2 May 2025

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Georgia Dairy Farmers: Public Hearing on Milk Assessments on Monday Morning at 10:00 AM

The Agricultural Commodity Commision for Milk will be holding a public hearing on Monday at 10:00 AM to discuss the two milk assessments that are due for renewal this year. To participate in this virtual hearing, please email the Georgia Department of Agriculture’s Fred Rayfield at Fred.Rayfield@agr.georgia.gov. He will share the registration link with you upon request. You must register ahead of time in order to speak during the hearing or provide comments.

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In this Issue:

• Headlines
• Calendar of Events
• Public Hearing for ACCM
• GCA Roundup Pesticide Credit Opportunity
• Ag Clean Day - Dispose of Unused Pesticides
• GAC & GFVGA Webinar: 2025 Legislative Wrap Up
• Dairy Dash 5k & Trail Run
• Putnam County Dairy Festival
• UGA Corn Silage Field Day
• Save the Date: Georgia Ag Labor Forum
• Georgia Beef Board Hiring New Coordinator
• FDA Food Safety Work Not Impacted
• GMP Classifieds
• Upcoming Events

Headlines

articles and press releases of interest this week

• Dairy Herd Growth Sets Stage for Robust Future
• NY Dairy Farmers Look Forward to New Opportunities $1.2 Billion Chobani Plant Will Bring
• Rollins: Trump Pressed Trudeau on Dairy Trade, Calls Issue a Priority
• Land O’Lakes CEO Says Trump Policies are “Real Concern”
• Challenge Launches “Butter Cubes” 
• NMPF Reaffirms Milk Safety After FDA Program Suspension
• How Oregon Became a World-Class Cheese State
• Trump Ready to Bail out Farmers Amid Trade War Squeeze
• Butter Yields Bound to Record Territory
• How Georgians Use Robots on the Farm
• RFK Jr. Isn’t Staying in His Lane. Trump is Thrilled
• GA Dairy Farmer Talks Sorting Gates on DairyVoice Podcast
• Fundamental Power Continues to Drive Cattle Complex Prices to New Highs
• What’s the Solution to the Heifer Shortage?
• More Cows in the Barn
• Deportations Have Dairy Farmers on Edge
• Century of PMO and Interagency Collaboration
• NMPF’s Doud: U.S. Ag Must Embrace Industrial Policy, Global Trade Reality

Calendar of Events: What to Look Forward to this Summer

We're going to mix things up and showcase our Upcoming Events towards the top of this week's newsletter because we have a lot of great events coming up over the next couple of weeks:

Monday, May 5 - ACCM Virtual Public Hearing

Information at the top of this email. For Georgia dairy farmers

Friday, May 9 - GCA Roundup Event Offers Pesticide CE Credit

*Last day to register is May 4* The Georgia Cattlemen's Association is hosting an all-day workshop in Moultrie, GA on weed control and forage systems. This event is open for all GCA members and prospective members. You can register at www.georgiacattlemen.org under the “Events” tab. It costs $20 to attend.

Tuesday, May 13 - Ag Clean Day

The Georgia Department of Agriculture will be hosting a pesticide clean day on May 13th, 2025 at St. Ives Country Club in Johns Creek, GA. This program gives everyone an opportunity to discard old, unusable, or canceled pesticides. No fees are charged for participation, and all accepted materials will be turned over to a hazardous waste contractor for disposal. To participate, fill out this form and email it to Brad Baker (brad.baker@agr.georgia.gov) by May 8, 2025.

Wednesday, May 14 - GAC & GFVGA Webinar on 2025 Legislative Session

Did you miss Georgia Farm Bureau’s webinar last week discussing all the important ag-related bills that were passed and debated this year? The Georgia Agribusiness Council and Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association are hosting a webinar with the House and Senate Ag Committee Chairs Robert Dickey & Russ Goodman as well as Sens. Drew Echols and Sam Watson. All four legislators are full-time farmers and will discuss a variety of topics from truck weights to pesticides to property taxes.

Date: May 14, 2025

Time: 1:00 PM

Where: ZOOM (Register Below)

Register HERE.

Saturday, May 17 - Dairy Dash 5k & Trail Run

Big Sandy Creek Dairy in Madison will be hosting the Dairy Dash 5k and Festival. Each year, half of the proceeds from the race and festival go to an agricultural program that supports and educates youth. This year the race will benefit the Georgia Dairy Youth Foundation.

