Farm bill momentum could fade with new Congress

The House passed its farm bill in April, and the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version this fall. Midwest Council on Agriculture President Perry Aasness is encouraging Congress to keep the process moving after the midterm elections. “If they don’t get it done by the end of the year, the calendar turns to the next Congress,” Aasness said. “There’ll be new leadership, new issues; it’s going to be really hard to see a path forward to getting something done very soon in the next Congress.” If passed in the Senate, the farm bill will also need to be conferenced with the House. “It’ll likely be attached to some sort of must-pass legislation before the end of the year,” Aasness said. The current farm bill was passed in 2018, and Aasness said agriculture has changed considerably since then. Aasness is the vice president of legislative affairs for Compeer Financial.

Beef-on-dairy keeping cows in production longer

CoBank dairy economist Corey Geiger sees one of the biggest drivers in today’s dairy market as the value of beef-on-dairy calves. Geiger says beef-on-dairy has kept more cows in production; “Five years ago, beef-on-dairy, cull cows and beef-on-dairy calves were contributing about 5% to on-farm revenue, with milk checks being the other 95%. Today, we are nipping and pushing close to 20% of revenue on farms coming from cull cows and beef-on-dairy calves, and so what’s happening? We’re retaining older cows. The dairy herd is now at the highest level in 34 years, and we’re making a lot of cheese.” Geiger points to changing consumer habits as another reason for optimism about dairy demand. For people on glucagon-like peptide-1 weight-loss meds, the demand for protein is pushing sales of beef, whey protein isolates, milk protein concentrate and yogurt.

GLP-1 drugs could reshape food demand

The rapid growth in GLP-1 weight-loss drugs could have long-term implications for agriculture as consumers eat less and change what they put in their grocery carts. Gallup reports 11% of U.S. adults currently use GLP-1 medications for weight loss. Terrain research points to lower overall food consumption and changing food preferences among users. Terrain specialty crop analyst Matt Woolf said farmers need to pay attention to those trends when making long-term production and marketing decisions. “In ag, we tend to focus quite a bit on the beginning of the supply chain, talking about weather, talking about cost of production,” Woolf said. “What we’re trying to do with this report and subsequent reports that Terrain will be releasing is focus on the other side of the supply chain.” Woolf said consumer behavior can change quickly, while agriculture takes much longer to adjust.

NMPF board endorses risk management enhancements

The National Milk Producers Federation is backing changes designed to strengthen two key dairy risk management programs. Its board of directors approved support for proposed improvements to Dairy Margin Coverage and Dairy Revenue Protection. The board also supports changing the federal standard for nonfat dry milk.

Familiar issues likely to be heard in St. Paul

Minnesota agriculture groups are preparing for the 2027 legislative session, with several familiar issues expected to return to the Capitol. “We will see some of these environmental issues continue to be on the table,” said Amber Glaeser, director of state government and industry affairs, Land O’Lakes. “There are also issues that are important to rural communities, right? Data centers, health care and those other pieces that aren’t necessarily ag central issues, but are definitely kitchen table issues.”

Milk production pushes higher

Milk production in the 24 major dairy states during September totaled 18.7 billion pounds, up 2.7% from one year ago. In this region, South Dakota milk output is up 7.9% with the addition of 17,000 milk cows in the past 12 months. Minnesota milk production rose 2.3% with 6,000 additional cows in the past year.

Animal rights activism takes to the skies

The Animal Agriculture Alliance is raising concerns about drones being used around livestock operations, bringing farm security and privacy into question. “We’re seeing activists fly these drones over properties to kind of surveil the land, get a layout, see where certain barns are on the property to see where different things are taking place, but we’re also seeing them use those drones to record and capture photos and videos that they can then splice together into these videos that you oftentimes see on social media that negatively depict or portray animal agriculture.” The conversation surrounding animal agriculture is also reaching the ballot box. “We’re actually keeping an eye on two different ballot measures, one in Washington, DC, and then one in Denver, Colorado. Both of those are seeking to ban foie gras sales in the city.” Emily Ellis, director communications and marketing, Animal Agriculture Alliance, sees these votes as a precedent for future restrictions on livestock products, raising questions about how far local governments may go in regulating animal agriculture.

Access to capital cited as barrier for young producers

Access to financing remains one of the biggest challenges for the next generation of farmers. At the Minnesota AgriGrowth Fall Summit, Stone Dairy’s Anthony Anderson and Circle S Cattle Company’s Mark Schoenfeld discussed the obstacles young producers face when trying to enter agriculture. Both identified access to capital as a primary barrier. They also encouraged agricultural lenders, cooperatives and other industry leaders to help connect aspiring farmers with established producers who do not have identified successors. Those relationships could create new opportunities for farm transitions and help preserve the next generation of family farming operations.

Herrick returns to IDFA as president/CEO

At the beginning of the year, Matt Herrick will take over as president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association. Herrick returns to IDFA after serving in a similar role for the International Bottled Water Association. He previously spent seven years on the IDFA executive team, including time as executive vice president and chief impact officer. Herrick previously served in senior leadership roles at USDA and the U.S. Agency for International Development in both Democratic and Republica administrations. Herrick succeeds Michael Dykes, who is retiring.

Addington on national FFA officer team

A Minnesotan will serve on the national FFA officer team. Cameron Addition is from the Cannon Falls FFA Chapter; he served as president of the Minnesota FFA last year and is a student at Iowa State University, studying agronomy.

Dairy checkoff leaders elected

Leaders of Dairy Management Inc., National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and United Dairy Industry Association have announced their election results. Two Minnesotans are part of the UDIA board. Charles Krause of Buffalo is the chair, and Tom Walsh of De Graff is the treasurer.

UM appoints dean for college of agriculture

Effective Feb. 15, Shibu Jose will become dean of the University of Minnesota College of Agricultural and Natural Resources and director of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station. Brian Buhr stepped down as dean of the University of Minnesota July 1; Linda Nagel is serving as interim dean. Jose is now an associate dean at the University of Missouri and also spent time at the University of Florida.

AgriGrowth honors Rest, Torkelson

Two retiring Minnesota lawmakers are being recognized for their contributions to agriculture and rural communities. State Senator Ann Rest and State Representative Paul Torkelson received the inaugural Minnesota AgriGrowth Farm and Food Legacy Award.

Trivia challenge

In 1969, delegates to the National Future Farmers of America voted to admit female members to the organization. That answers our last trivia question. For this week’s trivia, how many pounds of milk are needed to manufacture one gallon of ice cream? We’ll have the answer in our next edition of the Dairy Star.

Don Wick is owner/broadcaster for the Red River Farm Network of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wick has been recognized as the National Farm Broadcaster of the Year and served as president of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting. Don and his wife, Kolleen, have two sons, Tony and Sam, and five grandchildren, Aiden, Piper, Adrienne, Aurora and Sterling.