| Show Agriculture Dairy update support making center possible Grass-root- s By Julie Clark Simon agricultural editor Almost every penny supporting the new Western Dairy Foods Research Center in Logan comes from the people who have the most to gain from the project: farners Speaking at the official opening of the center Thursday Rodney Brown head of the department of nutrition and food sciences said the center will receive $2 million over the next five years from the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board for product research and the development of processing technology Brown was one of six speakers at the ceremony which drew local state and national dairy leaders to the Sonne Room in the University Inn Brown emphasized that the board which was formed by The Dairy and Tobacco Adjustment Act of 1983 is funded not by the government but by the dairy farmers themselves Producers pay a 15 cent per hundredweight assessment on the milk they produce to fund research and education directed toward one overriding goal: to sell more milk and dairy products For this reason the centers will seek to increase research output on dairy products and to encourage a rise in the number of dairy food scientists The Western Dairy Foods Research Center is the first of six programs that the national board plans to fund And the Logan center has already attracted support from local and regional organizations Brown pointed put The Utah Dairy Council and its counterparts in Oregon Idaho Colorado Montana and Wyoming are providing $150000 to assist the center Several companies involved in manufacturing dairy products are providing additional support and the United States Department of Agriculture is contributing Brown pointed out that the dairy centers will allow the concentration of a “critical mass" of researchers who will benefit from being freed to concentrate on specific problems and from working in close contact with each other For this reason he said formation of the new dairy centers will allow research funds to be used in the best way possible He and the center’s director Dr Gary Richardson a USU professor of nutrition and food sciences and assistant director of the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station stressed that USU was chosen as a center site thanks to the university’s longstanding committment to dairy research They said researchers from USU Oregon State University and Brigham Young University will join forces in the center to focus on new processes and quality improvements in cheese and other coagulated milk products “I think we’ll see great things come out of this center’’ said Lynn Meikle a Smithfield dairy farmer and a member of the national board Joe Lyon chairman of the national board’s product research committee agreed praising the high quality of local researchers He said it’s no accident that the first of the d research centers is opening at USU “As long as I can remember USU has been a leader in doing (agriculture) research" he said In a news release from the national board Lyon said “I think this effort will really pay big dividends down the road by leading to better productions better packaging and a better future for dairy farmers" Doyle J Matthews dean of the USU College of Agriculture and director of the Agricultural Experiment Station said it is “stimulating" to see the industry devoting its resources to the center project He pointed out that compared to other industrial nationas such as Japan the United States is falling behind in funding research on industrial issues This country allocates only about 1 percent of its research funds to such projects Therefore he said it’s a positive step for industry to take research into its own hands He said USU would endeavor to be “a good partner" in the dairy industry's effort to help itself Cap Ferry commissioner of Utah Department of Agriculture said he was proud both for Utah and for himself — he’s a USU alumnus — that the center is opening board-funde- hormone could be management tool researcher says Milk-boosti- ng By Barbara Stinson Lee correspondent Despite the fact that dairy are faced with an oversupply of their product they still must keep up with farmers current research and technology that increases milk production That’s the message from Dr Robert Lamb dairy research leader for the Agricultural Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture and adjunct professor of dairy science at Utah State University He was one of Jim JoiinsonHerald Journal AA VI lllinny IImlie 1 1 1 I VX 1 1 1 while the debate about the future of the dairy industry continues Holsteins at the Utah State University Caine Dairy and Research Center do what they do best — produce milk Visiting agriculture officials and local regional and national dairy officials visited the Caine facility last week after the ceremony 'that marked the official opening of the new Western Dairy Foods Research Center at USU The bovine growth hormone the latest in a long list of dairy technology advances is a natural protein that is produced in the pituitary gland of cattle Like other proteins bST is of amino acid It composed helps coordinate how energy from feed is allocated to meet cows' physical need such as growth in young animals milk productions and other bodily functions Supplemental bST stimulates cows to produce more milk from a proportionately smaller increase in feed consumption several speakers featured at according to the animal last week's commodity confer- experts ence held as part of the annual Lamb said bST can be Utah Farm Bureau Federation expected to produce increases convention in Salt Lake City of 10 to 15 percent per cow (For more on the conference It iias been feared that bST see the story below) would favor large herds" Lamb saijd he doesn't Lamb said “But because it can only be advocate the use of new technology just because he administrated by daily injection it would really be imworks in research “The way I see it is the new practical for large herds 1 see technology is going to happen it more as a management tool and our dairy farmers need to than something that will favor herd size” be prepared for it" he said "In finding answers and concern for The advantages for farmers and farmersbiggest bST whichdairy has using consumers we can't