 requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America, Darigold, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative and United Dairymen of Arizona to sell a total of 3.578 million pounds of Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese and 1.642 million pounds of butter to customers in Asia, Africa, Central America and the Middle East. The product will be delivered May through November 2012.

In 2012, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese totaling 53.8 million pounds, and butter and anhydrous milk fat totaling 44.4 million pounds, to 27 countries on four continents.

BOAH to host “Virtual Public Hearing” on IN raw milk sales

Meghan Grebner — Mon, 21 May 2012 20:42:14 +0000

The Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) was tasked earlier this year by the Indiana General Assembly to conduct a summer study on the sale of raw milk in the state. BOAH dairy division director Terry Philibeck says they wanted to find a way for every Hoosier to participate. Because attending public hearings can be a challenge they decided to host a “virtual” public hearing to gather input. BOAH will launch the Virtual Public Hearing on its website June 1, 2012 and it will remain open until September 1, 2012.

Residents of Indiana are encouraged to visit the website and comment on the sale of raw milk as well as make suggestions for potential change to Indiana law. To submit comment – contact information must be provided, in case follow-up is needed. The feedback will be collected and a report will be released December 1, 2012.

The report will serve as a reference document for members of the 2013 legislature.

To comment – click HERE. Those without internet capabilities are welcome to submit comments by U.S. Mail to BOAH at Discovery Hall, Suite 100; 1202 E. 38^th Street; Indianapolis, IN 46205-2898; Attn: Raw Milk Comments.