2019 | Sept 6 GMP E Newsletter
Georgia Milk Producers Weekly Enews
GMP Fall District Meetings Begin MONDAY
Dairy producers across Georgia are invited to take part in the annual Fall District meetings for Georgia Milk Producers and The Dairy Alliance. The meetings will be held in seven locations across the state.
 
These organizations will hold elections; report on industry issues and promotional efforts; and announce upcoming events. Dinner or lunch will be served at each location depending on the time the meeting is set to begin. The meetings will be held on:
 
  • Sept. 9, Monday Maguire’s at 7 PM, 42 Main St, Senoia, GA
 
  • Sept. 10, Tuesday The Plaza Restaurant at NOON, 217 S Broad St, Thomasville
 
  • Sept. 10, Tuesday Oasis Coffee House at 7 PM, 310 Spaulding Rd, Montezuma

  • Sept. 12, Thursday Burke Co. Extension Office at 7 PM, 715 West 6th St., Waynesboro
 
  • Sept. 13, Friday McGill Ag Bldg. at Noon, 136 N by Pass, Washington
 
  • Sept. 16, Monday Bonner's Restaurant at 7 PM, 1500 Bonner Ln, Buckhead
 
  • Sept. 17, Tuesday Western Sizzlin' at NOON, 501 Legion Dr., Dalton

To preregister for the district meeting of your choice, please contact The Dairy Alliance at   1-800-343-4693. Meetings are open to dairy producers, family members, farm managers and industry partners. We look forward to seeing you soon and value the input you share at our meetings!!

Georgia Milk Producers will present a Grand Prize of $500 at the conclusion of all meetings to one lucky Georgia dairy farm family attending their district meeting. Additional door prizes and promotional items will be provided by The Dairy Alliance at each district meeting. Producers will elect Georgia ADA directors in odd numbered districts.
Georgia Mobile Dairy Classroom Visits Heard Elementary School
By Rashaad Vann , 41NBC/WMGT
From the farm to the classroom, one organization is spreading the knowledge about agriculture to students.

The Georgia Mobile Dairy Classroom visited Heard Elementary School Thursday.

Students got the chance to learn about farming and the dairy process in a hands-on way.

“Ag touches everything that we do, from the food that we eat, to the money that we touch,” Heard Elementary Agriculture Teacher Carol Baker Dunn said.

The classroom includes features with a real dairy cow and fully operational milking equipment. Read more here>>>
Young Farmer Gains Experience at Georgia Dairy
By Philip Gruber News Editor , Lancaster Farming
If you think this summer has been sweltering, you should talk to Aaron Harbach.

The aspiring herd manager spent his summer working at Barrington Dairies, about 30 miles south of Macon, Georgia.

Triple-digit temperatures several times lasted into the evening at the farm.

If you ever want a good weight loss plan, just move to Georgia in the summertime,” Harbach joked.

Harbach, a Cornell University student whose family runs a large dairy near Lock Haven, was one of seven college students who participated in this year’s on-farm internship program offered through a partnership between the Center for Dairy Excellence, the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association.

The interns spoke about their experiences on Aug. 22 at MidAtlantic Farm Credit’s Mount Joy office. Read more here>>>
Survey: 86% of US adults prefer dairy milk
From Dairyfoods.com
A new Morning Consult national tracking poll of 2,200 American adults, conducted in partnership with the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), points to a number of revealing consumer preferences for milk and related beverages.

When given the option to choose among whole, reduced-fat 2%, low-fat 1%, skim, other (almond, soy, oat, other plant-based, lactose-free) or “do not consume” milk, respondents overwhelmingly chose 2% and whole milks because they believe they are most nutritious for them and their families, Washington, D.C.-based IDFA said. Further, 86% of U.S. adults said they prefer dairy milk over “other” beverages, including plant-based beverages.

Additionally, by a margin of more than 2-to-1, U.S. adults said it’s important to offer low-fat flavored milks with school meals, IDFA said. And by a 3-to-1 margin, U.S. adults said it’s important to offer 2% and whole milk with school meals. Read more here>>>
The journal Agribusiness just released a new paper I co-authored with Clint Neill and Rodney Holcomb. The work was motivated by the observation that every state in the U.S. has an agricultural marketing program aimed at promoting foods from their state. Examples include the “Taste NY” and “Pride of New York” programs as well as “Go Texan” and “California Grown.”

Our questions were two fold: 1) How much do consumers value products labeled with their state’s logo relative to other states’ products, and 2) what are the implications for state marketing programs?

We surveyed 6,900 consumers in an eight‐state contiguous region. For our application, we chose milk, and asked people which of several milk products with different state logos (and a regional or national brand) they preferred at different prices.

Not surprisingly, we find that consumers prefer products with their own state’s logo. For example, Texans’ average willingness-to-pay (WTP) for Texas milk is $4.14/gallon, but Texans’ value for milk from bordering states, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arkansas only averaged $1.82, $2.65, and $2.72/gallon, respectively. There are a number of interesting patterns. Read more here>>>
It's almost that time
By Caitlin Rodgers, Georgia dairy farmer
Progress continues as we work on our robotic milking barn and visitor’s center.

We are less than one month from opening the robots to the "feed only" phase to prepare for milking. We have had several meetings getting our minds right and schedules put together for the startup of our new adventure. It felt as if things were moving in slow motion for so long, but now that it is less than a month away, everything is happening so fast.

Both robot rooms are almost finished and the new close-up dry cow facility is nearly complete. The rubber flooring is down, the stall loops are in place, the fans are going up, the sprinklers are set up above the feedbunk, and the sand-bedded pack is almost ready for a newborn calf.

