May 15, 2019: Dairy Week in Review

USDA’s latest export data shows March dairy export levels at the highest level in the past seven months, but still down 12 percent from levels a year ago. US suppliers moved record shipments of cheese in March, with total cheese exports up 10 percent year-over-year to 37,190 tons. Overall, suppliers shipped 186,185 tons of dairy overseas in March, with butterfat exports down 33 percent and exports of whole milk powder falling 76 percent. The total value of dairy exports in March was $538.3 million, up 4 percent from the previous March. Mexico remains the top market for US
dairy exports. Read More

May 17, 2019: Crop Progress

Significant weather events have dominated the headlines numerous times over the last few months. USDA released a Crop Progress report on May 13, 2019 that hints to what these events mean for spring planting across the country. I just moved to Pennsylvania in December, so I am not yet familiar with the state’s typical weather patterns. I hear a lot of talk about how wet it has been this year and all last year. The current Crop Progress report may suggest that current U.S. weather patterns are holding up spring planting. Read More

Stay Safe During the Spring Rush

A couple of years ago, the Center joined with the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania to introduce a safety initiative that included Safety Shares at our meetings and a Safety Corner on our website. The idea was to encourage producers to share “near-miss” situations they have had on the farm that reminded them how important it is to make safety a priority.

The reason why we introduced this initiative is because of the devastating statistics around farm safety. Every day, more than 240 agricultural workers and farm employees suffer serious lost-work-time injuries. Five percent of these injuries result in permanent impairment, with the fatality rate for agricultural workers seven times higher than the average for all workers in the private sector.

READ MORE.