By Ed Maltby, NODPA Executive Director
Producers report that there is continued movement to different buyers, mostly under Grass Fed certification. Maple Hill reports that they continue to increase the signing of producers in Pennsylvania and New York, with their unique incentive plan, as they expand their supply in that region. They project that they will have over 21 new farms signed on in 2024.
Since October 1, 2024, Maple Hill has been charging producers only 25% of the total hauling costs which represents approximately $1.35-$1.50 to Maple Hill. Maple Hill is raising their base price from $36.86 to $38.86 beginning in January 2025, and by another $2/cwt in July 2025 to have a base price of $40.86.
The Market Adjustment Premium (MAP) of $.50/cwt will continue as will the volume premiums of $0.5/cwt for over 30k lbs.; $0.75 for over 50k lbs.; and $1.00/cwt over 70k lbs. Maple Hill estimates that an average Pay Price for a farm with average quality and components, over 30k lbs. in volume, will be $45/cwt by December 2025.
How this compares to other Grass Fed programs is difficult to know because neither CROPP Cooperative nor Horizon responded to questions on what they were paying, or in CROPP’s case, reports from producers about how much fluid organic milk they were exporting to Canada from the northeast. Producers report that Maple Hill is the price leader in Grass Fed and Upstate Niagara, in the non-Grass Fed category. Transparency directly from the milk buyer serves the farmers far better than rumors spread from farmer to farmer or by milk truck drivers. In case anyone doubts it, farmers do talk with each other and compare pay price! NODPA will never report rumors as fact and has always quoted company representatives accurately or as they have requested.
A buyer for A2 organic brand, Origin Milk, has been in the region offering a $50/cwt for 100% grass fed A2 milk to incentivize farmers to switch. Origin Milk was founded by entrepreneurs Adrian and Lauren Bota in 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio, partnering with small dairy operations in Ohio. It has since grown to buying milk from small, family-owned farms in Pennsylvania and Colorado. Farmers that are interested should contact Michael Busselberg the Network Operations Manager at Michael@OriginMilk.com or 435-770-9262.
What do herds need to qualify for A2/A2 milk? The genetic test for cows says whether the milk produced is A1/A1, A1/A2, or A2/A2. A1/A1 means that the cow produces milk with 100% A1 beta-casein protein. A1/A2 means that the cow produces milk with a mix of A1 and A2 beta-casein protein. A2/A2 means that the cow products milk with 100% A2 beta-casein protein. Jersey, Guernsey, Normande and Brown Swiss breeds have a higher percentage of A2 genes than Holstein. Some farmers have transitioned to A2 herds, but this can take many generations, depending on the status of your herd. One way to determine the status of your herd is to genomic test your cows and heifers. A2 status can be determined for about $5 per animal. If you choose to transition to an A2 herd, you can determine which cows and heifers to keep or cull once you receive your genomic results. An A2/A2 animal bred to another A2/A2 animal will always have an A2/A2 offspring. A2/A2 cows produce milk with only the A2 protein.
The Vermont Monthly Organic Dairy Report and Pennsylvania Monthly Organic Report are part of a new pilot program in partnership with the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Market News to collect organic market data for the 2023/2024 growing seasons. The Vermont project’s first report was in April 2024, reporting on the last few months of 2023 and January 2024 with just 9 farms reporting. The Pennsylvania Report for June was first published in September 2024. The data is supplied voluntarily by organic dairy farmers monthly. Both projects are looking for more farmers to volunteer their data. All data is aggregated so no propriety data is shared publicly. There is a disclaimer that the data has not been collected or verified by the USDA, and its accuracy is the responsibility of the partnering institution. The contact for the Vermont Project is Josh Knight at Josh.Knight@vermont.gov, (802) 636-7793 and for the Pennsylvania Project it is Valerie Mason-Faith, Risk Education Program Manager, Center for Dairy Excellence, vmason@centerfordairyexcellence.org , (717) 550-8720.
Pennsylvania Monthly Organic Report
|
Month |
Volume(lbs.) |
Ave. daily production per cow (lbs.) |
Min Price |
Max Price |
Weighted Av Price |
Ave. Butterfat |
Ave. Protein |
|
Jun-24 |
1,331,605 |
31.23 |
$ 25.05 |
$ 41.74 |
$ 33.57 |
3.98% |
3.07% |
|
Jul-24 |
1,170,262 |
27.9 |
$ 25.50 |
$ 41.43 |
$ 33.55 |
3.88% |
2.99% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Vermont Monthly Organic Dairy Report
|
Month |
Volume(lbs.) |
Ave. daily production per cow (lbs.) |
Min Price |
Max Price |
Weighted Av Price |
Ave. Butterfat |
Ave. Protein |
|
Nov-23 |
1,155,583 |
39.6 |
$ 27.92 |
$ 43.60 |
$ 37.01 |
|
|
|
Dec-23 |
1,227,212 |
39.3 |
$ 27.92 |
$ 47.13 |
$ 39.70 |
|
|
|
Jan-24 |
1,224,497 |
40.2 |
$ 35.00 |
$ 47.38 |
$ 39.97 |
4.21% |
3.03% |
|
Feb-24 |
1,073,895 |
41.9 |
$ 36.04 |
$ 46.74 |
$ 39.99 |
4.82% |
3.43% |
|
Mar-24 |
1,088,144 |
46.4 |
$ 33.68 |
$ 42.87 |
$ 36.59 |
4.64% |
3.38% |
|
Apr-24 |
958,104 |
44.5 |
$ 33.08 |
$ 41.85 |
$ 36.10 |
4.59% |
3.34% |
|
May-24 |
1,105,985 |
51 |
$ 32.10 |
$ 39.11 |
$ 34.77 |
4.38% |
3.32% |
|
Jun-24 |
860,631 |
50.7 |
$ 31.65 |
$ 39.10 |
$ 34.00 |
4.20% |
3.22% |
|
Jul-24 |
1,013,388 |
48.4 |
$ 30.70 |
$ 37.06 |
$ 33.00 |
3.99% |
3.13% |
There were no Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program Tier 1 payments in September or October, with no payments forecast for the rest of the year with high All-Milk Price and low feed costs.
