Tag: Dairy

Dairy demand is getting butter and butter.

A Tuesday report from the U.S. Dairy Export showed increases in total exports of all dairy products at 13%. Other export increases:

• Cheese is up 18.1%
• Nonfat dry milk is up 15.4%
• Condensed and evaporated milk is up an udderly amazing 128% over 2020

Comfort cows: Even with COVID restrictions on restaurants, domestic dairy demand is churning and burning. A USDA report noted people were seeking comfort food—like ice cream and butter—through the pandemic.

In fact, the average American consumed three more pounds of dairy products across all segments in 2020. We all had to get through the pandemic somecow.

Some months even saw an increase of 30% in ice cream sales from grocery stores. Butter increases were around 20-25%.

“Despite challenges posed by the pandemic to all parts of the supply chain in 2020—including the near-overnight loss of the foodservice sector—per capita dairy consumption continued to surge upward thanks to growth in ice cream, butter, and yogurt,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president, and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA).

He added, “Last year’s consumption figures are nearly 70 percentage points above the annual average, showing America’s growing appreciation for their favorite dairy products.”

Dairy pricing is ready to (finally) enter the 21st century.

The industry is making the news again, this time as ag economists and dairy producers call upon Congress to update the long-standing Federal Milk Marketing Orders.

When the orders were created in the 1930s, most milk was sold as fluid milk for beverage consumption. However, dairy consumption today isn’t all milk, as consumers have a larger appetite for cheese, butter, and other dairy products.

The FMMO “promised dairy producers that if their milk is as good as their neighbors’, they will be paid the same price,” said Christina Zuiderveen, managing partner of Black Soil Dairy, LLC.

In her September 15th speech to a Senate subcommittee for reforming the milk-pricing system, Zuiderveen said this sentiment hasn’t held true, as sales of fluid milk have declined. And while she and her family have personally benefited from the current rules, as they sold milk for cheese production in 2020, Zuiderveen is an advocate for fair prices.

Soundbite: “Good intentions to create a system with uniform prices has resulted in a distorted system that is now coming unglued, to the detriment of dairy families whose income depends—at least in part—on the value of a blend of fluid milk, milk powder, and butter,” Zuiderveen said.

The impact is real. Current dairy prices don’t make up for rising inputs for dairy farmers. And the number of dairy farms has decreased 55% between 2003 and 2020.

In case you hadn’t heard, fires in the northwestern portion of the U.S. have been blazing for weeks. And those soaring flames are souring milk production…

The National Interagency Fire Center says more than 2.2M acres have burned in 104 large fires in 12 states.

And where there’s smoke, there’s less milk: Those fires have an impact on human health, and researchers are discovering the implications to animal health as well. University of Idaho assistant professor of animal, veterinary, and food science Amy Skibiel says it’s no cow-incidence poor air quality has an impact on milk production.

Her study on a small group of dairy cows showed they produced three pounds less milk after exposure to poor air quality for seven days.

That’s a major dip: Western dairy farms produce 40% of the nation’s milk—with California topping the charts and Idaho producing the third-largest amount of milk in the states.

Results of their study also showed higher rates of mastitis and increased risk of mortality for calves.

Udderly sad: Not only are the fires, drought, and high temperatures affecting milk production, but the poor conditions are also affecting grazing land quality and quantity.

All these factors are causing some producers to cull their herd ahead of normal schedule.

What’s next: Skibiel hopes more research within the next year will result in a better sense of the impacts smoke has on cattle. Because wildfires, unfortunately, aren’t going away anytime soon.

Milk’s got more going for it than just a mustache these days.

The backstory: With 67% of adults concerned about their stress and anxiety levels, mental health has become a mega-focus.

And as Americans look for new ways to manage stress naturally, one dairy duo is ready to serve them a new-age, scientifically-backed snack.

Stress-snack on this: milk phospholipids.

Launched by dairy ingredient-solutions brand NZMP and backed by colossal dairy cooperative Fonterra, the new products – think snack bars and stir-in powders – use naturally occurring lipids in milk to help consumers manage stress, stay focused, and feel positive. The effects are clinically proven.

A soundbite: “By extending our portfolio into the mental wellness space, we’re helping food brands tap into new consumers’ needs, such as mood-enhancement and cognitive performance under stress — issues that have recently amplified due to the pandemic.” noted Charlotte Ortiz with Fonterra.

Plus this: For Fonterra, it’s a strategic way to put its 4.5 billion gallons of milk to work in an era when global fluid milk consumption is declining while brain-boosting and energy-enhancing foods are on the rise.

Where this goes: Lipid-loaded nutritional bars, ready-to-mix powders, and supplement sachets are launching into the active lifestyle market in the very near future.