Georgia Milk Producers Weekly Enews |
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State lawmakers consider lifting raw milk restrictions to include humans
By Jill Nolin, Reporter, Georgia Recorder
Raw milk can only be sold in Georgia as a pet product, but there is growing concern about how much of that unpasteurized — and largely unregulated — milk is being sloshed into a glass for human consumption.
A legislative study committee has taken up the issue and is mulling potential legislation that would allow raw milk to be sold for people in Georgia while creating state regulations and setting minimum standards for a product that can be vulnerable to harmful bacteria, such as e. coli, if not handled properly.
State Rep. Clay Pirkle, a Republican and south Georgia farmer, says he is generally wary of regulations but that he sees food safety as the glaring exception. Concerns about public safety, he said, are driving interest in legislation for him.
“Anyone can bottle and sell raw milk under a pet label if they pay a small licensing fee (to the state),” said Pirkle, who is leading the study panel. “No inspections, no regulations, no safety guidelines.”
Pirkle said the study committee will make a recommendation soon on whether lawmakers should consider legislation that could potentially bring raw milk into the mainstream. The regular session starts in January.
Some cash-strapped dairy farmers, intrigued by tales of raw milk being sold at a premium at farmers markets across metro Atlanta and north Georgia, also see a chance to reach new customers. In the background are not-so-distant memories of the hundreds of thousands of gallons of raw milk that Georgia producers dumped early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kenneth Murphy, a Meriwether County dairy farmer and lifelong raw milk drinker, and others have argued state intervention would help level the playing field with producers currently working with little government oversight.
“I get roughly $1.60 a gallon. The pet food people get $8 to $10 a gallon for theirs,” Murphy came to Atlanta to tell lawmakers earlier this month. “I’m not going to be able to sell probably the whole 140-cow volume every day, but it will give me an opportunity to get a little bit more money for my milk.”
Farrah Newberry, executive director of Georgia Milk Producers, said a potential raw milk bill is one of the group’s top priorities for next year — second only to so-called right-to-farm legislation that agricultural interests have pushed unsuccessfully the last couple years. But other industry groups, like the National Milk Producers Federation, oppose changes that expand availability.
“We’re not really condoning that everyone should drink raw milk, but we don’t think it’s fair that our guys who are trying to be clean and safe don’t even have the opportunity to take on that liability. You can’t really insure something that’s illegal to sell,” she said.
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By Progressive Dairy Editor Dave Natzke
October milk prices moved to a 12-month high, helping boost the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program income margin to $8.77 per hundredweight (cwt), according to preliminary calculations by Progressive Dairy.
The USDA released its latest Ag Prices report on Nov. 30, including factors used to calculate October 2021 DMC margins and payments. In addition to higher milk prices, lower soybean meal and corn prices cut total DMC feed costs, creating the largest margin since December 2020.
Based on monthly average prices, the October DMC margin is $2.52 higher than August’s historic low. It marked the first month in which the DMC milk income margin was above $7.50 per cwt this year.
Dairy producers insured at the top $9.50 per cwt tier I level will see an indemnity payment of about 73 cents per cwt. Read more here>>>
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Gillibrand, Leahy, Collins introduce dairy bill
The Hagstrom Report, Dec. 2, 2021
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., chair of the Senate Agriculture Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, Local Food Systems and Food Safety Subcommittee; Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; and Susan Collins, R-Maine, on Tuesday introduced their bipartisan Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act, which would require the Agriculture Department to initiate the process of holding Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) hearings within six months, allowing producers and industry to consider and review proposals that could change Class I skim milk pricing.
“When the dairy pricing system isn’t working for farmers, the economic ramifications are felt across the country. I heard from producers across the industry firsthand during my subcommittee hearing on dairy pricing and the message was clear: Our dairy pricing system is inadequate, out of date, and working against producers. That’s why I introduced the Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act, a bill that would put the power back in farmers’ hands and bring the industry together to build a system that works for the 21st-century dairy farmer. This bill is a great first step, and I look forward to continuing efforts on broader FMMO modernization,” Gillibrand said in a news release.
