DairyBusiness

(Northeast U.S. news updates appearing in the November 2009 edition of Eastern DairyBusiness)

New York consumers trust their dairy farmer neighbors

New York consumers trust state dairy farmers to produce a safe, healthy and abundant supply of food, according to a recent survey. The survey of more than 600 residents – living within six miles of an active dairy farm – was conducted in spring 2009 by the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition, with grant support from the New York Center for Dairy Excellence. Key consumer attitudes identified were:

• 85% have a very favorable impression of dairy farming in New York.

• Between 85% and 96% of respondents agree that dairy farms have a very positive impact on New York. More than 50% cite the “availability of local products” as the greatest benefit. Other benefits include support for the local economy; adding to the quality of life, creating jobs, environmental stewardship and helping young farmers get started.

• 46% view farmers as the most preferred/effective vehicle for communicating messages about dairy farming, followed by ag and markets representatives, dairy organizations, veterinarians and county Extension educators.

• The majority of respondents (77%-87%) who have seen New York Animal Agriculture Coalition’s TV ads and billboards about dairy farming consider them to be very believable. Nearly three-quarters of respondents who saw the campaign about dairy farming also indicated they had a much more favorable image of dairy farming in New York.

For more information on the New York Animal Agriculture Coalition, visit www.farmskeepnygreen.com.

Financial statements explained online

The Center for Farm Financial Management created a new online workshop series to help ag producers and advisors understand and use four major financial statements and 21 financial measures recommended by the Farm Financial Standards Council.

The new website, Interpreting Financial Statements and Measures (IFSaM), provides benchmarks to evaluate financial positions and performance. The series is free, with funding provided by the North Central Risk Management Education Center. For information, visit http://ifsam.cffm.umn.edu.

Penn State to host 2010 Manure Expo

The 2010 Manure Expo will be held on July 15, at Penn State’s Russell E. Larson Ag Research Center, Rock Springs, Pa.

The event is sponsored in part by Penn State, Cornell University, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, Virginia Tech and USDA. For more information, phone: 814-863-2263; e-mail: manureexpo@psu.edu; or visit www.das.psu.edu/manure-expo.

‘Bedded Pack’ resource available

The “Bedded Pack Management System Case Study,”  E.B. 2009-16, Dept. of Applied and Managerial Economics, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, is now available.

An electronic copy is available at: www.aem.cornell.edu/outreach/extensionpdf/2009/Cornell_AEM_eb0916.pdf

For a printed copy, contact Kim Holden, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Delaware County, e-mail: kmh19@cornell.edu.

Pennsylvania raises over-order premium

Acting on a petition filed by the Greater Northeast Milk Marketing Agency (GNEMMA), the Pennsylvania Milk Marketing Board increased the state’s over-order  premium by 50¢, to $2.65/cwt., for November and December 2009. The board previously set the over-order premium at $2.15/cwt. for July through December 2009, based on a forecast of higher milk prices. The over-order premium fuel adjuster also remains in effect.

Members of GNEMMA which market milk for Pennsylvania dairy farmers include Dairylea, Dairy Farmers of America, Dairy Marketing Services, Land O’Lakes, Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers’ Co-op and Upstate Niagara Co-op.

AMTS.Dairy released

A new software program, AMTS.Dairy, was released during the 2009 Cornell Nutrition Conference Pre-Conference Symposium. Developed for current CPM Dairy users, the new software includes the following improvements:

• is multi-group

• allows importing of electronic feed analysis

• is designed to be integrated with all AMTS  products allowing data exchange with other software packages

•  is multi-lingual

• handles the file saving and all file management chores

• includes the current CNCPS v. 6.1 biology and will continue to update the biological model as new research is conducted.

As with all AMTS products:

• files can be shared between users,

• CPM Dairy files can be imported,

• automatically updates to the software and feed library

For more information, e-mail: sales@agmodelsystems.com or phone 607-838-3322.

2010 Winter Dairy Management Workshops

‘New York’s 2010 Winter Dairy Management Workshops offer information on new and traditional herd health surveillance tools to help stop that loss, according to John Conway, with Cornell University’s PRO-DAIRY program. Workshop topics and presenters include:.

• Money on the Table – Workshop Focus, Case Farms and Your Farm’s Data:  Dr. Jerry Bertoldo  and Collin McCarthy, NWNY Dairy & Field Crops Team; John Conway, PRO-DAIRY; and Joan Petzen, Wyoming CCE.

• Catching all sorts of pathogens at “Stage 0” – QMPS’ new bulk tank surveillance program. Tonya Van Slyke, Dr. Frank Welcome, Dr. Linda Tikofsky, Dr. Gary Bennett and Dr. Mike Zurakowski, QMPS

• Foot health assessment and root cause diagnoses: Kathy Finnerty, NYSCHAP;  Dr. Paul Virkler, Cornell Vet School Population Medicine & Diagnostic Sciences; and Frans Vokey, Lewis CCE

• Herd health and animal well-being audits: Finnerty and Virkler.

• Your Farm’s Surveillance Data – Q & A with all presenters.

Most workshops will run from 10:30 a.m.– 3 p.m., and includes lunch. Registration fee is about $25/farm, with additional personnel from the same farm at about $15, depending on location. Workshops will be held at the following locations:

Date Location Contact Phone E-mail

Jan. 11 Geneva Collin McCarthy 585-394-3977 cgm2@cornell.edu

Jan. 12 Batavia Jerry Bertoldo 585-343-3040 grb23@cornell.edu

Jan. 13 Portageville Joan Petzen 585-786-2251 jsp10@cornell.edu

Jan. 14 Randolph Lisa Kempisty 716-664-9502 ljk4@cornell.edu

Jan. 15 Bath Kerri Bartlett 607-664-2300 ksb29@cornell.edu

Jan. 18 Cortland John Conway 607-547-2536 jfc6@cornell.edu

Jan. 19 Richfield Springs Dave Balbian 518-762-3909 drb23@cornell.edu

Jan. 20 Saratoga Springs Sandy Ferry 518-746-2560 slf10@cornell.edu

Jan. 21 Chazy (Miner) Emily Myers 815-353-4949 erm35@cornell.edu

Jan. 22 Carthage Frans Vokey 315-376-5270 fjv2@cornell.edu