GA Milk Weekly Enews | May 22, 2020

2020 | May 22 GMP E Newsletter

Georgia Milk Producers Weekly Enews

FSA Registration Information - No GA Milk Zoom Calls Next Week

Please work to prepare the information needed to apply for the CFAP Direct Payments. Registration will open at your local FSA office on Tuesday, May 26. To view a list of what will be needed, click here .

A Southwest Georgia producer called our office yesterday, and he said his FSA office is only asking for Jan., Feb. and March milk production figures and cattle inventory numbers by email. His office will input the information into the FSA data system on his behalf. They want to try their best to complete registration by email and phone. So - registration should be pretty simple - you will need to have documents that verify your information if audited. Begin the process with your local office immediately to receive payments quicker. USDA hopes to begin distributing payments in 7-10 days following approval.

There have been many questions on dairy beef sales. Specifically do veal calves, cull cows, or dairy beef qualify for CFAP payments? According to Hoard's Dairyman , on a late USDA training call last night, FSA officials confirmed that cull cows and veal calves will qualify for payment, but dairy breeding herd inventories will not qualify. The rules should be published Friday, May 29 .

The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.

We will continue to provide producers with updates as they are provided. Next week, we will not have zoom calls . Moving forward we will only hold zoom calls if needed, on a weekly basis.

Thanks! Farrah Newberry, Exec. Director, GA Milk Producers, Inc.

Dairy aid package now has clarity

By Corey Geiger, Managing Editor, Hoard's Dairyman

The projected aid for dairy comes to $6.18 per hundredweight.

That’s according to the joint paper, USDA’s New Direct Payments Program for Dairy Farmers , by Christopher Wolf, Mark Stephenson, and Andrew Novakovic, who are regular contributors to Hoard’s Dairyman DairyLivestream .

The Direct Pay CARES Act funds will partially compensate producers for price losses from the first quarter of calendar year 2020. The first quarter payment rate will be 80% of the decline in prices as determined by USDA. For dairy, that estimate was $4.71 per hundredweight.

As for the second quarter rate . . . a 25% reduction was the benchmark. With that being the case, the payment rate will be $1.47 per hundredweight.

That creates a net of $6.18 for every 100 pounds of milk sold during the first half of 2020.

A $250,000 cap

There are many nuances to this relief package.

For starters, the payment caps stand at $250,000. Different payment limits do apply to LLCs, closely held corporations, and limited partnerships. These entities may receive up to $750,000, according to USDA guidelines.

There are a number of other issues that each farm must be aware. Ultimately USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will determine how this program gets rolled out.

Additional questions

During the May 20, 2020, episode of DairyLivestream, a dairy farmer viewer asked if hedged milk or participation in risk mitigation programs such as the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program or Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) would impact payments from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).

The short answer is no.

That’s because payments are based on milk production, not participation in other programs.

Also, dumped milk pooled under a federal order will automatically be included in the reports for FSA and the CFAP payments to dairy farmers.

Farmers may begin signing up at their respective Farm Service Agency on May 26. Payments could be issued as early as June 1.

There have been some questions on beef sales. Specifically do bob (veal) calves, cull cows, or dairy beef qualify for CFAP payments?

On late Thursday, FSA staff held a training call, and it appears that cull cows and bob calves will qualify for payment, but dairy breeding herd inventories will not qualify. The rules should be published Friday, May 29.

Georgia dairy farmers, DFA & Kroger give milk to COVID-19 heroes

By Jennifer Whittaker, Georgia Farm Bureau

Heroes are strong and selflessly help others. These are traits healthcare workers, first responders and dairy farmers share.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers and first responders have been courageously caring for the sick and keeping Georgia residents safe.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s 130 dairy farmers continue caring for their cows and producing delicious, healthy milk for consumers despite daunting circumstances. The pandemic disrupted the U.S. dairy supply by reducing demand for dairy products as restaurants and other food service sectors were shuttered from mid-March to late April.

Reduced demand made it necessary for Georgia farmers to dispose of 100 tanker loads of milk through the end of April with a total value of about $1 million, according to Georgia Milk Producers Inc.

Rather than see milk needlessly go to waste, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) - a farmer-owned co-op through which most Georgia dairy producers market their milk - Kroger Atlanta Division and the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Milk (ACCM) teamed up to deliver a total of 24,000 half-gallons of Georgia milk to healthcare workers and first responders statewide.

