Mielke Market Weekly

MIELKE MARKET WEEKLY

By Lee Mielke

See MIELKE, pg. 10

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This column was written for the marketing week ending July 9.

Sharp declines in cheese, powder, and butter resulted in the biggest drop in the Global Dairy Trade’s weighted average since March 16. The July 6 average fell 3.6 percent, following a 1.3 percent News and information for Minnesota and Northern Iowa dairy producers slip on June 15, and the sixth consecutive loss. Traders brought 53.5 million Meanwhile, U.S. dairy exports have been done over the years by those who immigrated to pounds of product to market, up from strong, which is good news considering how this country in the farming community. The book 47.4 million in the last event, and the U.S. milk production keeps rising. The has seen sales in 36 states and three countries, he largest since March 16. The average United States-Mexico- Canada Free Trade said, and is available at national book sellers or winning price was $3,924, down from Agreement however, has resulted in some at www.coreygeiger.com. $4,083 (the lowest since Feb. 16), and HighGround Dairy points out the session had the fewest bidding rounds since March 7, 2017. The losses were led by buttermilk powder, down 9.8 percent. GDT cheddar was down 9.2 percent, following a 0.2 percent gain on June 15. Skim milk powder and whole milk powder were down 7 percent and 3 percent respectively, after skim milk powder fell 1.7 percent in the last event and whole milk powder was down 1.8 percent. Anhydrous milkfat was off 0.9 percent, after it inched up 0.6 percent last time. StoneX Dairy Group says the GDT 80 percent butterfat butter price equates to $1.9728 per pound U.S., down 6.8 cents from the last event, and compares to Chicago Mercantile Exchange butter which closed July 9 at $1.6750. GDT cheddar, at $1.7913, friction between the United States and Canada. Hoards Dairyman Managing Editor Corey Geiger, speaking in the July 12 “Dairy Radio Now” broadcast, said it’s no surprise dairy was the first dispute in the USMCA. At issue is what are called Trade Rate Quotas or TRQs. The TRQs are import permits, he said, given to importers of record, typically dairy processors, trading companies, brokers, and other similar organizations. What the United States is trying to say, said Geiger, is you can’t allocate TRQs to an entity who knowingly won’t use it, according to Gregg Doud, former Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative under the Trump Administration. The dispute comes with high stakes, according to Doud, because “ultimately it will become a benchmark for the effectiveness of the n You’ll recall May milk production totaled 19.85 billion pounds, up a hefty 4.6 percent from May 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s preliminary data. The latest Dairy Products report shows where that milk ended up (though StoneX Dairy reminds us milk production last May was down from the previous year, as co-ops and milk buyers put incentives into place to limit output which led to big drops in butter and nonfat dry milk production). That was not the case this year. May cheese production totaled 1.156 billion pounds, up 1.8 percent from April and a bearish 5 percent above may 2020. Year-to-date, cheese output hit 5.6 billion pounds, up 4 percent from the same period in 2020. was down 17.2 cents, and compares to July 9’s CME entire USMCA agreement.” Checking the top five manufacturers: Wisconsin block cheddar at $1.7250. GDT skim milk powder averaged $1.4182 per pound, down from $1.5222, or 10.4 cents. Whole milk powder averaged $1.7525 per pound, down from $1.8128 or 6 cents. CME Grade A Doud added the objection has validity and the U.S. Trade Representative would not have brought the case if it didn’t really believe it would win it. produced 295.6 million pounds, up 4.6 percent from April and 5.1 percent above a year ago. California delivered 207.3 million pounds, same as April but 1.9 percent below a year ago. Idaho contributed 79.5 nonfat dry milk closed on July 9 at $1.25 per pound. We also congratulated Corey on the writing of his million pounds, down 8.6 percent from April and 1.4 n book, “On a Wisconsin Family Farm,” which details the creation of “America’s Dairyland” and the work percent below a year ago. Italian-style cheese totaled 481.3 million pounds, down 0.1 percent from April and 0.2 percent below a Manure Demo Day takes place Aug. 10 year ago. Year-to-date, Italian was at 2.4 billion pounds, up 1.7 percent. MORRIS, Minn. — Interested parties are invited to take part in the first Manure Demo Day at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, Minn. on Aug. 10. paction and a safety walk-through. Similar to past CAWT recertification training, attendance will be monitored by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, please bring your CAWT license with American-type cheese, at 473.1 million pounds, was up 0.1 percent from April and 7.2 percent above a year ago. Year-to-date, American was at 2.3 billion pounds, up 6 percent.

