GA Milk Weekly Enews - Happy ❤️ Day

2020 | Feb 14 GMP E Newsletter

Georgia Milk Producers Weekly Enews

These families balance a farm and store

By Abby Bauer, Associate Editor, Hoard's Dairyman

Running a dairy farm is more than enough work for a dairy farm family to handle. When you add on farm processing and direct sales to the mix, challenges certainly come with the rewards.

The four farms in our February 10, 2020, Round Table article, “They sell their own products,” listed time, labor, supplies, and customer relations as some of their biggest obstacles. They all agreed, though, that meeting customers on a daily basis and watching them enjoy their home-grown products is very rewarding.

According to Scott and Jennifer Glover (pictured, along with their children Eliza Jane and Layne),“The fact that folks in our community are able to take home a local, high-quality product that comes from our farm and have it be a part of their daily lifestyle is special to us.” The Glovers farm in Clermont, Ga., about 60 miles from Atlanta. They said that a good customer interaction in their store can make a stressful day on the farm much better.

Adding a creamery and store to the farm is definitely a balancing act, and certain times of the year are busier than others. Continue reading to learn when the four farms in our Round Table operate their store and what parts of the year are most demanding. Read more here>>>

How Robotics and Dairy Production Go Hand and Hoof

Farm Monitor

Making a profit all while being efficient is what its all about at Hillcrest Farms in Dearing, GA. In the last year and half, Hillcrest spent both a lot of money and time upgrading to the future of milking. To the future of milking, one done by rots and one that is the first of its kind here in Georgia.

How Robotics and Dairy Production Go Hand and Hoof

GA Department of Agriculture Releases GA Farm Recovery Bloc Grant Application Guide

The Georgia Department of Agriculture is in the process of finalizing an agreement with USDA to implement the Georgia Farm Recovery Block Grant. Until a final agreement has been reached, GDA cannot provide any additional details regarding the program. As soon as USDA and GDA finalize the terms, GDA will announce the dates for the enrollment period and provide additional information on the specifics of the program. Until then, please consult the application guide regarding helpful tips to begin preparations to apply for the Georgia Farm Recovery Block Grant.

Visit farmrecovery.com here>>>

Dairy Association Meeting Invite for meeting this Tuesday

TO: Tri-County Dairyman

FROM: Daniel Williams, President

Our second meeting of the year is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18th , 2020 at Bonner’s Triple B Restaurant, Buckhead, GA. Mr. Lamar Rider, Regional Representative with Bio-Vet, will present the program. Thank you to Bio-Vet for sponsoring the February Dairy Association meeting & meal. Thank you for your generous and loyal support to the local dairy industry!

With the New Year comes the Dairy Association membership drive. Membership dues are $30.00 per member. To renew your membership, complete the application below and mail it along with your check to: Morgan County Dairy Association, 440 Hancock Street, Madison, GA 30650. Please make your check payable to the Morgan Co. Dairy Association. Remember to indicate how you would like to receive the quarterly UGA Dairyfax newsletter. Please make every effort to attend this meeting.

Please call the Morgan County Extension Office at 706-342-2214 for meal reservations no later than NOON on Tuesday, February 18th . View flyer here>>>

Z oetis to Host Producer Meeting in Valdosta on March 3

Zoetis will host a workshop in Valdosta, GA on Tuesday, March 3rd at 2:00 pm. The topics covered will include Southeast Dairy Financial Drivers and Genomic Benchmarking. It will take place at the Hampton Inn & Suites (2 Meeting Place Drive, Valdosta, GA 31601). For more details and to RSVP, please email [email protected] or call 352-240-4868 by February 21st.

Click here for flyer>>>

February Dixie Dairy Report

By Calvin Covington, SE Dairy Consultant

Click here for the February 2020 Dixie Dairy Report

Click here for the February 2020 Price Report

This edition covers Federal order blend prices , National Dairy Products Sales Report Prices , and dairy supply and demand.

GDYF Dress-A-Cow Contest and Auction Next Week in Perry

The Georgia Dairy Youth Foundation will host a Dress-A-Cow Contest during the state show next week. The contest will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 19th at 4:30 pm in the Foster Rhodes Show Arena. A silent auction will also be held in the vet office to raise money to support our great dairy youth 4-H and FFA programs.

We can't wait to see the creative costumes!

Read more here>>>

Farmers defend partnership with university systems

By Riley Bunch, Moultrie Observer

Farmers took to the podium at the Capitol Tuesday to defend funding for university system-driven research and innovation in agriculture.

