Farm Marketing-the good, the bad and the realistic

May I introduce myself? I'm Mike Rusch, writing to you from Stewart-Peterson Inc. in West Bend, Wis. IPDP asked me to share news about an event taking place on Tuesday, June 26th that might intrigue you: A day in Chicago touring the Chicago Mercantile Exchange - with lunch, dinner and lively discussion.

Mike Rusch

We're calling it Farm Marketing - the good, the bad and the realistic.

IPDP, Stewart-Peterson and BMO Harris Bank have teamed up to bring you this tour. The purpose? To help you learn how to protect your operation from market price volatility - it's about capturing price opportunities in milk and feed, and minimizing risk.

We encourage you to invite your lender or other management consultant.

After lunch and the CME tour, we'll gather to discuss what's on your mind. Brad Guse from BMO Harris Bank, a CME representative and I will be on hand to listen, answer questions and provide perspective on the challenges you face with the wide swings in milk and feed prices.

Your day wraps up with a cocktail hour and a unique dining experience at the Union League Club. We'll have you back on the road by 6:30 p.m.  IPDP will coordinate a bus from Indiana to Chicago and back.

While we'd like to invite any and everyone, we're limited to the first 20 producers who sign up.

For more information, click here. I'll also be giving an overview of this event during Summer 2012 Farm and Industry Tour, June 6 and 7.

Best regards,

Mike

At BMO Harris Bank, we understand Agriculture and know it is crucial to maintain financial consistency through volatile business cycles. We focus on finding the financial solution that best fits your needs. Our team of bankers is deeply involved in many agricultural commodities and uses this specialized knowledge to help you manage an increasingly complex environment.

BMO Harris Bank, a part of the BMO Financial Group, is headquartered in Chicago, IL and currently has more than 40 locations throughout Indiana. We are the 7th largest Agricultural bank in the US* and have been servicing farmers and agribusinesses across the Midwest and Canada for more than 160 years. Our experienced bankers have significant involvement with companies and organizations in all sectors of the dairy industry, especially in milk production and dairy processing. To learn more about how BMO Harris Bank can help you meet your business and financial objectives, please visit us at www.bmoharrisbank.com/agriculture.

*American Bankers Association, FDIC 4Q 2011

The Indiana Board of Animal Health (BOAH) Dairy Division recently held a meeting with plant and cooperative representatives, and Doug Leman has been attending on behalf of Indiana's dairy farmers. There was a discussion on several common violations that the State and Federal survey personnel have been finding on farms on a regular basis. Some of these items include: dirty, cracked jetter covers, inking rubber parts (rub the rubber and your thumb turns black), unlabeled gallon containers--anything that you transfer into a gallon jug from a larger 50 gallon container, for example, must be labeled or written in permanent ink on the gallon jug describing what it contains. Other violations include unnecessary articles in the milk house (this would include milk replacer), restroom uncleanliness, bypass lines connected to plate cooler lines (not approved), and quarter milkers are no longer approved for use on dairy farms.

Homeopathic drugs have also been a debited issue, they may be on the farm but they must meet all drug labeling requirements such as name and address of manufacturer, directions for use (including route of administration and duration of therapy), cautionary statements, active ingredient (no trade names), the dosage, most of homeopathic treatments are missing one of these items on the label. Give Doug a call if you have questions about any of these.

It's a good idea to look through medication and throw out any outdated bottles. Even though it's not currently a violation to have outdated medicine, some outdated labels may be a violation. For example, a label for Flunixin Meglumine (Banamine) that has any route of administration other that IV will be a survey violation. Make sure that every medication that has a cautionary statement also has a veterinary prescription label. Click here for more info on medications that are not approved and have no extra-label uses even with a veterinary prescription.

The 2011 Pasteurized Milk Ordinance was brought before the Board of Animal health at the April meeting. After a period for public comment it will be voted upon for adoption at the July meeting. If you have issues with current PMO requirements, please call Doug and discuss the process for suggesting changes.  

There are some positive signs for domestic sales. Both the Consumer Confidence Index and the Restaurant Traffic Index continue to improve. These are positive signs particularly for cheese sales. U.S. dairy exports also are positive. Export volume and value for March were higher than a year ago due primarily with continued strong sales of cheese, high value whey proteins and lactose. Exports through March compared to a year ago were 5% higher for nonfat dry milk/skim milk powder, 7% for cheese, 9% for lactose, 5% for whey protein  concentrates, and 16% for whey protein isolates, but 8% lower for dry whey and 34% lower for butterfat.

But, domestic sales and exports can't accommodate all of the increase in milk production without lower prices. With fluid (beverage) milk sales continuing to run below year ago levels the increase in milk production needs to go for manufactured dairy products. Compared to a year ago, increases in March dairy product production were: butter 6.4%, cheddar cheese 5.2%, total cheese 3.7%, and nonfat dry milk 49.9%. Stocks of dairy products are building with March 31st stocks of butter 46% higher than a year ago, American cheese stocks 1.8% higher and nonfat dry milk stocks 49.9% higher.   

Read the full USDA Milk Production Report here 

Animal-rights activists are taking a new tack in their effort to turn people into vegetarians. Judging from their efforts in Sacramento, California, they may have succeeded, at least with some people.

Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) offered people a dollar to watch a four-minute video, a compilation of undercover footage. One of the FARM coordinators told the Sacramento Bee that it was "a great incentive to get (people) to see this."   

Read more.