Drought Conditions Hit Forage Yields Sporadically across Northeast

By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA

As with many things in 2020, the weather has been exceedingly different across the Northeast, leading to low forage yields for some, and low normal for others. “Rainfall was extremely variable,” said Tom Kilcer of Advanced Ag Systems LLC, and a 33 year Cornell Cooperative Extension veteran. “It varied so much from location to location, storm to storm. One local farm, there was a five inch difference in rainfall between fields located three miles from each other.”

According to Joe Lawrence, a Dairy Forage Systems Specialist at PRO-DAIRY, New York generally faired the best in the area. “I hesitate to say that,” said Lawrence. “I’m talking to a lot of people that are hauling water because their wells are still having issues. The Southern Tier, the southwestern corner of the state, there are reports that it was drier there, and the St. Lawrence river valley area was quite dry as well. On the whole however, New York faired better than reports from Southern VT and from Conn. where they had extremely dry conditions.”

These dry conditions have lead to lower yields for many, though thankfully well timed storms saved corn silage for many. “There were some fortuitous rains that came through for the corn crop,” said Kilcer. “While the forage yield is lower, you’re going to see it have a higher percentage of corn grain in the rations. The struggle there is making sure that you don’t cause your animals to kick into acidosis from that extra corn grain.” 

Lawrence agreed that the rains saved the crop for many farmers. “The timing of the rainfall, that tells the story for a lot of NY,” said Lawrence. “It was kind of just enough rain just in time type of scenario for the corn crop. When we think about the corn silage crop - many areas were quite dry in late june and early july, and having moisture around when the corn pollinates and germinates is necessary. That pollination aligned with some rainfall, and that saved the crop from being a total disaster. We’re just finishing up our corn silage research trials, but none of the locations that we had trials were the hardest hit for drought. The St. Lawrence County location was in an area that was considered a D2 drought area, but again it performed fairly well. Yields were down a little, but the forage quality was quite high. Very respectable given it was designated as a D2 drought area for parts of the season. For some of our research, we focus on rain patterns and corn silage. And what we’ve found is that in years with lower rainfall, we get higher fiber digestibility in the silage. It’s a more digestible source of forage for the cows so they can utilize more of the nutrients in the forage, which can help offset some of the lower yields.”

Lawrence hopes that the drought can be a teachable moment when it comes to hay harvesting. “Switching gears to hay, that was a little more variable through the season,” said Lawrence. “It started off cold this spring which resulted in first cuttings that were yielding lower than average quantities. It was a slow start, but quite good quality. The second cutting and third cuttings were where the hit to yields occurred for many. Much lower than expected. I think for many it’s a teachable moment. One thing we did observe in some areas and we’ve also observed in past years is that a timely first cutting results in a higher quality crop. But what we’ve tended to see is that the timing is important.Those that cut early, they benefited with higher quality feed and captured some of those rains that really gave the second cutting a boost to get growing. Compare that to a farm delayed by a week to ten days for the first cutting, they saw a lower quality crop and they missed those rains and the help needed for their second cutting. It was a teachable moment in the timing for a first cutting.

If you think that your forage yields were marginal, Lawrence recommends that you take inventory sooner rather than later. “Folks from the co-op [Cornell Cooperative Extension], and a lot of dairy nutritionists that work with farms are generally happy to help farms measure and calculate out how they’re feeding their forage out. It gives you time to adjust the feeding approach now, instead of running out of forage in March or April. It’s important to reformulate the diet now to stretch those inventories well so they don’t reach a cliff next spring. You can at least gradually ease into next year’s harvest instead of having to really disrupt the cows diet. Farmers can contact their local extension office for some resources and help with calculating inventories and that sort of thing. There’s some resources on the PRO-DAIRY website (https://prodairy.cals.cornell.edu/) that we’ve put on there this summer related to the drought considerations, and they’re certainly to welcome to email me if they don’t have contact with a local extension office. I’m always open to an email or call.”

To reach Lawrence, contact him at jrl65@cornell.edu, at his office number (315) 376-5275, or by cell at (315) 778-4814. Kilcer’s website can be viewed here: https://advancedagsys.com/

Annual Meeting Combined with June Golf Tournament

The era of COVID-19 has forced tough decisions on many aspects of our lives and NEAFA’s annual meeting is not exempt.  Always a great opportunity for excellent programming and networking, the Conventions Committee was challenged with achieving these important goals while adhering to the lingering COVID-19 rules.  “We highly value the opportunity to gather and be challenged with cutting edge topics and first-class speakers,” stated John Clark, NEAFA President. “Despite our desire to gather again in Albany in early February, we could not guarantee that we will be able to do so face to face.  Therefore, we have decided to postpone our annual meeting to June 2021 and combine it with our Golf for Good Works Tournament at the Turning Stone Resort.”  

“The Turning Stone Resort will be an excellent place for the Annual Forum and the Shenandoah Golf Course will challenge our skills on the links” said Mark Anderson, Conventions Committee Chair.  “We look forward to gathering again and are hopeful that next June will be the right time for gathering again.” 

In the meantime, stay tuned for opportunities to be involved in our advocacy work with legislative leaders in New York, Vermont, and other New England states, albeit virtually.  It is essential that we stay engaged with legislative leaders as their decisions will impact our businesses.    

New York State Forage Exchange Announced

Cornell Cooperative Extension announces the opening of their interactive website platform, the New York State Forage Exchange.

New York State Forage Exchange Announced

SOUTHWEST, NEW YORK (August 28th, 2020) – Within New York State several regions have experienced drought conditions reducing the quality and quantity of forages produced for dairy and livestock production. To help agricultural producers locate forage to purchase, or for producers that have forage to sell, Cornell Cooperative Extension announces the NYS Forage Exchange website, found at http://nysforageexchange.com.

The NYS Forage Exchange provides a free system to match potential sellers and buyers of forage within New York State. Sellers can easily register within the system and then post the forage they have available to sell. Potential purchasers can browse the advertisements, and then contact the seller through email for additional information or to complete purchase arrangements.

A screencast on how to use the NYS Forage Exchange can be found at https://youtu.be/GNPjSIPLrxM. The video is also available on the Forage Exchange website.

This is a moderated website, so all ad submissions are reviewed for appropriateness before publication on the forage exchange website. The information provided is general and educational in nature. Employees of Cornell University and Cornell Cooperative Extension do not endorse or recommend any specific product or seller listed on this site.

For more information about Cornell Cooperative Extension, or to find your local Cooperative Extension office visit http://cce.cornell.edu.

The Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops Program is the newest Cornell Cooperative Extension regional program and covers Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, and Steuben Counties. The Southwest New York Dairy, Livestock, and Field Crops regional specialists work with Cornell faculty and Extension educators to address the issues that influence the agricultural industry in New York by offering educational programming and research based information to agricultural producers, growers, and agribusinesses in the Southwestern New York Region. Cornell Cooperative Extension is an employer and educator recognized for valuing AA/EEO, Protected Veterans, and Individuals with Disabilities and provides equal program and employment opportunities. For more information about this program, or to be added to their contact list, contact Katelyn Walley-Stoll, Team Leader, at 716-640-0522, kaw249@cornell.edu, or visit their website swnydlfc.cornell.edu.

