Some exciting plans are underway for the IDP Summer Tour to Ohio! First stop in Ohio will be Select Sires' headquarters in Plain City. We have a bull parade planned, and then we will have the opportunity to learn from Gary Conklin. You may remember a video that was secretly filmed at his dairy farm in 2010 that received national attention. He learned some difficult and valuable lessons and will share some of them with us. We also plan to visit Miley Holsteins in West Salem, Ohio and Pine Tree Dairy in Rittman. We also will stop at Eastern Laboratory Services. The cost of attending for IDP member farms is $125 for the first farm member and $75 for any subsequent members. All students can attend for $75. This price includes transportation, lunch and dinner on June 4th. You will need to make your own lodging reservations. A block of rooms has been reserved at Comfort Inn and Suites in Wadsworth, Ohio (just west of Akron) for $99.99. This rate is guaranteed through May 15th. To make reservations, call 330-336-7692 and ask for the Indiana Dairy rate. Download a brochure with more information here.  Even though it's not mentioned in the brochure, sometimes the bus conversation is the best take-away of all! Why not join us on June 4-5!

 

IDP Welcomes CliftonLarsonAllen,
new Silver sponsor!

Please give a hearty IDP welcome to our newest Silver sponsor. Following is more information about this company and how they can help dairy farmers and others in agriculture!

CliftonLarsonAllen is a top 10 national accounting and consulting firm that focuses on privately held businesses and their owners.   CLA helps dairy producers and other clients in all areas of the agriculture industry produce and grow, from farm to table.  Most of our agribusiness professionals were raised on or have worked on operating farms, or have worked for businesses that service production agriculture. We bring that extensive firsthand knowledge to our clients. Our leaders are nationally acclaimed agribusiness resources and featured speakers at top industry conferences, and are frequently consulted by outside accounting firms and CPAs concerning agricultural issues.  We are pleased to be supporting the Indiana dairy industry through IDP and welcome you to contact us at 317-574-9100 or click our logo above to see how we might assist your business.

Ken Hoeing, Rushville dairy farmer

This year, the Indianapolis 500 Milkman is Ken Hoeing, a dairy farmer from Rushville, Indiana. Ken lives and works on the dairy farm his grandparents established in 1947. He and four of his brothers take care of 400 dairy cows and raise crops on 3,000 acres.

 

Ken and his wife, Denise, have two children, Kim and Chris.

Ken is on the American Dairy Association Indiana board of directors and the Indiana Dairy Development Board. The Rushville FFA dairy judging team uses his farm for judging practice. Ken is also active in his local church.

 

Six Elements of Dairy Profitability
by Sherry Bunting
 

Kevin Jones

At the recent IDP day at FairOaks, Kevin Jones of Ghost Hollow Consulting came up with six elements that separated the top dairy herds from their counterparts: Reproduction, Transition, Udder Health, Tremendous Forage Quality, Rigorous and Continuous Employee Training, and Optimum Price Management.  

 

"Our study did not look at distinguishing the best from the worst, but the best from the next best," he explained. "We wanted to see what made the difference from the top 1% measured against the top 25%. Our study did not look at debt. We wanted to focus on the factors that could be altered to improve profitability immediately."

 

The range of dairies studied span the gamut from a 60-cow tie-stall dairy in New York to a large drive-up in Idaho.  "These six factors accounted for over 90 % of the variation in performance of the top herds," Jones concluded.   

 

Reproduction and Transition, he said, go hand-in-hand as No. 1 and 2. The direct effect on profitability is having a fresher herd with a lower average days in milk, higher peak milk, which affects milk per lactation and a lower cull rate and higher feed efficiency. Better repro also reduces veterinary costs on the other side of the cash flow equation.

 

He pegged the ideal herd average days in milk at between 150 and 170 days. By keeping days in milk at a minimum, keeping more cows at peak, and keeping higher producing cows in the herd, Jones said feed efficiency is increased and directly impacts feed costs.

 

Udder health (milk quality) affects vet costs also and reproduction as well as pounds of milk sold from the dairy. "Every time the somatic cell count doubles, the cow is losing a pound of milk per day," said Jones. "Even at 250,000 SCC, you are losing 3 to 4 pounds of milk/cow/day compared with SCC of 50,000," he said.

 

Forage quality also affects repro, transition, and milk quality-plus it has its own direct impacts on the dairy farm's costs and income.  "Higher quality forages mean less purchased feed cost and greater feed efficiency," said Jones. "It also gives you more flexibility in ration building."  Of course higher milk production, components and rumen health also affect profitability on both the cost and income sides of the equation.