We have started placing RFID tags on the cows. We still have to remove the transponders and move the activity tags off of the transponder collar over to a weighted collar. Dad is steadily making lists of cows to dry-off early and cull cows to let go since we are going to downsize the herd.  Read more here >>>
It’s an epic battle of the “low-price” villain and the “high-price” hero
By Mark Stephenson, Center for Dairy Profitability, UW-Madison, Hoard's Dairyman
A great superhero needs a great super villain. To be candid, I’ve never had a more difficult time trying to think about the outcome of an upcoming year’s milk price battle as I have at this moment.

On the one hand, we have an economy that seems to be on the brink of slowdown or perhaps recession. This situation would typically signal weaker milk prices. On the other hand, we have slowing milk production with currently stable demand that is drawing down stocks even in the face of trade wars. This scenario should support higher milk prices.

Who wins this conflict . . . the high-price hero or the low-price villain?
Beyond Meat uses climate change to market fake meat substitutes. Scientists are cautious
As concerns mount over the dangers of a rapidly warming planet, upstart food companies are targeting a major climate-damaging food: beef.

Beyond Meat  and its privately held rival Impossible Foods have recently grabbed headlines and fast-food deals for their plant-based burgers that imitate the taste of beef.

They’ve also turned the environmental benefits of abstaining from meat into a key marketing tool for their products — drawing some skepticism from environmental researchers who say plant diets are healthier and less carbon emitting than producing processed plant-based products.

Animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse emissions, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, with 65% of those emissions coming from beef and dairy cattle.  Scientists warn that climate change will trigger an international food crisis  unless humans change the way they produce meat and use land.

While companies producing imitation meat boast of the environmental benefits, some researchers point out that for people wanting to substantially lower their carbon footprint, having unprocessed plant-based diets instead of eating imitation products is healthier and better for the planet. Read more here >>>
Diabetes 'can be kept at bay with a glass of MILK every day at breakfast time'
By Grainne Cuffe, Mirror
Drinking milk at breakfast time cuts the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, research suggests.

Scientists in Canada found a morning high-protein milk drink lowered blood sugar levels and reduced the appetite at lunchtime.

Milk contains whey and casein proteins, which release gastric hormones that slow digestion.

High levels of protein make people feel full for longer.

Prof Douglas Goff, whose findings are published in the Journal of Dairy Science, said: “Metabolic diseases are on the rise globally, with type 2 diabetes and obesity as leading concerns in human health. Read more here >>>
Other Stories to Check Out This Week >>>
Register Today for the Florida Dairy Production Conference
From Southeast AGNet
Producers are invited to attend the 2019 Florida Dairy Production Conference, Wednesday September 18, 2019 at the Straughn IFAS Extension Center (UF Campus), Gainesville, Florida. The program starts at 9 AM and some of the topics discussed include dairy calf and heifer management, selecting replacement heifers critical aspects for improving reproductive success, nutritional manipulations to improve health and fertility, along with addressing animal welfare concerns in dairy farming and engaging and educating the public about dairy practices. They also will have a session talking about dairy farming and social media. For registration and further details,  click here .
Animal Waste Operator and Planner Certification Training in November
A waste planner/operator certification training will be offered in Athens at the UGA Livestock Arena classroom on November 13 & 14, 2019. All permitted livestock operations (other than dry poultry operations) must have a certified animal waste systems operator and an implemented nutrient management plan written by a certified planner. In previous years this has been held as separate trainings, one to certify farm owners/employees to properly manage animal waste systems and the other to certify people to write nutrient management plans.

This training has been combined into one training with break-out sessions on day 2 for topics specific to each group. Both certifications require completion of this course and passing of the exam. This is the final operator/planner certification course this year. The next training will be in March 2020. Click here for registration form and information>>>
Upcoming Events >>>
GA Dairy Classifieds
TO ADVERTISE: EMAIL AD AND CONTACT INFORMATION TO FARRAH NEWBERRY at [email protected]

Registered Brown Swiss dairy cows(6) and heifers(3) for sale. 7 X 24 2004 Featherlight trailer with tack area and 2 cuts $12,000.00 and an Artic 22 semen tank (has a few straws of beef semen inside) $450. Please contact Beth Gearhart, Waynesboro, GA, 352-603-2629 text or call

For Sale: 2016 Tatoma Vertical Twin Screw Mixer. Equipped with Front Discharge and Side Discharge Extension - $35,000.00. Please contact Jim or Stephanie Waite 334-222-7957 for more information. 

Young Stock Supervisor wanted -  Hart Agriculture Waynesboro GA
Grazing 500-1000 animals,   Must be familiar with rotational grazing and breeding. Please contact Maggie 352-507-2042 or   [email protected]
 
Dairy Manager wanted -  Hart Agriculture Waynesboro GA
300-700 milking cows,   60 bale rotary, New Zealand style grazing system. Please contact Maggie 352-507-2042 or   [email protected]

Bull Calves WANTED:  Competitive pricing with 6 day a week pickup. Brandon Mason Cattle Company 912-632-4490

For Sale: Custom manure application and Dryhill manure equipment sales.  Contact Edwin @ 478-299-0717 with Agboys Custom Services LLC -  New 8"x52' lagoon pump with outriggers $24,000 (Pictured right)

For Sale:   Jersey cows, heifers and calves for sale. Registered with AJCA, all ages! Contact Matt Holton at 770-718-8271, call or text. Dawsonville, GA.

FOR HIRE : Custom Silage Harvesting. Late model JD chopper. Will travel. Let me put your quality forage up! Nic Haynes, Muddy H Farms, 678-617-3379.

FOR SALE :  We have a continuous selection of fresh and springing heifers.   Call William at   (706) 768-2857  or visit our website at   crumpdairyreplacements.org