Acting Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs for the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced at NODPA Field Days while touring the MK Dairy in Owego, NY, the second round of payments from the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP) from the funds that were not used from the $105 million allocated to the program in January 2023. Approximately $84 million is remaining and the USDA has allocated $58 million of those funds to the ODMAP 2024 program. Compared to the 2023 program, producers will receive a higher payment rate of $1.68 per hundredweight (compared to the previous rate of $1.10 per cwt), and an increased cap of nine million pounds of production eligible for assistance. The ODMAP 2024 will be paid out in two payments of 75% of the $1.68/cwt initially and the other 25% if there is money left out of the $58 million that is allocated.
Please remember that you have to re-register with the FSA for the 2024 ODMAP payments which will be based on 2023 milk production. The second payment will be made automatically to those that applied for the first 2024 payment. FSA is accepting applications from September 30 to November 29, 2024.To apply, producers should contact FSA at their local USDA Service Center. To complete the ODMAP 2024 application, producers must certify to pounds of 2023 milk production, show documentation of their organic certification, and submit a completed application form. Producers are already receiving their 2024 checks. If you have any problems, please contact NODPA.
As of October 25, 2024, there have been 380 herds affected in 15 states, and 36 confirmed human infections of H5N1 (although new testing suggests there maybe many more humans elected). The U.S. Department of Agriculture will soon begin testing bulk raw milk across the country for bird flu, a significant expansion of the agency's efforts to stifle the rapid spread of the virus, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters on October 30, 2024. The move comes after livestock and veterinary groups pushed the USDA to strengthen its current surveillance approach, calling it inadequate to contain the virus, according to state records and industry documents reviewed by Reuters. In early November 2024, the agency will begin sampling milk in states where dairy cattle have contracted bird flu, including testing specific farms as needed to track the virus' spread, Vilsack said in an interview. USDA will then begin testing in states that have not identified the virus in dairy cows, he said.
For the first time in the U.S., H5N1 avian influenza has been detected in swine, confirmed by the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories on Oct. 29 at an Oregon backyard farm.
The number of dairy herds in California that have tested positive for the presence of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza has reached 170, and the number of humans who have tested positive in the state number 15, all employees of dairy farms, Cases of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza detected in Missouri do not appear to have spread via person-to-person contact. The excessively hot weather in California is one of the reasons infected herds in the state are seeing mortality rates as high as 15% or 20%, compared to 2% in other states, said Keith Poulsen, a veterinarian and director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory who has researched bird flu.
The cases that were detected among health care workers, who were physically near a Missouri patient who contracted avian influenza A(H5) without known exposure to infected animals, ended up having a different sub-type of the virus, which precluded that patient from being the source. However, the data is thin enough, so far, that new vectors for transmission can’t be ruled out, and CDC and USDA are continuing to monitor the situation.
The human cases in the state of Washington, where the virus just recently made a reappearance, now number four, all employees of a poultry farm who were employed to cull a flock that had tested positive. The sub-type of the H5N1 virus detected in these workers is different from that seen in dairy herds in the region, underscoring the low likelihood of trans-species infection in this case.
Looking to the future of this outbreak, which is two years old, the USDA has approved two vaccine field safety trials for vaccine candidates designed to protect dairy cows from H5N1. While limited in scope at this point, USDA said it expects additional submissions and approvals for field trials as more animal health manufacturers pursue vaccine development. On the human side, the CDC has said that one H5N1 clinical test has been approved for Quest Diagnostics, and the company expects to introduce clinical testing for avian flu later this month for patients with a prescription.
USDA offers three forms of funding for unaffected dairy farms. They will provide up to $1,500 per premise to develop and implement biosecurity plans, as well as $100 per premise to buy an in-line milk sampler. Producers can also be reimbursed up to $2,000 per farm for veterinarians to collect samples. USDA will provide up to $50 per shipment with two shipments per month for milk samples to help offset the freight costs. For more information on grants and symptoms: H5N1 article
All certifiers are changing their systems to incorporate the change in certification process and documentation required by the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE). Some certifiers have been able to make the transition with limited impact on livestock operations. The ones located in the northeast that I have had good reports from are Baystate Organic Certifiers, Vermont Organic Farmers LLC (VOF), and MOFGA Certification Services LLC. Baystate say they are welcoming more livestock farms. NOFA-NY Certified Organic, LLC is no longer accepting new entities and has experienced delays in certification as they go through a reorganization. They expect to raise their certification charges once the reorganization is complete At Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO) they have increased the amount of paperwork, and, in some cases, producers must go back 4-5 years to get information. This has led to some distressed producers arguing with inspectors who are trying to follow the requirements of PCO paperwork. PCO is also now charging an extra $400 for paper copies of the Organic System Plan and other paperwork, plus there seems to be many add-on fees as you work through their process. Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) have not published their 2025 fees at this time but it is expected they will change their charges to reflect gross organic income from operations rather than a fixed fee. These extra charges will affect the Plain Community plus others that may not use or may not have good internet service. This is not a regional problem. California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) has raised its certification charges by 8%. The USDA NOP has been made aware of the many different issues that vary from certifier to certifier. As solutions are being looked at, please get in touch with NODPA if you are having problems so we can assist where possible and bring those issues to the NOP.
Posted: to Industry News on Sun, Nov 3, 2024
Updated: Fri, Nov 8, 2024
