Ag exports, trade balance declining

The value of U.S. agricultural exports and imports increased each year from fiscal year (FY) 2009 through FY 2014, when the agricultural trade balance reached an all-time high of $43.1 billion. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recent "Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade" shows that the value of agricultural exports fell 8.3% in FY 2015 while imports grew by 4.5%, cutting the trade balance to $25.7 billion.

USDA projects the pattern to continue in FY 2016 as reduced exports and more imports are expected to push the agricultural trade surplus below $10 billion for the first time since 2006.

Lower commodity prices account for some of the decline in the value of exports, USDA noted, but a stronger U.S. dollar also plays a role. Additionally, China's economic slowdown will have a trickle-down effect throughout the global economy and ultimately will affect the U.S.

ROs could spur ag research 

Agricultural research has been woefully underfunded for decades. While racing to meet the food, fiber and feed challenges of the next generation, the public agricultural research sector has needed funding alternatives to complement limited public resources.

A recent modification to the Internal Revenue Code - one that was passed with bipartisan congressional support and signed into law by the President on Dec. 18, 2015 - holds the potential to provide significant support for agricultural research.

The Charitable Agricultural Research Act (CARA) was included as part of the tax bill, Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015. The federal measure created a new type of 501(c)(3) public charity called agricultural research organizations (AROs).

AROs may serve as a nonprofit organizational vehicle for individuals or families who would like to commit their wealth to the conduct of agricultural research for the public good.

Global nitrogen footprint mapped for first time

The first-ever global nitrogen footprint, encompassing 188 countries, shows that the U.S., China, India and Brazil are responsible for almost half of the world's nitrogen emissions, according to research conducted in Australia.

The international collaboration, led by the University of Sydney's Integrated Sustainability Analysis team, found that developing countries tend to have large amounts of nitrogen emissions embodied in their exports of food, textiles and clothing.

The economic modeling, which grouped the nitrogen footprint into top-ranking bilateral trade relationships, noted a trend for increased nitrogen production and found that developed nations are largely responsible for emissions abroad for their own consumption.

Study shows shift in consumer values influencing food decisions

Taste, price and convenience are no longer the sole deciding factors when people buy food and beverages, according to a new study, from Deloitte, Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA).

The study, "Capitalizing on the Shifting Consumer Food Value Equation," included results from a survey conducted on 5,000 consumers nationwide, as well as interviews with executives from over 40 companies across retailers, food and beverage manufacturers, ingredient suppliers and agricultural producers.

Results showed that roughly half of Americans surveyed (51%) weigh "evolving drivers" - health and wellness, safety, social impact, experience and transparency - in their purchasing decisions, in addition to the "traditional drivers" of taste, price and convenience.

ADSA News and Happenings
USDA Announces Funding Opportunity for Fellowships
On January 27th, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the availability of $18.9 million in competitive grants to support fellowships and other higher education training projects in food, nutrition, natural resources and agriculture fields. These fellowships are administered through USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and will support pre- and post-doctoral fellowships, undergraduate fellowships, and professional development for secondary school teachers and educational professionals.  According to USDA, funded fellowships will span the six challenge areas identified by AFRI: childhood obesity prevention, climate change, food safety, food security, sustainable bioenergy and water.  Additional information on the program, eligibility requirements and deadlines can be found here.
 
FASS Washington Representatives Present at Annual Department Heads Meeting
FASS Washington Representative Lowell Randel and Walt Smith participated in the annual meeting of the animal, dairy and poultry science department heads on January 26-27 in San Diego.  Lowell and Walt led a discussion on the current political forecast in Washington, DC, including issues related to agriculture research funding and policy issues impact the animal sciences.  Other issues discussed at the meeting included a recent APLU report on deferred maintenance and regional reviews of multi-state projects.  The meeting was held in conjunction with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association Convention.
 
ATTENTION:  You may have recently received an e-mail inviting you to participate in or present at the "International Dairy Meet and Expo".  As the JAM organizing team pointed out a couple of years ago for a similar OMNICS event, please be aware that ADSA/JAM is in no way involved with or connected to the OMICS International Dairy Meet & Expo planned for New Orleans in late June.
 
