California Ag Network

Category: Dairy Industry

  • CDFA Accepting Applications For Grants To Provide Technical Assistance For Dairy And Livestock Operators Participating In The Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP)

    Sacramento, Calif., (August 10, 2017) – CDFA will begin accepting applications today from non-profit organizations, California academic institutions and California Resource Conservation Districts that provide technical assistance to grant applicants in the Alternative Manure Management Program (AMMP).

    Applicants may apply for funding ranging from $5,000 to $10,000. They must meet several minimum requirements, including holding at least one technical assistance workshop, reporting on workshop attendance to CDFA, and providing computers and internet access to allow dairy and livestock operators to complete AMMP applications.

    Technical assistance will be made available through a partnership between CDFA and the Strategic Growth Council to achieve the mutual objective of providing technical assistance to AMMP applicants. Technical assistance workshops that provide hands-on application assistance are critical to the success of AMMP and the reduction of methane emissions from dairy and livestock operations.

    Organizations that wish to receive funding to provide technical assistance must access the “Technical Assistance: Request for Applications” at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/oefi/ammp/. The Request for Applications contains detailed information on eligibility and program requirements. Applications must be submitted by email no later than August 16, 2017, 5:00 p.m. PDT. Grants will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis beginning today.

    AMMP is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities. The cap-and-trade program also creates a financial incentive for industries to invest in clean technologies and develop innovative ways to reduce pollution. California Climate Investment projects include affordable housing, renewable energy, public transportation, zero-emission vehicles, environmental restoration, more sustainable agriculture, recycling and much more. At least 35 percent of these investments are made in disadvantaged and low-income communities. For more information, visit California Climate Investments. This effort is in partnership with the Strategic Growth Council which provides technical and community outreach assistance funds from the California Climate Investments.

  • Vanoni Ranch: Six Generations and 115 Years of Farming in Geyserville

    Geyserville, Calif., (August 9, 2017) – Mark Vanoni emigrated from Switzerland with his wife Angelina in the mid 1800’s. They settled on the Central Coast and had a dairy below the Hearst Castle. However, a severe drought in 1898 caused the family to lose their dairy.

    The Vanonis searched the state for a new ranch, seeking a piece of property with ample water. They purchased their Geyserville ranch in the first couple years of the 1900’s, and the family still has the deed from 1902. The ranch was near the Russian River (although the family recalls that at the time their relatives purchased the property, the river didn’t run year round) and had natural springs throughout the property.

    Cattle on the Vanoni Ranch circa 1940 including Shorthorns and Herefords. Photo courtesy of the Vanoni Family.

    The family spent 40 years raising dairy cattle on the ranch, shipping butterfat by train. During the same time, the valley floor was planted to grapes and three acres of prunes. The price of grapes was insignificant and the family realized they weren’t making a profit and pulled out all their grapevines to increase their grazing land. Mark’s grandson Ed, the current ranch owner, was still farming when they had grapes. However, his wife Johanna described Ed “as just not a dirt farmer.” Ed recalls that some relatives wanted to sell the ranch, but he purchased 1,500 acres from his grandmother in 1950. He married Johanna two years later who managed the ranch while Ed was away in the Army.

    For Ed, the ranch was always a passion. Growing up, he lived in Geyserville, but never missed an opportunity to help out on the ranch. Ed and his father began to rent the property from Ed’s grandmother and they converted the ranch to beef cattle, crossing Shorthorns with the dairy cattle they already had. They switched to Herefords after having a hard time selling Shorthorns and later moved on to Angus, which the family still raises.

    “I was always interested in working on the ranch,” said Ed. “Always coming up to visit my grandparents on the dairy, and as soon as I got my driver’s license, I drove up every weekend. I was always fixing fence!”

    In addition to raising cattle, Ed and Johanna developed a reputation throughout Sonoma County and beyond for their ability to train cutting horses. The couple worked side by side to train award winning cutters which they used as a supplemental form of ranch income for more than 50 years. Ed recalled seeing his first cutting horse in 1949 at Cow Palace when he was in college. Johanna, who grew up in San Mateo, learned her skills by exercising horses in the Bay Area. Over the course of their training career, Ed and Johanna watched as the cutting horse industry evolved from ranch horses to wealthy owners.

    Ed and Johanna Vanoni. Photo by Rachel LaFranchi.

    In addition to training horses, they ran approximately 10 Quarter Horse broodmares and raised stallions. Today, Ed and Johanna continue to manage the ranch and run approximately 100 pairs of Angus cattle. They rotate their cattle on large pastures and keep just enough cattle to take care of themselves.