“Even before the coronavirus pandemic upended the dairy economy, producers in Vermont and throughout the Northeast were already struggling through years of price volatility, market consolidation, and rising costs. Small- and mid-sized farms, the very same farms that have underpinned Vermont’s rural communities for generations, have long borne the brunt of these market forces. As Congress and USDA help farmers recover from the pandemic’s immediate impacts, it’s a critical time to reexamine the federal milk pricing system and ensure it works equitably for all farmers,” Leahy said.
“Maine dairy farmers are resilient, and for years they have been weathering the storms of market instability and industry consolidation. The Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act would help restore some stability to this sector by ensuring that USDA holds public hearings to receive farmers’ input on ways to correct the unintended consequences of a pre-pandemic pricing policy. Our dairy farmers have always worked tirelessly to provide high-quality, nutritious products for Maine people, and we must address the obstacles that threaten to prevent them from carrying on that tradition,” Collins said.
The three senators noted that The Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act has been endorsed by the American Farm Bureau Federation, New York Farm Bureau, American Dairy Coalition, and Maine Dairy Industry Association. Read more here>>>
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Nominations Needed for 2021 Bobby Walker Award
Georgia Milk Producers will award the "Bobby Walker Award" to an individual or company that served as a strong advocate for Georgia's dairy industry in 2021 at the GA Dairy Conference in January. We would like Georgia dairy producers to send in nominations for this award to our office by December 23. This award is open to any individual who is involved with the dairy industry (Cooperative officials/field representatives, feed/ supply companies or salesperson, veterinarian, etc.). Please call our office with your nomination at 706-310-0020, email it to gamilkproducers@gmail.com, or click here to submit online>>>
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November 2021 Dairy Market Report
NMPF & DMI
In this issue:
- Mik Production
- Dairy Market Trade
- Dairy Inventories
- Dairy Trade
- Milk and Feed Prices
- Looking Ahead
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We are excited to have Dr. Geoffrey Dahl from the University of Florida as a session speaker for this year's Georgia Dairy Conference! Dr. Dahl is the Harriet B. Weeks Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences. He previously served as Chair of the Department for 12 years, serving as liaison between the university, livestock producers, and allied industries in Florida.
Dr. Dahl conducts applied and basic research with direct impact on dairy production. Specific research interests include effects of photoperiod manipulation on production and health, the impact of frequent milking in early lactation on milk production, and heat stress abatement during the dry period on cow productivity and health. Those research efforts are disseminated through his Extension programming in the US and abroad.
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Fourth-generation dairy farmer warns economic woes, climate change regulations could end family farms
From Fox News
A fourth-generation dairy farmer warned that climate change-related regulations and a slew of economic woes could signal the end for her family's way of life after nearly a century.
"We've been attacked in the dairy industry for a while now," Stephanie Nash told Fox News. "Instead of educating people through the farmer, we're educating them through people that have never farmed and we're killing off our family farmers."
Rising costs, labor and supply shortages and little support – in addition to climate change and conservation regulations – are all major obstacles threatening the Nash family, which has been in the dairy farming business for 92 years.
Stephanie, 28, and her father, Steven Nash, moved their almost century-old dairy farm from California's San Joaquin Valley to Tennessee in 2014 to escape the Golden State's strict farming regulations and high cost of doing business. Watch story here>>>
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IDFA Honors Reps. Scott and Bishop with Leadership Awards: |
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, for your decades of support for the dairy processing industry, and for making sure that Congress addressed the needs of the dairy supply chain during the pandemic. We're pleased to present you with the IDFA Leadership Award!
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Rep. David Scott, CHairman of U.S. House Agriculture Committee: @repdavidscott, thank you for being a champion for the U.S dairy industry in the nation's capital. We're pleased to present you with the IDFA Leadership Award!
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Should Nondairy Beverages Be Called ‘Milk?’