Register HERE

Saturday, June 7 - Putnam County Dairy Festival

Kick off June Dairy month at Georgia's oldest dairy festival. Sponsored by the Pilot Club of Eatonton, the Putnam County Dairy Festival celebrates the region's history and the importance of the dairy industry to the area. The festival features a 10k, 5k, and 1 mile road race, a parade, and block party all celebrating Putnam County's dairy history and June Dairy Month. Learn more at putnamcountydairyfestival.com

Thursday, June 12 - UGA Corn Silage Field Day

The University of Georgia and University of Florida Colleges of Agriculture Extension Services are partnering to host a Silage and Stored Forage Field Day at the UGA Tifton Campus. This all day event will provide Beef and Dairy tracks for educational seminars, field and plot tours, and more. View the program flyer HERE. To register visit https://tiny.cc/CSSF2025

Save the Date - Georgia Ag Labor Relations Forum September 16 & 17

More info coming later this summer

Georgia Beef Board Hiring New Coordinator

The Georgia Beef Board, Georgia's marketing and promotional checkoff organization for beef producers, is hiring a Checkoff Program Coordinator. This position will work closely with beef cattle producers to promote the beef industry in Georgia. Based out of Perry, GA, this position will also work directly with the Georgia Cattlemen's Association.

The deadline to apply is May 15 at 5:00 PM. Email Travis Young (tjyoung09@gmail.com) and Howard Johnson (hjohnson@johnsonbattery.net) with a copy of your resume, cover letter, and salary requirement.

FDA Food Safety Mission and Dairy Supply Chain Unaffected

In April the Trump administration announced that the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) would be suspending its dairy proficiency testing program. Immediate media coverage of the announcement gave consumers the false impression that FDA was abandoning its responsibility to ensure the safety of dairy products. In reality, FDA and State food safety agencies will continue the work of ensuring our dairy food supply chain is wholesome and safe. These regulations are outlined in the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) and must be followed by all dairy farms, milk handlers, and processors. Below is a statement by the International Dairy Foods Association explaining in greater context FDA's announcement.

WASHINGTON — Roberta Wagner, senior vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs at the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), issued the following statement clarifying a pause in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) lab proficiency testing program.

“The suspension of FDA’s Grade ‘A’ proficiency testing program does not reduce the types or frequency of milk quality tests for Grade ‘A’ milk or finished dairy products as it makes its way from farms to stores across the country. All Grade ‘A’ milk continues to be subject to stringent testing and oversight throughout the supply chain—on the farm, before transportation, and multiple times at processing facilities—by both state and federal regulators, as outlined in the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance. Milk and dairy product safety remains a top priority in the United States, and consumers can continue to trust that the dairy products they purchase at retail are safe to consume. The FDA is actively evaluating alternative approaches for its annual evaluation of laboratories that test required Grade A milk samples, which is the purpose of proficiency testing and evaluation programs. FDA will keep all participating laboratories informed as new information becomes available.”

Background

The paused program was a proficiency check for laboratories, not a test of the milk or dairy products themselves. It served as an internal evaluation tool to ensure FDA-affiliated labs could accurately analyze milk samples. Many of these labs are also evaluated by third-party programs to ensure proficiency. Under the proficiency program, labs are asked to test milk samples spiked by FDA with microbiological, animal drug and chemical contaminants. The labs are evaluated on whether their results concur with those of FDA reference labs for each sample. FDA spikes the samples, analyzes them, and then allocates them into appropriate shipping containers and sends them to labs for analysis. The results need to match closely the results of FDA plus or minus a small percentage. FDA has stated they are committed to finding alternative methods to maintain the lab performance monitoring and will share those alternatives when identified.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industry, which supports more than 3.2 million jobs that generate $49 billion in direct wages and $794 billion in overall economic impact. IDFA’s diverse membership ranges from multinational organizations to single-plant companies, from dairy companies and cooperatives to food retailers and suppliers, all on the cutting edge of innovation and sustainable business practices. Together, they represent most of the milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt and cultured products, and dairy ingredients produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world. Delicious, safe and nutritious, dairy foods offer unparalleled health and consumer benefits to people of all ages.

Help UGA Complete "Dairy Technology" Survey Today

UGA College of Ag Animal Dairy Science is conducting a producer survey to identify interest, challenges, accessibility, and effectiveness of technology on dairy farms in the Southeast.

This less than 10 minute survey will help UGA faculty identify future research opportunities and develop educational program.

Take the Dairy Technology Survey HERE





April Dairy Market Report

GMP Classifieds

Want to showcase your business to dairy producers and industry professionals across the Southeast and US? Email info@gamilk.org to learn more about how you can advertise in the GMP E-News

Thank you to our Associate Members

The missions of Georgia Milk Producers is to support, sustain, and grow the Georgia dairy industry. In addition to our partners in industry who support the Georgia Dairy Conference each January, we are also offering an opportunity for allied industry to partner with GMP year-round, network with producers throughout the year, and promote their companies outside of the conference. Thank you to our inaugural Associate Members, FERA Animal Health and BMO Bank.

Until Next Time,

Bryce Trotter