“Our Georgia dairy farmers are on the front lines producing milk and dairy foods. In parallel they appreciate the work being done by our healthcare and first responders and want to give back,” said Paul Johnson, a Georgia dairy farmer and Georgia ACCM board chairman. “We appreciate our partners DFA and Kroger for making this contribution possible and extend a thank you to Nicole Duvall with the Georgia Mobile Classroom for delivering the donations on dairy farmers’ behalf.”

The four-week philanthropic campaign was appropriately named the Great Georgia Give. DFA, Kroger Atlanta Division and Kroger’s Centennial Farms donated the milk and the ACCM delivered the milk to recipients in Atlanta on April 24, Macon on May 1, Augusta on May 8 and Savannah on May 15. Read More Here >>>

Learn more about the Great Georgia Give Campaign Here>>>

Georgia beef producers to vote on continuation of state check-off

From GA Farm Bureau

Georgia beef producers will vote in a mail referendum scheduled for June 1-30 on whether they will renew the assessment they currently pay to fund the Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Beef established by the Georgia legislature at the request of Georgia cattlemen in 2014.

Georgia Beef producers approved by vote a marketing order that established a $1 per head assessment on all cattle sold in Georgia for beef with a value over $100. This includes beef breeds as well as dairy breeds sold to be used for beef.

By law, beef producers must vote every three years to determine if they want to continue the market order. Georgia beef producers re-affirmed the market order in 2017.

Funds from the assessments are used to fund research, education, and promotion projects for the Georgia cattle producers. In the five years since the assessment began, more than $2.5 million has been committed to research projects with the University of Georgia that help producers with production issues and for state education and promotion programs which benefit Georgia beef producers.

Beef producers should receive a ballot in the mail, but if they do not by June 10, they can call 404-656-3680 or go to www.GABeefBallot.com . Ballots and the back of the return envelope must be filled out for the ballot to be considered as eligible. Ballots must also be postmarked by June 30.

Dean Foods misses FMMO payments; DFA sale faces another lawsuit

Progressive Dairy Editor Dave Natzke

Dean Foods’ financial struggles continue to reverberate throughout the dairy industry, affecting farmer milk checks for producers nearly nationwide.

Contacted by Progressive Dairy, several Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) administrators indicated Dean Foods failed to make FMMO producer settlement fund payments for milk pooled during April 2020. In addition, Dean owed monies to the FMMOs for producer marketing services, transportation credits and administrative services. No estimate of the payment total for individual or all FMMOs was available.

FMMO payment settlement dates vary by order. For example, May payments were due May 12 in Appalachian, Florida and Southeast orders; May 13 in the Arizona order; May 14 in the Central order; May 15 in Northeast, Upper Midwest and Mideast orders; and May 18 in California, Pacific Northwest and Southwest orders.

According to Toby Anekwe, public affairs specialist with the USDA's Ag Marketing Service, Dean Foods is fully regulated on nine FMMOs – all except Arizona and the Pacific Northwest. The office confirmed producer settlement fund payments were not made in any of those nine orders.

When producer settlement fund payments are not made, FMMO regulations stipulate that distribution of available money is prorated uniformly to all milk handlers, including co-ops, in the FMMO, who then distribute the money to producers. Handlers are notified of the nonpayment and the pro-ration of available producer settlement monies. That results in lower milk payments to all dairy farmers pooling in each affected FMMO. Read more here>>>

Milk production growth moderates

By: Progressive Dairy Editor Dave Natzke

April 2019-20 recap at a glance

Reviewing the USDA preliminary estimates for April 2020 compared to April 2019:

U.S. milk production: 18.7 billion pounds, up 1.4%
U.S. cow numbers: 9.381 million, up 49,000 head
U.S. average milk per cow per month: 1,993 pounds, up 18 pounds
24-state milk production: 17.83 billion pounds, up 1.6%
24-state cow numbers: 8.853 million, up 65,000 head
24-state average milk per cow per month: 2,013 pounds, up 17 pounds

Source: USDA Milk Production report, May 20, 2020

March production, at 18.5 billion pounds, was revised upward about 115 million pounds (0.6%) from last month's preliminary production estimate. The end result was that year-over production increased about 2.8% in March. Read more here>>>

Do Not Expect This Milk Price Rally to Last

From Anna-Lisa Laca, Dairy Herd Management

Producers should use this opportunity to manage price risk for what will be several months of extreme volatility, the likes of which we haven’t seen in years. ( Farm Journal )

The past several weeks milk markets have enjoyed a significant rally in prices, driven largely by a surge in demand and curbed milk production. While it’s encouraging to see prices moving in a positive direction, economists warn a push to the upside is unlikely to last. In fact, they say producers should use this opportunity to manage price risk for what will be several months of extreme volatility, the likes of which we haven’t seen in years.

