FIRSTHAND
MILKLINE
July 2015
E WKSNLOW
E T TL E
R GE
M I L K I N D U SNT RY
ED
HIGHLIGHTS:
Summer Snapshots p 2
TPA Reaches the Finish Line p 3
MPP Tracker and Sign-Ups p 5
Nominations Now Open p 3
2015 Scholarship Recipients p 4
Visit Us at Farm Tech Days p 5
What Seems Like A
New Language
Acronyms can be a powerful
abbreviation for something very
meaningful (another words a real
word), but it can also cause a glassy
eye appearance if you don’t have a clue
what it really means. I feel that way today
with a teenage son that can text pretty
fast and can have quite a meaningful
conversation with a friend by using
acronyms like brb, Ikr, nm, gtg and btw
(more on these later). I guess it largely
stems from me not really knowing what
those letters mean.
In reading an article recently written by
Rob Vandenheuvel, General Manager
for the Milk Producers Council to his
members in California, I realized that we
in the dairy industry can be just as guilty
in using acronyms because we look to
abbreviate something we already know
too well. Take for example the Margin
Protection Program which has now
become commonly known as MPP or
the Farm Service Agency as FSA.
With all the news out of Washington
D.C. lately revolving around trade issues,
it has become commonplace to let the
letters fly, so much so that it feels like
we have transported ourselves back
into a time capsule to Junior High text
message times. (Wait a minute, we
didn’t have text messaging back then…
let alone handheld cell phone which
then resembled a suitcase with a phone
inside.) So acronyms like USTR, TPA,
TPP, TAA and TTIP have been flying
around and they make sense to me,
strangely because I see them every
day and frankly understand what they
mean. However, as I read Rob’s article,
it struck me that all dairy producers in
the United States likely see these letters
from time to time, but maybe never really
understood what they stood for.
Here is a quick snapshot of what these
acronyms stand for:
USTR – U.S. Trade
Representative: Michael Froman
current serves in this role. This is an
appointed Cabinet position serving
under the President, responsible for
“developing and coordinating U.S.
international trade, commodity, and
direct investment policy, and overseeing
negotiations with other countries.”
Basically, when the U.S. is interested
in entering into a trade agreement with
a foreign nation, the USTR is our main
representative.
TPA – Trade Promotion
Authority (also known as “fast
track”): This authority is given to the
President from Congress for use in
negotiating trade agreements with
foreign nations. Under TPA, as these
negotiations are ongoing, there are
specific requirements to consult with
and notify Congressional leaders of
progress. In return, at the end of the
negotiation, Congress still needs to
either support or oppose the agreement,
but it is a simple up-or-down vote – no
amendments are allowed. This authority
is understandably critical in negotiating
a successful trade agreement, as it is
highly unlikely a foreign nation would
be willing or able to agree to terms of
a negotiation with the knowledge that
Congress can always amend those
terms later on. The previous term of
this authority expired in 2007, although
any agreements that began prior to that
expiration were allowed to continue
under the TPA rules.
TPP – Trans Pacific Partnership:
This is an ongoing negotiation currently
amongst twelve “TransPacific”
countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada,
Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United
States, and Vietnam. These discussions
have been ongoing for many years, with
the U.S. beginning our involvement in
the talks in 2008.
TAA – Trade Adjustment
Assistance: This is a federal government
Continued on Page 5...
Dedicated to serving and representing you, our family farm members, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative represents farms in Wisconsin,
Minnesota, South Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois and Indiana through policy bargaining, dairy marketing services, laboratory testing
opportunities and industry promotion.
Cooperative Happenings
C O NTAC T I NFO R M ATI O N
Summer Snapshots
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President: Peter Kleiman
Wilson, Mich. 906-497-5350
Vice President: Richard Meyer
Unity, Wis. 715-223-2058
Secretary: Kathy Bauer
Faribault, Minn. 507-332-2870
Summer is always an exciting time, especially for youth. It’s a time to work
on training animals for fair, spending days on the farm and simply enjoying
adventures in the great outdoors.
We’ve supported many events over the past couple of months, and below are a few
snapshots, including several individuals participating in Badger Dairy Camp and a
kindergarten class visit to a member’s farm.
Treasurer: Randy Geiger
Reedsville, Wis. 920-772-4184
Member-at-Large: Mark Ryan
Fond du Lac, Wis. 920-923-3528
David Allen – Reedsburg, Wis. 608-524-4786
Wayne Hansen – Van Dyne, Wis. 920-922-0203
Kelly King – Edgar, Wis. 715-581-3850
Lee Klumpers – Waupun, Wis. 920-229-3489
John Rettler - Neosho, Wis. 920-625-3237
Joe Schmitt – Holy Cross, Iowa 563-552-1135
Dave Schmitz – Fond du Lac, Wis. 920-921-4212
Brian Wozniak – Stanley, Wis. 715-703-0361
Ken Wunderlin – Livingston, Wis. 608-943-6496
July is National Ice Cream
Month. Celebrate by
enjoying a scoop or two! - of some
delicious ice cream.
