Dino Giacomazzi

http://www.alltech.com/kidzone/farmers/pages/FarmersDiary1.aspx

Just came across these videos on the farm aid website about the plight of the American dairy farmer. They are definately worth a watch.

http://www.farmaid.org/site/c.qlI5IhNVJsE/b.5456909/k.390B/2009_Webcast.htm

There is an interesting irony on this website though. Two of the major sponsors of the Farm Aid Concert are Horizon Organic milk and Silk. These two brands are owned by the very corporate farm companies that are causing the farmers to be broke in the first place. There is talk in these videos about milk manufacturers posting record profits while the dairy farmers go out of business. The company they are talking about is Dean Foods, the largest dairy processor in the US. Dean Foods owns Horizon Organic. So I suppose the irony is that Dean Foods is sponsoring an event that is essentially protesting them. This is a little like the tobacco companies advertising that you should quit smoking.

Take a look at the videos, they are very good.

DG

It’s fall, the corn has been harvested and this is the time we usually spread cow manure on the fields (organic fertilizer for crops). I didn’t realize that fall was also the time when our representatives spread their special kind of manure around Washington. The manure I speak of is Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee, and Representative David Obey (D-WI), the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, robbing $290 million destined for cheese and dairy product purchases for food banks and other nutrition and feeding programs and spending it on direct payments to dairy farmers. This allocation to help support the struggling dairy producers started out as $350 million to buy cheese for food banks. After these representatives got their hands on it they left only $60 million for the hungry and the rest in direct subsidies to farmers. “Why on earth does this dairy farmer oppose free money from the government?” I thought you would never ask, here is why:

Simply put, buying surplus cheese for immediate distribution in the form of food aid is a triple-net win-win-win. The use of the entire $350 million included for dairies in the 2010 Agriculture Appropriations conference report to reduce surplus cheese would have produced a much greater economic benefit to dairy farmers and related industries than direct payments. Cheese inventories need to be reduced in order for farm milk prices to rebound. The second win is the recipients of the cheese. Currently a record number of people rely on food banks whose inventories are critically low. The third win would go to the US government. I would suggest this administration could use a “feel good” story right now and a program that actually shows results.

The best part of this approach is that it benefits all dairymen equally. If the price of milk goes up a dollar, every dairyman gets a dollar for all his milk. The problem with direct payments is that they have caps. These caps cause an unequal distribution of the payments. So some dairymen get a benefit on all their milk while other dairymen get a benefit on a fraction of their milk.

Certainly an approach that treats all dairies across the country equally would be preferred but here is the real kicker to this deal. The MILC program (direct payments) actually prolongs the agony of lower prices by supporting and subsidizing the over production of milk. During a time of over supply it is in the interest of every dairy farmer across America to reduce the amount of surplus milk so that the price will go up. The idea of subsidizing dairy farmers to continue producing milk at surplus levels is counter productive.

I am a dairyman and I don’t want subsidies, I want a fair price for my milk. I believe that using the maximum amount of money available to the USDA to purchase surplus dairy products to feed the hungry is the smart, humanitarian thing to do. I believe that it will benefit all dairies equally via an increase in milk price. Do I think this is a long-term solution to our problem, no. But it is a fair and equitable solution for short term surplus management and the right thing for us to do.

I don’t want to have to answer the question when asked why I am taking welfare cash from the government when we have too much milk and people are going hungry. This is simply bad business and bad politics.

I suppose I sat down on a busy day here on the farm to express my disgust of this issue because I am tired of Washington and their constant politicizing of every issue as well as pandering to special interest groups. Yes that’s right, the mid-west and east coast dairy farmers, and the large dairy processors lobbied heavily to swipe $290 million from the mouths of America’s hungry in order to spread a few pennies amongst the dairymen and protect obscene profit margins by the processors.

It is time for all dairymen, east to west, large and small, Holstein, Jersey, and Brown Swiss to start taking a more holistic view of solving our price issues and realize that we need to invest in our entire industry and stop perpetuating these regional differences.

Dairymen in Wisconsin & New York, call your Senators and tell them that an economic analysis and USDA Cold Storage Report for August shows farmers could have gotten a better deal with a bigger cheese purchase and donation.

