DairyBusiness

An (almost) daily recap of dairy information:

March 4, 2010

EPA & GHG

The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed scheme to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act is “economically harmful, legally suspect and environmentally indefensible,” according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. AFBF is urging House members to support a bipartisan resolution to disapprove EPA’s greenhouse gas proposal, H.J. Res. 76, introduced by Reps. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.). The resolution would nullify EPA’s proposal, which is built around the agency’s flawed finding in December 2009 that greenhouse gases indirectly threaten human health and therefore could be regulated under the Clean Air Act.

Was 2010 optimism premature?

Was dairy’s optimism at the end of the 2009 leading to the undoing of 2010? Maybe so, suggests National Milk Producers Federation’s Roger Cryan, writing in the February 2010 Dairy Market Report. Dairy markets continue to decline. Cash prices are down from a month ago and milk futures are down for all months. Demand is lackluster: exports are back up, but to nowhere near the levels of 2008. Milk production was down slightly in January, but milk cows were up for the first time in over a year.

Management: Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition upgrades AHDairy.com

Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition upgraded its business web site, AHDairy.com, to include:

• A new section focusing on the practice of amino acid balancing

• Frequently asked questions and a research bulletin on MEGAMINE-L®­ Rumen Bypass Lysine

• Updated product research

• Frequently asked questions relating to reproduction and dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD) balancing

• Timely industry articles published in dairy trade publications relating to feeding cows for optimal performance

MARKETS: Closing on Thursday, March 4

Cheddar blocks – down 1.5¢, to $1.3050/lb.

Cheddar barrels – down 3.25¢, to $1.2500/lb.

Butter – up 1¢, to $1.4400/lb.

Extra Grade nonfat dry milk – unchanged, at $1.12/lb.

Grade A nonfat dry milk – down 1¢, to $1.11/lb.

Class III milk futures prices were steady to mixed in a narrow range through February 2012.

DAIRYLINE RADIO:  Friday

Dairy Profit Weekly’s Dave Natzke reported on his recent U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) information mission to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. The group was made up of USDEC members, USDA staff, Pennsylvania dairy farmer Paula Meabon, Arizona dairyman Paul Rovey, and North Dakota dairy farmer Kenton Holle. A centerpiece of the trip was to attend Gulfood, the largest Middle East food trade show which brought food suppliers and buyers from all over the world. They also spent five days meeting with dairy product and ingredient buyers from throughout the Mideast.

“What I found” Natzke said, “Was a region hungry for a consistent supply of U.S. dairy products and ingredients.” The United States lags well behind the European Union, New Zealand and Australia as a supplier of dairy to this emerging market, according to Natzke, and while logistics and prices put many U.S. companies at an economic disadvantage, members of the mission were told that population growth and cultural changes in the Mideast “make the market potential too great to overlook.” Listen to the conversation with DairyLine’s Lee Mielke.

For a sample copy of Dairy Profit Weekly, or subscription information, visit www.dairyprofit.com or phone: 800-334-1904, ext. 244.

Dave Natzke, Editor