New Information Service From NIFA
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture has announce a new email subscription service designed to make it more convenient for you to receive news and information from the agency.
The subscription service includes topics that may interest you such as updates, press releases, announcements, programs, initiatives, research, education, and extension projects, funding opportunities, grants awarded, budgetary and legislative updates, policy changes, blogs, significant NIFA-funded impacts, or items of interest for and about land grant universities and non-land grant colleges of agriculture. Subscribe to receive our updates and announcements.
With the new service, you can select the frequency of your information. For example, you may desire to receive news as it becomes available, once daily, or once weekly. You can password protect your subscriptions and preferences, change your email address, or remove yourself at any time by accessing your Subscription Preferences page. Access the subscription page: http://bit.ly/NIFAsubscribe.
 
ADSA Asks:  Did you Know about Discover Conferences?
ADSA Membership provides many benefits.  Two of the most obvious are the Journal of Dairy Science� and the Joint Annual Meeting, but as we have been reminding you in recent weeks, there are others that may be overlooked.  We encourage you to take advantage of all that ADSA has to offer.
Did you know that your membership includes discounted member registration rates to the popular ADSA Discover Conferences?  Attend a single Discover Conference, and you've recovered 45% of your dues!
Graduate students members can attend Discover Conferences at a special low rate, limited to ten on a first-come first-served basis.  In addition, up to ten graduate students per Discover Conference receive up to a $250 travel award, thanks to the Discover Conferences Travel Award Fund, initiated by Bill Baumgardt and supported by ADSA members.  For more information on travel awards, contact Cara Tharp [email protected]  at ADSA headquarters.
In November 2016, Discover will return to the Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center, just a short cab ride from O'Hare International Airport.  The 31th Discover Conference, "Big Data Dairy Management "will be held Nov 1-4, 2016.
The DISCOVER Conferences provide a unique environment and format fostering interactive presentations and discussions with an attempt to involve all conference participants.  If you've never attended a Discover Conference, you need to add this to your professional "bucket list"!  But you will need to act early, as registration is capped to ensure maximum interaction, and this highly-rated meeting sells out. Click here for more information on this quality conference, a program of the ADSA Foundation.
Thank you for being a member of ADSA!  If you are not yet a member, now is a great time to join and begin gaining the benefits of membership.  Click here to join.
If you forgot to renew your ADSA membership you can still do it.  To continue to receive all your member benefits throughout the coming year click to renew today. If you are not already a member we hope that you find the many ADSA benefits of interest.  Now is a great time to join and take advantage of all these  benefits. In order to serve our members, and potential members more efficiently, we are continuing to offer online dues renewal. We look forward to your membership and participation through the coming year. Click here to join or
 
Join us for the LDHM Conference
The "Large Dairy Herd Management" (LDHM) book has been a trusted resource for dairy producers and advisors for decades and a staple in universities' upper level dairy management courses.   The last update, released in 1992, is still a good resource, but dairy production practices and management tools have changed significantly since that time.  In view of continuing interest in the 2nd edition (1992) of LDHM and requests for an update, the ADSA� Foundation has undertaken publication of a 3rd edition (eBook) of LDHM led by Dave Beede.
As a first step in creating this comprehensive and essential resource, dairy experts from around the world have been selected to prepare and present chapter papers at the LDHM Conference that will be held May 1-4, 2016 at the Hilton Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center, Oak Brook IL. Final publication of the e-Book is anticipated in 2017. We invite and encourage you to be a part of this important project that will benefit the dairy industry years for years to come.
The Conference is designed to provide an opportunity to share information on the topics in the e-Book and for authors to obtain feedback on the chapter papers they have developed. The program is designed so attendees will be able to participate in the sessions of most interest to them.  The format will be different from your typical conference in that there will be multiple concurrent sessions organized around the e-Book sections topics (click here to see the list of sections).
Why should you attend?
  • You will learn about the views of other industry leaders on the future of large dairy herd management as you help shape an important educational tool for the dairy industry.
  • Conference/ e-Book topics are applicable to producers/managers of large dairy herds and you will be the first to see the information. 
  • You will have access to global experts on 96 large herd topics (click here to see the list of topics) during the 2 1/2-day Conference including the opportunity to ask questions, provide suggestions and engage in discussions during sessions and breaks.
  • You will have opportunities for discussions and interactions with other large dairy herd producers and professional advisors from around the US and the world.
  • There will be opportunities to visit with representatives of major global dairy support businesses and technical services.
  • ADDITIONAL BENEFIT - The ADSA Foundation has just added another benefit for attending.  Included with your registration will be a free 90 day trial of S-PAC. For current subscribers, you will have 90 days added to the length of your subscription
Remember, the program is designed so that you can participate in the sessions of greatest interest to you, selecting from among the 8 concurrent sessions that will take place.  The whole content from the Conference will be organized into an e-Book available from ADSA to the global dairy industry in spring of 2017.
Registration and more information is available on the conference website  http://adsa.org/Meetings/LargeDairyHerdManagement.aspx .  Register soon as the deadline for early registration discounts is March 15, 2016.
 