    Ed and Johanna have four children Adriane, Mark, Yvonne and Calvin who are all involved in the ranch. The Vanonis expect their children to take over the family property, but said that what the four do with the property is up to them.

    Courtesy of Sonoma County Farm Bureau, by Rachel LaFranchi

  • Working on Updating Your Animal Care Program for FARM 3.0?

    Modesto, Calif., (August 9, 2017) – As most producers are aware, FARM Version 3.0 went into effect starting this year. Your processor most likely has communicated the changes in the program, but to re-cap, the largest changes for California dairies include having a signed Veterinarian Client Patient Relationship (VCPR) agreement with your veterinarian and ensuring that all dairy employees that work with animals sign Dairy Cattle Care Ethics and Training Agreements. Specifically, each employee needs to be trained in dairy cattle stockmanship and in specific animal care protocols for their work area. These changes to FARM provide higher accountability and help document continuous on-farm improvement, strengthening the program’s ability to address supply chain customer and consumer questions regarding the many activities conducted to take good care of cows every day. Dairy producers will need to have these documents in place for their next FARM evaluation.

    CDQAP can help! There are many ways for producers to provide training to employees. When it comes to handling animals, nothing beats good old- fashioned hands-on training. CDQAP has teamed up with Beef Quality Assurance to offer a “train-the-trainer” class for producers and/or their herdsman looking for assistance in developing an effective ongoing employee training program for their dairy. It’s one thing to know how to handle animals; it’s another thing to be able to effectively teach another person how to handle animals. This training course will highlight online training tools available and important adult teaching methods; provide sample training program outlines; and offer hands-on training drills in common dairy cattle handling situations. Whether you’re developing a program to review handling protocols with seasoned employees or to train new employees, it is critical that all understand the expected animal handling methods for your dairy.

    CDQAP – BQA Stockmanship Training Plan Development Class

    Wednesday, August 23rd – 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in Modesto (lunch to follow)

    *This is a pilot class. Participants are limited to 25 dairy producers and/or herdsmen. To participate and receive dairy location info, RSVP to Eventbrite at http://bit.ly/cdqap-bqa For questions contact Denise Mullinax at (209) 585-6744 or mullinax@cdrf.org.

  • Tulare County Reports on Current Crop Status

    Visalia, Calif., (August 4, 2017) – Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner released the current status today of Major crops in the most valued county in the California Ag portfolio. They report that Alfalfa fields are making excellent progress; and continue being irrigated, cut, and baled. Corn and sorghum for silage is still being cultivated and irrigated. The corn silage crop is in various stages of development, from already producing tassels to developing ears. Cotton continues to be irrigated, cultivated, and growing well. Cotton is blooming and forming bolls. Black-eyed beans continue to be irrigated and cultivated.

    Mid-season peaches, nectarines, and plums continue to be picked and shipped to both domestic and export markets. Domestic demand is strong enough to cause the number of export shipments to continue to be significantly less than that of previous years. Stone fruit is being exported to Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, French Polynesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, and Taiwan. Summer pruning and topping of harvest stone fruit groves is occurring. Last season’s almonds and pistachios are being exported to the Chile, China, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Russia, Trinidad & Tobago, and the United Arab Emirates. Walnut, almond, and pistachio orchards continue being irrigated. Both mechanical and chemical weed control continues in orchards. Asian pears are being exported to Mexico. Table grape harvest continues throughout the county, and grapes are being exported to Australia, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, French Polynesia, Guatemala, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

    Valencia orange harvest continues, primarily for the domestic market. Regreening continues to be a problem, due to the high temperatures. Valencia oranges are being exported to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. Valencia oranges and Meyer lemons are being bagged for export to Mexico. Variegated lemons are being exported to China. Finger limes are being harvested and exported to France, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands. Olives continue to develop.

    Certified producers are picking tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and peppers for sale at the local Farmer’s Markets. Yellow squash, Zucchini, eggplant, Bell peppers, green Chili peppers, and cucumbers are being harvested and shipped domestically. Sweet corn harvest is continuing and available at roadside stands and the local Farmer’s Markets. Melons are being irrigated and prepared for the upcoming harvest.

    Low elevation rangeland continues to dry and conditions are fair to good, but quality is continuing to decrease. Cattle are still being moved to higher elevations. The higher elevations are providing more grass than previous years. Feed costs for cattle remains high. The fed cattle market price is at $119.00 per hundred weight. Harvested grain fields are being sheeped-off in the southern portions of the county.