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For more information about Cornell Cooperative Extension, contact your county’s Association Executive Director. Allegany County – Laura Hunsberger, lkh47@cornell.edu or 585-268-7644. Cattaraugus County – Dick Rivers, rer263@cornell.edu or 716-699-2377. Chautauqua County – Emily Reynolds, eck47@cornell.edu or 716-664-9502. Erie County – Diane Held, dbh24@cornell.edu or 716-652-5400. Steuben County – Tess McKinley, tsm223@cornell.edu, or 607-664-2301.

Ag Commissioners Gather for Virtual Annual Meeting, NY Commissioner of Ag Richard Ball Offers Insights

NY Commissioner of Agriculture Richard Ball, photo by Eric Jenks

Ag Commissioners Gather for Virtual Annual Meeting, NY Commissioner of Ag Richard Ball Offers Insights 

By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA

The National Association of State Department of Agriculture (NASDA) held a virtual meeting August 28th to September 3rd, during which industry leaders tackled pressing issues for agriculture at large throughout the US, elected new leadership to the NASDA board, refocused the group’s mission statement, recognized public servants that have dedicated their life to furthering the growth of the US agricultural industry, and more. New York Commissioner of Agriculture Richard Ball graciously shared his time with NEAFA representatives to talk about how the meeting went. “It was challenging, but we did the best job we could holding a virtual meeting,” said Ball. “I remember the first time I attended a NASDA meeting six years ago. I was overwhelmed at having the opportunity to spend time with the other commissioners and secretaries of agriculture and other key people in agriculture in general. It is great to sit side by side and weigh in on policy issues that affect New York. Every serious national policy issue effects New York, and we have a seat at the table. This year may have been virtual, but it went as well as it possibly could have gone. It was great to have a chance to listen and speak with [US Secretary of Agriculture] Sonny Perdue and Beth Ford of Land O’ Lakes, Inc. She’s truly a dynamic speaker.

For Ball, the relationships that are created through his involvement with NASDA are an integral part of his advocacy for NY agricultural interests. “The value of relationships can’t be overstated,” said Ball. “for me personally, and for NY to have access to the higher levels at USDA, and the USDA Secretary and undersecretaries, many of which are largely former commissioners from around the country, to have that close relationship is key. At NASDA in the past 5-6 years, I’ve seen such a positive change because of having a relationship with NASDA and the agencies in the federal government. NASDA members know the directive of their state’s producers and how we need to move policy directions. We’re being tapped as a national organization to weigh in on issues with all of the agencies that interact with agriculture. With the fellow commissioners, we all talk often. The executive board and head of committees, we typically talk every two weeks to stay on top of new topics and issues in the industry.”

During the annual meeting, NASDA tackled an issue close to Ball’s heart, diversity and racial equity in the agricultural industry. “I’m particularly proud of NASDA for making a statement and setting a policy plan that re-emphasizes diversity and racial equity,” said Ball. “We brought in a number of states that had a lot of passion on this topic to make sure we got this right. The whole executive committee and staff devoted a lot of time to this issue, which is so important.”

According to Ball, there has been a lot of data to sift through when it comes to accounting for who is involved in the industry. “There’s a lot of agricultural statistic data to go through, which of course includes the movement from small to large farms, and consolidation you see there,” said Ball. “It’s all important data to have, but a couple of things jumped out at me. One is that we saw an increase in the numbers of women in agriculture. There are more women getting involved, and NASDA has also been looking at it closer to make that count more accurate compared to the past. There have always been women involved in the industry, however they were sometimes overlooked unfortunately. It’s good to see that number growing and accurately represented. Some states also saw higher numbers of Latino farm owners, which makes sense given the high number of workers with Latino heritage. Overall, we saw a decrease in acres owned by minorities compared to 20 years ago.” 

That data made Ball tackle the issue locally. “Here in NY, when we saw that, we went to the Hunger and Food Policy Council,” said Ball. “We have key farmers there, food banks there, Cornell Co-Operative, etc., the key players in food are all around the same table, including minority farmers. We talked about this issue with that organization to find out what’s going on in our communities. Unfortunately historically speaking, we have a very poor record of respecting the ownership of lands by minorities. Some progress has been made, but it’s slow, late, and not working well. Governor Cuomo has asked us to put together a work group to focus on the issue. To see NASDA take that on was heartwarming and good to see. We invited MANRRS [Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences], to talk as well. There’s a MANRRS chapter at Cornell, and revitalizing that chapter and spreading it out to other land grant schools in NY is important for the future. If I was to put a singular takeaway from the NASDA annual meeting this year, putting a focus on including minorities and increasing diversity into practice and having that become part of our policy going forward is so important.”

NEAFA would like to thank the commissioner and his staff for taking the time to share his input on NASDA and its recent annual meeting. We would also like to congratulate the Commissioner on his new role on NASDA’s Executive Committee as Vice President.

NEAFA Profile: Ben Houlton, New Dean at Cornell CALS

Ben Houlton is the New Dean at Cornell CALS. Photo by Lindsay France, Courtesy of Cornell University

NEAFA Profile: Ben Houlton, New Dean at Cornell CALS

By Eric Jenks, Special to NEAFA

Benjamin Houlton, formerly the Director of the John Muir Institute of the Environment at the University of California, Davis, takes the reins of Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), effective October 1st. Houlton previously served as  professor of Global Environmental Studies at UC Davis as well. At Cornell, Houlton will also be a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and  in the Department of  Global Development. 

“The environment and agriculture are so interlinked,” said Houlton. “I don’t view them as separate. It’s important to understand how programs, like Pro-Dairy, are so critical to continuing the interaction between CALS and NY’s agricultural industry. For me there’s no better place to be, no better time to work on the agricultural - environmental relationship.”

Indeed, Houlton’s family roots are in agriculture. “In Wisconsin, my family was involved in feed manufacturing, and farming is multi-generational on both sides of my family,” said Houlton. “My grandfather managed a farm in Ohio with around 300 head of cattle that had a breeding program that was always creating state fair winners. There are family members in Kansas and Wisconsin that are still focused on livestock and poultry. I have a lot of fond memories growing up visiting the farm and feeding calves.”

At CALS, Houlton is looking forward to advancing agriculture’s role in the climate change discussions. “Cornell CALS is such an alignment with where my research is heading, my family history, and my personal interests,” said Houlton. “I feel like the stars have aligned to create this opportunity to work with New York [agriculture] and think about how does this make sense for NY, and what are some opportunities that we can take advantage of within the efforts to address climate change. When you think about greenhouse gas reduction, there are many opportunities for agriculture. – Take anaerobic digesters for example. I am motivated to address the challenges and align the incentives to where we need them to be. It’s going to be hard work and there are difficult conversations to be had, but I’m ready for that. Using digester produced renewable natural gas to power vehicles is a viable opportunity in California. There’s a study that demonstrates harnessing biogas from two cows is equal to a years’ worth of emissions reduction from a motor vehicle. There’s even a California study that shows that five cows could power a house for a year!” 

