National Dairy Leaders Meet in Denver
Dairy Profit Weekly editor, Dave Natzke, also attended the National Dairy Leaders conference this week in Denver and reported Friday that the economy and its impact on farmers’ milk prices was on everybody’s mind. He said there still seems to be some “shock” among producers on how quickly and how far milk prices have fallen.
Many western dairy farmers he talked with said that, at current milk prices, they were losing up to $3 per cow per day, or nearly $100,000 per month, for each 1,000 cows.
Regionally, Natzke reported that there was concern over the recent collapse of the New Frontier Bank of Greeley, which some estimated provided financing for up to one-third of the dairy cows in Colorado and adjoining states.
“Despite the economic situation, producers and other dairy leaders were engaged in many other issues affecting their businesses,” Natzke said, “A good sign that they do see a future in the dairy industry.”
Updating DairyLine listeners on recent developments in the ongoing rbST-free debate; Natzke reported that a U.S. district judge has denied an injunction sought by the International Dairy Foods Association and Organic Trade Association to block implementation of Ohio’s milk labeling rule that restricts use of “rbST-free” or “hormone-free” labels, ruling that such labels are misleading. Similar labeling legislation was approved in Kansas, and awaits the governor’s decision.
Meanwhile, the Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, which opposes use of recombinant bovine somatotropin, said more than half of the nation’s 100 largest dairy processors have completely or partially discontinued accepting milk from cows supplemented with rbST.
In contrast, Natzke reported on a study involving milk processing company executives and consumers which concluded that the dairy industry may have overreacted and acted too quickly in prohibiting rbST use by their dairy farmer suppliers. The report said the shift to “rbST-free milk” was driven by a small percentage of consumers and yielded minimal consumer response, according to Natzke, and most executives said they would not make the decision again.
Monday, we’ll learn from a California dairy producer why she’s not concerned over the talk about “sustainability” and dairy farmers and we have our weekly Pfizer “Vet Visit” in our second half.