LG Ellspermann, Japanese Dairy Farmer Norio Shinoda, Leman (photo credit, office of Lieutenant Governor)

Because of my position as Executive Director of Indiana Dairy Producers, I was honored and privileged to be invited to take part in the Lt. Governor's 2014 Indiana Agriculture Trade Mission to Asia to represent the Indiana dairy industry. Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan were the countries on our agenda. To put the countries in perspective, I would like to compare each to Indiana. Japan is roughly 4 times the size of IN with 20 times the population, South Korea is comparable in size to IN with a little under 5 times the population, and Taiwan is about a third of the size of IN with almost 3.5 times as many people, seems quite amazing to me. This fact alone lends to their dependency and continuing need to import food, currently each ranking in the top seven for Ag exports from the US. We traveled with Lt. Gov. Sue Ellspermann, her husband and some staff along with several from ISDA along with the Director, Ted McKinney. Ag was very well represented by the remainder of the group. We got to know each other very well over the two week period that we were together!

 

One of the highlights of the trip for me was a dairy farm visit. We only toured one farm during our trade mission, and it happened to be a dairy farm in Japan! We were given a tour by the owner of the farm along with a translator. They milk 2500 cows in twin double 25 parallel parlors, housed in compost barns with drive thru feed allies. He imports all the feed except for a small amount of corn silage, pineapple waste, and what appeared to be some wet brewers, all fed in a TMR. He buys all his replacements as springers from the US. With the value of beef, he breeds everything back to Wagyu - utilizing motion detection and visual observation for heat detection, feeding the resulting F1 crossbreds out on another farm. According to my translating of the figures, his production is around 17,600 pounds with 115,000 SCC, currently getting around $45 per cwt! It appeared to be a very well-run farm and he is hoping to visit us in Indiana in the not too distant future. Read more. 

 

    IDP is excited to bring another great opportunity for dairy farmers and industry folks who are wanting to expand their horizons and visit some dairy farms! Kentuckiana 2014 will take us to Taylor, Green and Adair Counties in Kentucky! Our friends in Kentucky have put a great tour together, featuring 5 of Kentucky's very best dairies.
   IDP has organized bus transportation, leaving Lafayette at 7 AM Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 29, also making a stop in Whiteland at Kelsay's Dairy at 8:30. If needed, depending on registrations, other stops may be added as we head south through Indiana. Remember, some of the very best take-aways from these tours are the conversations on the bus!
   The cost is $100 for the first farm/business member and $75 for additional members. The registration fee covers transportation, dinner on July 29 and lunch on July 30.
   The Kentuckiana will include an evening dinner and educational program at Taylor County Extension Office. The evening speaker is Dr. Nicola Blackie, a lecturer at Writtle College in England. She will be presenting about the dairy industry in England along with her work on managing lameness in dairy cattle.
   Participants are responsible for their own lodging reservations. A special rate has been negotiated at Best Western Campbellsville Inn of $76.49. This rate has been extended until July 20, so make your reservation and ask for the "Dairy Exchange" rate. Call them at 270-465-7001.
   Download a Kentuckiana brochure with full details here and hold your spot by calling Doug Leman at 317-695-8228. IDP now accepts credit cards on site, in addition to cash and checks.

Steven Howell, IDEM Director of the Office of Government and Community Affairs, has put this Top 10 list of CFO violations. This covers all livestock sectors, not just the dairy industry, but it may be valuable to see what the main issues are.

1. Lack annual manure test - analysis not for current year (22 violations).
2. Incomplete land application records - missing application calculations or not updated for P (16 violations).
3. Completing weekly inspections - have not changed inspection routine to current rule frequency (11 violations).
4. Current approval not in operating record (9 violations).
5. Do not have valid approval - compliance initiative to inspect all farms whose approval had expired over the past year and not renewed (9 violations).
6. Lack current soil tests - soil test not available at the time of the inspection or have not been updated (9 violations).
7. Storm water certification not in operating record (8 violations).
8. Operation and maintenance violations - missing freeboard markers, lids not on pump out ports or mowing, seeding and grading maintenance are needed (7 violations).
9. Weekly inspection records are missing in operating record - are conducting inspections based on incomplete records but do not have current record on site (6 violations).
10. No information sheet for marketed and distributed manure in operation record (5 violations).

The top 10 violations list is based on 318 inspections conducted from 10/1/13 through 3/31/14 at 275 facilities. Overall for these 275 facilities only 70 facilities were cited for a total of 153 violations.

 

Introduction to Genomics
2nd of 2 articles from Zoetis Animal Health

 

   When our grandparents were milking cows several decades ago, milking by hand was all that was available. Given the productivity of the cows, the way in which milk was handled and the available labor, milking by hand was an adequate practice. Over time, technology kept pace with industry changes-and producer demand-so that milk harvest is now much more efficient and effective.