Partnerships between Georgia farmers and universities have contributed to globally renowned agricultural improvements like water irrigation efficiency and drought tolerant turf grass.

But research may be put on pause with millions of dollars in cuts to the Agricultural Experiment Stations and Cooperative Extension Service programs.

Farmers and higher education leaders agreed, agriculture’s spot as the number one industry in Georgia wouldn’t be maintained without the innovations from University of Georgia and other institutions with agriculture programs.

“People say that Atlanta is the engine that drives Georgia,” Rep. David Knight, chairman of the Appropriations Higher Education committee said, “I would tell you that agriculture and rural Georgia is the fuel that makes that engine go.”

Under the governor’s budget proposal, agriculture experimental stations — research driving facilities — and cooperative extension services — agents who bring training to farmers — are set to lose nearly $14 million in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 combined. Read more here>>>

Farm Credit regulator says it's too soon to tell whether 2020 MFP needed

By Philip Brasher , Agri-Pulse

The top regulator for the nation’s Farm Credit banks says that while agricultural loan quality has deteriorated last year, it’s too early to know whether producers will need additional Market Facilitation Program payments for 2020.

The “phase one” trade deal with China and other new agreements could obviate the need for a 2020 MFP, Farm Credit Administration Chairman Glen Smith, told the House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday.

"It may take patience, but at least the groundwork has been laid for trade normalization and improved farm prices,” Smith told the panel.

Smith acknowledged there has been little market reaction to the signing of the China "phase one" agreement and that soybean futures have actually declined. “Hope is better than no hope. But the markets have taken the stance of, ‘Show me.’ They need to see ships going overseas with our products. We need to see actual export numbers before they react."

He acknowledged that was a “lot of discussion right now” about 2020 and the possible need for more federal aid. But, he added, “We’re months from putting crops in the ground …. The attitude needs to be, ‘Let’s see if this works,” referring to the possibility of a surge in exports.

After the hearing, he told reporters that it will probably be this fall before it is clear whether additional MFP payments will be needed. Read more here>>>

For the Love of Dairy

From Donna Berry, Berry on Dairy

Happy Valentine’s Day! Love makes the world a better place. Collectively our love and passion for dairy is what keeps this nutritious and delicious food group relevant to today’s consumers.

Condolences go out to my friends at Pecan Deluxe Candy Company who lost their leader—Bennie Brigham—this week. It was not that long ago that I was dancing with Bennie and his wife Mary at an All Star Dairy convention. Bennie was a creative leader, inspiration and a fun dancer! He will be missed. He loved dairy. To read more about his legacy, link HERE .

It’s that love of dairy that is fueling growth. That’s right. The U.S. dairy industry is growing, not shrinking or declining as some mainstream media report. In fact, dairy in the U.S. is a $60 billion segment. There are 15 subsegments within dairy and most of these are growing. Since USDA began tracking per capita dairy consumption in the 1970s, the trend has continued upward for five straight decades, increasing 22% since 1975. In the past decade: domestic cheese consumption increased by more than 25% in total tonnage, with per capita consumption up 16%; per capita yogurt consumption is up 14%; per capita butter consumption is up 16%; and IRI purchase data from 2019 shows increased sales for whole milk, lactose-free milk and other fluid products. The product mix in most demand by consumers is changing—we eat more dairy than we drink these days—but dairy overall continues to grow. People LOVE dairy. Read more here>>>

Retail whole-milk sales reemerge

From Anna Boisseau , Dairy Foods

From cashew to banana “milk,” it seems like nondairy milk alternatives have been popping up in every imaginable form in recent years. And conventional milk has suffered from the competition.

According to data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI, retail sales of milk fell 0.4% (to $15,180.7 million) during the 52-week period ending Dec. 1, 2019. Unit sales dropped 2.4%, to 5,458.7 million.

Whole results

In 2018, sales across all milk subcategories were tumbling. A year later, the picture is a bit more positive. While overall sales are down (albeit to a lesser degree), refrigerated whole milk has yet again found its stride. The subcategory was the only one to experience positive growth: up 2.7% in dollar sales (to $4,898.2 million) and 0.5% in unit sales (to 1,703.8 million). Read more here>>>

New Assistant Dean for UGA-Tifton

From Clint Thompson, Southeast Agnet

The University of Georgia (UGA) Tifton Campus has a new leader for its next century of service.

Michael Toews, a professor in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Department of Entomology and co-director of the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, will move into his new role as assistant dean at UGA-Tifton on March 1.