“[The rally is] a combination of starting to see some demand start to pick up from a number of factors,” explains Ben Laine an economist with Rabobank. “From the USDA purchases to food service starting to open back up slowly we’re starting to see more demand for milk again, so that's helped relieve some of that pressure. We also did see some response from some of the calls for reduced milk production. We saw producers reduce milkings or change rations and other things. We saw high slaughter rates on a weekly basis through April. So, all of those factors helped reduce supply a little bit at the same time that we're seeing sort of this sudden pickup in demand." Read more here>>>

Take Advantage of Current Markets, Lock in DRP Coverage

By Anna-Lisa Laca, Dairy Herd Management

When USDA awarded contracts to dairy processors for the Food for Family box program, milk markets reacted positively and for the past few days have been experiencing a rally. Don’t let this opportunity to enroll in Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) pass you by, warns Jenny Wackershauser.

“The market is giving us the opportunities that we need to learn from our mistakes of this spring,” she says. “The market is giving us a second chance on protecting milk.”

The current market rally is similar to our October-November rally which was driven by the purchasing program that was part of the China relief package.

“We had the perfect storm,” she explains. “We also had a cheese plant in Central America that had to come in and buy U.S. products, and that's what pushed our rally in October-November. As soon as those purchasers were fulfilled, they got the product they needed and left our market, and we saw that crash.”

While current market movement is giving dairy producers hope, the reality is when the companies who have government contracts are fulfilled and leave this market, we could see a fast fall like we did in November, Wackershauser explains. Read more here>>>

Farmer to Farmer Support Program Available for SE dairy farmers

Farmers across the Southeast are experiencing uncertain times like never before. All aspects of agriculture have been hit by market losses due to COVID-19, but dairy has reached a level of uncertainty that many have never experienced.

As we navigate through these next few months, dairy producers across the Southeast have come together to introduce the "Farmer to Farmer Support Program." If you find that you need support or would like to talk to a fellow farmer or industry friend, they have several volunteers that are willing and able to help. Georgia Milk Producers has also put together a packet on the program that you can access by clicking here .

For more information on the program, please reach out to Farrah Newberry at [email protected] .

March Margin Triggers First DMC Payment of 2020

By Anna-Lisa Laca, Dairy Herd Management

USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced this week that the March 2020 income over feed cost margin was $9.15 per cwt. This margin triggered the first Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program payment of 2020.

“This payment comes at a critical time for many dairy producers,” said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. “It is the first triggered DMC payment for 2020, and the first payment to dairy producers in seven months.”

Current projections indicate that a DMC payment is likely to trigger every month for the remainder of 2020, a different expectation from last July when some market models had forecast no program payments for 18 months, FSA said in a press release. Read more here>>>

A fatty ingredient hidden in butter could be the secret to better health

By Christopher Doering

Could a fatty super ingredient in butter actually be the secret to better health?

Researchers at Seraphina Therapeutics in San Diego have discovered the first essential fatty acid — a dietary nutrient that the body doesn't make enough of, but needs to maintain human health — in 90 years. Known as pentadecanoic acid, or C15:0, the dietary saturated fat found in milk, butter, fish, plants and other foods was shown in studies to demonstrate broad health benefits. It would join omega-3 and omega-6 as the only fatty acids considered by nutrition scientists as essential.

"We're really at the dawn of a new golden age of nutrition and the reason is there has been this long-held approach to nutrition which was pretty archaic, leading to very few discoveries of something that is essential," Stephanie Venn-Watson, CEO Seraphina Therapeutics, told Food Dive. "C15:0, I'm almost confident, is just going to be the first of a whole new age of essential nutrients that we never knew about but are able to find now."