By Sydney Wyatt, UCDavis Magazine
This pumpkin season, we were offered the classic pumpkin-spiced lattes at coffee shops and the new pumpkin-flavored nondairy oat beverage created by Trader Joe’s. While Trader Joe’s did not call its product “milk,” many nondairy beverages use the term in their marketing — like Oatly’s oatmilk, Milkademia’s macadamia nut milk, NotCo’s NotMilk and the classic Silk Soymilk. But how did we go from “got milk?” to NotMilk, and is the change really that significant?
What makes “milk” milk?
The Food and Drug Administration sets legal standards of identity for many food products and defines traditional cow’s milk as “the lacteal secretion, practically free from colostrum, obtained by the complete milking of one or more healthy cows.” This restricts “milk” to being defined as only coming from cows during a specific period in their milk production cycle.
“Cows produce colostrum in the first few days of lactation, so by the FDA’s rule this can’t even be called milk,” explained J. Bruce German, a distinguished professor in the Department of Food Science and Technology and a milk researcher.
And no standards exist for milk that is produced by other mammals such as goats nor can chocolate milk technically be marketed as “milk” by the current standards because it is not milked directly from a cow.
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Other Stories to Check Out This Week >>> |
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TO ADVERTISE: EMAIL AD AND CONTACT INFORMATION TO FARRAH NEWBERRY at gamilkproducers@gmail.com
WANTED: DHI Cooperative has a position to fill in the North Central Georgia area for a
DHIA FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIAN.
• Responsibilities include data collection on area dairy farms during milking time.
• The schedule is somewhat flexible and the hours are typical for dairy farm work
• Travel is part of the job and reliable transportation is required, mileage is paid
• Applicants should be comfortable with computers and software and have good communication and organizational skills.
Looking for calves for 200 head calf barn with auto feeders in Arcadia
FL: Please call Brian 863-444-0060
Delaval meters, Germania entrance and exit gates with tailboards and indexing tail, Muller plate cooler, receiving jar, filter housing and lowline stainless pipeline. Serious inquiries call 864-617-5911, Iris Barham
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Expanding or looking for top quality herd replacement?
Available at all times:
Fresh two and three year old's and total herds; Also springing heifers and heifers of all ages. Service age bulls with top genetics available all year round. All different breeds and crossbreds also available. Last two loads of fresh two and three year olds Holsteins went on the trucks averaging 115 lbs and 112 lbs! One load to TN and the other to Wisconsin.
Contact:
Les McCracken
608-214-6484. Cell
608-879-2653. Fax
Seeking fulltime farm worker at heifer replacement farm in Eatonton, GA. If interested, please contact Mike Rainey at 706-473-0730.
Seeking Beef and dairy crossed bullcalves/heifers bottled or weaned. Please contact Victoria Rowland at 404-922-0938 or 423-946-5869
Will Raise Heifers for GA Dairy Farms: Hello we are located in Southern Illinois and have an abundance of pasture and cheap feed available looking to contract with a dairy to grow heifers for them, out location offers mild climate and we are just 558 miles from Montezuma Ga. Please contact 817-528-6645 very reasonable daily rates.
For Sale- DeLaval 84 Vacuum Pump on Stand, Oil Reclaimer, 10 HP- 3 Phase Electric Motor. New Bearings, New Oil Seal, New Belts. $2000
For sale - Please contact Archie Felder for more information at 803-682-3426:
- Dairy Tech Bay Pasturizer - $4,000
- Tidenberg Hydraulic Hoof Table (like new) - $5,000
- Claas Silage Choppers - 960 1875 cutterhead hours, 4WD, 600 orbis, HD300 PU - $180,000
- Koomin John Deere Corn Header adapter for Claus Silage Chopper Used - $6,000
WANTED: Peter's Cattle Co. will buy any dairy, beef, and cross, bottle or weaned, bulls, heifers or free martins. Pick up weekly 7 days a week. Chris- 470-255-8515
Bull Calves WANTED: Competitive pricing with 6 day a week pickup. Brandon Mason Cattle Company 912-632-4490
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