    Nursery shipments are slowing overall. Wholesale nursery shipments to Canada and domestic markets have decreased due to the hot summer temperatures. Small amounts of citrus nursery stock continue to be sold. New wells continue to be drilled, with many existing wells showing higher levels due to increases in the water table.

  • USDA California Crop/Weather Report

    Sacramento, Calif., (August 1, 2017) – The weather last week was hot and dry across the State. The summer monsoon across the southwest desert helped trigger some showers across the deserts last week, while additional pockets of moisture found their way into the Sierras and managed to produce a few scattered showers throughout the week. Rainfall was limited to Monday through Thursday across the interior deserts and parts of the central and northern Sierras. A few monsoon showers and thunderstorms dropped up to half an inch of rain in places across the desert, with most areas receiving around a tenth of an inch. A stray thunderstorm near Alturas in the northeastern corner of the State dropped nearly half an inch of rain. Snow cover continued to dissipate across the State; however, some areas of the Lassen Volcanic National Park still had nearly ten feet of snow in some areas.

    Temperature highs were in the 60s to 80s along the coast, 70s to 90s in the mountains, 90s to 100s, in the valley, and 90s to 110s in the desert. Temperature lows were in the 30s to 50s in the mountains, 50s to 60s along the coast, 60s to 70s in the valley, and 60s to 80s in the desert.

    Wheat was harvested for grain and shaft baled for straw. Alfalfa fields were being irrigated, cut, and baled. Corn and sorghum for silage were cultivated and irrigated. The corn silage crop was in various stages of development, from already tasseling to developing ears. Cotton continued to be irrigated, cultivated, and was growing well. Cotton was blooming and forming bolls. Black-eyed beans continued to be irrigated and cultivated.

    Mid-season peach, nectarine, pluot, and plum harvest continued.  Some harvested stone fruit orchards were pruned and topped. Table grapes were harvested and vineyards irrigated. Wine grapes were maturing well.  Valencia orange harvest continued but was winding down due to high temperatures and fruit availability.

    Walnut, almond, and pistachio orchards continued to be irrigated. Mechanical and chemical weed control continued in orchards.  Harvest preparation was underway in almond orchards. Almond harvest began in the warmer regions of Kern County. Pistachios were beginning to split. Navel Orange Worm sprays and fertilizers were applied to pistachios. Walnuts were sizing well.

    In Colusa County, triple digit heat impacted the harvest of vegetables, including processing tomatoes and honeydew melons.  The processing tomato harvest was somewhat erratic, interrupting the smooth flow of ripe tomatoes to the canneries.    The melon packing sheds were affected by the inconsistent flow of fruit.  In San Joaquin County, harvest was ongoing for honeydew melons, watermelons, cantaloupes, onions, and fresh vegetable crops.  Farmers’ Market vegetables continued to be harvested and offered for sale.   In Monterey County, mid-year harvest and production slowed for two weeks.  It was expected to pick back up with more harvesting and preparation for the third or last rotation of the year.  All commodities, lettuces, brassicas, and spinach were in production.  Asparagus was finished and artichokes will pick up again in August.  In Fresno County, harvest continued for both organic and conventional tomatoes with lower yields than expected.  Quality was reported as very good.  Onions, carrots, and lettuce seed were harvested.  Soil was prepared for yellow peppers.  In Tulare County, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and peppers were picked by certified producers and sold at the local Farmers’ Markets.  Yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant, Bell peppers, green chili peppers, and cucumbers were harvested and shipped domestically.  Sweet corn harvest continued and was sold at roadside stands and local Farmers’ Markets.  Melons were irrigated and prepared for the upcoming harvest.  In Kings County, the tomato harvest continued with a decent harvest reported.  Tomatoes were sprayed with fungicide and pesticide.

    The decline in nutritional quality of rangeland grasses and forbs continued. Range and dryland pasture conditions across the state were reported as fair to very poor. Wildland fires burned some north state pastures and ranges.  Elevated temperatures continued to impact milk production. Bees were active in melon and sunflower fields.

