Page 8 Dairy Star Saturday, December 26, 2015

Jim Fuller John Fuller Dave Fuller Heather Fuller Ron Wilson Vicki Jensen

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Joe Freed Jake Timmerman Don Wallenhorst Dave Martin Hunter Hying Zack Summers Joe Myers

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National Milk Producers Federation president and CEO Jim Mulhern describes 2015 as a disappointing year for dairy farmers. After record dairy income in 2014, milk production increased this past year and dairy exports declined. Between China and Russia alone, we lost over 20 billion pounds of imports and that backs up onto the world market. Domestic con-sumption of milk and dairy products has been strong, up approximately 4 percent this past year. That growth was not enough to offset the weak exports. We now produce 30 billion pounds more milk in the U.S. than we consume domestically and if we dont export that product, it backs up into the U.S. market and drives prices down. For 2016, Mulhern remains optimistic about domestic demand, but voices caution about the world dairy market. Dairy industry buffered by four years of good prices The milk check is lower than what many dairy farmers would like to see, but the industry is still in good nancial condition. AgStar Financial Services vice president of agribusiness capital Greg Steelesaid equity was built up during the recent past. Four years of Class III milk at $17 or better really helped position the industry to have a good capital base going into these low prices and tight margins. Steele said the Upper Midwest also enjoyed a fabulous crop year with large quantities of quality forages.Wisconsin milk production rises in November In the 23 major dairy states, November milk pro-duction totaled 15.6 billion pounds. That is up 0.6 percent from November 2014. The number of milk cows in those key dairy states was 8.6 million head, unchanged from October, but up 37,000 head from last year. In Wisconsin, milk production increased 4.3

percent. At the same time, California milk output de-clined 4.4 percent. USDA updates milk production forecast According to USDAs supply/demand reports, the countrys milk production forecast for 2015 and 2016 has been reduced from last month. During that time, milk production on a per-cow basis declined. Butter prices remained stronger than expected into early De-cember, prompting an increase in the price forecast for butter. Cheese prices are down slightly with large domestic supplies. Class III milk prices were left un-changed for 2015 and 2016. Year-end legislation will bene t dairy farmers The omnibus spending bill that moved through Congress in the nal days of the session included numerous policy riders. One of those issues was the repeal of the U.S. country of origin labeling law. Na-tional Milk Producers Federation senior vice presi-dent of communications Chris Galen sees that as a win. This should hopefully prevent any retaliatory tariffs on dairy exports to Canada and Mexico, and we needed to adjust the COOL legislation to make sure that was cut off at the pass and were thankful that happened. Congress has also included a tax extend-ers bill. That legislation includes the permanent ex-tension of the Section 179 tax credit for capital equip-ment purchases, including things like equipment or tractors. Theyve been doing that piecemeal for the last few years, but now theyve made that permanent and that will help with the stepped up depreciation of those major investments. WOTUS promotion deemed illegal The Environmental Protection Agency apparently broke the law with a social media and grassroots lob-

bying campaign to promote its Waters of the UnitedStates rule. The U.S. Government Accountability Of- ce has made that assessment. With this new infor-mation, American Farm Bureau Federation president Bob Stallman said EPA orchestrated this matter in abiased fashion.Fewer dairy herds According the Wis-consin agriculture depart-ment, the state has 9,711 dairy herds. That total is for the rst week in December and is down nearly 400 herds from the same time one year ago. Clark Coun-ty has the largest number of dairy herds in Wiscon-sin with 877. Eighty-seven percent of the dairy herds in Wisconsin are Grade A certi ed. Soymilk case dismissed A class action lawsuit that alleged the term soy-milk was misleading for consumers has been thrownout of court. A federal judge in California dismissedthe case, saying it is not reasonable to believe a con-sumer would mistake soymilk or almond milk fordairy milk.Ben & Jerrys makes animal welfare announce-ment The famous ice cream brand, Ben & Jerrys, hasannounced its milk suppliers will observe a ban on tail docking by the end of 2016. The move was praised by the Humane Society of the United States. HSUS alsotouted the four new non-dairy vegan desserts pro-duced by Ben & Jerrys. The non-dairy line-up uses almond milk. Ag Day at the Capitol scheduled Wisconsins annual Ag Day at the Capitol will beheld Jan. 27. With this event, farmers throughout thestate travel to Madison to learn about state issues andlobby state legislators. A variety of farm groups spon-sor this event including the Dairy Business Associa-tion, Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin andthe Wisconsin Farm Bureau. Dow and DuPont to merge The Dow Chemical Company and DuPont Com-pany have agreed to merge. Shareholders of Dow willget one share in the new company called DowDuPontfor each Dow share, while DuPont shareholders willget 1.282 shares for each DuPont share. Dow and Du-Pont expect the merger to be completed by the secondhalf of 2016 and be followed by a three-way breakupof the combined company. One of which will be fo-cused on agriculture. The combined company may