Houlton sees agriculture as integral for society’s growth in the future. “Agriculture is important for the 21st century,” said Houlton. “By 2050 we are expecting to feed 10 billion people on this planet. Given the current problems with malnutrition and hunger throughout the world, it’s something we need to address. I think the pandemic has helped demonstrate what New York agriculture can do locally to strengthen our food systems. One of my favorite things is to sit back and listen, and then think of how we can build relationships and programs into something bigger that can work on a local and global scale and I think that’s a large part of what CALS is all about.”

NEAFA Executive Director Rick Zimmerman had the opportunity to pose the following question to Houlton during his conversation for this article. “The Northeast’s dairy industry is one of three mega-milk regions in the U.S.,” said Zimmerman “And, even though it enjoys a rich history of innovation and growth, it is in fierce competition with other regions of the country and the world at large to remain economically viable. Cornell’s PRO-DAIRY Program has distinguished itself with timely, thoughtful cutting-edge programs, enabling dairy farmers to address human resource, environmental, financial, and executive management challenges, among others. How do you see CALS positioning itself regarding future challenges faced by the northeast dairy industry?”

“It’s a huge question of course,” said Houlton. “We’re going to keep working on educating tomorrow’s leaders today at CALS. Dairy products, production systems, digital applications, how to diversify dairy industry— how can we provide a platform for them to get a start in the business. The average age of a farmer today is 55. We need a younger generation to get involved and that’s where CALS can have the greatest impact. Where is R&D and innovation needed? What are the economics and what incentives are needed or are currently suboptimal? Agriculture is a huge part of the economy. it’s not a one size fits all answer. I love the idea of working to support all shapes and sizes of businesses and I think that the opportunity to learn, leverage current systems and find new ways to do things is important. There’s good change and bad change. We need to bring about good change like controlling greenhouse gasses. I look forward to working with NEAFA, and I’m here to support the 150-year partnership that Cornell has had with agriculture. I’m so deeply concerned about the challenges that we’re all facing. Academia can’t stay in academia; we need to be part of the boots on the ground.

NEAFA welcomes Dr. Ben Houlton to New York and to Cornell CALS.  

Farm Wage Board: Long Term Impact on NY Agriculture

Farm Wage Board: Long Term Impact on NY Agriculture

By Rick Zimmerman

By now you have probably heard that New York farmers are paying overtime (OT) to their employees this year.  New legislation that went into effect on January 1st, requiring time and a half to farm workers working more that 60 hours a week.  This OT threshold came following a very contentious legislative debate.  Based on hundreds of hours of farmer testimony during the 2019 NYS Senate Joint Labor and Agriculture Committees hearings, a 60 hour threshold, even though not preferred by farmers or workers, was something that could be workable for the industry.  Unfortunately, the legislature and Governor avoided political pressure to permanently establish overtime at 60 hours, instead giving a “wage board” the authority to consider whether 60 hours, or something less than 60 hours per week, is the right threshold for NY farms.  Their recommendation is due by the end of the year.  New York Farm Bureau President David Fisher is a member of the Wage Board.

Anybody that knows northeastern agriculture knows that Mother Nature dictates when the planting and harvest must get done, and it’s “all hands-on deck” until work is completed.  Ag economists agree that New York is not the cheapest place to milk cows, and New York dairies are competing with other states and countries where production costs are significantly less.  Adding costs to NY produced milk further aggravates our ability to compete and stay in business.  Overtime for NY farmworkers at anything less than 60 hours per week is a cost increase that could significantly hurt New York’s dairy industry, and lawmakers heard an earful about this during the 2019 State Senate Joint Agriculture and Labor Committee  hearings.  

The Wage Board has held five hearings on this matter, and farmers have demonstrated strong turn out along with convincing arguments on why less than 60 hours is devastating for the industry.  NEAFA President John Clark represented the agribusiness community, emphasizing the economic strain that is currently exacerbated by low milk prices and COVID-19.  He also recognized the uncompetitive predicament New York dairy farmers would face compared to other states. 

I am impressed with the passionate hearing turnout by farmers. It is necessary if overtime is to remain at 60 hours.    The record is clear: OT at anything less than 60 hours will: 

1. Force farmers to substitute technology for employees, such as robotic milkers.

2. Force farmers to reduce hours worked by employees, thus decreasing their wages.

3. Force farmers to quit farming or switch to crops not requiring employees.

4. Force farmers to move to their cows to another state where overtime is not an issue.

To the Wage Board: This decision is a no brainer.  The evidence of lowering the overtime threshold is glaring at you.  Put this issue to bed by declaring 60 hours to be the permanent overtime threshold for New York farm employees.  Comments may be submitted to the Wage Board until October 31, 2020 through the following link: wageboard@labor.ny.gov.

FDA COVID-19 Checklist

For our NEAFA membership, please review the following Covid-19 employee health and food safety for human and animal food operations from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. According to the FDA, this document should be used “when assessing operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when restarting operations after a shut down or when reassessing operations because of changes due to the COVID-19 public health emergency caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2. Some or all of this checklist may be useful to persons growing, harvesting, packing, manufacturing, processing, or holding human and animal food regulated by FDA. This includes produce, seafood, milk, eggs, grains, game meat, and other raw materials or ingredients, as well as their resulting human or animal food products.”

For more information on the checklist, click here.

New York Organic Dairy Market: The Silver Lining to the Dark Cloud of COVID-19

By Fay Benson, Cornell SCNY Dairy Team

Four months have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic caused a shutdown of nearly all aspects of people’s lives. In the food markets, the shutdown impacted everything from production to processing as well as how consumers purchased their food. Even though markets are still in flux and will continue to be for some time, I wanted to get a sense of what was happening to the organic dairy market. I facilitate the New York Organic Dairy Task Force, a group that has been meeting for 15 years. The Task Force consists of organic dairy and grain farmers, processors, certifiers, as well as state and extension personnel. We convene to gather the different perspectives of the organic dairy industry in New York and how we can work together to help it grow. I worked in conjunction with the Task Force to prepare this report.

It is important to note, for the past four years, the organic dairy industry had been under duress, caused by over production. Some of the national organic processors implemented supply management as a way to manage milk supplies with sales. There is strong reasoning to do this, since organic processors sign yearly contracts guaranteeing a price to their farmers. When there is over-supply, the processor is responsible for the difference between what they pay the farmer vs. what they get from the market. Any milk that does not get sold on the organic market, gets sold on the conventional market, which can be a loss of $15-$20 or more for every hundred weight (cwt) of milk.

The first reports I heard were from organic dairy farmers who were concerned about the reports of wide scale milk dumping experienced by the conventional milk markets. These farmers were told that their processors’ supply chains were different than the conventional supply chains. They did not include school and restaurant sales. Most organic fluid milk is sold through grocery stores and these sales were on the rise, as families stopped relying on schools and restaurants and ate at home. One national organic processor said their sales were running 7% above the previous period the year before. This caused the processor to leave some demand unmet. Another processor who sells regionally, said the increase in sales allowed them to use all their farmer’s milk locally and not sell any on the spot market. The increase in sales came at an opportune time for the organic markets. Traditionally, spring is when the cows go out on pasture and many farmers breed to have high production when they can make milk the cheapest. The “Spring Flush” is difficult for organic processors since the increase in supply causes processors to either sell on the spot market, or if that is not possible, they sell on the conventional market, which is when they lose the $15-$20 per cwt.