Would you like to help the animal and dairy science community and attend the 2017 ADSA Annual Meeting for free?
Referrals are the most tried-and-true way businesses grow, and the same is true for FASS. Do you know a colleague working with an animal science group that is in need of high-quality, cost-effective support services? Help them out by referring them to Jamie Ritter, FASS Executive Director at [email protected] .
Help them benefit from the shared resource concept and the 264 years of collective experience the FASS staff have in working with non-profit animal science organizations. If your referral becomes a FASS customer prior to June 1, 2017, ADSA will comp your registration to the 2017 ADSA Annual Meeting that will be held June 25 to 28, 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA.  It's win-win-win. For more information about services offered by FASS, click here.
 
Are You Part of ADSA� on Linked In
Our ADSA Linked In group continues to grow. We now include 1,492 members from around the world, are you one of them? It's a great place to get information and network with other dairy professionals from around the world.  Check it out here.
Thanks to our Corporate Sustaining Members
                                 We appreciate your ongoing support of ADSA and the Journal of Dairy Science�.

Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition
Elanco Animal Health
Diamond V Mills 
Kent Nutrition
Grande Cheese Co.
Kraft Foods
GEA Farm Technologies 
BioZyme Inc.
Darling International Research
Quali Tech
Zook Nutrition & Management
Zinpro
DuPont Pioneer
Zoetis
West Central
Lallemand Animal Nutrition
Ag Processing
Renaissance Nutrition
Global Agri-Trade Corp.
Masters Choice
Papillon Agricultural Co.
Nutriad 
Calendar of Events
Feb 15-17, 2016  Florida Ruminant Nutrition Symposium*,  Gainesville, FL, For more information click here.
 
Feb 16-18, 2016  Preventive Controls Qualified Individual Training - Preventive Controls for Human Food, Stocking Hall Conference Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, For more information contact:  Kim Bukowski, Ph 607-254-3313 or Louise Felker, Ph 607-255-7098
 
Feb 17-19, 2016 Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge: hosted by UW Platteville and Southwest Technical College in Platteville, WI For more information, visit the Dairy Challenge web site
 
Feb 17-19, 2016     2016 Southwest Nutrition Conference, Tempe Mission Palms Hotel & Conference, Tempe, AZ, For more information click here
 
Feb 17-19, 2016     VSFA Convention and VT DASC "Cow College"*, Roanoke, VA, For more information click here
 
Feb 23, 2016  Vermont Dairy Producers Conference, For more information click here
 
Feb 23-24, 2016     Specialty Cheese Course, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, NY, For more information contact Rob Ralyea 607-255-7643 or Louise Felker 607-255-7098 to register, click here.
 
Feb. 25-26, 2016      USDA Ag Outlook Conference - Transforming Agriculture: Blending Technology and Tradition, Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel,  Arlington, VA,  for information about the Forum and to register, go to www.usda.gov/oce/forum/.
 
Feb 25-27, 2016 Western Regional Dairy Challenge: hosted by College of the Sequoias in Tulare, CA  For more information, visit the Dairy Challenge web site
 
Mar 1-2, 2016   The High Plains Dairy Conference*, Overton Hotel, Lubbock, TX, For more information, click here.

