Digest highlights

Natzke dave
Dave Natzke
Editor / Progressive Dairy

NMPF board advances FMMO proposal

The National Milk Producers Federation’s (NMPF) board of directors unanimously endorsed a proposal to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system at its meeting, March 7. With the board’s approval, NMPF’s next step is to move toward submitting the proposal to the USDA as the basis for a FMMO hearing.

The board reviewed a package of changes initially developed and proposed by a task force of NMPF cooperative experts and later approved by the organization’s Economic Policy Committee. The changes include:

  • Returning to the “higher-of” Class I mover
  • Discontinuing the use of barrel cheese in the protein component price formula
  • Extending the current 30-day reporting limit to 45 days on forward priced sales on nonfat dry milk and dry whey to capture more exports sales in the USDA product price reporting
  • Updating milk component factors for protein, other solids and nonfat solids in the Class III and Class IV skim milk price formulas
  • Developing a process to ensure make allowances are reviewed more frequently through legislation directing the USDA to conduct mandatory plant-cost studies every two years
  • Updating dairy product manufacturing allowances contained in the USDA milk price formulas
  • Updating the Class I differential price system to reflect changes in the cost of delivering bulk milk to fluid processing plants

Appeals court rules ‘Gruyere’ is generic term

U.S. dairy organizations prevailed in a lawsuit decision reinforcing that “Gruyere” is a generic term used to market a type of cheese.

In a ruling released March 3, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld the prior decisions of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board in finding Gruyere to be a generic term.

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The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), NMPF and a coalition of other dairy stakeholders sought to protect the right of producers to use generic names in the U.S. market in the suit, filed against a consortium of Swiss and French companies.

Lynn named Agri-Mark president and CEO

David Lynn has been named president and CEO of Agri-Mark Inc. after serving as the organization’s interim CEO since September 2022. 

Lynn has been with Agri-Mark for five years, starting as senior vice president of operations. Prior to Agri-Mark, he worked for the Kroger Company and Kroger’s subsidiary Turkey Hill Dairy.

Agri-Mark is a dairy cooperative owned by hundreds of farm families throughout New England and upstate New York. It produces Cabot Creamery’s cheddar, butter, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese and sour cream and New York’s McCadam cheese brand.

Visit the Agri-Mark website. 

GDT index, cheese price softens

The latest Global Dairy Trade (GDT) price index declined 0.7% in an auction held March 7. Prices in individual product categories were mostly lower:

  • Skim milk powder was down 1.1% at $2,739 per metric ton (MT, or about 2,205 pounds).
  • Whole milk powder was up 0.2% to $3,277 per MT.
  • Anhydrous milkfat was down 1.8% to $5,340 per MT.
  • Butter was down 0.3% to $4,899 per MT.
  • Cheddar cheese was down 10.2% to $4,509 per MT.

The GDT platform offers dairy products from six global companies: Fonterra (New Zealand), Dairy America (U.S.), Amul (India), Arla (Denmark), Arla Foods Ingredients (Denmark) and Polish Dairy (Poland). The next GDT auction is March 21.

USDA offers risk management training funds

The USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) will make up to $2 million available for cooperative agreements for risk management education and training programs.   

Funding is being made available to universities, county cooperative extension offices and nonprofit organizations to develop education tools that help producers learn how to effectively manage long-term risks and challenges.  

A broad range of risk management training activities are eligible for funding consideration, including training on crop insurance options, recordkeeping, financial management, non-insurance-based risk management tools and natural disaster preparedness among others.  

Proposals are due April 24. The notice of funding and additional details are available here. Interested organizations must apply through the Results Verification System.

Ag producer sentiment weakens

The economic outlook of agricultural producers weakened in February, according to results of the monthly Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer survey. This month’s survey revealed that producers’ confidence in the future growth of U.S. agricultural exports continues to weaken. In addition, although expectations of land values remain in positive territory, more producers think farmland values could weaken in the year ahead.

The Ag Economy Barometer provides a monthly snapshot of farmer sentiment regarding the state of the agricultural economy. The survey collects responses from 400 producers whose annual market value of production is equal to or exceeds $500,000. Minimum targets by enterprise are as follows: 53% corn/soybeans, 14% wheat, 3% cotton, 19% beef cattle, 5% dairy and 6% hogs. Latest survey results, released March 7, reflect ag producer outlooks as of Feb. 13-17.

Concerns over higher input costs and interest rates, combined with lower crop and/or livestock prices, contributed to the weaker outlook, said James Mintert, the barometer's principal investigator and director of Purdue University's Center for Commercial Agriculture.

Seventy-two percent of producers in the survey said it is a “bad time” to make large investments in their farming operation, while just 15% reported it is a “good time” to make such investments.