Even though this spring had a silver lining for the organic dairy market, the processors who replied to my questions said they were not going to make changes to their supply management because the future is sure to bring more changes. Farmers who I spoke with had the same challenges as every other farmer when it came to wearing masks, limited opportunities for networking and socializing with other farmers, but they were grateful to have their milk picked up and paid a guaranteed price. Supply management allows both the processors and the farmers to reduce their risks. The farmers know the price they will receive up to a year ahead, this allows them to manage their expenses to keep a positive cash flow. The processors have a system that allows them to increase the pay to farmers for milk produced in the winter and decrease the price paid in the spring and summer. This affects the supply of milk provided to them and avoids selling excess milk at a loss. With more than 600 dairies, New York has more organic dairies than any other state. Good communications and shared desire to prevent wide fluctuations in prices and profits keep the industry sustainable.

NEAFA Member Highlight: Poulin Grain

By Eric Jenks

Poulin Grain Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Tetrault, looks over data with Dr. Christine Rossiter Burhans, staff veterinarian. 

Poulin Grain, with four facilities in Vermont, has been serving the feed needs of the agricultural community in the Northeast since 1932. “Poulin Grain is a family run business in its fourth generation,” said Mike Tetreault, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the business. “Josh Poulin is the owner. Family businesses are sadly becoming fewer and farther between. It’s definitely a shrinking part of the world, but family is important to our culture here at Poulin Grain. I’ve been here for 33 years, and we have a lot of longevity to our workforce, and being focused on our community and families is what has shaped us to be who we are today as a company.”

Poulin Grain’s focus as a company breaks down into two main subsections, dairy nutrition and retail. Their four facilities employ 150 workers, and the retail arm of their operations go to approximately 200 different stores in the Northeast. “Dairy nutrition is the largest part of our business, it’s about a 70/30 split between that and the retail end. Our retail business goes from the border of Canada in Vermont down to Virginia, with some support in Florida as well for equine businesses during the winter, and out to Western Pennsylvania currently. On the dairy side, we support Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine and New York based dairies. We have eighteen dairy nutritionists and two veterinarians on staff.

As with many other companies, Covid-19 has presented its share of challenges and opportunities for Poulin Grain. “Our dairy nutritionists have good relationships with our customers, and when you see milk go from $22 - $12, you know that things are going to be tough, and that those prices mean that farms can’t meet their obligations,” said Tetrault. “That puts a lot of pressure and stress on our team for those 3-4 months, as we want to do what we can to make sure that nutrition needs are being met and to help with customers that we also consider friends. Our nutritionists worked to review where farms were nutrition wise, and help them not make a long term mistake when dealing with their herds’ health.”

For the dealer side of their business, Poulin found a welcome change. “The world seems to be more supportive of local business, and our dealers have flourished since then,” said Tetrault. “It created challenges for us with ingredients coming in slowly due to delivery changes. For three weeks we were running 24/7, but we got it done and supported our dealer network. It was a bit like the toilet paper scenario with a rush on feed by customers. But we delivered every load asked of us, and I have to say I don’t know how. Our business has been strong in retail, milk prices are recovering, and we’re hopeful that dairy funds will help our dairies through that and have a successful year for 2020.”

For Tetrault, staying positive and keeping the family nature of Poulin Grain together during the most challenging months of the pandemic were essential for their business. “We worked hard to support everyone on our team during these challenging months. We had monthly consultants that couldn’t do what they normally do, employees that had to stay at home, etc. We’re grateful we didn’t have to reduce our staff, and in fact we added three new people. I’ve worked with our team to stay positive. Everyone talks about it, but we actually train our team to be positive. One thing that has made a huge difference for us is that attitude. I think we’re stronger today because they have that tool to use during tough times. We have to stay positive and not get down with the doom and gloom that is going around. The Northeast has to have people that want to do that and keep this industry growing.”

Distinguished Term as CALS Dean Coming to Close

By Rick Zimmerman, Executive Director

For the past 10 years, Kathryn Boor has served as Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University. I have known Kathryn for over 40 years, since we were both undergrads at Cornell, and was extremely optimistic that her appointment as Dean of CALS was going to usher in a new era at the College. Dean Boor has exceeded my expectations. Not only has she tackled numerous fiscal and structural challenges with dignity and ease, she has raised the bar for future individuals who will attempt to fill her shoes.

Given her love for the dairy industry (she grew up on a Horseheads, NY dairy farm), Dean Boor distinguished herself in the realm of food science, particularly with dairy products. She worked closely with New York’s Dairy Promotion Advisory Board, employing dairy farmers’ checkoff funds to address critical food safety issues that were impacting the quality of New York produced and processed dairy products. Dean Boor is world renowned for her research in food safety and dairy product development.

Hiring new faculty has been a priority of Dean Boor and she aggressively employed Cornell’s Faculty Renewal Fund to leverage industry support. Through Dean Boor’s leadership, a $500,000 investment of private sector funds would seed a faculty position for the working lifetime of a new faculty member. The agribusiness community, led by the NEAFA Board of Directors, seized on this opportunity, and successfully raised $1 million from our generous members to seed two faculty positions in the Department of Animal Science. Today Kristan Reed and Joe McFadden, the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance Partners Sesquicentennial Fellows in Dairy Cattle Biology, are at Cornell, making significant contributions to understanding dairy cattle biological function and productivity because of Kathryn’s partnership with the agribusiness community.

Dean Boor’s era at CALS ends this October when Ben Houlton, currently at UC Davis, takes the reins. She will be missed but never forgotten. The dairy industry will remain within a special place in Dean Boor’s heart, and I am sure her legacy of impact and leadership will continue as she takes over as the Dean of Cornell’s Graduate School. We wish Kathryn Boor all the best in her future endeavors and thank her for her years of leadership and service as Professor of Food Science and Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

For more on Dean Boor’s tenure at Cornell, click here.

New York State Cattle Health Assurance Program

The New York State Cattle Health Assurance Program (NYSCHAP) has been helping New York cattle producers with disease control and prevention since 1998. There are many advantages to participation in this long-standing program including herd planning for improved health and production; paid consultation time with a herd veterinarian and a NYSCHAP veterinarian; and reduced testing costs for Johne’s disease.

NYSCHAP is the only program of its kind around the country offering producers a free, comprehensive herd health disease management program. The NYSCHAP team includes the farm managers, their herd veterinarian and the NYSCHAP herd planner. This collaboration gives the farm regular opportunities to review their herd health, management, and to lay out a plan for addressing any issues. Continued support by the herd veterinarian throughout the year is encouraged with an annual review by the entire NYSCHAP team to update plans and address concerns.

The objective for every farm under NYSCHAP is to improve health of their animals and increase production and profitability. To help farms achieve this, NYSCHAP works with each farm and their veterinarians to identify key issues through risk assessments, goal setting, and herd-specific planning that is within the resources of the farm. At the core of the NYSCHAP plan is education about biosecurity and best management practices that, when implemented, can help across all diseases and management groups. Around the core are specific modules that can be utilized as needed to address specific concerns of a farm – Johne’s Disease, BVD, BLV, Salmonella, Beef Quality, Expansion, and Food Safety & Drug Residue Avoidance.