   The same principles can be applied to genetic selection. When genetic predictions were first made available on females, parent average (PA) was the best resource to help dairy producers make and measure genetic improvement. And it was simple-mating a cow with a Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) of +200 pounds of milk to a bull with a PTA of +1200 pounds resulted in an offspring with a parent average of +700 pounds. The reliability of that result varied between 25 and 30 percent depending on available pedigree information and reliabilities of the sire and dam. It was a simple mathematical average-a best guess-and represented a simple approach to selection. That's like trying to forward contract corn with only a small portion of the information you need to make the right decision.

   Today, CLARIFIDE� Genomic Predicted Transmitting Ability (GPTA) results, calculated through the USDA-Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding dairy genetic evaluation, give a much more accurate picture of an animal's true ability:

• Average reliability values for heifers tested with CLARIFIDE are around 70 percent for milk production. If we think of reliability in terms of daughter offspring equivalents, a reliability of 70 percent for milk is equivalent to using roughly 9 daughter milk records in computing milk PTA1. Other important traits such as Productive Life (PL) and Daughter Pregnancy Rate (DPR) require significantly more daughter records to match CLARIFIDE reliability. Using CLARIFIDE saves valuable time in making more accurate and reliable selection decisions.
• CLARIFIDE additionally provides the opportunity to confirm or correct parentage information. An analysis of Zoetis customer data indicates that parentage information is wrong in about 15 percent of test requests and, in some herds, can run much higher. In those instances, PA uses incorrect information to predict performance and certainly lowers the dependability of decisions being made.
• CLARIFIDE GPTAs are available for any tested heifer, even those without known or confirmed parentage, and can provide helpful information on purchased heifers. Because PA requires some form of parent identification, PA may not always be available. If the dam, and therefore maternal grandsire, are unknown, or if the sire lacks a proof which is often the case in herds using natural service sires, then PA will not be available for these heifers. 

   Like milking by hand, when PA was all that was available, it served its purpose. But technology has advanced to match a changing industry, making CLARIFIDE results a more effective resource to aid producers in making enhanced breeding and herd management decisions.

 

1Source: USDA-CDCB Evaluation for CLARIFIDE-Tested Holstein Females ≤12 Months of Age as of April 2014.

 

If you come to the Indiana State Fair, make sure not to miss the Indiana State Fair Dairy Bar, run by the American Dairy Association Indiana. This year's featured foods are a Salted Chocolate Carmel Milkshake and the "Colossal" Grilled Cheese-a grilled cheese sandwich stuffed with three mozzarella sticks (pictured). The Dairy Bar continues to offer milkshakes, hand dipped ice cream, grilled cheese, mozzarella sticks, white and chocolate milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, and more! Whether for a meal, a sweet treat, or a light snack-don't miss the Dairy Bar! (Dairy farmers should all have received coupons in the mail for the Dairy Bar, if you did not, please contact Jackie at 317-842-3060 or barber@winnersdrinkmilk.com to update your address.)

There are other places to catch dairy promotion in action at the State Fair-make sure to check out the milking demonstrations in the Cattle Barn (West Pavilion), daily dairy demonstrations at 2 p.m. in the Dupont Food Pavilion, the dairy float in the daily parade at 6 p.m., and the massive Cheese Sculpture in the Dupont Food Pavilion. Your dairy checkoff also organizes the Indiana Dairy Princess contest-the 2014-2015 Indiana Dairy Princess and court will be introduced following the Dairy Open Show's Supreme Cow Award.

If you have any questions about your checkoff investment, please contact Jackie Barber at 317-842-3060 or barber@winnersdrinkmilk.com.

See you at the fair!

Extreme Caution Urged When Hiring:
How to identify an undercover activist
from the Animal Ag Alliance

Watch for red flags!
Below are some common behaviors exhibited by activists seeking access to livestock operations:

Generally young, between the ages of 18 and 30, and are often Caucasian.

Volunteering for jobs before or after normal business hours.

Befriending or mingling with upper management--asking questions about operations including security matters or time schedules.

Seeking employment in jobs below their skill or education level; demonstrating previous jobs or experiences out of character for the job they were seeking.

 

Skim Milk Powder

Fundamental changes in what drives U.S. dairy industry prices are happening quickly. The changes from fluid milk to processed products like cheese and yogurt have been going on for decades.  The change from a domestic market to global market is newer, and more complex. The amount of NDM/SMP produced is growing as fast or faster than yogurt or cheese.  The big difference is that the majority (52% YTD) is exported.  That means that the price is not determined domestically, but internationally. Read more.

Bob Jones, former ISDA secretary, passes

Bob Jones of Rossville, former executive secretary of the Indiana State Dairy Association, passed away on July 8. Bob was 82. We would like to express our deep appreciation to Bob's family for his many contributions to the dairy industry. You can read his obituary here.