Ag Alert
Issue Date: September 23, 2009
By Ching Lee
Assistant Editor

Original Article

Farmers and ranchers say their use of social media helps them reach people who are unfamiliar with agriculture. Siskiyou County cattle rancher Jeff Fowle, above, says he hopes his online messages will influence the non-farming public’s perceptions of agriculture.

Whether he’s strolling through the corral, doing payroll at his desk or checking on a newborn calf, Stanislaus County dairy farmer Ray Prock likes to stop by what he calls his “virtual watercooler” to chat about his favorite topic: agriculture.

He does this by logging on to his Twitter account, a social networking Web site that allows users to exchange quick, frequent messages known as tweets. By firing up his computer or turning on his smartphone, Prock can get a glimpse of what people in the global community are saying—and talk back to them.
Read more…

Struggling dairy farmers debate breeding technique
Published online on Friday, Oct. 02, 2009
By Robert Rodriguez / The Fresno Bee

The use of a specialized breeding technique to boost the number of milking cows by thousands is generating debate in California’s dairy industry.

Some say it doesn’t make sense to produce more milk as farmers struggle with low prices, high debt and an oversupply. But supporters of the technology say it could be a valuable tool for efficiently raising more cows — and ultimately ramping up production when demand rises.

In the central San Joaquin Valley, the heart of the nation’s dairy industry, the slumping dairy economy has hit farmers hard. Many dairy farmers are losing money, while others have left the industry.
Read more…

What’s the deal with celebrity endorsements of issues they don’t understand? It never ceases to amaze me how gullible these people can be. Take for example this article on ecorazzi.com. All these “celebrities”, including the very balanced Bill Mahr and the long time faux leather wearing Bob Barker, have signed on a letter with Farm Sanctuary supporting the “Tail Docking Bill”.

I am a California dairy farmer and I also support the bill. Tail docking is a practice that was experimented with 10 years ago or so to see if there would be a benefit to milk quality. It was soon discovered there was no advantage to the dairy farmer, the cow, or the milk so the practice soon ended.
Read more…

Asm. Danny Gilmore 6.3.09 Assembly Floor from CA Assembly GOP on Vimeo.

Assemblyman Danny D. Gilmore came to Sacramento to fight for water for the Central Valley and spoke out against AB 49 on the floor of the Assembly earlier this month. The Legislature’s failure to end this water crisis as the legislative session came to a close, continues to deepen the Valley’s pain. With farms dying, thousands of workers losing their jobs, and our economy continuing to fall, the Legislature needs to pass a truly comprehensive water solution that boosts water supplies. The solution must include storage, conveyance, and conservation. It is absolutely imperative that the Governor call a special session in order for the Legislature to come together and continue working on an all-inclusive plan that gives the Valley relief as soon as possible.

Source: http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/30/?p=media&sid=211&id=1894

Here is an email I recieved from Congressman Nunes’ office regarding Hannity’s work to bring attention to this man made natural disaster. It would be great if you all could attend.

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Read more…

Please take a moment to support farmers & dairymen by telling your story or showing your support for H.R. 3524 the Family Farm Preservation Estate Tax Act (Mike Thompson, D-CA).

Take action to urge your Congressional Representative to sign on as a cosponsor of H.R. 3524. Please do this by clicking one of the links below. That link will provide you with an opportunity to write your own story or send a form letter to your congressman.

This legislation improves the business climate while ensuring farms and ranches can be passed on to future generations. If passed, H.R. 3524 will:

* Exempt farm and ranch assets from federal estate taxes as long as the operation remains as a family agricultural operation.
* Exclude land enrolled in a qualified conservation easement from federal estate taxes.

Considering the tax-reform legislation that was approved in 2001 will phase out the estate tax entirely in 2010, Congress will likely be taking up this item this fall.
Your personal stories are needed to help lawmakers understand how farming and ranching operations differ from other businesses. Help keep farming operations viable, urge your Representative to sign on as a cosponsor of H.R. 3524.

If you live in California, use this link:
http://bit.ly/1Xj8p

If you live outside of California use this link:
http://www.capwiz.com/cfbf/issue…

Thanks for your attention and please pass this on to any farmer or farm supporter you know.