While enrollment in the NYSCHAP program starts with an overview of basic biosecurity and general best management practices, producers can sign up for additional modules targeting the priorities for their operation. Each module consists of a risk assessment tool, educational resources about a particular disease or management issue, and a herd-specific tactical plan to address any deficiencies identified during the risk assessment. The twelve modules are:

1. Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) - Cattle management to improve market animal quality for dairy and beef operations.

2. Bovine Leukosis Virus (BLV) – Disease, management/control and testing information specific to BLV.

3. Bovine Viral Diarrhea (BVD) – Disease, management/control and testing information specific to BVD.

4. Calf Health – Identifying biosecurity and disease risks within youngstock management.

5. Cattle Welfare – An entry point to prepare for compliance with National Milk’s FARM program.

6. Food Safety and Drug Residue Avoidance - Judicious drug use and management to prevent drug residue violations.

7. Foot Health - Assessment of the many factors that can contribute to lameness on the dairy.

8. Herd Expansion - Increased biosecurity recommendations in expansion herds.

9. Johne’s Disease - Disease, management and testing information specific to Johne’s Disease.

10. Milk Quality/Mastitis – Information on the many mastitis pathogens and management/control recommendations.

11. Salmonella – Disease assessments, management/control and testing information on the many Salmonellas including S. Dublin.

12. Small Ruminant – NYS Sheep/Goat Health Assurance Program (NYSSGHAP) is a complete health and management program tailored to sheep and goat operations.

Overall, NYSCHAP creates a systematic approach to 1) identify disease and management concerns; 2) assess risks to identify practices that may contribute to disease occurrence or spread on the farm; 3) identify realistic short and long term goals; 4) identify realistic strategies for improvement that are within the farm’s resources – the herd plan; and 5) revisit herd plan every year for updates.

NYSCHAP is also a confidential program. Article 15, Subdivision 41 under the NYS Agriculture and Markets Law ensures private farm information, testing and herd data that is voluntarily provided by the farm to participate in NYSCHAP is exempt from public disclosure.

Every farm is different – from its size, management, and challenges to its goals, disease occurrence, and resources. NYSCHAP’s goal is to take all of this into consideration to and help the farm create a plan that will work for them. For information or to enroll, please contact the program coordinator, Dr. Melanie Hemenway at 585-313-7541 or email Melanie.hemenway@agriculture.ny.gov.

Common Ground

By Rick Zimmerman, Executive Director

My daughter wants to get married this fall, and big plans have been made for the dream wedding. Then COVID-19 hit, throwing everything into turmoil and forcing tough decisions. The new rules for gatherings are not making things much easier, particularly when you have folks traveling interstate and internationally. But the wedding will go on and we are working hard to find the common ground amidst the confusion.

Common ground is defined by Webster as “a basis of interest or agreement” and when you think about it, there is not much common ground to be found these days. COVID-19 is not facilitating common ground. In fact, it seems that we are doing our darnedest to demonstrate how our country will survive this pandemic on uncommon ground. There is virtually no common ground in our national political scene these days, and there’s little common ground on the international trade scene. And there’s virtually no common ground between science-based evidence and federal public policy decisions. Yet our democracy was built around the need for and the ability to find common ground.

In agriculture, the challenge for common ground manifests itself on several fronts. The farmer/consumer interface has become quite complex, and common ground is proving to be elusive when it comes to agricultural practices. Further, the complexity of science in our industry complicates the farmer/consumer connection, particularly when a large percentage of the public does not understand the principles of science and its role in our society. Animal welfare, itself a complex topic, is intentionally conflicted by extreme animal rights organizations that don’t want common ground established until all human consumption of animals is eliminated. Then there is the growing challenge of farmers in close proximity to non-farm consumers. Their issues and priorities, within the same community, are increasingly divergent. In a region like the Northeast, farm profitability is often juxtaposed to finding common ground. Yet I think there is common ground within the wreckage of COVID-19; that being the common ground of food.

We continually tout proximity to markets as a competitive strength for our region. However, this fact hasn’t made much difference to our customers because the food supply chain has provided quality products from around the globe throughout the year. That is until the pandemic hit. Suddenly our urban neighbors were reminded how important it is to have a local food supply, and how nimble that local food supply chain can be in an emergency. The food give-away programs, which continue to this day, have been a godsend to the thousands of out of work that are unable to afford groceries. Programs like Nourish New York have made the connection between upstate and downstate, and have amplified the importance of this relationship. Our common ground of feeding people is an important platform on which we can talk about programs and policies that support and sustain a viable agricultural industry in the Northeast. Last fall, a delegation of leaders from the NYS Vegetable Growers Association, NY Farm Bureau, and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association blanketed four boroughs of New York City for a day of meetings with urban lawmakers in their district offices. Once the surprise of seeing farmers in Queens and the Bronx wore off, these state lawmakers were generous with their time discussing the issues of their districts and the common ground that they shared with upstate farmers.

We have the attention of law makers who know how important the local food connection is. Senator Jessica Ramos of Queens has been hosting a weekly food distribution program out of her district office since early April, and the lines have not slowed. She is particularly interested in having upstate farmers continue to supply her constituents with fresh, wholesome food, and that the district’s food supply chain, including food banks, keep a strong and engaged local food connection. Senator Ramos and the other lawmakers who helped fortify the upstate food connection during this pandemic will be very interested in policy issues impacting New York’s agriculture community moving forward.

My daughter’s wedding will be a beautiful event regardless of the rules and restrictions that are in place, because there is common ground between love, and the number of people that can attend a social gathering. Inevitably our democracy must find common ground to address the many issues plaguing our society. The food connection for Northeast farmers and urban lawmakers has been strengthened by COVID-19, fortifying ground that I hope remains common and valued for some time to come.

The Feed Industry, Dairy Farms, and Environmental Stewardship

By Eric Jenks

Graphic courtesy of Dr. Kristan Reed.

For over 20 years, the feed and dairy industries have been making headway on reducing their environmental impact through the reduction of phosphorus in the feed used for dairy cattle. “It was the late 1990’s when people started talking about phosphorus in feed,” said Dr. Larry Chase, professor emeritus from Cornell University’s Department of Animal Science. “Dr. Larry Satter from the University of Wisconsin and the Dairy Forage Research Center which is a USDA facility, it was his group that were really getting concerned about the environmental impacts of phosphorus in feed. Research was showing that we could lower phosphorus levels (which is the most expensive mineral in feed), decrease excretion and keep dairy performance high.”

The northeastern feed industry reacted swiftly to the news about phosphorus ratios. “When his (Satter) work came out, we started taking a look at feed rations and where we were at in the Northeast,” said Chase. “And we started to look at ways that we could reduce it. We did a small trial at Cornell to verify the Wisconsin results, and around 2001 the National Research Council put out the revised dairy nutrition numbers where they implemented a lower phosphorus requirement. That same year we challenged the feed industry to adopt the new recommendations, and within a year they made that adjustment. The feed industry really stepped up and implemented it very quickly. They should get the credit for making this phosphorus change happen in NY, and the dairymen should get credit for feeding the rations designed by the industry person.”

