A hard fall for school soft drink sales

Rejoice, milk producers. The latest report card for beverage sales at U.S. high schools shows a big fat F for soft drinks.

According to The Wall Street Journal earlier this week, a report to be released Monday by the American Beverage Association will show a stunning decline in the sale of soft drinks in U.S. high schools over the last five years. Most notable is a 95 percent decline in sales of “full-calorie” soft drinks.

The collapse is credited to many factors, including efforts by states and local school districts to limit or eliminate high-calorie sweet beverages from schools’ menus and vending machines, greater social focus on battling childhood obesity, and cooperation from beverage manufacturers.

Milk and other dairy products were not identified in the study. Other major sales declines in the study include:
– a 94 percent decline in imitation fruit juices
– a 77 percent decline in flavored teas
– a 67 percent decline in sports drinks
– a 47 percent decline in diet soft drinks

“We congratulate the beverage industry for working to remove sugary sodas from schools,” said Margo G. Wootan, nutrition policy director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest in a March 8 press release. She added, however, that much work remains to be done since full-calorie sodas, sports drinks, imitation fruit drinks, and ice teas still make up one-third of all beverage sales in high schools.

Last July, the American Heart Association said recent research had found that drinking more than one soft drink per day – regular or diet – increased the risk factors associated with both heart disease and new-onset obesity.

USDA lowers milk price forecast sharply

Lower milk prices and feed costs are forecast, but the lower costs won’t make up for the lower prices.

In yesterday’s World Supply/Demand Estimates, USDA lowered its milk price forecasts sharply from a month earlier. The midpoint projection for 2010 Class III prices was lowered from $15.25 to $14.50. The midpoint of the All-Milk Price projection was lowered from $16.55 to $15.85 or 70 cents per hundred.

The milk production forecast was raised for 2010 with milk production expected to be fractionally above 2009.

Cheese prices were reduced as higher stocks are expected to pressure prices. Butter price forecasts were raised slightly on the strength of current demand although higher milk supplies and weaker cheese prices may encourage higher butter production, pressuring prices later in the year.

The projected 2009/10 marketing-year average farm price for corn was lowered 20 cents on the top end of the range to $3.45 to $3.75 per bushel. World corn production for 2009/10 was raised 5.9 million tons. Global corn ending stocks for 2009/10 were projected to be 6.1 million tons higher with increases in most of the world’s major corn-exporting countries, including the U.S., Argentina, South Africa, and Brazil.

The U.S. season-average soybean price range for 2009/10 was narrowed to $8.95 to $9.95 per bushel. The soybean meal price was projected at $280 to $310 per short ton (2,000 pounds) compared with $270 to $320 previously.

U.S. soybean ending stocks for 2009/10 are projected at 190 million bushels, down 20 million from last month. Soybean production is estimated at 3.359 billion bushels, down 2 million from the January estimate.

Cattle price forecasts were raised for 2010 due to tighter meat supplies. This will provide more cull cow income and encourage culling which will help reduce milk supplies.

A peek into the future dairy farm

While many dairy farms in the U.S. and abroad are trying to dig their way out of the most recent milk price crisis, a 200-plus person group of producers and industry, mostly from Canada, met in Toronto, Ontario, last week for the First North American Conference on Precision Dairy Management. Perhaps, Dairy Farming of the Future would have been an appropriate name, as well. The plethora of high-tech equipment couldn't help but make us think of our industry's next generation of managers who prefer push-button controls to back-breaking work. But, the bigger question on our mind was — who can afford this right now? One exhibitor at the conference touted an in-line NIR (near infrared) feed control system. The technology has the capabilities to monitor and alter moisture, ADF, NDF, and much more in your ration as it is being mixed. Could this be the link that removes the variation between the ration formulated by the nutritionist and the ration actually mixed and fed?

Feeding wasn't the only focus of the meeting. Robotic milking was a natural fit under the precision dairy management umbrella. The conference's coordinator, Jack Rodenburg of DairyLogix and the Vetvice group has authored an article that will be appearing our March 25 issue about optimal barn design for robotic milking facilities. If you're thinking of going robotic, you'll want to read it.

Breeding, a not so obvious fit to precision dairy farming was also discussed. Getting cows bred has become an Achille's heel for many dairy farms, but we must admit that public relations has, too. One U.S. veterinarian presenting at the conference blasted the U.S. dairy industry's reliance on timed A.I. protocols because of its potential to become a public relations nightmare. He pointed to the potential expanded use of activity monitoring to manage heat detection instead of OvSynch protocols. Another heat detection tool discussed was in-line milk sampling for progesterone levels.

Ephraim Maltz, of the Volcani Institute in Israel, has been researching precision dairy farming technologies for many years. He reminded attendees that decades ago, individual animal care was the norm when farms were only home to a few cows. Today, cows tend to be managed in groups on large farms. "We can now manage the smallest production unit again," he says when referencing the variety of tools now available to manage cows individually and precisely.

An exciting announcement from Hoard's Dairyman

While 2010 marks the beginning of a new decade, it also marks a momentous occasion for Hoard's Dairyman. On January 23, 1885, William Dempster Hoard launched the first edition of Hoard's Dairyman. This year, our 125th anniversary, we've asked world-renowned dairy artist Bonnie Mohr of Glencoe, Minn., to help us create an updated Foster Mothers of the Human Race painting. The original Foster Mothers print was created in 1957 followed by updates in 1963, 1991, and 1993 — all of which were painted by former Hoard's Dairyman Art Director James Baird. You can follow along with Bonnie on Bonnie's Brush with Hoard's — our special edition blog — as she paints this piece during the coming months. We'll have plenty of video of Bonnie answering the questions you've always wanted to ask and we'll offer sneak peaks of how the painting is coming along. Visit the blog as often as you like, we'll update it each week!

