🚫 FDA says aspirin is illegal 🌎 What an immigration crackdown could mean for dairy 🔎 USDA's bird flu response critiqued

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FDA reminds farmers and veterinarians that aspirin is illegal to use in dairy cattle (2 minute read)

On October 11, the FDA published a “Dear Veterinarian” letter as a reminder that extralabel use of unapproved drugs is illegal in food-producing animals. The FDA had previously stated aspirin use was of “low regulatory concern,” but recent increase in use and questions from the public have caused the department to change its position and state that its use is illegal. Veterinarians have the ability to prescribe drugs in an extralabel when certain conditions are met, including a valid VCPR, no violative residues result, and only approved human and animal drugs may be used; because (most) aspirin is not FDA-approved, it cannot be used in an extralabel manner.

Summer scour syndrome in grazing operations (3 minute read)

Summer scour syndrome, a disease process with non-specific clinical signs like diarrhea, ill-thrift, weight loss, ulcers in the mouth and esophagus, browning of the hair coat, and death in extreme cases has been seen to affect dairy and dairy-beef calves in pasture-based management systems in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. It tends to affect calves in their first grazing season and there is annual variation in prevalence. Higher blood urea nitrogen has been observed in affected herds, but its significance not yet determined.

The New Dairy Concept aims to help grazing dairies (4 minute read)

While grazing dairies are not the norm in the U.S., they offer an opportunity and an alternative to confinement operations. The New Dairy Concept is an initiative that aims to create a network of strategically located grazing operations that would equate to a 3,000-cow operation. The network would allow these small- to mid-size grazing dairies take advantage of economies of scale currently reserved for large dairies.

Many fail to understand what an immigration crackdown could mean for food prices (10 minute read)

Labor is one of the greatest challenges dairies face, both in terms of cost and availability. Immigrant labor fills an important need for dairies that are otherwise unable to find the help they need to run their operations and while visas are available for seasonal workers, dairies cannot take advantage of these programs due to their year-round nature. There has been push back on the use of immigrant labor in recent years and states, like Idaho, are introducing bills that would severely limit the ability of dairy farms and other businesses to use immigrant labor. What many proponents of these bills fail to realize is catastrophic effect it would have on the dairy industry; it would not just raise prices, it would put farms out of business and cut the nation’s milk supply.

Byrne Dairy’s milk with 13-month shelf life (1 minute read)

Among others, Byrne Dairy, in New York, is producing aseptic milk, with a non-refrigerated shelf life of 13 months. The milk is steam-sterilized at 285-degrees fahrenheit, eliminating all bacteria and allowing it to be stored at room temperature. The concept is gaining traction with schools and companies that use a lot of milk, with reduced waste and shipping costs.

Supply and demand expectations for global dairy trade (6 minute read)

Rabobank dairy analysts expect global dairy demand to grow from 95 million metric tons (MMT) to 115 MMT over the next decade. Europe and Oceania are expected to see production decline by around 10 MMT with the U.S. and South America filling the void.

New Zealand escalates trade dispute with Canada (2 minute read)

New Zealand has requested “mandatory negotiations” in the complaint originally filed in May, claiming Canada’s dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs) violate the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade agreement. The negotiations must begin within 15 days. A CPTPP panel said, in September 2023, that Canada’s administration of dairy quotas does not meet their obligations under CPTPP.

Vast majority of parents support whole and 2% milk in school lunches (3 minute read)

More than a decade ago whole and 2% milk were removed from school lunch programs. A recent poll commissioned by the International Dairy Foods Association shows that nine out of ten parents want to see whole or 2% milk returned to school lunch programs. Surprisingly, more than half of parents believe these milk options are currently being served as part of school lunch programs.

Anaerobic digesters promoted as solution to methane (5 minute read)

In a congressional briefing on October 18, the potential of significantly reducing U.S. agriculture methane emissions through the use of anaerobic digesters. The U.S. is a participant in the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane production by 30 percent by 2030, relative to 2020 levels; it is estimated that deploying an additional 5,000 digesters across the U.S. would net 14% of the goal.

840 tags required beginning Nov. 5 (4 minute read)

Beginning November 5, 2024, the USDA will require 840-series RFID tags as official identification for the interstate movement of cattle. There is no change in the classes of cattle (and bison) requiring identification for interstate movement, only the type of tag considered official identification.

September production up slightly from year-ago (2 minute read)

August and September posted slight year-over-year production increases of 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, while total cow numbers decreased by 20,000 head. Average production per cow was up 8 pounds over September 2023.

California human HPAI case count rises to 15 (2 minute read)

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed two additional human cases of HPAI, bringing the state’s total to 15 and the national total to 27. The first human case of HPAI was reported in Merced county earlier in the week, but it is not clear if this case is included in the current count.

Some Utah dairies to undergo mandatory HPAI surveillance (2 minute read)

Dairies in Cache county, Utah, will be subject to mandatory weekly bulk tank testing for HPAI. There are no known cases of HPAI in dairy cattle in the area, but a flock of 1.8 million chickens in the county was recently determined to be infected with the same strain of the virus that affects dairy cows.

How did bird flu arrive in California? (3 minute read)

While state officials continue to investigate the origin of HPAI in California, at least one plausible story has been confirmed. At the end of July or early August a Tulare County dairy shipped a load of cows to Idaho; the cows were refused and returned to California. The cows are suspected to have been infected at some point during this transit.

The USDA’s inadequate HPAI response (10 minute read)

The USDA is responsible for, both, promoting and protecting agricultural trade, and managing the health and safety of the country’s food-producing animals. These sometimes conflicting mandates may have contributed to inaction by the department and the spread of HPAI across 14 states.

Biomarker for Avian flu detectable in Texas wastewater weeks before cattle outbreak started (2 minute read)

Stanford University’s WastewaterSCAN team retrospectively developed and deployed a probe for a biomarker of avian influenza to wastewater treatment plants across the U.S. The probe was able to detect the marker for H5N1 at three Texas treatment plants two weeks before cases were reported and a month before the virus was confirmed.

Commodity	Price	Change (1 2 wk.)
Class III Milk	22.72	⬆️ 0.11
Corn	4.21	⬆️ 0.01
Soybeans	9.96	⬇️ 0.23
Live Cattle	1.89	➡️ 0.00
Feeder Cattle	2.49	⬇️ 0.01

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