Badger Dairy
Camp participants
polish their
showing skills as
they practice leading a few Holstein
heifers during the
three-day camp.
A kindergarten
class gets to
experience a
dairy farm up
close as they
visited the
Wiese Dairy
farm earlier this
year.
Member Elections Coming This Fall
Make your nominations today!
MAILING ADDRESS
P.O. Box 14380
Madison, WI 53708-0380
Our annual nomination period has begun and will run through September. Later
this fall, ballots will be sent to each district member to cast their vote for who
they’d like to serve in these open positions. These positions include:
MADISON OFFICE
Board of Director open this year to Districts 1, 3 and 5
4001 Nakoosa Trail, Suite 100
Madison, WI 53714
(608) 244-3373
Districting & Resolutions Commitee member
open this year to Districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9
visit us on
FarmFirstDairyCooperative.com
Like us on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/FarmFirstDairyCooperative
Member Delegates open to all members, annually
Making a nomination is easy - simply go to www.FarmFirstDairyCooperative.
com and click on ‘Make a Nomination’ or call the office at 608-244-3373.
··· 2 ···
Government & Legislative Update
FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative Visits
with Legislators in D.C.
FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative maintains
representation in Washington D.C.
throughout the year, actively voicing
members’ concerns to our political
leaders. General Manager, David Cooper,
recently made a visit along with lobbyist
Steve Etka to speak in person with
legislators on several important issues.
FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative has been:
Advocating for the inclusion of flavored milk which is not fat free
which is the current requirement in the upcoming reauthorization
of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act which would improve
the variety and availability of milk served in schools
Voicing our concerns about geographical indicators on
products such as cheese and its implication on trade opportunities
Requesting that Margin Protection Program premiums be
allowed on a monthly basis as a deduction by the milk plant versus a
lump sum payment. As well, a decision and implementation of the
Intergenerational Transfer option for farms with children entering
the operation
Supporting trade dialogue through Trade Promotion Authority
(TPA) which can enable more aggressive and efficient trade
negotiations that are expected to benefit dairy farmers and help to
maintain market access opportunities
TPA Legislation Reaches
Finish Line
It has been an endurance race mirrored with challenges and surprising
twists and turns, but Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) was finally
passed in the House and cleared the Senate (a second time on a vote
of 60-37). Now the complementary legislation on Trade Adjustment
Assistance has to be approved, finishing off what was once combined
legislation which turned into independent bills.
Many felt TPA was crucial in allowing a better opportunity for
negotiating a deal for dairy farmers in the pending Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP), as well as in future free trade agreements. TPA
should now be used by our negotiators to conclude a positive outcome
for U.S. dairy producers in TPP so that we are able to realize the net
trade benefits that a strong agreement can offer the industry. The
TPP agreement includes 12 countries that make up 40% of the world
economy, so a lot is at stake if positive trade results can be achieved.
Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and
Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) played key roles in drafting and
steering TPA through Congress successfully. Hatch is chairman of
the Senate Finance Committee, and Wyden is senior Democrat on
that committee. Ryan is chairman of the House Ways and Means
Committee. TPA, which expired in 2007, is important to the U.S. dairy
industry because the U.S. now exports the equivalent of one-seventh of
its milk production annually. In 2014, much of the record high milk price
was driven by the upswing in demand and the acceleration of export
growth, which slowed in the fall of 2014.
National Consistency in GMO Labeling
As GMO’s continue to be discussed at length on how they could possibly
be regulated by the government, a recent hearing has reinforced the
benefits of establishing a national standard for labeling foods with
genetically modified ingredients. This would provide consistency across
the U.S., compared to a patchwork of state requirements that would
continue to confuse and frustrate food marketers.
“State-by-state GMO labeling is simply not an option, as testimony
at this hearing and earlier hearings have shown,” said Jim Mulhern,
National Milk Producer’s Federation president and CEO. “A better
approach is federal legislation that would set up voluntary regulations
for labeling foods with GMO ingredients.” That legislation, the Safe
and Accurate Food Labeling Act, was reviewed recently by the House
Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, during a hearing on
developing a national framework for the labeling of foods made through
biotechnology.