NEDPA approves best management practices

Over 550 dairy producers and allied industry professionals gathered in Liverpool, N.Y., for the biannual conference of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA). Sustainable agricultural production, carbon footprints, markets, and animal welfare were key discussion topics for the two-day conference held on March 3 and 4 just outside of Syracuse, N.Y.

During the second day of the conference, animal welfare was a major focus as Candace Croney from Ohio State and Nina von Keyserlingk from the University of British Columbia discussed animal welfare initiatives across the country and around the world. Nina then turned the discussion to specific issues on dairy farms and Nigel Cook, D.V.M., from the University of Wisconsin detailed cattle housing.

After those presentations, Daryl Nydam, a Cornell D.V.M., began the Best Management Practices recently adapted by NEDPA. Three specific issues addressed were dehorning, tail docking, and nonambulatory cows. In their position statement, NEDPA supports the right of farmers to choose to dehorn and dock tails as appropriate management practices when these practices are conducted humanely, with best management practices, and under the supervision of a veterinarian.

When it comes to dehorning, NEDPA is recommending that it take place before 8 weeks of age through dehorning paste, thermal cautery, or by gouging technique. Cornual nerve block with lidocaine should be used with all dehorning procedures. In addition, a single-dose of a long-term analgestic, such flunixin, is recommended for pain control and inflammation reduction

For tail docking, NEDPA suggests using an elastrator or cautery tail docker in calves less then 30 days old. They recommend tail docking at a young age. If animals are docked over 1 month of age, cutting requires use of anesthesia with lidocaine. The tail docking issue may be the most controversial as Nydam went on to discuss the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) position statement on the subject: "The AABP is not aware of sufficient scientific evidence in the literature to support tail docking in cattle. If it is deemed necessary for proper care and management of production animals in certain conditions, veterinarians should counsel clients on proper procedures, benefits, and risks."

NEDPA's protocol for nonambulatory cows includes a provision for prompt relocation from concrete to a safe, well-bedded area. That area must provide adequate footing, provisions for water and food without competition from other cattle, protection from self-injury, injury from other animals, and protection from environmental elements. If it is determined a cow should be euthanized, it should be done quickly without moving the animal. NEDPA recommends using the AABP's guide on euthanasia found in the pdf below.

euth.pdf

Pressing HSUS’s feet to the fire

In the two weeks since we told you about creation of HumaneWatch.org and its mission to separate fraud from fact about the Humane Society of the United States, we’re delighted to report that turning up the heat of scrutiny is already producing some results.

First came a colossal tidal wave of public backlash against the Australian company that makes Yellow Tail wine after it announced a $100,000 donation to HSUS in February. This prompted the company to investigate what HSUS’s priorities really are – and then make a public apology and promise to never donate to the group again.

An essentially identical story was repeated a few days later by Pilot Travel Centers, a U.S. chain of gas stations that caters to long-haul truckers, which was also clueless about HSUS’s anti-agriculture mission. Then yesterday, Precious Cat, Inc., a cat litter company that had been listed on the HSUS “corporate supporters” page, announced it had withdrawn its support and henceforth would make donations to actual animal shelters instead.

While the truth about HSUS may finally be getting out in some quarters, communicating the message to the public will be an uphill struggle. Just how steep that challenge is was illustrated by results of a nationwide public opinion poll released on Tuesday this week. In it, 71 percent of those polled the previous week agreed with the statement that, “HSUS is an umbrella group that represents thousands of local humane societies all across America.” However, HumaneWatch.org says tax records filed by HSUS show this statement is, in fact, false.

The heat is on, ladies and gentlemen, and we think HSUS may be starting to sweat.

Watch the cows, and use a tape measure

You may have noted that the Hoard's Dairyman Farm has benefited from having a management team that has met regularly over the past 1-1/2 years (February 10, 2010, issue, page 108) and having converted our heifer free stall barn to a bedded pack area for our close-ups (March 10, 2010, issue, page 177). We also tweaked the prefresh ration to reduce sorting.

The changes have made a difference, especially in pregnancy rates that have improved notably over the past six months. But we have been seeing more retains and metritis cases during the past few weeks.

The invaluable part of having a management team in place is that you have an established way to brainstorm what may be causing a problem and a procedure for making decisions and taking action quickly to get things back on track.

In our March 10 article, we talked about having at least 100 square feet of bedded pack and 28 inches of manger space per cow at capacity (70 close-up cows and heifers). But it is important to watch your cows and use a tape measure. Jason Yurs, our farm manager, had been observing where cows were lying and not lying. He saw that there was a 22 foot-wide strip of bedded pack down the middle of the barn that the cows were using. There were 41 cows in the barn at the time which meant 72 square feet per cow. We had tried bedding closer to the open south side of the building, but rain and snow blowing in kept the bedding in that area wet. Plus, cows avoided lying in areas around the waterers which were out in the middle of the bedded areas, it being a retrofit.

Wanting to make sure that we maintain good intakes in that prefresh group, we put sand down in the feeding area to give cows more confidence as they go the manager, with plans to do some grooving when possible. We also will try to devise a way to keep some of the further-off dry cows in another area to reduce pressure on the pack.

We're trying another tactic that will reduce pressure on the close-up barn and help heifers get off to a better start. When bringing them back from the heifer growers, they will be put either in Pen 1 (our first-calf heifers) or Pen 5 (our tail-enders), depending on where space is available, so the springing heifers will have some free stall and parlor experience before they are moved to the close-up barn just before calving.