Disappointing year for dairy farmers

By Don WickColumnist

Ag Insider

Turn to AG INSIDER | Page 9

Dairy Star Saturday, December 26, 2015 Page 15

From Our Side Of The FenceWhat was the highlight of the year on your farm?

Ramona and Bob WipplerParkers Prairie, Minn.Ottertail County43 cowsWhat will you remember most about 2015? Bob: That Im getting old really fast. I cant move fast enough to get the work done. I will remember the nice new seeding of alfalfa we had. Also, the long dry spring we had allowing me to get the manure hauled, eldwork done and make swamp hay for bedding since it was dry enough. Another thing I will remember about this year was that we started out with a high bacteria count in our milk, but after spending some mon-ey and doing some xes, it dropped. Ramona: Never getting the work done in a timely manner.What was the highlight of the year for you in both farming and fam-ily? Bob: I wake up each day willing to do it all over again. Ramona: Having daughters do awesome things, includ-ing nearly graduating from med school, traveling to other countries and states, and running for Miss Parkers Prairie. Describe a challenge you overcame in the past year. Bob: I had three farm accidents in the last ve months. An-other would be getting the jobs done without my hired help. I also got the fence working right. Ramona: Always being behind on the work that needs to get done, caring for Dad with his de-clining health and now putting him in a care center.Describe some of your favorite tradi-tions for the Christmas season. Bob: My favorites are when Ramona makes fruit cake, oyster stew and homemade eggnog. I also like visiting family. Ra-mona: Singing in the church choir, at-tending Christmas concerts with the children and the church programs, and putting up the tree.Describe your perfect Christmas gathering. Bob: Visiting my in-laws and hosting Christmas Eve while eat-ing new sausage. Ramona: Having all of the family home and having fun to-gether.Tell us about your family farm. We rotationally graze 40 cows from May until November. But this year, we went until December. The herd consists mostly of Holsteins and Milking Short-horn, Jersey or Brown Swiss crosses. We sell our milk to First District. We also raise a few turkeys, broiler chick-ens and laying hens. We have 340 acres and raise corn for corn silage and alfal-fa. We also have ve children Marie, Robert, Edmund, Katherine and Eliza-

Stewart BartzDowning, Wis. Dunn County40 cowsWhat will you remember most about 2015? I will mostly remember the high beef prices.What was the highlight of the year for you in both farming and fam-ily? Surviving the rst year of owning cows. We bought them on Jan. 1 from my dad. I think thats a highlight in both my personal and professional life.Describe a challenge you overcame in the past year. Finding compensation cash ow with how low the milk prices were. We are no stranger to the uctua-tion in the market, but the difference this year is substantial. Knowing what we can live without, and what we can do to keep cash ow.Describe some of your favorite tradi-tions for the Christmas season. Every year, we visit both grandparents, and the whole family celebrates Christmas together.Describe your perfect Christmas gathering. Having the whole family to-gether to eat a whole lot of food. Also, every year except last year, the pipes have frozen in the barn on Christmas. The perfect Christmas, for me, would have owing water, too. Otherwise, family, food and a big warm house.Tell us about your family farm. I own 40 cows with my wife. She teaches in Prairie Farm. We have 220 acres that are either owned or rented. Dad is still involved with feeding calves and clean-ing the barn. I am the second generation on this farm. Our family also runs a re-tail cheese store off of the house.

beth. Marie is attending med school atthe University of Minnesota. Robertmakes the best pizza at Rhombus Guysin Grand Forks, N.D., and is learning tobrew beer at a local brewery. Edmundworks at Len Druskin in Minneapolis,Katherine is a senior at the Universityof Minnesota and Elizabeth is a seniorat Parkers Prairie High School.

