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Is there any relief in sight? This summer the USDA designated more than half of all counties in the U.S. drought emergency management regions.
While much of the nation’s apprehension lies in the depleting harvest, many livestock producers are also concerned about the potential for an unsafe feed supply this year due to the drought. (Click here or on the image at right to view it at full size in a new window.)
The 49th All-American Dairy Show was held September 15-20. The event features 23 shows in six days with more than 900 exhibitors from across the U.S. and Canada. The show also has a strong focus on youth with the Premier National Junior Events, the nation’s only four-day event for youth at a dairy show.
Activities include a showmanship competition, a dairy management contest and dairy judging forum, a dairy judging contest and a junior national show. Organizers of the event are already gearing up to celebrate the show’s 50-year history next year at the Golden Anniversary Jubilee, to be held September 7-12, 2013. PD
In early August, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit revived a class-action lawsuit brought by dairy farmers against DairyAmerica and California Dairies, Inc. If this general issue sounds a little familiar, that is probably because the misreporting of nonfat dry milk prices and the effects on producer income was a well-covered topic several years ago when the issue was first uncovered.
I am not one to presume anything about another’s background knowledge, especially about events that occurred over six years ago or about matters involving topics as arcane as milk pricing and federal civil procedure. So here is a short primer on what DairyAmerica and CDI allegedly did wrong, why this matters to dairy farmers and what the Ninth Circuit’s recent opinion means to the lawsuit.
How high could the corn price possibly go? $9? $12? $24? By when? These are the questions on the minds of many agricultural producers. Whether you produce corn or feed it, you want to know if the high is in or if it is yet to come.
Contrary to what many may have believed to be the case given the circumstances, projected forward profit margins for dairy producers actually improved over the summer as the increasing value of milk has more than offset surging feed prices due to this year’s historic drought.
This puts dairies in an enviable position relative to their counterparts in the swine and beef cattle industries, where profitability at relatively high historical percentiles can presently be secured through the second half of 2013. In fact, forward profit margins currently exist at or above the 80th percentile of the past 10 years from Q4 2012 through Q4 2013 based upon our model dairy analysis.
Back in 1993, NBA All-Star Charles Barkley found himself in the middle of a national debate because of what he said in a shoe commercial for Nike. It was a simple message, “I am not a role model.”
Not a stranger to controversy, Sir Charles defended his statement. Essentially, the point of his argument was that his job was to be good at playing basketball, while a parent’s job is to be a role model for their kids and raise them well.
The tax code is a maze of varying income tax rates and rules governing the application of these rates. Navigating this maze can be a complex task but understanding the various rules can greatly aid in tax planning for dairy farmers as they manage their livestock.
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One way we have been proactive and progressive is in the continued expansion of our National Dairy FARM program. Now in its third year, we continue to add to the number of farms enrolled in it. There remains a clear and compelling need to have a national, guideline-based, independently verifiable dairy animal care program in place, one that is acceptable to farmers and retailers alike.
Because if farmers don’t drive this process, the supermarkets and foodservice community will come up with their own programs, not all of which will take science and years of dairy experience into account.
Editor’s note: This is the final article in a three-part series on developing middle managers.
With the right people on the Scandinavian warship and everyone busy rowing, it is time to see who rows the best, who needs more direction and who might need to find a seat on another ship.
“Employee evaluations remind the employee what your expectations are, give you a better handle on performances and provide marching orders for retraining, replacing or rewarding,” said Mary Kraft, a dairy producer from Fort Morgan, Colorado.