Mar 7-8, 2016
     NYS Cheese Manufacturers' Association Meeting, Double Tree Hotel, Syracuse, NY, For more information contact  Janene Lucia, Ph 607-227-5833

Mar 8-9, 2016  The Southern Dairy Conference*, Atlanta, GA. For more information, click here.
 
Mar. 8 - 11, 2016      34th Western Canadian Dairy Seminar*, for more information click here
 
Mar 14 - 16, 2016     Midwest Meeting ADSA� Midwest Branch and ASAS Midwestern Section, Des Moines, IA
 
Mar 22-23, 2016  FRI Better Process Cheese School, Microbial Sciences Building, 1550 Linden Dr., Madison, WI. For registation information, click here.
 
Mar 30-31, 2016     Pathogen Environmental Monitoring Workshop, Cornell University.  For more information contact Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098
 
April 5-7, 2016     Membrane Filtration, Separation, and Concentration Technologies, Cornell University, For more information contact Steve Murphy, Ph: 607-255-2893 or Louise Felker, Ph: 607-255-709
 
April 7-9, 2016 North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge & Academy: hosted by the Northeast Region in Syracuse, NY For more information, visit the Dairy Challenge web site
 
April 12-14, 2016     (HTST) Pasteurizer Workshop in Association with NYS Agric. & Markets, Cornell University, For more information contact Steve Murphy, Ph: 607-255-2893 or Louise Felker , PH: 607-255-7098
 
April 8 - 20, 2016     Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, Grand Wayne Center,  Fort Wayne, IN, For more information click here
 
April 25-29, 2016    World of Cheese from Pasture to Plate, Babcock Hall, Room 2015, UW-Madison, Madison, WI. For more information click here

May 1-4, 2016
     Large Dairy Herd Management (LDHM) Conference, Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center, Oak Brook, IL, For more information click here 
 
May 3, 2016   Wisconsin Cleaning & Sanitation Workshop, Babcock Hall, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison, Wis. For more information,
click here.

May 4, 2016    HACCP Workshop, Babcock Hall, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison, WI. For more information, click here
 
May 10-11, 2016   Applied Dairy Chemistry, Babcock Hall, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison, WI. For more information, click here.

May 24-25, 2016     Basic Dairy Science & Sanitation Workshop, Online and Cornell University,  For more information contact Kim Bukowski Ph: 607-254-3313 or Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098
 
June 7-8, 2016     Science of Yogurt & Fermented Dairy Products Workshop (Basic), On-line and Cornell University, For more information contact Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098
 
June 7-9, 2016   Cheese Grading Short Course, Babcock Hall, 2605 Linden Dr., Madison, WI. For more information, click here.

June 15-16, 2016     4-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference, Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA, contact
Jim Salfer, U of MN, [email protected]
 
June 20-24, 2016 13th International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis*, Nantes, France, For more information click here
 
June 21-23, 2016  Precision Dairy Farming 2016, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. For more information, click here.

July 2-9, 2016  American Dairy Goat Association National Show, Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, Harrisburg, PA. For more information contact ADGA, PO Box 865, Spindale, NC 28160, 828-286-3801 
www.ADGA.org.
 
July 3-8, 2016     World Buiatrics Congress 2016, Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland, For more information click here.
 
July 12-14, 2016     High Temperature Short Time (HTST) Pasteurizer Workshop in association with NYS Agriculture and Markets, Cornell University, For more information contact Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098
 
July 18-21, 2016     Certified Milk Inspector's School in Association with NY State Agriculture & Markets, Cornell University, For more information contact Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098, Course Syllabus  , Required Course of NYS-CMIs
 
July 19-23, 2016  ADSA- ASAS Joint Annual Meeting (JAM)*, Salt Lake City, UT, for more information click here
 
July 24-28, 2016     2016 National Association of County Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference (AM/PIC) Little Rock, AR, For more information click here
 
Aug 2-3, 2016  Milk Pasteurization, Babcock Hall, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison, WI. For more information, click here.

