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DAIRY ST R
PPD values plunge to historic low Several factors disrupt pay price component By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
At the turn of the calendar, 2020 was expected to be a welcoming sight for the dairy industry with milk prices rising out of a sluggish veyear period. Then, the global pandemic disrupted the markets in unforeseeable ways as milk prices swung from record lows to extraordinary highs. Coupled with those highs has been something never seen before: historic negative values for producer price differential. “ We ’ v e b e e n o n a tremendous price roller coaster,” University of Wisconsin’s Dr. Mark Stephenson said. PPD is a calculation used to determine the milk price in Federal Milk Marketing Orders that pay on milk components. The value is typically positive or a relatively small negative number, ranging from -$0.30 to $1 per hundredweight. In June, the Upper Midwest Marketing Area reported a PPD of -$3.81 per cwt. “This is the largest negative PPD we’ve seen so far,” Stephenson said. “It’s a very large number.” Across other federal orders, the June PPD ranged from -$7.91 per cwt in California to -$5.38 per cwt in the Northeast. While low, FMMO 30 did record the smallest negative PPD value. The use of PPD to determine a farmer’s pay price has been commonplace for decades. A FMMO collects revenues from processing plants based on classes and then pays dairy farmers based on paid components from Class III. “Federal orders pay out so many dollars per pound of protein and per pound of butterfat, and there’s usually Turn to PPD | Page 5
July 25, 2020
“All dairy, all the time”™
Volume 22, No. 11
A decision for herd vitality Meyers use sand to promote cow health in tiestall barn By Jennifer Coyne jenn@dairystar.com
GROVE CITY, Minn. – The Meyer family was tired of managing a herd of dairy cattle with swollen hocks, higher incidences of mastitis and walking on a slick barn oor, so they turned to sand bedding as a solution. “It’s worked out great,” Greg said. “We have no swollen legs, there’s grit on the oor so there’s no slipping and sliding, and the cows are calmer and healthier.” Greg and his wife, Patti, and son, Nate, milk 85 cows in a tiestall barn on their farm in Meeker County near Grove City. In 2006, the Meyers began converting the original barn’s mattress stalls to sand bedding and adding an additional row of stalls to the two-row building. Last fall, the family completed construction on an outside fourth row as they decided to increase their herd to its present-day size to accommodate Nate’s full-time return to the farm. The two alleyways of the barn
JENNIFER COYNE/DAIRY STAR
The Meyers – (from leŌ) Nate, Paƫ and Greg – milk 85 cows in a Ɵestall barn on their farm in Meeker County near Grove City, Minnesota. The Meyers use sand bedding in the milking barn. are scraped twice a day before milkings. Each alleyway contains no gutters and is wide enough for a skidloader to drive through. Large
doors at the south end of the barn open up to the manure pit where the sand and waste is stored. “I don’t miss the barn cleaner, but now we’re talking hauling out
about four loads of manure every other day,” Greg said. While the Meyers clean the
Turn to MEYERS | Page 7
Blaze burns portion of Burnett Dairy Cooperative directs milk to other processors for time being By Krista Kuzma
krista.k@dairystar.com
GRANTSBURG, Wis. – With the rollercoaster of events and emotions that dairy farmers have already endured so far in 2020, patrons of the Burnett Dairy cooperative suffered another low after a re started at their cooperative July 20. Between 10-10:30 p.m., an employee noticed smoke at Burnett Dairy’s plant in Grantsburg, said Stephanie Miller, marketing manager for the cooperative. After the employee called 911, all employees on site evacuated the building. Several area re departments were called to the scene to help extinguish the blaze. Miller said one shift of employees was making cheese at the plant, which processes soft Italian cheesPHOTO SUBMITTED es, including mozzarella and provolone. Although Fire departments work to control the re at the BurneƩ Dairy plant July 20 Burnett Dairy has another plant in Wilson, Miller said in Grantsburg, Wisconsin. Turn to BURNETT | Page 6