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Northwest Iowa Dairy Outlooks

“A local discussion of current science and issues concerning dairying in northwest iowa”

Category Archives: dairy

April 26, 2017 Time To Start Fly Control Strategies

While horn flies and face flies are most commonly found on cattle in pastures, stable flies and house flies are more commonly found on cattle at the dairy. House flies are a nuisance for workers and cattle, often indicating a general sanitation problem. Stable flies, deer flies and horse flies, feed on blood from the back and legs, with stable flies having a long, bayonet-like proboscis that causes a painful sting.

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April 26, 2017 Scholarships Available From Sioux County Dairy Board

The Sioux County Dairy Board has scholarships available for high school seniors and college students. The deadline for both scholarships is May 1, 2017. If you have any questions, please contact siouxcountydairy@gmail.com.

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April 25, 2017 Dairy Cow Slaughter Up From 2016

According to the United States Department of Agriculture report this week, dairy cow culling was up nearly 8,900 head from March of 2016. The USDA reported that 271,000 dairy cows were harvested through federally inspected plants in March. That’s up nearly 18,000 head over February; However, March had three more business days than February.

The Midwest area, including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska saw 5,700 dairy cows go to slaughter in March, while the first quarter slaughter totaled 18,400 head.

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April 24, 2017 Kurt Wierda Elected As New Chairman Of Dairy Iowa

I enjoyed the opportunity to be part of the planning for 2017-18 Dairy Iowa steering committee last week. The discussion resulted in three action items that will be meaningful to the dairymen of Iowa. Including: Telling Iowa’s dairy story with social media training; conducting a comparison of benefits to processors building/expanding in the Midwest plus the states of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana; and conducting business planning educational programs. All of these will be planned for the next 12-18 months.

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April 20, 2017 March Milk Production up 1.8 Percent

National Agriculture Statistics Service reports milk production in the 23 major States during March totaled 17.5 billion pounds, up 1.8 percent from March 2016. February revised production at 15.6 billion pounds, was down 1.2 percent from February 2016. However, production was 2.3 percent above last year after adjusting for the leap year. The February revision represented a decrease of 27 million pounds or 0.2 percent from last month’s preliminary production estimate.

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April 20, 2017 Returns To Management For Dairymen Fell In March

In his March Dairy Budget report UNL Educator Robert Tigner notes returns to management for milk produced in the Central milk market order declined 42 cents/cwt in March 2017 but were still positive at $1.57/cwt. The largest decline was in income with a drop of protein income. As you may know the protein price dropped during March, -1.31555/cwt of 20,000 pound cows, but the PPD increased by $0.48/cwt. Feed costs were slightly lower but less than 1 cents/cwt. The Central Order March butterfat price was virtually the same as Februarys, down less than 1 cents per pound.

His detailed report can found by clicking Copy of March-dairy budget

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April 20, 2017 Consumer Concerns Drive Food Choices

University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences researcher Brenna Ellison, plus Kathleen Brooks, and Taro Mieno of the University of Nebraska completed a study that found for many consumers, buying a gallon of milk is much more complex than finding the preferred fat content and expiration date. They want to know how the cows were treated, what they were fed, whether they received growth hormones or antibiotics, whether the milk is organic, and so on. The recent University of Illinois study ranks which of these production attributes are most important to buyers for four different products: beef, chicken, milk, and eggs.

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April 19, 2017 Alan Feuerhelm Elected To Corporate Board For Midwest Dairy Association

Allen Merrill, from Parker, S.D., is the new chairman of Midwest Dairy Association, elected during the organization’s annual meeting held in conjunction with the Western Dairy Forum in Phoenix, Ariz.

New members of the corporate board officer team are vice chairman Charles Krause of Buffalo, Minn., and secretary Lowell Mueller of Hooper, Neb. Bill Siebenborn of Trenton, Mo., was re-elected second vice chairman while Dan Grunhovd of Gary, Minn., was re-elected treasurer.

New members elected to the Midwest Dairy corporate board include: Alan Feuerhelm of Le Mars, Iowa; Lloyd Gunter of Conway, Mo.; Corrine Lieser of Belgrade, Minn.; Larry Shover of Delhi, Iowa; and Kristine Spadgenske of Menahga, Minn.

Division board officers and new members in the Iowa division are chairman Dan Hotvedt of Mabel, Minn.; vice chairman Bruce Brockshus of Ocheyedan; secretary Pam Bolin of Clarksville; and treasurer Larry Shover, Delhi. Ken Birker of Vinton and Melissa Blood of State Center were seated as new members of the Iowa Division board.

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April 19, 2017 Proposed Legislation Would Help Dairy Labor Woes

Two bills introduced recently would modify the existing H-2A agricultural visa program to make it easier for dairy farmers to hire the foreign labor they need to run their operations. Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Chris Collins (R-NY) co-authored the Farm Family Relief Act in January. Rep. Sean Duffy’s (R-WI) introduced the Defending the Agricultural Industry’s Requirements Year-round (DAIRY) Act this month.

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April 18, 2017 Hay Auction Report For April 17

Rock Valley Hay Auction for Monday, Apr 17, 2017

Receipts:  24 loads    Last Week:  44 loads    Year Ago:   15 Loads

Compared to last week:  Market was mostly steady to stronger on hay.  Bedding materials were very lightly demanded.

Alfalfa:  Good:  Large Squares, 5 loads 92.50-112.50; Large Rounds, 5 loads 82.50-92.50. Fair:  Large Rounds, 4 loads 62.50-77.50.  Utility:  Large Rounds, 1 load 57.50.

Grass:  Good:  Large Squares, 1 load 75.00; Large Rounds, 2 loads 70.00-80.00.  Fair:  Large Rounds, 1 load 60.00.

Alfalfa/Grass:  None.

Oat Hay:  None.

Straw:  Large Squares, 1 load 27.50.

Corn Stalks:  Large Squares, 1 load 15.00; Large Rounds, 3 loads 20.00-30.00.

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