The day will be broken into a morning and after- you. noon session. The morning session will consist of The afternoon field session is free and open to the recertification training for commercial animal waste public, beginning at noon. Registration is not required technicians (CAWTs) and includes lunch. In order to for the afternoon session. In-field demonstrations cover costs associated with the training, the fee for will begin at 1:15 p.m.. Exhibitors and vendors will the morning session is $10. Space is limited to the be on site to answer questions and provide product first 100 people for the CAWT session. Pre-register information. Current exhibitors include Artex by Aug. 3 by visiting https://z.umn.edu/MDD2021. Manufacturing, Balzer Inc, Bazooka Farmstar and This is the only in-person CAWT recertification workshop of 2021. The CAWT session will begin promptly at 8:30 A.M. and will include a program Soil Warrior. If you are interested in becoming a vendor or exhibitor please contact Brenda Postels, UMN Extension at (320) 203-6063 or post0060@umn.edu. update, MPCA CAFO permit update, information on This article was submitted by the Stearns County manure application timing, calibrating manure Soil and Water Conservation District. v spreading equipment, tips for minimizing soil com-

MIELKE, from pg. 9

Mozzarella output totaled 376.7 million pounds, down 0.7 percent from a year ago, with year-to-date mozzarella at 1.9 billion pounds, up 0.5 percent from 2020.

Cheddar, the cheese traded daily at the CME, totaled 343.0 million pounds. This is up 8.9 million pounds or 2.7 percent from April, and a whopping 27.3 million or 8.7 percent above a year ago. Yearto-date, cheddar hit 1.66 billion pounds, up 5 percent from 2020.

Butter churns produced 185.4 million pounds of butter, up 1.5 million pounds or 0.9 percent from the April volume which was revised down 1.3 million pounds; but was up 13.1 million pounds or 7.6 percent above a year ago. Year-to-date, butter climbed to 964.2 million pounds, still down 3.5 percent from 2020.

Yogurt output totaled 388.7 million pounds, up 4.2 percent from a year ago, with year-to-date at 2.0 billion, up 5.4 percent.

Dry whey totaled 77.7 million pounds, up 3 million pounds or 4.1 percent from April, but 6.4 million pounds or 7.6 percent below a year ago. Year-todate, dry whey was at 391.4 million pounds, down 3.6 percent.

Dry whey stocks crept up to 66.5 million pounds, 6.3 million or 10.4 percent more than April; but 19.7 million or 22.9 percent below those a year ago.

Nonfat dry milk output climbed to 205.3 million pounds, up 11 million pounds or 5.7 percent from April, and 48.1 million or 30.6 percent above a year ago. Year-to-date production was at 980.5 million pounds, up 9.9 percent from 2020. Stocks jumped to 347.8 million pounds, up 30 million pounds or 9.5 percent from April and 9 million pounds or 2.7 percent above a year ago. Skim milk powder production fell to 35.7 million pounds, down 11.3 million pounds or 24 percent from April and 21 million pounds or 37 percent below a year ago. Year-to-date, skim milk powder, at 189.9 million pounds, was down 22.2 percent from 2020.

See MIELKE, pg. 12

Extension provides drought management update

ST. PAUL — As of the end of June, all of Minnesota was officially in some stage of drought. Generally speaking, the southern half of the state is in poorer shape than the north, with a few exceptions. Although cash crops appear to be in pretty good shape thus far, pastures and hayfields are not; and they are getting worse by the day.

At this point, it is probably a good idea for beef cattle outfits to start getting a plan together to deal with the fact that they are likely going to run out of summer grass. The key to successful drought management lies in executing your plan before the situation becomes absolutely critical. Here are few considerations for managing your herd in these conditions.