Aug 15-18, 2016     Food Safety Systems (HACCP) and Implementing SQF, Cornell University, For more information contact
Kimberly Bukowski Ph: 607-243-3313 or  Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098
 
Sept 11-13, 2016     NYS Cheese Manufacturers' Assoc. Annual Fall Meeting, Harbor Hotel, Watkins Glen NY, For more information contact Janene Lucia, Ph: 607-227-5833
 
Sept 13-14, 2016   Master Artisan Short Course Series, Babcock Hall, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison, WI. For more information, click here.

Sept 14-15, 2016     Advanced Fluid Milk Cornell University, For more information contact
Kimberly Bukowski Ph: 607-243-3313 or  Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098
 
Sept 20-22, 2016      NYS Association for Food Protection Annual Conference/FDA NE Regional Update, Doubletree Hotel Syracuse, NY For more information contact Janene Lucia, Ph: 607-227-5833

Oct 3-7, 2016   Cheese Tech Short Course, Babcock Hall Room 205, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison, WI. For more information, click here.
 
Oct 4-8, 2016     50th World Dairy Expo, Madison, WI. For more information click here
 
Oct 11-12, 2016  Dairy Ingredient Manufacturing, Babcock Hall, Room 2015, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison, WI. For more information, click here

Oct 11-13, 2016     High Temperature Short Time (HTST) Pasteurizer Workshop, Cornell University, For more information contact
Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098
 
Oct 19-20, 2016     Advanced Cheese Making, Cornell University, For more information contact Rob Ralyea Ph: 607-255-7643 or Louise Felker Ph:  607-255-7098
 
Oct 20-26, 2016     120th IUSAHA- AAVLD Annual Meeting , Greensboro Sheraton Hotel. Greensboro, NC, For more information click here
 
Oct 25-26, 2016     Vat Pasteurization/Basic Cheese Making Workshop, On-line and Cornell University, For more information contact Rob Ralyea Ph: 607-255-7643 or Louise Felker Ph:  607-255-7098
 
Nov 1-4, 2016    31st ADSA Discover Conference: Big Data Dairy Management,  Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center, Oak Brook, IL, For more information click here

Nov 2-4, 2016   Cheese Grading Short Course, Babcock Hall, Room 205, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison WI, For more information
click here

Nov 10-11, 2016     2016 DCRC Annual Meeting, Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel, Columbus, Ohio, For registration and more information click here

Nov 30-Dec 2, 2016   Ice Cream Makers Short Course, Babcock Hall, Room 205, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison WI, For more information click here

Dec 6-7, 2016    
Food Safety Plans for Artisan and Farmstead Processors, Online & Hands-On Location TBD, For more information contact Kimberly Bukowski Ph: 607-243-3313 or  Louise Felker Ph: 607-255-7098
 
June 25-28, 2017 2017 ADSA Annual Conference and Tradeshow, Pittsburgh, PA.  For more information click here
 
*An S-PAC Partner Conference
 
If your organization's conference isn't among the ever growing list that contribute proceedings and presentations to S-PAC�, ask your conference organizer to contact Ken Olson for more information about the benefits of participation.
 
If you would like to have an event included in the "Dates to Note," please contact Ken Olson.
 
 

ADSA Membership Benefits                                 
                                           
Did you know that your ADSA Professional Membership provides you with:

*        Electronic access to the Journal of Dairy Science�

*        Joint Annual Meeting at member rates

*        Discover Conferences at member rates

*        S-PAC: Free access to JAM and ADSA divisional abstracts

*        S-PAC subscription at member rates

*        Access to recorded symposia library                                                                       

*        ADSA News (association newsletter)

*        ADSA Dair e-news (ADSA industry newsletter)

*        Access to member directory

*        Peer recognition through ADSA and Foundation Award Program

*        Discounted page charges in Journal of Dairy Science�

*        A strong voice of advocacy for the animal sciences, animal agriculture and agriculture research

*        Broad author recognition through ADSA/Elsevier press release program

*        Linked In and You Tube sites for ADSA

*        Quality networking with academic and industry professionals

*        Travel awards for all graduate students attending Discover Conferences

*        Opportunity to serve peers via committee and officer positions

 
For more information on your benefits please visit: http://www.adsa.org/join.asp
To join now and gain these member benefits, visit: http://www.adsa.org/join.asp

American Dairy Science Association
1800 South Oak St., Suite 100, Champaign, IL 61820