In the past 20 years, a lot has changed in New York’s dairy industry. According to the recent white paper released by Chase and Dr. Kristan Reed, Assistant Professor at Cornell University’s Department of Animal Science and the Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance Partners Sesquicentennial Fellow in Dairy Cattle Biology, the number of dairy cows in the state has decreased by 10.5%, production per cow has increased 40.4%, the ration of phosphorus is down by 18.8% and farm balances of phosphorus has decreased by 51%. According to Chase the increase in production is not linked to the change in phosphorus. “Milk production in the US over the last 40-60 years, there’s been an increase every year. It’s due to genetics, herd management, and better feed and nutrition.” To read the paper, part of Cornell’s Animal Science Publication Series (No. 253), click here.

Tackling environmental challenges on the farm and in the feed industry doesn’t stop at phosphorus. “Our dairymen are very progressive towards being environmentally friendly,” said Chase. “The pressure will continue to make as close to a closed loop system as we can, and the more that we can share the progressive and responsible actions that are taken, that’s a win for the industry, society, and environment.”

Reed’s current work builds off of all of the environmental and nutritional work that has taken place in the last several decades, so that the industry can focus on whole farm management instead of just one or two individual areas. “The focus now is looking at farms from a systems perspective, to not focus solely on the animal or the field or one practice here, or a nutrient at a time, but to understand how all those pieces fit together,” said Reed. “If you put together all of these systems under certain weather patterns, what are the impacts going to be on the production for high quality food products and the environment. You have to look at water use, greenhouse gas emissions, and water quality. So one place to start is with a program like Larry’s for feed management, you setup a program to ensure that the cattle’s diets are in line with the recommendations and that they’re not over feeding, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. Then you could look at whole farm nutrient mass balance and manure management, to see if there are opportunities to improve storage system at optimal times, etc. The point of why we need a systems model is that there’s no one management recommendation that fixes everything. It’s all very farm and environment specific as to what the best decisions are from an environmental, herd health, and profitability standpoint.

“Usually when we talk with dairymen about this, we indicate that this is an opportunity to improve profitability by being better managers of resources,” said Chase. “We can maintain or increase milk production, lower feed cost, lower excretion in the environment (which is a benefit to the society on a whole) and make better use of feed nutrients, while also reducing environmental impacts and overall costs, that get’s their attention.”

Dairy Cattle Genetic Sales Suffer from Covid-19 Restrictions

Cattle at Liddleholme Farm in Argyle, NY. The call for show cattle has been reduced this year due to Covid-19 and the closure of shows and fairs across the country. Photo by Eric Jenks

By Eric Jenks

Many industries have suffered losses during the Covid-19 pandemic due to the restrictions on social gatherings. Among them are those that specialize in genetic work for the dairy industry. The market for show cows over the last 4 months, its changed greatly,” said Alicia Lamb of Lamb Farms and their subsidiary, Oakfield Corners Dairy in Oakfield, NY. “The market for our show cattle is gone. I can’t say it’s 100% completely gone, but the value has declined significantly. We had planned to have a sale in the spring of about 60-70 head, and we were unable to have that sale because of the pandemic. We have about 100 extra head than we had intended at this time of the year and have been unable to sell at the value that we had planned to back in March. We’re getting offers that are less than half of what we typically get for our registered Holsteins.

The cancellation of shows and fairs has also led Lamb Farms to focus on different markets for their work. “There are two segments of genetics we focus on with registered Holsteins. Show cattle are straight forward, it’s based on their type and appearance. Our second segment is index cattle, which is high end commercial cattle. You’re looking to create the genetics for the next bull that goes into stud that makes the next greatest cow for production needs. Production traits are valued higher than physical confirmation in this field. The index market has remained relatively stable thankfully. One thing to remember about all of these shows and fairs that have been canceled - there a lot of related industries, side industries that are associated with them that are impacted by it too. Magazines that are dedicated to it, those guys are suffering because of advertisements being down. There are people that specifically board show cattle and they’re concerned because of no-shows since the events are cancelled. There are fitters that go from show to show to show, and those guys are out of business. And since there are no shows to compete in, you don’t know how to place your cattle against competition and whether it’s worth flushing that cattle for future IVF use. There’s just this compounding effect that people don’t really think about. It’s unfortunate. Moving forward as things do reopen a bit for our show cattle, it’s been important that they’ve been kept in shape to show the best that they can. There’s one show we’re looking forward to in Western NY in October, another in New England, to at least get the cows out to.

Others, like Liddleholme Farm in Argyle, NY have also seen changes to the market. “It’s been an adjustment,” said Adam Liddle of Liddleholme Farm in Argyle, NY. “The cancellation of the spring sales was a setback for sure. There’s been a few good online sales that we were able to consign to, and while we didn’t get 100% of the value that we would have gotten for a regular sale, we still did well and got our animals to market. In person is always better. People that spend $8-25k on cattle, they like to see them in person, see them walk, etc. And those sales were cancelled. You can see them online but it’s not quite like in person - it’s just different. With the live shows, when you go to that stuff there’s a lot more to them because the people there are your friends and peers and having to do everything online loses some of that camaraderie.

Liddleholme also feels for the effect that these cancellations have had on youth that raise for 4-H and FFA projects. “The fairs are where you compete against the other best animals to measure up against, to see how you’re doing and what you need to improve on,” said Liddle. “At the county fair level, we sell and lease animals. When we lease an animal to a youth, there’s no money involved. It’s likely that these kids aren’t from farms or have owned an animal before. We usually have 8 to 10 kids that lease and show at Washington County’s fair. Most kids like being around animals, and it’s a great way to get the next generation interested in farming. It’s a little disappointing for them, and usually a great summer project for them to work on.”

While there are concerns with a second wave in the country, and what that might impact, Liddle does his best to look at the long-term goals of his farm. “With everything in life, when there are challenges, there are changes,” said Liddle. You just have to change with it and go on. Farming is always changing. This is just a short-term thing and we’ll get through it.”

Notice of Bylaws Amendments

The NEAFA Board of Directors, at their June 25, 2020 meeting approved the following bylaws amendments:

ARTICLE II

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1. Classification: The membership of the association shall be divided into four (4) classes as outlined below. All members of each class shall be in good standing and subject to the By-Laws

of this association and shall pay dues according to a schedule established annually by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may approve or disapprove any membership.

(a) Regular Members: Any person, partnership, firm or organization engaged in the business of distribution, or manufacture of, feed, feed ingredients, grain, machinery, seed, fertilizer, agricultural chemicals, agribusiness supplies or services, and animal health products, professional agribusiness services, and retail agribusinesses, shall be eligible for membership in the association.

(b) Academic/ Research Member: An individual whose professional responsibilities in academics, research and/or education necessitates the direct engagement with the agriculture industry

(c) Affiliate Members: Any person serving as an academic, researcher, educator, farmer, or public servant or otherwise interested in agriculture, is eligible for affiliate membership

(d) Honorary Members: (There is no change to this language)

Section 2. Voting Rights:  Only regular and academic members in good standing shall have the right to vote at the annual meeting and at any other membership meeting as scheduled by the Board of Directors, to hold office, and to serve as a member of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE III

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1. Power and Duties:  The Board of Directors shall be the governing body of the association.  The Board shall have the control and guidance of the association and shall enact such rules as may be expedient for the governance of the association, consistent with law, the terms of the Articles of Incorporation, and these By-Laws. The Board may determine the status of a membership through unanimous consent at a regular board meeting.