Surface water — In many areas, surface water is the main source of water for grazing cattle. In most instances, small bodies of surface water are dried up or nearly dried up, which creates several major problems. First, as water holes start to dry up, cattle have nothing to drink. This, of course, can be remedied if a live water tap is close by to fill tanks. If a live water tap is not available, moving cattle out of the pasture or hauling water may be your only alternatives for the short-term.

Keep in mind that a cow will drink 20 gallons and calves 5 to 8 gallons per day before you make that decision. That is a lot of water to haul, and you can’t let them run out. A cow can go a couple days with no water, which is not the issue. The issue is trampled calves at the tanks when you start dumping fresh water. If you are going to haul water, start hauling well in advance of natural surface water running out so cows have a chance to establish their new pecking order before it becomes a dire situation.

An additional consideration as far as new water supplies go is that cows will continue to return to the old pond even after it is dried up. This is generally disastrous for calves who become bogged in the silt at the bottom of the pond bed. Once the new water supply is established, it might be useful to fence out the old water with a strand of hot wire to keep cattle out of the silt bed.

Creep feeding calves — Creep feeding calves could be a possible grass-saver for some outfits. Feed is expensive right now, but it may be the only option remaining before carving up the herd. Keeping calves on a low to moderate energy creep will reduce grass intake by as much as 20 percent. If you are considering putting some creep feed out for calves, check out this guide by Dr. Rick Rasby at the University of Nebraska for information on possible feed formulations: https://extensionpublications.unl. edu/assets/pdf/g2077.pdf

Culling cows — Selling cows is not something any rancher wants to do — especially mid-summer. Most cow outfits in Minnesota need to start thinking about trimming the need for grass right now. We are past the point in the growing season where additional rain is going to restore things to normal for this year. Rain will certainly help, but grass yields will still suffer tremendously, even with good rains.

When thinking about pruning the cow herd, don’t wait until you’re out of grass. The cards have been dealt, and it’s time to play them. The majority of cow herds can be kept intact if 10 to 25 percent of the herd is liquidated now.

If you bred early, you could preg check early and sell opens and late breds. There is no reason to keep feeding the opens, and late calving cows are the least profitable in your herd.

Sell the oldest cows first. Even if they are still decent cows, they are the least valuable to your remaining cow herd. If you don’t have many older cows, cut into the older end of the running age cows (6 to 8 year olds) next. If you still need to trim some mouths, consider cutting into the replacement heifers. This will leave you a core group of your most valuable running age cows (3 to 6 year olds).

Selling pairs or bred pairs isn’t going to be much of a possibility this summer. Things may change, but this drought extends over 75 percent of cow country right now, so there won’t many farmers looking for more mouths to feed. Early weaning calves might be the way to go for many outfits.

Early wean calves — Early weaning calves is an option some outfits may consider to lighten the load on remaining grass. This practice has been shown to reduce grass intake of cows by about 25 percent. Calves can be successfully weaned at about 90 days of age and started on feed relatively easily — particularly if they have been creep fed prior to weaning. Nutrition is the key component to a successful early weaning program. Consult a nutritionist to formulate a least-cost ration specific to feed ingredients you have on hand.

Other major considerations for early weaning include performing standard vaccinations prior to weaning, controlling dust to mitigate dust pneumonia potential, and adequate fly control. Hot weather has been a significant component of this drought, and heat stress should be managed appropriately to reduce stress in calves as much as possible. Focus on providing shade and plenty of clean water for calves. Although selling fly-weight calves right off the cow is an option, it’s not going to be a good option for most producers. Feeding them for a while will give you some flexibility to figure out a marketing strategy.

Pest control — Pest control is a key component of good management every year, but becomes even more important in drought years. Cows and calves are hounded relentlessly by biting flies, face flies, mosquitoes and ticks in a pasture setting, and dry weather tends to make it worse. Cattle use a lot of energy fighting flies, and tend to bunch which makes heat stress worse. Thus providing some relief from flies to cattle on grass or in drylots will help keep cattle more comfortable. Dust bags, oilers, rubs, and fly tags are all options for good pest control, provided they are kept fresh and current.

This article was submitted by University of Minnesota Extension educator Eric Mousel and Joe Armstrong. v