John LehmannLa Crescent, Minn. Houston County 90 cowsWhat will you remember most about 2015? I got married in April. My wife, Angela, grew up on a farm. We met through a seed dealer. What was the highlight of the year for you in both farming and fam-ily? On the farm, a highlight was the good crop year. We also went to World Dairy Expo for the rst time. There was a lot to see. I also bought the farm from my parents. For family, the highlight has been being able to spend time with my wife. When we were dating, we saw each other about once a month. We didnt live close, so it was hard to get away. Describe a challenge you overcame in the past year. We havent had too many challenges, but its always dif -cult when employees dont show up for their shift. The milk price could be bet-ter. Its also been an adjustment being married and living with someone. Describe some of your favorite tradi-tions for the Christmas season. We dont have too many traditions other than getting together to spend time with family. We gather on Christmas Eve at my sisters house to open presents and eat. We usually have ham, and this year I asked my wife to make cheeseburger soup. Its really good. Christmas will be a little different this year since Im married. Angelas family lives two and a half hours away.Describe your perfect Christmas gathering. The perfect gathering in-cludes spending time with my family, opening gifts, hanging out with my nephews and enjoying the day while trying not to worry about the farm. Tell us about your family farm. I am the fourth generation on my familys farm. It has been in our family for 111 years. I bought the farm from my par-ents, David and Sandy, this year. My dad still helps me along with my broth-er, Gordon, who works for me full time and my brother, Alan, who lls in when we need him. We have 580 acres with 233 acres that are tillable.

George PolzinCaddott, Wis.Chippewa County95 cowsWhat will you remember most about 2015? It was the best non-irrigated hay year I have ever had. We didnt have to irrigate at all, which is somewhat un-usual. The prices of everything were down so much this year, too, with the depressed market. It was a mild year, so it was an easy year to milk cows and was easy on the cows.What was the highlight of the year for you in both farming and family? We are expecting our rst grandchild in a few days. Our daughter is an ag teacher in St. Peter, Minn., and her dairy judg-ing team will be going to Scotland next year. That is exciting because I was her judging coach for a number of years. Our son is nishing graduate work and has accepted a position as an applied economics professor at the University of Minnesota. As for the farm, we had a good crop year and sold a lot of bulls. It was a good year with the beef prices where they were. We sold bulls all over the United States this year, although it is a lot slower now.Describe a challenge you overcame in the past year. Every farmer has had nancial challenges this year. Keeping up and getting crops in the ground with production expenses was a challenge. I worry about beginning farmers who are probably feeling a pinch this year.Describe some of your favorite tra-ditions for the Christmas season. Gathering with our family and friends and sitting down to a large dinner. My parents have been married for 70 years, and we gather at their farm. Addition-ally, every year I send out a book of Christmas poems that I write myself. I started doing that right after my wife and I got married.Describe your perfect Christmas gathering. Having everyone happy and healthy at my mothers house. My sis-ter lives far away and isnt always able to make it back for the holidays, so to have her home and all be gathered to-gether will be wonderful.Tell us about your family farm. I am the fourth generation on the farm since it started in 1900. We have a typical family farm. We milk 95 red and white Holsteins, which we have been doing since the early 1970s making us one of the rst red and white Holstein herds in the country. We sell breeding stock all the way from Lake Superior down to the panhandle of Texas. We farm 600

acres owned and approximately 200 rented. We have hosted 17 foreign ex-change students from all over the world whom we continue to keep in contact with.