As printed in our April 10, 2018 issue . . .
MANURE-RELATED AIR EMISSIONS do not have to be reported under CERCLA or the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. That clarification took place when Congress included language in an omnibus bill signed into law by President Trump.
TO PRESERVE CO-OP’S COMPETITIVE POSITION in the marketplace, Congress recreated the Section 199 provision previously amended in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The change also was included in the mid-March omnibus bill, and it is retroactive to January 1, 2018.
KEY COMPONENTS OF THE DAIRY PRIDE ACT were added to the same bill. It instructs FDA to restrict the ability of those producing products from plant foods to use the term “milk.” This also extends to misusing other dairy food names such as “cheese” and “yogurt.”
CLASS III FUTURES HELD STEADY from early- to late-March trading on the CME. April to December contracts averaged near $15.30, with May being the low at $14.40 and October the high at $15.95.
AT A $15.90 to $16.20 PROJECTED PAYOUT, New Zealand’s farm gate milk prices would be just under the 2018 U.S. All-Milk price projection of $16.27. Those projections were made using Fonterra’s and USDA’s data.
MAILBOX MILK PRICES AVERAGED $17.31, based on a weighted average, during 2017. That was $1.36 higher than 2016, and it was up 29 cents from 2015. However, net prices were off $6.73 from the 2014 record.
NEW MEXICO AND MICHIGAN had the lowest Mailbox Milk Prices among all regions at $15.24 and $15.59 per hundredweight, respectively. California came next at $16.19. On the high end, Florida netted $19.02.
FEBRUARY MILK FLOW CLIMBED 1.8 percent nationally. California rose 3.5 percent; Wisconsin, +0.1; and Idaho, +4.8. Third-ranked milk state, New York, dropped 2.3 percent. Colorado led all gainers, up 7.7 percent.
CLASS I MARKET SHARE DROPPED to a modern-day low of 30 percent when reviewing the 2017 Federal Milk Marketing Order data. Just five years earlier, Class I beverage sales had been 35.5 percent of all milk sales.
WINE PASSED DAIRY TO CLAIM second place among California’s agricultural exports. Top five included: almonds sales at $4.5 billion; wine, $1.5B; dairy products, $1.4B; walnuts, $1.3B; and pistachios, $1.1B.
CALIFORNIA ACCOUNTED FOR 32 PERCENT of U.S. dairy exports. Meanwhile, the Golden State exported 100 percent of almonds, walnuts, and pistachios. It also exports 91-plus percent of all U.S. wine.
THE WORLD’S LARGEST PIZZA COMPANY, Domino’s, opened its 15,000th store. McDonald’s added three dairy-based items to its menu: white Cheddar slices for sandwiches, McCafé Turtle coffee, and ready-to-drink McCafé Frappes. Dean Foods shed over 100 patrons in eight states.
In your next issue!
U.S. DAIRY PROCESSING HAS GONE GLOBAL.
Just 20 years ago, America’s top 10 dairy processors were entirely U.S.-based organizations. Now, it’s a 50-50 split between domestic and foreign entities.
QUALITY ONLY COUNTS WHEN IT REACHES THE COW.
Harvest technique is key to making winter forage a high-quality feed.
MAKING SENSE OF SENSORS IN TRANSITION COW CARE.
Activity sensors can detect more data than needed just for heat detection; they can provide useful information to support management on different levels.
