| Your Regional Checkoff Update | July 19, 2024 | | |
Here are a few highlights from our region for this week. If you want more state-specific information, please contact your Ag Affairs manager. We have tons of updates to share!! | |
The Dairy Alliance Adopt-A-Cow Program reached over 11,000 classrooms last year
During the 2023-2024 school, the Adopt a Cow program reached over 11,000 classrooms in the Southeast region. Join the moo-vement that has impacted 1+ million students across the globe! Visit www.discoverdairy.com/adopt to learn more about the free program. ENjoy this recap video and a huge thank you to our host farms!! Watch here>>>
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FMMO Recommendations now Published in Federal Register
Julie Walker, ESprouts
On Monday, USDA released its Recommended Decision on Milk Pricing following the Federal Milk Market Order Hearings which took place beginning August 23, 2023, and concluded on January 30, 2024.
The Summary of that Hearing Process, along with many links to additional documents and statements from industry stakeholders is available here: National Milk Marketing Order Pricing Formula Hearing.
On July 15, 2024, that Recommended Decision was officially published in the Federal Register, which begins a 60-day comment period. For ease of reading and reference, you can PRINT and read a PDF of that language HERE (a 108 pg. pdf)
Farmers are encouraged to submit comments by September 13, 2024. Click here for Federal Register>>>
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The 2024 Southeast Value-Added Dairy Conference is quickly approaching!
Conference Information: The 2024 SEVAD annual conference will be held in Boone, North Carolina on July 30th and 31st with an optional farm tour on July 29th. This year the Southeast Dairy Business Innovation initiative will collaborate with the Carolina Meat Conference to provide hands-on educational and networking opportunities, innovative marketing and packaging techniques, how to get access to retail space, food safety and hazard audits, networking opportunities, hands-on training, and technical and business assistance. Registration Linked here:;
https://go.ncsu.edu/conference_registration
Scholarship Opportunity: Dairy-specific farmers, processors, students, apprentices, and allied businesses are eligible to receive a partial ($150 value) scholarship. If you are awarded a scholarship you will be sent a comp code via email which you will use to register for the conference using the Registration link.
Scholarship Application linked here:
https://go.ncsu.edu/scholarship_application
Dairy Competition: During the conference we will also be concurrently hosting the Southeast Farmstead Dairy products Competition & the Got to be NC Dairy Competition. The competition will be judged on Wednesday 31st at Appalachian State University, 287 Rivers Street, Boone, NC 28608. Please see the attached rules for eligibility requirements for the competition: https://go.ncsu.edu/dairycompetition
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USDA Makes Record-Breaking $14.3 Million Investment in Farm to School Grants
WTAQ
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA is awarding a record-breaking $14.3 million in Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants to 154 projects in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. These investments will help 1.9 million children eat more tasty, nutritious foods in school, while supporting farmers and producers in their local and regional communities.
“Farm to School is a huge win for children, schools, farmers, producers and communities,” said Secretary Vilsack. “When schools have access to fresh, local food options with homegrown flavor, they can serve delicious, healthy dishes that kids are excited to eat, while also supporting the local economy. These grants continue our work to address both food insecurity and nutrition insecurity, ensuring that we’re not only feeding kids, we’re feeding them well.”
This investment in the Farm to School Program supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and increase healthy eating by year 2030.
The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program helps child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods into meals served through USDA’s National School Lunch Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and SUN Programs: USDA’s Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids.
Farm to school opens opportunities for children to learn about nutrition and agriculture through hands-on experiences, such as planting, watering, and harvesting fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The program can also provide a pathway for more children to achieve nutrition security, which is the consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe and affordable food.. Read more here>>>
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UT Extension to Lead Value-Added Dairy Experiential Course
Cannon Courier
Dairy farmers, value-added dairy producer-processors and industry partners from Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and other southeastern states are invited to join a University of Tennessee Extension experiential learning course this fall. The course is part of the Southeast Dairy Business Innovation Initiative (SDBII).
The SDBII Northeast Experiential Learning Course is planned for September 2-7, 2024. Course participants will begin the excursion in Albany, New York, before traveling to central Vermont for four days of programming, including visits to cheese processing facilities, creameries and other value-added dairy ventures. Course participants will be able to network with dairy producers from across the United States and visit with collaborators from the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center (NE DBIC) located in Montpelier, Vermont.
In addition to these networking opportunities, course participants will have the opportunity to participate in on-farm learning at a variety of value-added dairy operations in the northeastern United States. The course itinerary includes nine stops at farms where participants will learn directly from farm owners and staff about a variety of topics such as on-farm marketing, product packaging and agritourism. These sessions are intended to help value-added entrepreneurs analyze, develop and grow their farm enterprises. While the program focuses on dairy producers and processors, interested technical assistance providers and industry partners are welcome to participate as well. Read more here >>>
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Weight-loss meds cut grocery spending by 11%
Supermarket News
Nearly all shoppers (97%) taking GLP-1 inhibitor drugs like Ozempic have cut their grocery spending this year by an average of 11%, according to the State of Digital Grocery Performance Scorecard by Grocery Doppio.
The data analytics company, in partnership with Wynshop and Incisiv, reports that snacks and confectionary, prepared baked goods, and sugary beverages experienced the biggest pullback from consumers.
Survey respondents said they increased their purchases of products like lean proteins (27%) and diet foods and meal replacements (19%).
Grocers are responding to the trending weight-loss meds by altering their product assortment (77%), increasing health-oriented digital marketing (71%), and offering in-store nutritional education (43%). Learn more here>>>
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USDEC Awarded $10 million in RAPP Funding to Help Develop International Markets for Dairy
The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) has been awarded $10 million in Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) funding to build partnerships with dairy farmers, processors, importers, distributors, retailers, foodservice operators, and policymakers in critical markets to cultivate dairy demand and trade.
Now more than ever, the U.S. dairy industry relies on exports. Milk from one out of six milk trucks leaving American dairy farms ends up in products and ingredients sold overseas. In 2023, U.S. dairy export value finished at $8.11 billion, the second-largest value of all time. This year, dairy exports were $2 billion through the first quarter. This new funding will allow USDEC to assist in delivering sustainable, healthy, nourishing U.S. dairy products to countries that lack an abundance of dairy in their diets while simultaneously creating mutually beneficial growth for the dairy sectors on all sides.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched RAPP in October 2023, authorizing $1.2 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation funding to help U.S. exporters diversify and expand market opportunities for U.S. agricultural products beyond the traditional top customers – Canada, Mexico, the European Union, and China – which collectively comprise nearly 60 percent of U.S. agricultural export sales. RAPP introduces new support for exports to other regions like Africa, which has 54 different countries and is not a singular, homogenous market.'
Read more here >>>
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Weight-loss meds cut grocery spending by 11%
Supermarket News
Nearly all shoppers (97%) taking GLP-1 inhibitor drugs like Ozempic have cut their grocery spending this year by an average of 11%, according to the State of Digital Grocery Performance Scorecard by Grocery Doppio.
The data analytics company, in partnership with Wynshop and Incisiv, reports that snacks and confectionary, prepared baked goods, and sugary beverages experienced the biggest pullback from consumers.
Survey respondents said they increased their purchases of products like lean proteins (27%) and diet foods and meal replacements (19%).
Grocers are responding to the trending weight-loss meds by altering their product assortment (77%), increasing health-oriented digital marketing (71%), and offering in-store nutritional education (43%). Learn more here>>>
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Other News Links (click link to view)
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Here's what The Dairy Alliance is sharing online this week: | | |
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Connect with us
@2024TheDairyAlliance
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