In March, Vermont dairy farmer Joanna Lidback and Land O’Lakes
Chief Executive Office Chris Policinski testified on GMO labeling before
the House Agriculture Committee. Lidback said genetically modified
seeds keep her farm’s feed bills low and allow her to use less fertilizer
and pesticides. Her state has enacted
a mandatory GMO labeling bill that is
scheduled to go into effect next year.
Policinski said state GMO labeling
“would be a logistical nightmare,
creating dozens of different standards, different definitions, and different
exemptions.”
The federal legislation endorsed by NMPF was introduced this spring by
Reps. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) and G.K. Butterfield (D-NC). It requires the
FDA to set standards for companies wishing to label products as either
containing or not containing GMOs.
“The Pompeo-Butterfield bill would deal with GMO labeling at the
national level,” Mulhern said. “It would set uniform rules and provide a
national certification program for foods that have been produced without
bioengineering.”
GMOs have been proven safe by nearly 2,000 studies from the leading
scientific bodies in the world, including the World Health Organization
and the American Medical Association. Currently, up to 80 percent of the
food available in the U.S. contains genetically modified ingredients.
Industry Happenings
CWT Extended Through 2018
Cooperatives Working Together,
the farmer-funded export
assistance program known as
CWT, was voted to continue
through 2018 at the current
level of four cents per hundredweight. CWT’s extension until
December 31, 2018, comes at a time of increasing U.S. milk
production, declining world dairy prices and increased global
competition due to the removal of European Union milk quotas.
How does CWT benefit U.S. dairy farmers?
Helps maintain U.S. exports when world prices are below domestic prices, keeping US as a more
reliable export supplier
Helps maintain domestic dairy prices when world prices are lower
Focuses on milkfat containing products – butter, cheese, and whole milk powder where domestic-
world price gaps exist and are affected by exports
Year-to-date, CWT has assisted member cooperatives who
have contracts to sell 38.402 million pounds of cheese,
30.395 million pounds of butter and 22.099 million pounds
of whole milk powder to twenty eight countries on five
continents. The amounts of cheese, butter and whole milk
powder in these sales contracts represent the equivalent of
1.200 billion pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.
Assisting CWT members
through the Export
Assistance program,
in the long-term, helps
member cooperatives
gain and maintain market
share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and
the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This, in turn, positively
impacts all U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and
maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact
their milk price.
2015 Scholarship Recipients Announced
FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative is proud to announce it’s 2015 scholarship recipients, awarding more than $21,000 in scholarships
to 25 high school and collegiate students pursuing post-secondary education. Scholarship recipients were selected based on
leadership, scholastic achievement and extracurricular activities in addition to essay responses and their future career goals.
Thank you to all applicants for your participation and outstanding achievements.
These students received a FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative scholarship in honor of Bill Walters, who was a strong agricultural
supporter and great radio voice. Our next edition of the MilkLine will recognize an additional thirteen individuals receiving a
FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative scholarship.
Kory Anderson
Mindoro, Wis.
Katie Bock
Malone, Wis.
James Kollross
Arpin, Wis.
Matthew Kramer
St. Cloud, Wis.
Jakob Kruger
Westfield, Wis.
Stacie Luxton
Hillpoint, Wis.
Luke Mroczenski
Athens, Wis.
Lindsay Rettenmund
Black Earth, Wis.
McKenzie Rowley
Loyal, WIs.
Jake Rueth
Loyal, Wis.
Trevor Scheiderer
Edgar, Wis.
Kaila Wussow
Cecil, Wis.
··· 4 ···
In Honor of Our Nation’s
Independence Day
MPP Tracker
All-Milk
Price
MPP
Feed Cost
MPP
Margin
Jan 2015
$17.60
$9.2643
$8.3356
Feb 2015
$16.80
$9.1446
$7.6553
Mar 2015
$16.60
$9.0738
$7.5262
Apr 2015
$16.50
$9.0179
$7.4821
May 2015
$16.70
$8.8676
$7.8323
Month
Fifty-six men signed
the Declaration of
Independence, and of
those men, nine were
farmers or plantation
owners. Today,
agriculture and rural
America continue to make sacrifices for this country.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack often touts the fact
that 16 percent of the U.S. population lives and works
in rural areas, but 40 percent of the nation’s military
personnel comes from those same areas. While we
recognized this day of our nation’s independence with
parades and fireworks, let us remember those who have
sacrificed for our freedom.
Two-Month
Average
$7.9955
$7.5041
N/A
Numbers referenced are USDA’s Farm Service Agency national average prices and calculations used to determine indemnity payments under the Margin Protection Program for Dairy.
Note: The next MPP Sign-Up is now open
July 1 - September 30, 2015 for coverage in 2016.