 

In the area of employee training, Jones said "be rigorous. You want consistency of performance. Not only are your employees involved in everything we just talked about (repro, transition, forage quality, milk quality), good training means fewer accidents and better care of your cows and equipment."  Good training leads to a happier work place and improved performance of the cows.

 

The bottom line came back to the critical element of price management. "The most profitable dairies use this tool better than the comparison dairies. They lock-in both feed and milk to lock-in a profit or a smaller loss for a short time," he said. "The absolute key to making this work is knowing your exact costs of production and being able to predict your future costs. Locking in both feed and milk is critical. Leaving one at the mercy of today's volatile markets has ruined more than a few dairies over the last three years."

 

Jones stressed that, "Realizing you may not hit the top milk price or the lowest feed price--and being comfortable with a smaller, but sure profit--is not an easy mindset to have, but it is critical."

 

Click here to read more about the IDP Fairoaks Day on Progressive Dairyman! 

 

Andy Gall, Myrna Metzger and Deb Osza

The 2014 recipient of the Steve Atkisson Indiana Dairy Service award is Myrna Metzger of McCordsville, IN; long-time General Manager of American Dairy Association of Indiana and founder (along with several Indiana dairy farmers) and General Manager of Milk Promotion Services of Indiana.  The award was presented at the 15th annual Indiana Milk Quality Conference in Ft. Wayne, IN on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 for "outstanding contributions to the dairy industry of Indiana" by Deb Osza, current General Manager of American Dairy Association Indiana, Inc.  

 

Myrna Hazel Metzger spent a career promoting milk and dairy products and caring for the people who comprise the Indiana dairy industry.  Within the dairy industry and in the Indy Car racing circles, Myrna was fondly nicknamed the Milk Lady.  That name arose because as the representative of the Indiana dairy industry and on behalf of its dairy farm families, for many years she was the friendly face waiting in victory circle to present the ice cold bottle of milk to the winner of the Indianapolis 500 mile race.  Myrna also implemented the Fastest Rookie Luncheon to recognize the fastest qualifying rookie driver and all rookies to acquaint them with the tradition of the drink of milk at the end of the race, which has been coined the "Coolest Prize in all of Sports".

 

But Mrs. Metzger's role was so much more than simply the Milk Lady!  Myrna was a true visionary leader in Indiana's Dairy Industry to secure state check-off dollars for the Mideast Marketing Agency (MEMA), even crafting the legislative documents for its creation.  When the Federal Milk Marketing Orders were realigned by USDA in 2000, Myrna, though already retired, drafted new state legislation to create the Indiana Dairy Industry Development Board that is responsible for the milk check-off program in Indiana.  She was also an enthusiastic supporter of the first-ever Indiana Milk Quality Conference.  Perhaps most importantly of all, Myrna Metzger cared deeply for the dairy farms she supported.  She and her husband, Marvin, presently reside in McCordsville, IN, where they continue to be actively involved in church and community.

 

The award sponsored by Indiana Milk Quality Professionals, Inc., is named in honor of the late Mr. Steve Atkisson, a very well respected milk quality specialist and dairy farm and plant survey inspector with the Dairy Program of the Indiana State Board of Animal Health. Mr. Atkisson was known for his professionalism, fairness, and steadfast dedication to ensuring the safety and quality of milk and dairy products for Indiana's residents.

USDA Grant Money Available through REAP

USDA released up to $70 million in grants and loan guarantees through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The funding will help farmers and small rural businesses install renewable energy and energy efficiency projects including biogas systems.

USDA said that about $12.4 million will be available for grants and $57.8 available for loan guarantees. The funding comes from the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill), which was signed into law on February 7 and was supported by the federal advocacy efforts of the American Biogas Council.

USDA uses REAP to fund a variety of energy projects on farms and at rural businesses including biogas systems. In 2013, USDA funded 2,400 renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in rural areas.

"This funding will help farmers, ranchers and rural small business owners incorporate renewable energy and energy efficiency technology into their operations, create jobs and help America become more energy independent," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement.

• Deadline for submission of a Grant application is July 7, 2014
• Deadline for submission of a Guarantee application is July 31, 2014

Additional information about this program is available here.

If you haven't had a chance to submit your dairy recipes, you still have a bit of time! Click here for more details! Let's get a bunch of Hoosier dairy farmers' recipes in this recipe collection!

There is a growing list of companies that recognize IDP's value to Indiana's dairy industry. Please visit our list of companies that have become Corporate Sponsors for only $100. If you know of a company that may have an interest in supporting IDP at some level, please download a brochure here.