As per Bylaws Article VI, NEAFA members will be advised of the changes and will have 60 days from the date of this notice (July 29, 2020) to dispute or override the actions of the board.  Such override process shall be initiated by the filing of a petition signed by no fewer than twenty (20) members in good standing of the Alliance, none of whom will be Board members.  The petition must be delivered to either the President or the Executive Director within the 60-day period referenced above.  Upon receipt of a valid petition, ballots will be sent to all members in good standing detailing the amendments made by the Board and of the request for full membership override of the amendments.  Override of the proposed By-Laws amendments shall be achieved upon a two-thirds vote of the entire membership rejecting the Board’s action.  Should the override vote be successful, the By-Laws shall return to their status prior to Board adoption of said amendment(s).

Questions? Please contact Executive Director Rick Zimmerman at rzimmerman@zga-llc.com .

U.S. Dairy Industry Criticizes Canada TRQ Allocations, Urges U.S. Government to Insist on Good Faith Implementation of USMCA

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) sharply criticized Canada’s allocation of its tariff-rate quotas (TRQ) under USMCA, released Tuesday, June 15. USDEC and NMPF call attention to the fact that these TRQ allocations undermine the intent of USCMA’s dairy provisions by thwarting the ability of the U.S. dairy industry to make full use of the trade agreement’s market access opportunities.

USDEC and NMPF have repeatedly warned that the full benefits of this carefully negotiated trade agreement will not materialize without careful monitoring and stringent enforcement of Canada’s USMCA commitments. The U.S. dairy industry urges the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) to immediately raise this issue with Canada and insist that Canada adheres faithfully not just to the letter of its commitments under USMCA, but to its spirit as well.

“Canada’s administration of previous TRQs under existing free trade agreements gave the U.S. dairy industry ample cause for concern, which has unfortunately been confirmed by the announced TRQ allocations,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “Canada’s actions place the U.S. dairy industry at a disadvantage by discouraging utilization of the full use of the TRQs and limiting the market access granted by USMCA. We urge the U.S. government to act immediately to ensure that these provisions are implemented in good faith so that the U.S. dairy industry is able to reap the full range of benefits negotiated by USTR and its interagency partners at U.S. Department of Agriculture.”

USMCA will enter into force July 1, 2020 and contains important provisions to the U.S. dairy industry that will facilitate the smooth flow of U.S. dairy products throughout North America at a time of critical need and economic uncertainty. However, Canada has announced the distribution of the TRQs in such a way as to discourage high value food service or retail products from entering the market.  Most of the TRQs are given to competitors who have no incentive to import products.

“U.S. dairy farmers and cooperatives are ready to help increase deliveries of high-quality U.S. dairy products to the Canadian market, but Canada’s TRQ allocations fall far short of the full potential of its commitments under USMCA,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Canada has chosen once again to manipulate its access commitments in order to protect its tightly controlled dairy market and

U.S. farmers will bear much of the brunt of this biased interpretation of USMCA’s dairy provisions. USTR should act quickly to ensure Canada is held strictly responsible for abiding by the intent of USMCA to promote fairer trade between our nations.”

Press release provided by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).

Communication Crossroads

by Jenny Mills, Chair Communication Committee

These past three months have been interesting, to say the least. While we’ve had our fair share of challenges, such as disruptions in the supply chain that impacts our ability to get products and services to our customers, we are blessed to be involved in agriculture that continues to provide feed, supplies, support and knowledge to our producers. As I reflect on the past ninety days, I am amazed at how communication technology continues to play an increasing role to ensure we get our business done.

For those of you who don’t know me, I am an extrovert. I get my energy from interacting with people, or as my kids say, “traveling and talking.” For the first time in fifteen years, I have been home for more than three months, greater than either maternity leave I was blessed with. The thought of not interacting with people has flat out driven me crazy, although I am completely aligned to the “why” behind all the decisions that have been made to protect our family, friends and customers. However, it didn’t take long for many of the organizations and employers we work with to embrace technology to reach customers and stakeholders, giving us a new “normal” to get our business done and stay connected. My hat is off to our NEAFA members, many of whom that I have spoken to are juggling the new “normal” of keeping our essential employees working in the mill, on the farm and providing support for many working from home for an extended period.

So, from a communication standpoint, what has changed in the last ninety plus days?

How we communicate within the industry – Microsoft Teams, Skype for business, Zoom and Go To Meeting have dominated our days. What platform do you like? I don’t recall a time that I have used these platforms as much as we do now. I never knew I could change the background on Teams or Zoom (now you cannot see my son coming in to ask me algebra questions every 5 minutes!). We have had several opportunities to raise our technical and soft skills training – NEAFA embraced this trend. Our Herd Health conference attendance reached an all-time high of 424 attendees, with twenty-nine different sponsors.  Thank you to our partner, PRO-DAIRY, for facilitating the technology change, and organizing the online format. Next year, the conference will be held April 5-6, 2021 at the Doubletree Hotel in East Syracuse, NY with a virtual hybrid being considered. In addition, NEAFA co-hosted a Stress Management webinar with NY FarmNet, that was also very well attended. Please reach out if you have ideas for our conference and webinars this upcoming year – we are excited to provide the information to our members and have quite an attendance record to break!

Although these new platforms cannot replace a face to face conversation, they have helped our industry keep informed, communicate new ideas and policies and yes, have been used to do virtual farm walk throughs. There is a chance that we are relying on these technologies again to help run our businesses – we have learned so much in the past three months that will certainly help us!

Balancing a family and work from home schedule – We have all said how our industry is like family. It felt so good to catch glimpses of all the kids – babies through teens – on the many conference calls we have all had. While it was fun to meet so many families virtually, I also felt pain for the many grandparents and relatives who could not visit their families and hold their grandchildren, nieces, nephews and relatives. Facetime just isn’t the same! While I joke about the juggling act of tutoring two middle school students in-between calls, my husband and I were thankful every night because we could do activities as a family – play cards, cook together, plant a larger garden. While I miss the crazy schedule that we all had (the extrovert again!), somewhere in the chaos, we found a cadence of communicating more at dinner and taking time for the little things as an immediate family. The result of this was usually a return to the home office to finish emails and projects after the kids were in bed. Worth every late night.

What hasn’t changed in the past 90 days?

The need for concise, transparent, and empathetic messages – Our employees, customers, and industry partners are more reliant on written communication in between all those conference calls. The messages in my email inbox almost doubled; how about yours? The need for shorter messages with a clear “why” is more important than ever as the number of communications increases. In addition, building trust through written communication has been more important as we cannot read body language and tone with all those emails. Touching base via phone in a one on one conversation has helped me connect better after I send an email or participate in a larger group conference call.

The need to reach out and understand the range of emotions – Different people interpret messages and react to crisis differently. I try to take a second or even a third look at emails and talking points, especially when I have an ask, to ensure I have worded messages clearly and empathetically. This is a work in progress for me!

At the end of the day, we must still conduct business, as we are essential to feeding the world! – Let’s face it; some of us enjoy talking on the phone while others are text-only. I have some colleagues that will only call into a video conference. Adapting and learning how our customers wish to communicate when an “in-person” visit isn’t possible can certainly help keep our messages and business needs attended to.