What Seems Like A New Language (Cont.)
program that “provides a path for employment growth and
opportunity through aid to U.S. workers who have lost their jobs as a
result of foreign trade.” The services available to displaced workers
under this program include: job training, job search and relocation
allowances, income support, and assistance with healthcare premium
costs.
You have read a lot in the news this past month on the passage
of TPA and TAA and how these are paving the way for TPP
discussions. Hopefully these explanations help make those
news articles a little clearer with what is at stake. Going back to
my teenage son, I understand his acronyms a little better now
as well, because he took the time to help someone like me
understand. Who would have ever thought that brb meant “be
right back”, ikr meant “I know right”, nm meant “not much”, gtg
meant “got to go” and btw stood for “by the way”. I guess in the
future writing less may mean we are saying more, but for now
we will stick with the long version until we all understand what
those letters mean.
TTIP - The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
is a trade and investment agreement, which the European Union
(EU) is negotiating with the United States. As we have shared in
many articles before, the concern at this time in the discussion is the
desire of the EU to exert geographical indicators, an attempt to limit
the ability for selling cheeses which have common food names today
like Feta, Gouda, Mozzarella, Asiago, Gorgonzola.
Article by David Cooper,
FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative
Visiting the Wisconsin Farm Tech Days?
Stop by Booth B091 in Tent B!
Wisconsin Farm Technology Days is
being held on August 25 – 27 in Dane
County this year at the Statz Brothers,
Inc. farm located near Sun Prairie.
The largest farm show held in
Wisconsin and one of the largest in
the nation, this event is sure one not
to miss. The three-day outdoor event
showcases the latest improvements in
production agriculture, including many practical applications of
recent research findings and technological developments.
More than 600 commercial and educational exhibitors will be
in Tent City including FarmFirst Dairy Coopearative, ready and
eager to visit with thousands of visitors to the annual event. A
wide variety of agricultural products and services used in today’s
dairy, livestock and crop production systems will be on display.
Come visit us at Booth B091 at Tent B. We look forward to
meeting you there!
See you at Farm Technology Days on August 25 - 27!
··· 5 ···
Federal Milk Order
Market Information
MAY 2015
Order Name and Number
Producer Milk (lbs.)
Producer Price Differential @ base zone
Statistical Uniform Price/cwt @ 3.5% BF*
Class I Price/cwt
Class II Price/cwt
Class III Price/cwt
Class IV Price/cwt
Component Prices & Test Avg. % aves
Butterfat/lb.
$2.0599
Protein/lb.
$2.5206
Other Solids/lb.
$0.25330
SCC Adjust Rate/1000
$0.00083
Producer Milk Classified %
Class I
Class II
Class III
Class IV
UPPER MIDWEST
Order 30
2,306,955,517
$0.01
$16.20
$ 17.63
$14.81
$16.19
$13.91
CENTRAL
Order 32
1,115,466,400
-$0.21
$15.98
$17.83
$14.81
$16.19
$13.91
MIDEAST
Order 33
1,486,636,927
-$0.21
$15.98
$17.83
$14.81
$16.19
$13.91
3.72%
3.05%
5.74%
3.67%
3.08%
5.79%
3.65%
3.03%
5.74%
12.30%
8.30%
73.80%
5.60%
100.00%
34.46%
13.12%
31.82%
20.60%
100.00%
33.70%
22.70%
21.30%
22.30%
100.00%
PRESORTED STD
US POSTAGE
PAID
MADISON, WI
PERMIT NO. 1
It’s National
Ice Cream Month!
Welcome New Members
We would like to welcome these individuals and farms that
have joined FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative during the past
year. We look forward to your participation and involvement
in the programs and services of your cooperative where we
put members first.
Luke & Denise Mugan
Phillip Miller
Donna & Bryan Reilly
Scott & Nancy Hulfachor
Robert Kissinger
Dean Bezek
Jeffrey Jacobs
Elishah Schroeder
Charles & Katie Burkholder
Ricky Hesser
Jeffrey & Jennifer Lamie
Tyler Prudlick
Jeffery Trice
Christ Beiler
Jennifer Sauer
Abram Beiler
Anthony Reis
Mark Lavon & Sarah Martin
Jim Wessels
Scott, Terry & Shane Haas
Gary Przybylski
Jamie & Erin Gardner
James Kabara
Keith & Kent Bauer
John Speerstra
Leonard & Grace Burkholder
Bryanne Gonzales
Brad Marten
Johnathon Losievski
Justin Eloranta
Submit Your Classified Ads Today!
Visit our website at www.farmfirstdairycooperative.com and click ‘Classified Ads.’