1.24.2009

New Iowa Processing Plant

Iowa's dairy industry welcomes a new processing plant -- Green Meadows Dairy. Located in Hull, Iowa, Green Meadows Dairy will have the capacity to annually process 700 million pounds of milk. That's about 2.5 million pounds of milk processed each business day creating 80 million pounds of cheese this first year. They plan to double their processing to 160 million pounds of cheese by 2010.

Check out the Dairy Star article on the new plant: http://dairystar.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=848

Green Meadows will soon have a website up and running:http://www.greenmeadowsfoods.com/

1.23.2009

Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation Annual Meeting

Mark your calendars –

The Annual Meeting of the Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation will be held on Thursday, March 12, 2009 at The Dairy Center, Calmar, IA.

The day's events, starting at 11 a.m., will include a presentation by Dale Thoreson of ISU Extension on our Corn Silage Test Plot Results, a presentation by Ben Grimstad from Decorah Bank & Trust on How the Credit Crisis is affecting the Dairy Industry, a noon meal, the annual meeting and election of officers at 1 p.m., and displays from leading dairy industry businesses that support the Dairy Foundation.

If you are not a current member of the Dairy Foundation and would like to attend, please contact me so I can make sure you receive an official invitation. If you want to become a member please contact me ASAP so we can get you started.

Thank you
Kelli Boylen
Director
NE IA Dairy Foundation
563-534-9957 x 107
Boylenk@portal.nicc.edu

Northeast Iowa Dairy Days

Northeast Iowa dairy producers will have the opportunity to hear Iowa State University Extension Specialists share information on several “hot button” issues in the dairy industry at the 2009 Northeast Iowa Dairy Days. The local Dairy Days schedule includes Tuesday, January 20 at the American Legion Hall in Ryan; Wednesday, January 21 at the Dubuque County Fairgrounds; Tuesday, February 10 at the Knights of
Columbus Hall in Elma; Wednesday, February 11 at the Dairy Foundation Center south of Calmar; and Thursday, February 12 at the Civic Center in Waverly.

As part of this year’s program, area Dairy Specialist Dale Thoreson will address how using genomics will change how bull mothers are identified, sires selected and how producers mate their cows. Robert Tigner will discuss farm labor force and best management practices to secure and keep quality employees. Dr. Lee Kilmer will share information that will help producers position their feeding program when feed and milk prices are volatile. He will also address how feed shrink robs from the bottom line.

After lunch dairymen will hear ISU Extension Veterinarians or local practitioners discuss current health topics and answer producer questions. At the Calmar location, there will be a producer panel discussion answering how they get high milk per cow, low herd SCC and higher profits.

Registration begins at 9:30 a.m. and the program will begin promptly at 10 a.m. Lunch and time to visit the commercial exhibits will be at 12 noon with all programs completed by 3:30 p.m. A $10 registration fee will cover meal and proceedings costs. Vouchers may be available from local ag-service providers or veterinarians. The deadline to register is the Friday before each event. Producers may also take advantage of free feed testing by bringing a ziploc bag of TMR, silage or grain samples (approx. one quart) for particle size analysis. For more information contact your local County Extension office or Leo Timms at 515-294-4522.

Feed Ban Enhancement Brings Changes to Iowa Rendering

Due to FDA rules, all states, including Iowa, are seeing changes take place at rendering facilities. The FDA rules enhanced the feed ban, prohibiting the use of high-risk cattle material in feed for all animal species. The brains and spinal cords from cattle 30 months of age or older are prohibited in animal feed and must be removed. This has caused some rendering companies to no longer pick up animals over 30 months of age.

Iowa regulations regarding livestock mortality are summarized in the following Iowa Manure Management Action Group (IMMAG) Fact Sheet: http://www.agronext.iastate.edu/immag/pubs/imms/vol7.pdf

This rule goes into effect April 27, 2009.

More information: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Documents/BSE_QA.pdf

1.21.2009

Air Emissions Reporting in Iowa

Iowa dairy farms with more than 700 mature dairy cattle emitting more than 100 pounds of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide within a 24 hour time frame are required by the EPA to report air releases to local and state agencies. A rule came out exempting dairy farms with less than 700 mature dairy cows from reporting emissions.

According to a press release, the Iowa DNR, "estimates that about 2,000 livestock or poultry operations could be required to report."

Information on reporting and estimating air emissions can be found at: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/airquality/cerclaepcra.html

1.18.2009

I-29 Dairy Conference

Released January 5, 2009

ST. PAUL, Minn. —— The fourth annual “I-29 Dairy Conference” will be held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Jan. 29, 2009.

The conference begins with registration at 9:30 a.m. at the Best Western Ramkota Inn & Conference Center, 3200 W. Maple St. It costs $20 per person and includes materials and lunch. Lodging discounts are available to those who register before Jan. 8. Pre-registration by Jan. 22 is encouraged.

A registration form is available at this link: http://dairysci.sdstate.edu/News/2009-I-29%20Dairy%20Conf%20Brochure-ver8.pdf. Or mail contact information and registration payment to Valerie Denison, SDSU Dairy Science Box 2104, Dairy Microbiology Building, Room 109, Brookings SD, 57007.

The 2009 conference is titled “Going Green in a Black & White World: Understanding Sustainability and the Opportunities for Our Dairy Farms and Industry” and features numerous expert speakers including Charlie Arnot, Center for Food Integrity; Rick Naczi, American Dairy Association; Donna Moenning, Midwest Dairy Association; Alvaro Garcia, SDSU Extension; Jim Salfer and Jim Paulson, University of Minnesota Extension. The program also features a Dairy Producer Panel including Dennis Haubenschild, Jason Brockshus and Dennis Johnson.

The University Extensions of South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota, along with the Southwest Minnesota Dairy Profit Group, are coordinating the conference, with support from local and national industry sponsors. Sessions during the conference include the following:

Balancing ethics, science, and economics in the process of building sustainable systems
Panel discussion on what’s being done and what needs to be done by dairy producers
Dairy sustainability: Creating value and profitability from cow to consumer
Breakout sessions on “What do we do now?” exploring options for economic, scientific, and social practices and resources.
Contact Chris Mondak, Iowa State Extension, (712) 737-4230, cmondak@iastate.edu, or Alvaro Garcia, South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service, (605) 688-5488, alvaro.garcia@sdstate.edu, for more information.

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http://www.extension.umn.edu/extensionnews/2008/dairy-conf-jan29.html