November 2004

Pennsylvania Cattle Inventory Up Slightly announces the National Ag Statistics Service (Nov. 17, ’04). “Pennsylvania farmers had 1,640,000 cattle and calves on hand on January 1, 2004, up 10,000 head from the January 1, 2003 level. . . . Milk cow inventory, at 564,000, is down 26,000 head from January 1, 2003. . . . Milk cow replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, at 280,000, were unchanged from last year’s number. . . . During 2004, 28,000 Pennsylvania operations had cattle and calves, unchanged from the previous year. . . . There were 9,600 milk operations, down slightly from 2003.” The PA office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service will be surveying approximately 1,600 cattle farmers for its largest cattle survey of the year beginning December 27th and ending on January 10th. . . . Results from the 2005 January Cattle Survey will be made available on January 30, 2005. Read the complete press release at http://www.nass.usda.gov/pa/cattle04.pdf.

USDA Launches “My.USDA” Website reports Country Focus (Nov. ’04). The My.USDA.gov website “will allow farmers to customize the USDA homepage for their unique needs. . . Farmers are able to view their contracts in various conservation programs, payments under commodity programs and information on loans and crop insurance. To begin customizing your USDA homepage, link to www.usda.gov and click on the login or new user button located on the left of the navigation bar.”

Dairy co-ops have growing impact reports Hoard’s Dairyman (Nov. ’04). “Dairy cooperatives’ share of total milk volume sold by farmers to plants and dealers rose from 83 percent to 86 percent between 1997 and 2002, according to USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RB-CS). . . . During the same period, the number of dairy co-ops declined from 226 to 196, and the number of cooperatives that processed and manufactured dairy products dropped from 63 to 46. . . . The four largest cooperatives accounted for 49 percent of milk from member producers in 2002, up from 36 percent in 1997. The eight largest cooperatives accounted for 63 percent.”

Right to Farm: A great protection—Use it sparingly advises One Step Ahead (NE Dairy Producers Assn., Nov. ’04). “Most states passed right-to-farm legislation during the 1970’s. . . . Right-to-farm protects against private nuisance suits when your farming activities are done in designated areas and meet certain standards, such as in agricultural zones and using sound farming practices. Recent court rulings on right-to-farm laws in two states, Vermont and Iowa, have found their particular laws went too far in shifting this balance of rights. In both cases, but for different reasons, the courts ruled the laws too broadly protected farms and thus unconstitutionally took away the rights of the non-farming neighbors. . . . For us in the dairy industry, we must realize that current manure management technology can cause obnoxious odors. . . And until the technology to reduce odors becomes commonly affordable and widespread, we must actively strive to be good neighbors in our neighborhood.” The author recommends this resource guide to resolving farm-neighbor conflict: Farms, Communities and Collaboration.

Measuring Heat Stress – From Inside the Cow (Agricultural Research, Nov. 04). “University researchers both here and abroad recently evaluated an improved telemetry system to . . . obtain accurate readings on animals’ internal temperatures. . . . It involves placing a temperature sensor and transmitter into the animal to measure its core body temperature and then transmit the reading. The tiny devises are enclosed in 1-inch-long capsules and, for short-term experiments, swallowed by the test animals. For longer-term studies, the 3- to 4-inch capsules are surgically implanted in the animals, where they can stay in place for up to a year.” The article is available at http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/nov04/sci1104.htm.

Get an early start on retirement recommends Hoard’s Dairyman (Nov. ’04). “Adequate planning and preparation for retirement is one of the most important things you can do to help the farm prosper for the next generation.” The author, Coleen M. Jones, offers a checklist based on the work of agricultural economist Dr. Dave Kohl. Some elements of the checklist include: “Write your will and update it every five years; develop a written estate plan to transfer your assets, and update it every five years; calculate your annual living expense during retirement; and plan your living and housing arrangements for retirement.”

Internal herd growth is the featured topic in “The Manager” section of Northeast Dairy Business. PRO-DAIRY specialists prepared six articles on the topic. Complete text of the articles is available by clicking on the titles. “Do the math on internal herd growth” says “There is a strong link between good internal herd growth and a dairy’s ability to produce milk, run its barns and parlor at higher capacity, have better cost control and make more profit. “Internal herd growth’s important role” notes, “favorable internal herd growth is like compound interest; “Take out monitor insurance” recommends, “To make good herd management decisions, avoid problems of lag, bias, momentum and variation inherent in parameters; “Monitor your broken cow rate” says “If you know the rate at which cows are being broken, and the reason why, you may avoid future breakage; “Real world, real good internal herd growth” reports how “constant attention to details nets these five Northeast dairies a 10% or higher annual internal herd growth; and, “Reap the rewards of internal growth” notes, “You have two ways to capture the value of sound internal herd growth; grow your herd or sell excess animals for income.”

USDA Forecasts Record Farm Income for 2004. “The USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) this week released its forecast that net farm income for 2004 will be $77.5 billion, up $9 billion from last year’s record amount. The value of both crop and livestock production has risen 13% in the last year and has also reached record levels. For more detailed information, visit the ERS web site at http://www.ers.usda.gov/features/2004FarmIncome.” (Source: NCFC Update, National Association of Farmer Cooperatives, Nov. 12, 2004)

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