  • A Chance to Save Dairies in California Came – We Took It

    Modesto, Calif., (July 24, 2017) – The dairy industry has had a rough few decades. Although milk prices have always had a boom or bust cycle, the regulatory cost of production has really created challenges for all dairies in the state. Since 2005 over 650 dairies have shut their doors in California. In more recent years, the milk production numbers showed a year-over-year-over-year decline for 22 consecutive months. The end of 2016 briefly went positive and now we’re in decline again. The lack of certainty in the dairy business has generally been accepted on the pricing side, especially as we have become a much more global industry. But what’s really new as of the last 20 years, is the crazy uncertainty the State environmental regulations have caused to our businesses. Before it’s through, more dairies that are my neighbors will be closing their doors because they’re just tired of working so hard to get so little in return. This will have a massive impact on jobs and ancillary jobs in the Central Valley, potentially to the tune of $200 million in net economic benefit annually.

    One thing is certain though, we can’t keep doing things the way we’ve always done in the dairy industry, because it’s not working. When an opportunity came for the dairy industry to get some certainty on the regulatory side, Western United Dairymen and many other ag organizations took it.

    With the help of Assemblyman Devon Mathis (AD 26), the passage of AB 398 this week (known as the extension of Cap and Trade) really helped to secure some certainty for the dairy industry. The cap-and-trade program is a plan that provides certainty to our dairy processors, which means there is some cost certainty for our dairies. No other choice was on the table that provided a sense of regulatory and cost certainty.

    What would have been the outcome with no Cap-and-Trade extension? The state would implement more rules and impose mandatory reductions to meet the rules with no market mechanisms. So we made a choice, and Devon Mathis helped us make the choice by committing to save jobs and businesses. We protected our member dairy families and their employees.

    Our organization and the industry must remain humble and vigilant that this choice doesn’t become an empty promise by the State, and sometimes opportunities show up in strange places. The passage of AB 398 and the extension of a Cap-and-Trade program are the only viable methods to make this possible so that the dairy industry isn’t regulated into the ground.

    by Frank Mendonsa, President of Western United Dairymen

  • California Dairy Digital Magazine: July

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    The July issue of California Dairy Magazine is now available to read online! Read the latest California Dairy & Feed industry news and technology.  Here’s a peek of what’s inside:

    • Emergency Cow Mortality Disposal Advisory
      Extreme Heat Takes a Toll On Central Valley Dairies
    • Lessening the Dairy Gas Leak
      Utilizing a Methane Inhibitor in Dairy Feed
    • California’s Dairy Industry in 2016
      CDFA Releases Annual Milk Production Report
    • Be On the Lookout for Sugarcane Aphid this Summer
      Protect Your Sorghum Feed Crops
    • Udder Things
      California Dairy News Briefs
    • California Milk Prices Continue Increasing
      Losses to Heat Stress Neutralize Increases in Milk Prices

  • UC Helps Cattle Ranchers Estimate Costs and Returns of Beef Production

    Sacramento, Calif., (July 18, 2017) – The cattle industry in California has undergone dramatic changes over the last few decades. International competition and opportunities, new regulatory requirements, fluctuating feed costs, changing consumer demand, economies of scale and competing land uses all affect the bottomline in cattle ranching. Ranchers have experienced increasing production costs while revenue has not kept pace with costs.

    To help ranchers make business decisions, new cost studies for beef cattle production have been released by UC ANR Agricultural Issues Center and UC Cooperative Extension.

    Sample costs and returns for beef cattle production in the northern Sacramento Valley are presented in these studies. The studies are titled “Sample Costs for Beef Cattle, Cow–Calf Production,” “Sample Costs for Beef Cattle, Yearling/Stocker Production” and “Sample Costs for Beef Cattle, Finished on Grass.”

    “These studies are useful to new and experienced ranchers, lenders and other agribusiness companies, as well as government officials, researcher and students who want to know basics of ranch practices and the costs and returns that can be expected for a well-managed operation,” said Daniel Sumner, director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center. “The studies show ranges of net returns under alternative price scenarios to help indicate sensitivity of returns to cattle market conditions.”

    The analyses are based on a hypothetical well-managed ranching operation using practices common to the northern Sacramento Valley. The three studies are based on a herd of 300 cows and bred heifers, 60 yearling heifers and 15 bulls. An 11 percent cull rate is applied to the herd. An 89 percent calf crop with three percent mortality before weaning is assumed.

    All rangeland and pasture is rented per animal unit month. Ranging analysis tables show net revenue over a range of prices. The costs, materials and operations shown in this study will not apply to all ranches. Ranchers, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors, and other agricultural associates provided input and reviewed the methods and findings of the study.

    Free copies of these studies and other sample cost of production studies for additional commodities are also available. To download the cost studies, visit the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics website at https://coststudies.ucdavis.edu.

    The cost studies program is funded by the UC Agricultural Issues Center and UC Cooperative Extension, both of which are part of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.

