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Volume 20, No. 1
Dairy safety net restructured in federal budget
“All dairy, all the time”™
February 24, 2018
Counting on their components
MPP, LGM included in disaster relief package By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
Signicant nancial relief is on the horizon for dairy farmers. The federal government laid out revisions to both the Margin Protection Program for Dairy (MPP-Dairy) and Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) in the federal spending bill, which was signed by President Trump Feb. 9. Albeit a short-term x, the provisions will provide nearly $1.2 billion in baseline spending for the next farm bill and create a more secure safety net for dairy farmers. “Previously, we had not had an effective dairy safety net at the federal level. We still don’t have everything the industry needs, but it’s a big step. … We’re making progress,” said Chris Galen with National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF). Sens. Pat Roberts (Kan. – R) and Debbie Stabenow (Mich. – D), chair and vice chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, along with Sens. Thad Cochran (Miss. – R) and Patrick Leahy (Vt. – D), chair and vice chair of the Senate Appropriation Committee, respectively, offered the changes to the dairy government-funded programs with the looming market conditions. After nearly a year of negotiations in both the Senate and House, legislation was passed to improve programs as part of the disaster package of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. The most drastic revisions are contained in MPPDairy. “MPP was designed for simplicity with xed premiums. The problem has been the premiums are too high relative to the margins over the last four years and people are not signing up,” said Marin Bozic, assistant professor of applied economics at the University of Minnesota and associate director of Midwest Dairy Foods Research Center. Changes include raising the catastrophic level for Tier 1 coverage from $4 to $5; adjusting Tier 1 production covered for dairy farmers from the rst 4 million pounds to rst 5 million pounds of annual milk production; reducing premium rates for dairy farmers’ Tier 1 production coverage; calculating margins on a monthly basis rather than every two months; waiving the annual $100 service fee for beginning, limited resource, disadvantaged or military veteran farmers under the discretion of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); and reopening a 90-day enrollment for 2018 coverage. These changes not only more accurately reect the current dairy situation for the average-sized dairy farm in the U.S. of about 220 cows, but also is a more costeffective safety measure. With the catastrophic coverage at $5, premiums begin at $0.009 per hundredweight (cwt.) for $5.50 coverage level in Tier 1 in comparison to $0.03 per cwt. for the same level in Tier 1 in previous years. The new premiums continue with $0.016 per cwt. for $6 coverage; $0.04 per cwt. at $6.50 coverage; $0.063 per cwt. for $7 coverage; $0.087 per cwt. for $7.50 coverage; and Turn to MPP | Page 5
BRITTANY OLSON/DAIRY STAR
Trevor (leŌ) and Charlie Baier’s herd of 400 cows has a daily milk yield of 99 pounds per day with a 4.0 percent fat, 3.0 percent protein, and somaƟc cell count between 30 to 40,000 at Baier Creek Dairy near Eau Galle, Wis. Not pictured are Rod and Steve Baier.
Baiers’ herd testing at 4 percent butterfat By Brittany Olson
brittany.o@dairystar.com
EAU GALLE, Wis. – With strong butter prices and shrinking premiums on top of lackluster class III prices, many dairy farmers are focusing on maintaining or improving the amount of milk solids leaving the farm in the milk truck. While genetics are an important piece of the milk production puzzle, environment – including high quality feed and cow comfort – help to unlock a cow’s genetic potential. That nature-and-nurture philosophy is on display at Baier Creek Farms, where father and son, Charlie and Trevor Baier, along with Charlie’s brother and nephew, Rod and Steve, milk 400 cows near Eau Galle, Wis. The Baiers’ herd of mostly Holstein cows, with a few Jersey crosses, averages 99 pounds of milk every day with 4 percent butterfat and a somatic cell count between 30 to 40,000. “We try to stay around a 3 to 3.1 percent protein,” Trevor said. “We ship two loads of milk a day, and those two loads are typically between a 4 to 4.1 fat.” Because their milk goes toward cheese production, the Baiers also keep a close eye on their herd’s cheese yield, which is around 3,379 pounds per cow throughout the lactation period. “Our herd average is slightly under 33,790
pounds, or 10 times our cheese yield,” Trevor said. After their cooperative nixed the use of rBST by its members at the beginning of 2018, the Baiers weren’t sure what to expect as far as total milk loss. However, they have noticed an uptick in butterfat production with losing volume. “Before we went off rBST, our fat was around a 3.85 to 3.9. Going off of it has come back to bite us a little bit as far as overall pounds shipped, but the increased components are paying for the loss in milk,” Trevor said. “We’re getting paid on a component basis so it helps.” Genetics play a large role in high-producing dairy cows. Trevor said their breeding philosophy, particularly in the past year, has shifted from selecting for functional type to choosing bulls from proven high component cow families. “Instead of worrying about feet and legs, for example, components are going to take our herd to the next level,” Trevor said. Keeping their cows clean and comfortable in their sand-bedded freestalls with fresh air moving throughout the barn at all times is a top priority for the Baiers. Stalls are raked and cleaned every milking, and the barn was built to prevent overstocking with one stall for every cow. On top of keeping their cows’ living quarters clean, the Baiers are also looking to minimize their cows’ time going to and from the milking parlor so they can get back to eating and resting as soon as possible. “Cow comfort locks in genetics,” Charlie said. Turn to BAIER | Page 6