I believe that the new “norm” we are navigating will continue to use more virtual tools to complement how we communicate within our industry. Although virtual meetings cannot completely take the place of in-person meetings, the platforms have evolved to be more user friendly, and have helped each of us send and receive information. Until we can all safely gather again, I look forward to relying on our technology to touch base and “meet!”

Cornell Agricultural Workforce Development Program: Your source for the latest COVID-19 information and guidance on workplace safety

The Agricultural Workforce Development Program (AWDP), part of Cornell Cooperative Extension at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is a treasure trove of timely human resource management information for the agriculture community. Their mission to help farms and agribusinesses build committed and effective teams who will carry out the important work of feeding the world, is particularly relevant during this COVID-19 pandemic. The agribusiness community can take advantage of several aspects of this program, particularly the wealth of information pertaining to COVID-19’s impact on the workplace. Richard Stup, the program’s director, has distinguished himself as a nationally recognized expert on human resource issues throughout the agricultural community and he has stepped up to the plate during this pandemic. The following information, directly from AWDP’s website, can guide you through current materials as you seek the necessary information to managing through this new world of COVID-19.

Stay Diligent to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreaks in Farms

According to a recent article in Politico, some Florida counties are seeing positive coronavirus tests among farm workers of greater than 50%. As the season progresses in the Northeast, more workers will arrive and increase the population density of farms and in worker housing. Some workers will arrive from states like Florida and North Carolina, possibly bringing the virus with them. This reinforces the need for farms to diligently keep up COVID-19 prevention and control procedures, to train all newly arriving employees in these procedures, and to develop contingency plans for quarantine and isolation housing.

See the Ag Workforce website for links to resources and webinars about how to prevent COVID-19 spread on the farm: https://agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/

Get help writing your mandatory Covid-19 Farm Safety Plan at this site: https://agworkforce.cals.cornell.edu/ny-forward-business-safety-plan/

Wolf: 2020 Dairy Futures Changing Rapidly

For dairy farmers, volatility to the market is nothing new in recent years unfortunately. “2015-2018 was a real slump for prices,” said Chris Wolf, the E. V. Baker Professor of Agricultural Economic at the Dyson School of Applied Economics at Cornell University. “2019 was improved but not great, and coming into 2020 we were looking at a good healthy market and prices. It was $18 for most of the year for class 3, which to me means a really good year. And then Covid-19 hit, and prices went from around $17 to 14 in April and $11 in May. We’ve seen a remarkable bounce back in the last month or so, with June prices at $20. I think the real big question is, if we’re looking at $20 for class 3, $18 or so for July as of today (June 4th), and it’s still above $16 for the rest of the year, is that a sustainable price?”

For Wolf, that question relies a lot on the wholesale prices of cheese, butter, non-fat dry milk, and dry whey. “Cheese consumption in the US in particular was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Wolf. “If you look at Europe though, there are areas where consumption went way up, and that’s because Americans tend to eat more cheese when they eat out - pizza, quesadillas, cheeseburgers, you name it. And with the restaurant and hospitality industry (RHI) closed, that lead to a big shock to the system. Dairy co-ops put in limits, where members couldn’t market any additional products than what they made in March, some producers cut back production, the latter of which in the Northeast was pretty common. We talked to a lot of producers. Some were talking about potentially culling cows or cutting back nutritional supplements to curb production, but a lot said they planned to keep on keeping on and see what happens, and at this point that last stance looks like genius given current prices.

The sudden jump in prices could be attributed to numerous things according to Wolf. “The government has purchased dairy products through the food box program, and you have states reopening bars, restaurants and hospitality services that now need to refill fridges, so orders for everything have gone way up. Exports were also up with cheap cheese prices. When cheese was below $1/lb, it was a buyers market. Remember when oil prices went negative? That’s because there was no more short term storage. Producers were doing their best to ration storage. We had a similar thing happen with dairy products. Producers wanted to find a home, any place and you took what you could get to do so. The combination of government purchases, the reopening of businesses here and the refilling of the supply chains of the RH left us tight on fresh cheese. And that’s when prices went from $1/lb to $2.40/lb, and farm milk prices followed suit.

As restaurants have restocked, Wolf questions if the demand will remain constant. “Right now the question is are people going to go out to restaurants, and is this a demand that will be sustained? It’s one thing to open, and another to actually get people out to eat. If that doesn’t happen, then these prices really can’t stay where they are. We went from really low prices to high, so currently there’s more downside risk than upside potential in my opinion. You see some of the data regarding Covid-19 coming back from states that have reopened and where it’s now trending upward, especially in the south. I’m concerned that these prices in the short term reflect a shortage in fresh cheese, and when that need is filled the prices will drop. No one, at any level has ever dealt with anything like this before. It’s really hard to figure out what we need and where it’s all going. The current turmoil right now is just astounding.”

For Wolf, the dairy market’s future isn’t necessarily a dark one however. “We don’t have to maintain $20 milk to have a good year. $17 milk is fine. We have this habit of overshooting production when things look good, and if we can avoid that, I think it will level out. The Northeast has been one of the areas that has had the most turmoil, but to be fair the Northeast has also has taken covid-19 much more seriously than other regions.

John’s June Jottings 2020

June is dairy month! First and foremost, it’s good to mention that and raise a glass of your favorite milk beverage – whole, 2%, skim, lactose free, regular, chocolate, or another flavor. You have so many options that the hard-working men and women, young and old alike, make possible for the public to enjoy 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

As of this writing, farmers are reporting good planting conditions. Many have their corn entirely done, and most have nearly completed their first hay cutting. Due to less than perfect moisture however, many report that this year’s first harvest will be less tonnage than normal. Like many of us, when farmers are in the fields, it is both hectic and rewarding. There’s a true sense of accomplishment when a field is tilled, planted, mowed, chopped or baled.

Dairy farmers were hit on a few fronts with the current crisis. Lack of labor, new guidelines to follow, dumping of milk and of course, prices that took a huge drop. There is a lag in things as that huge drop has hit milk checks in the past few weeks, with a rebound on the way. Let’s hope it stays on the upswing for them as we salute all our dairy producers.

Our feed dealers and manufacturers are reporting good sales, but because of the aforementioned issues above, managing receivables is extremely difficult. One feed manufacturer reported that due to the entire loss of 1 milk check, many producers were unable to make payments. That loss stemmed from the sale of 1 company to another. We can only hope that the state producer security fund will quickly take care of this issue.

The last thing I want to leave you with is the perspective that we gain from the adage, “what’s in it for me (WIFM)?” Otherwise known as the radio station WIFM, this adage plays in our head sometimes when we hear a story or see something that needs doing. Right now, let’s think both of the person in the mirror and more importantly those whom we are communicating with. During this crisis, many people will need to stay under self-quarantine due to preexisting health conditions, compromised immune systems or just the real fear of getting sick. We all need to understand this perspective and respect it. In addition, we are all in this world together, each attempting to make a living for their family. Sometimes we lose sight of someone just trying to do their job to the best of their ability. I encourage you to put yourself in their shoes before you make judgements about them.

In the words of the desk sergeant in the old Hill Street Blues TV Show as he dismissed his men and women for the day, “hey let’s be careful out there.”

Over and out for June.