    For more information or an explanation of the calculations used in the studies, contact Donald Stewart at the Agricultural Issues Center at (530) 752-4651 or destewart@ucdavis.edu; Larry Forero, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor for  Shasta and Trinity counties, at lcforero@ucanr.edu, or Jeff Stackhouse, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor for Humboldt and Del Norte counties, at jwstackhouse@ucanr.edu.

  • Dairy Alert: CDQAP Emergency Mortality Disposal Advisory

    Sacramento, Calif., (July 10, 2017) – Due to the excessive heat the Valley has experienced in recent weeks, the dairy industry has been hit with high mortality rates. This has led to a slow-down in Baker Commodities’ mortality pick ups.

    As a result of this crisis, producers are going to be allowed to compost mortalities for temporary storage on the dairy or, if willing to meet some extensive conditions, permanently bury the composed material on the dairy.

    This option is available because of an existing RB-5 waiver for addressing burial of mortalities in emergency landfills during an animal health emergency. Among the conditions of the waiver is that RB-5 must receive a request from CDFA detailing the need for on-site disposal, a request which is being generated now.

    In addition, either the state or the affected counties must declare an emergency. Tulare, Kings, Madera and Kern counties have, or are in the process of, creating emergency declarations and the other major dairy counties are being contacted to follow suit.

    CDQAP is generating specific guidance for producers describing how they can implement this option and what their responsibilities are if they do. It appears that producers will have two options:

    1. Producers can temporarily store mortalities on their farm in composting piles for later transport to permitted landfills.
    2. Producers can permanently inter mortalities on farm in an emergency landfill, a process which requires substantial follow-up and paperwork.

    Click here to review the CDQAP Emergency Mortality Disposal Advisory.

  • California Cow’s Milk Processors Score 68 Wins at California State Fair Commercial Cheese Competition

    TRACY, Calif. – July 6, 2017 – California cow’s milk processors that use the Real California Cheese and Milk seals brought home 68 awards from the 2017 annual cheese competition held by California State Fair, in Sacramento. Cheesemaker – Pt. Reyes Farmstead Cheese was nominated as Best of Show Cow’s Milk Cheese and Best of California Cow’s Milk Cheese during the annual event. Two cheesemakers – Bellwether Farms, LLC and Fiscalini Cheese Co., were nominated as Best of California Cow’s Milk Cheese.

    California cow’s milk cheeses that use the Real California seals won 19 first-place, 32 second- place and 17 third-place awards in this year’s judging. Highlights from these wins include:

    • Bellwether Farms, LLC, Valley Ford, 1st for Crème Fraiche, Cultured Cheese – Crème Fraiche
    • California Dairies Inc., Visalia, 2nd for Real Cream Cheese, Soft Cheese – Cream Cheese
    • Fiscalini Cheese Co., Modesto, 1st for Bandage Wrapped Cheddar, Semi-Hard Cheese –Aged Cheddar
    • Joseph Gallo Farms, Awater, 2nd for Mozzarella, Semi-Soft Cheese – Pasta Filata
    • Marin French Cheese Co., Petaluma, 1st for Petite Cendrée, Semi-Soft Cheese – WhiteSurface Mold – Brie
    • Marquez Brothers International, Inc., Hanford, 1st for Queso Oaxaca, Semi-Soft Cheese –Hispanic Style
    • Nicasio Valley Cheese Co., San Rafael, 1st for Locarno, Semi-Soft Cheese – WhiteSurface Mold – Open
    • Orland Farmstead Creamery, Orland, 2nd for Ricottage, California Originals – Cow Milk
    • Point Reyes Farmstead, Point Reyes, 1st for Point Reyes Bay Blue, Semi-Soft Cheese – Blue Veined Cheese
    • Queso Salazar, Brentwood, 2nd for Queso Fresco, Semi-Soft Cheese – Hispanic Style
    • Sierra Nevada Cheese Company, Willows, 1st for Organic Traditional Jack Cheese, Semi-Hard Cheese – Monterey Jack
    • Stuyt Dairy Farmstead Cheese Co., Escalon, 1st for Habanero Gouda Cheese, Semi-HardCheese – Open Category

    California dairy means real food from real people. Consumers can look for the Real California Milk and Cheese seals on dairy brands throughout the U.S. These seals ensure they are made with 100 percent milk produced by more than 1,300 Real California dairy farm families.

    For more information on California State Fair Commercial Cheese Competition, go to: http://www.castatefair.org/california-commercial-cheese/.