JUNEAU, Wis. — It’s been a busy week for many dairy producers, as they finish planting and harvesting first crop in between the rain.
It’s also been a big week on The Dairy Signal™, a weekly series of free educational episodes, developed by fellow dairy farmers from the Professional Dairy Producers® (PDPW) Board of Directors, offering insights and resources for fellow dairy farmers and other food system professionals throughout the value chain.
The episodes air live from 12:00-1:00 PM CT each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Each live session offers viewers the opportunity to engage in open Q&A and interact with the speakers through www.slido.com, by entering event code #myPDPW.
Randy Romanski, Secretary Designee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), announced the timeline and eligibility requirements of the Wisconsin Farm Support Program, which will provide $50 million in direct aid payments to Wisconsin farmers who have experienced losses due to COVID-19. Applications for this funding, administered by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, will be accepted starting June 15 and close on June 29. Eligible farmers should apply online through the Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR): https://revenue.wi.gov. Farmers who cannot apply online may call 608-266-2772.
Sandy Chalmers, State Executive Director for the Wisconsin FSA, announced $16 billion is also available to producers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Those eligible and apply by Aug. 28, will receive payment. As of Tuesday, June 9, $1.4 billion in assistance had already been paid out to producers, with the dairy industry specifically receiving $337 million. More information is available through Farmers.gov.
Reviewing the dairy economic landscape, Dan Basse, Economist and President of AgResource Company, a domestic and international agricultural research firm, said Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) purchases, the food service industry opening up, and China buying more dairy product has kept June Class III milk at its best price levels since November 2019 – over $20/cwt. He advised producers to think forward and protect your quarter three and four milk margins.
In addition, Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, said their organization is figuring out new ways to tell the dairy story, especially during June Dairy Month, where they interviewed 40 to 50 dairy farmers across the state and are now airing those segments on a variety of social media and news outlets.
This is just a glimpse of what viewers heard this week on The Dairy Signal. More in-depth details and full episodes are available on the PDPW website at www.pdpw.org.
The line-up for week 11 of The Dairy Signal
This week’s episodes will feature several new faces and topics including Mary Bauer, Compliance Assistance Specialist of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the Eau Claire Area, Dr. Casper Bendixsen, Director of the National Farm Medicine Center, Brandon Scholz, President and CEO of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, and Susan Quam, Executive Vice President of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
Returning to the line-up are Dr. Mark Stephenson of UW-Madison, Director of Dairy Policy Analysis and Director of Wisconsin’s Center for Dairy Profitability, and Jim Mulhern, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).
Our dairy industry and lives are changing daily and our need for accurate business information is vital. Content on The Dairy Signal will be updated as new information becomes available.
Here is a look at next week’s presenters and topics:
Tuesday, June 16
Topic: Hear an update from Washington. Find out what we have to look forward to in agriculture and what policies are being discussed that will impact our industry. Presenters include:
- Dr. Mark Stephenson of UW-Madison Director of Dairy Policy Analysis and Director of Wisconsin’s Center for Dairy Profitability
- Jim Mulhern, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF)
Wednesday, June 17
Topic: A COVID-19 outbreak on a farm could be catastrophic by jeopardizing the health of the team members and getting essential product to market. Learn about OSHA and CDC interim guidelines for Agricultural Workers and Employers to keep essential workers safe. Episode presenters include:
- Mary Bauer, Compliance Assistance Specialist, of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Eau Claire Area
- Dr. Casper Bendixsen, Director, National Farm Medicine Center
Thursday, June 18
Topic: Experts will talk about how and what kind of impact the COVID-19 situation has had on different sectors of the food industry, specifically restaurants and grocery stores and what the future holds when it comes to vulnerability and opportunity. Episode presenters include:
- Brandon Scholz, President and CEO of the Wisconsin Grocers Association
- Susan Quam, Executive Vice President of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association
We need to continue to connect through conversation. Chad Vincent said, “People need to hear the dairy story and they need to hear it from farmers – consumers want to know their dairy comes from farms that know how to treat the land, animals, environment, and water.”
All Dairy Signal episodes are free and open to the public, accessible from www.pdpw.org. For more information, contact PDPW at 800-947-7379 or by emailing mail@pdpw.org. Follow along digitally in advance of and during the sessions by following @dairyPDPW and using #TheDairySignal on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Professional Dairy Producers (PDPW) is the nation’s largest dairy producer-led organization of its kind, focusing on producer professionalism, stakeholder engagement and unified outreach to share ideas, solutions, resources, and experiences that help dairy producers succeed.
— PDPW
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