The annual Florida Parishes Dairy Day recently brought out the spirit of winning in youth showing off their culinary and artistic skills, and farmers received bragging rights with high-yielding milk cows.
The event, which is held every summer, began early in the morning with young people judging dairy cows and others preparing dishes for the cookery contest at the LSU AgCenter Southeast Research Station.
Read MorePrompted by a call from Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to get as many people involved in dairy as possible in one room to discuss solutions to Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) shortfalls, the American Farm Bureau Federation is hosting a forum Oct. 14-16 in Kansas City, Missouri.
Read MoreHow will this year’s weather conditions affect crop production? The Monthly Agricultural Yield Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey U.S. farmers beginning July 30, 2022, regarding yields of the major row crops throughout the growing season across the United States.
Read MoreLouisiana milk production during the April - June 2022 quarter was 32.0 million pounds, down 9 percent from the same period in 2021 and down 3 percent from the January - March quarter. The average number of milk cows on farms during the quarter was 9,000 head, 500 head lower than the same period last year but unchanged from the previous quarter.
Read MoreBy prices alone, the past year or so has gone well for dairy producers. In March, USDA reported the highest-ever average all-milk price at $25.90 per hundredweight, 20 cents ahead the previous record set in September 2014.
Read MoreLouisiana milk production during the January - March 2022 quarter was 33.0 million pounds, down 13 percent from the same period in 2021 but up 18 percent from the October - December 2021 quarter.
Read MoreThe January 2022 Price & Production Summary gives prices for cattle, poultry, hogs and dairy.
Read MoreDairy MAX is committed to strengthening agriculture and sustaining a viable future for dairy farming. One way that Dairy MAX follows through this commitment is the Dairy MAX scholarship program, which supports local dairy farm families while investing in future generations.
Read MoreLouisiana milk production during the October - December 2021 quarter was 27.0 million pounds, down 13 percent from the same period in 2020 but up 8 percent from the July - September quarter.
Read MoreWhen economists try to forecast markets, they typically look at the history of prices and production and consumer demand and other market factors. Their statistics-based forecasts assume the basic relationships don’t change; and that usually works pretty well.
Read MoreUSDA opened sign-up for the Dairy Margin Coverage program and expanded the program to allow dairy farmers to better protect their operations by enrolling supplemental milk production.
The sign-up period, which started Dec. 13, runs through Feb. 18. The sign-up allows farmers to get coverage through this important safety-net program for another year, as well as get additional assistance through the new Supplemental DMC.
Read MoreTucked in the rolling hills of Washington Parish sits the LSU AgCenter Southeast Research Station. Pastures, barns and a milking parlor dot the landscape as do the dairy cows that are the focus of the research at the station.
Established in 1944, the station opened at a time when many families in the Florida Parishes had at least a few dairy cows. The Franklinton Chamber of Commerce had been working for several years to get an experiment station in the area to conduct research applicable to dairy and beef cattle.
Read MoreDairy demand has been a bright spot for agriculture the past two years, and supply chain hurdles haven’t curbed the record demand so far. The hunger for dairy products internationally is on pace to set new records in 2021, as much of that added demand is due to China.
In total, it’s estimated a day's worth of U.S. milk production each week goes to exports, which equates to nearly $6.5 billion in U.S. dairy products, which are sent to 133 countries. The top buyer of U.S. dairy products is China, which has been on a buying spree lately. U.S. dairy exports to China were up 32% during the first half of the year on a milk equivalent basis.
Read MoreHome baking is back in full swing during the holiday season, and Americans are expected to purchase 161 million lb. of butter between the second week of November through Christmas. That’s enough to bake more than 11 billion butter cookies!
While butter sales usually increase during the holidays, the pandemic, which spiked a rebirth of home cooking, has also caused butter sales to grow significantly year-round, according to a Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin press release. With home cooking and baking on the rise, the organization has seen a 400% spike in recipe searches over the course of the pandemic.
Read MoreAs Tangipahoa Parish residents sheltered in place as Hurricane Ida hit, Susie and Harrell Sharkey were fretting over their cows. The Sharkeys have been in the dairy farming business for more than 40 years — one of a dwindling number of milk providers in the state. Their 110 dairy cows need to be milked twice a day, and as the 2 a.m. feeding approached during the storm, a piece of their pump broke.
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