ignore not yet been authorized for use technology that increases proby the Food and Drug Adductivity" “In the next two years” ministration is how consumers react to it said Lamb Lamb said "bovine might concern must be for the “Our somatotropin (bST) will have a definite impact on the dairy See BUREAU on page 40 Industry" Dairy leader urges farmers to present united front By Barbara Stinson Lee correspondent SALT LAKE CITY — Many people attending the Utah Farm Bureau Federation’s 70th annual convention in Salt Lake last week greeted each other this way "Are you still in the farm business?” That reference to recent hard times in American agriculture was offered only half in jest And all the joking ceased when farmers settled down to serious business in the convention’s informational commodities conference Wednesday dairy farmers tackled the problem of how to balance production with demand — in other words how to enhance milk prices without increasing production That issue is the most important one facing the US dairy Western industry said Tom Caiherlo president of the Dairymen Cooperative which includes the local Cache Valley Dairy Camerlo a dairy farmer from Colorado is also president of the National Milk Producers Federation and a member of the National Commission on Dairy Policy He and other speakers placed promotion of dairy products high on the list of industry issues which could have an impact on product prices and 10-sta- te consumption “Our current promotions could be better" he said urging farmers to start looking at unifying programs to eliminate duplication Promotion programs must begin at the grassroots level he added Such programs are designed to fight the oversupply problem by encouraging consumers to use more milk products But solving the oversupply problem isn’t going to be easy Camerlo said it is difficult to predict and to work with patterns of production growth that are increasingly affected by genetic changes and new technology (See related story on this page) The changes have created a trend toward increased production per cow thus increasing the flow of milk Between 1990 and 1993 the United States will need 2 million fewer cows he said “This will present a huge problem for the dairy industry” he said He said an effective method of setting support prices will have to be developed Camerlo said he favors an indexing formula that would take food costs and into consideration cost of production he such He would said an index to other prefer productivity price setting formulas determined by congressional legislation parity or administrative decision-makin- g He pointed out that the dairy industry stands to be hard-hi- t by current attempts to cut the national budget If the Gramm-Rudma- n bill is implemented it is sure to reduce price he but pointed supports Despite looming financial problems Camerlo said the dairy industry can turn around and be healthy But warned Utah faces competition from California which has a growing and efficient cheese industry “California has the market They are very organized and have efficient cooperatives" he said Utah and Idaho cheese manufacturers on the other hand are hampered by inefficient plants and a lack of direction he contended “We’re also a long distance from our markets which are now in Texas and the Southeast Camerlo recommended local dairy farmers plan to expand production of specialty cheeses and unify their production “We don't seem to be able to unify unless we’re bleeding to death” he said Calling local dairy farmers an important part of the g process in a rapidly changing industry Camerlo urged them to work for government programs designed so that states can’t use them in ways other than they were intended (He was referring to the fact that some manufacturers overproduce products specifically so they can be sold to the policy-makin- government) “We have to take our hats to the past but our coats off to the future” he said urging dairy farmers to plan ahead In related remarks Camerlo said efforts at improving food safety and quality will hit the dairy industry hard Camerlo said “Old plants will have to be redesigned and that will be very expensive for some dairy farmers” he explained He said new tests to monitor drug use in dairy herds will also change the industry “Any of us using drugs appropriately or inappropriately will be able to test and find drugs which may be contaminating our herds” He urged all dairy farmers to only use drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration and to be aware of withdrawal times for each individual drug ea Agriculture report headed for nationals 4-H'- Two Cache county at the National 4-- H will represent Utah Congress in Chicago Dec 5-- leader Scott McKendrick assistant state at Utah State University said they will compete for scholarships and prizes with approximately from around the 1500 of the best 4-- H country Penny Woodbrey Petersboro and Larry Neilson Smithfield will represent Utah and safety and photography projects respectively Woodbrey 16 started her safety projects after her family experienced a chimney fire and close friends lost their baby in a trailer fire Since then she and other members of the Wise Owl Safety Club have been active in fire traffic babysitter and canal safety projects Her trip to National Congress is sponsored by the General Cache counties in 4-- H Motors Foundation Inc Neilson 15 has excelled in photography like his brother and sister before him Many of 4-- H the family trips have revolved around taking pictures He says his second favorite project is woodworking and he has made many pieces of furniture around the house His trip to Chicago is provided by the Eastman Kodak Co panel of economic experts gathered in Boise “I don’t see any imminent disaster" said Don Foods Holley an economic analyst for Ore-Id-a Inc ‘‘By the same token I don’t see any great growth or development coming I don’t see Idaho status quo may continue Cor Hofman economic department chairman at Idaho State University said farm exports may improve soon as the dollar falls But he said fertilizer production an important industry in southeast Idaho is still down BOISE Idaho (UPI) — Idaho’s agriculture industries will see and other resource-base- d little or no growth in the near future said a much of anything |
