December 1st marked the end of the comment period for farm youth labor regulations. Many people have expressed concern regarding the Department of Labor's proposed changes in regard to youth labor on farms. In their proposed form, these restrictions would have a significant impact on all farms, including dairy farms of any size. Even though there is a parental exemption for farms that are classified as a sole proprietorship, many of our family farms are structured as a corporation, a limited liability company or a partnership. Indiana Farm Bureau certainly provided excellent information about the proposed rule on their website here.   

 

IPDP submitted official comments to the rule. You can read those comments here. Special thanks to Todd Janzen and the IPDP Board for formulating the IPDP comments. 

 

Stewart-Peterson becomes Gold sponsor of IPDP!
 

 

 

Nominations Needed for Outstanding Indiana Dairy Farmers!

Again in 2012, Indiana Professional Dairy Producers will be awarding the Indiana Dairy Producer of the Year and the Indiana Young Dairy Producer of the Year Awards. These awards are to recognize outstanding accomplishment, professionalism, and leadership among Indiana's dairy producers. Award recipients will be announced at the IPDP annual meeting on February 27, 2012 and also during the Indiana Regional Dairy Meetings.

 

The Indiana Dairy Producer of the Year is awarded to a dairy producer who has portrayed the dairy industry in a positive light and has been successful in the dairy industry over a period of time. Past recipients were Fred Beer (2007), Tom Neuenschwander (2008), Doug Leman (2009), Dave Forgey (2010) and Brian Rexing (2011).

 

The Indiana Young Dairy Producer of the Year is awarded to a dairy producer, 35 years of age or younger, who is actively involved in a successful dairy farm and shows promise as a leading dairy producer for this industry's bright future in Indiana. Past recipients were Lukas Hively (2007), Joe and Amy Kelsay (2008), Max and Carrie Jo Bollenbacher (2009), Nathan and Sarah Kuehnert (2010) and Kerry and Christiana Estes (2011).

 

IPDP is seeking nominations for the Dairy Producer of the Year and Young Dairy Producer of the Year awards. Nominations for both awards can be downloaded by clicking here. You can also download a Word document from our website. Please send nominations by January 15, 2012, to Dr. Mike Schutz, Purdue University Animal Science Dept., 125 South Russell Street West Lafayette, IN 47907, mschutz@purdue.edu, Fax: 765-494-9347.

We are very grateful for the support of our new Silver Sponsor, Diamond V. Click on their logo above, and visit their website.

Diamond V is a manufacturer and international marketer of nutritional fermentation products. It is recognized throughout the animal nutrition field as an innovative, scientifically-motivated feed ingredient supplier. Diamond V provides nutritional products that optimize digestive function and nutrition key to animal health, productivity, efficiency and profitability. Their reputation for innovation, technology and quality has earned Diamond V a global reputation of trust and reliability within the animal feed industry for over 65 years.

 

As Doug stated in his welcome message above, the 2011 Partners in Success luncheon was a resounding success. We have wonderful industry supporters, and we received some very good suggestions on how IPDP can be a more effective voice for Indiana's dairy farmers. We'd like to especially thank Andy Tauer and the Indiana Soybean and Indiana Corn Marketing Council, our special guests from Purdue University, and Joe Kelsay, director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. Joe gave an inspirational talk on thankfulness and the wonderful role that agriculture plays in our society's progress. You can watch a picture slideshow of the luncheon here.

We were grateful to have several members of the ag media attend our event. We appreciate the articles we found linked below.

Hoosier Ag Today
Farmers Exchange
Brownfield
Farm World

Research proves America wants tasty, affordable food
by Andy Vance for Feedstuffs

   Hunger is a reality; farmers and agribusiness have both the social responsibility and the economic opportunity to help alleviate the challenge and tragedy of global food insecurity. 

   That is the essence of a mission and message Jeff Simmons is carrying across the country.

   Simmons, president of Elanco, the animal health division of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co., speaks of his mission with the fervency and zeal of the activists bent on wrecking his - and his customers' - business.

   That's largely because he says we all need to become activists in our own right. "The responsibility lies in our hands," he says. "Activists make it personal and believe they can influence people. We as an industry need to become activists because this needs to become personal for us, too."

   The bottom line: Simmons is right. Read more.