DairyProfit Update for April 20, 2012
Senate Ag Committee Farm Bill draft includes Dairy Security Act language
The draft farm bill language released Friday afternoon, April 20, by the Senate Agriculture Committee includes the key components of the Foundation for the Future dairy policy reform developed by National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) nearly two years ago. The dairy legislation begins at Section 1401 (page 68) in Title 1 - Subtitle D and goes through Section 1481 (page 111).
In preparation for an Agriculture Committee markup next week, Senate Ag Committee chair Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), along with ranking member Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), released the provisions of the entire farm bill, including the dairy legislative language.
March cow culling second-highest monthly total since January ’97
High cull cow prices and declining milk prices are having an impact. USDA estimated 278,000 culled dairy cows were slaughtered under federal inspection in March 2012, up 16,900 from February 2012 and 9,900 more than March 2011. Through the first three months of 2012, cull cow slaughter totaled 803,000, up 22,200 from the same period in 2011.
The March 2012 total is the second-highest monthly total since January 1997, surpassed only by the 281,000 culled dairy cows slaughtered under federal inspection in January 2009. Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) conducted three herd retirement programs in 2009. The March 2012 total surpassed the 276,000 head slaughtered under federal inspection in October 2003, the year of the first CWT herd retirement program.
Dairy Sustainability Report, Carbon Footprint resources now available
In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy® released the 2011 U.S. Dairy Sustainability Report, updating dairy industry sustainability efforts.
“Earth Day is an ideal time for the dairy industry to provide an update on our long-standing, unified commitment to healthy people, healthy communities and a healthy planet,” said Paul Rovey, Arizona dairy producer and chair of Dairy Management Inc.™, which manages the national dairy checkoff and the Innovation Center. The checkoff established the Innovation Center and U.S. Dairy Sustainability Commitment in 2009.
Additionally, the Innovation Center has unveiled three online tools – Dairy Plant Smart and Dairy Fleet Smart – to help processors and transporters calculate their carbon footprints and identify opportunities to save energy and money; and SaveEnergy, a decision-making resource that identifies financial assistance opportunities for farm energy audits and equipment upgrades.
To obtain an executive summary of the report and to learn more about the industry’s unified efforts on sustainability, visit www.usdairy.com/Sustainability.
IDFA prepares for Senate Farm Bill markup
As the U.S. Senate prepares to mark up a 2012 Farm Bill on Wednesday, April 25, dairy processing industry leaders will be in Washington, D.C. to urge members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry to oppose the Dairy Security Act (H.R. 3062) as the dairy title in the Farm Bill. They will participate in a press briefing, urging alternative policy that provides an insurance-based safety net for dairy farmers.
Participants will include: Jerry Slominski, International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) senior vice president, legislative and economic affairs; and IDFA member companies – David Ahlem, vice president of dairy procurement and policy, Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc.; Miriam Erickson Brown, president and CEO, Anderson Erickson Dairy; and Jon Davis, president and CEO, Davisco Foods International. The briefing is set for April 24, 10 a.m., in the Lisagor Room, National Press Club, 529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
Cold storage
March 2012 butter stocks totaled 210.6 million lbs., +3% from February 2012 and +46% from March 2011, according to USDA’s latest Cold Storage report. Total cheese stocks were estimated at 1.005 billion lbs., +2% from February 2012, but -2% from March 2011. American cheese, at 621.9 million lbs., was +2% from Febuary and +2% from a year earlier.
Cattle on feed
U.S. slaughter cattle and calves in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.5 million head on April 1, 2012, 2% more than a year earlier. March 2012 placements totaled 1.79 million (1.72 million net), about 6% less than a year earlier. March fed cattle marketings totaled 1.92 million, 4% less than a year earlier.
MARKETS: Blocks up; Class III futures mixed
Today's market closing prices:
Cheddar barrels: unchanged at $1.46/lb.
Cheddar blocks: up 1.75¢, to $1.5275/lb.
Butter: unchanged, at $1.4125/lb.
Extra Grade nonfat dry milk: down 1¢, to $1.1275/lb.
Grade A nonfat dry milk: down 1¢, to $1.1675/lb.
Class III milk: mixed in a narrow range through December 2013. Based on current closing prices, the 2012 average is $15.84/cwt.; 2013 average is $15.88/cwt.
Soybean meal futures jump
Corn: -5¢ to -10¢/bushel through December 2012. The 2012 average is $5.74/bu.; 2013 average is $5.49/bu.
Soybeans: +13¢ to +31¢ through November 2012. The 2012 average is $14.17/bu.; 2013 average is $13.06/bu.
Soybean meal: +$6.80 to +$14.50 through December 2012. The 2012 average is $391.27/ton; 2013 average is $341.05/ton.
• NMPF: Planets aligned for work on Farm Bill
• Semen Handling Techniques with Select Sires' Ray Nebel
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