Digest Highlights: An injunction halts Arla’s ad campaign involving rbST. Facility audit agreement gives more access to dairy markets in China. April fluid milk sales faltered. You can be a National Dairy Board director. Find a summary of these and other dairy news here.
Judge halts Arla anti-rbST campaign
A federal court granted Eli Lilly and Company and Elanco U.S. Inc.'s motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction against Arla Foods and its "Live Unprocessed" ad campaign.
Chief Judge William Griesbach, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, stopped Arla from continuing to run the television and social media ads. As part of the campaign, launched in late April, Arla featured a child's animated interpretation of recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST) as a six-eyed monster with "razor-sharp horns" and electrified fur.
Approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 1993, Elanco markets rbST under the brand name Posilac.
The judge further prohibited Arla from claiming that rbST/Posilac or dairy products made from cows supplemented with rbST/Posilac are dangerous or unsafe; that dairy products made from milk of cows supplemented with rbST/Posilac are of lesser quality or less wholesome than other dairy products; or that consumers should not feel “good about eating” or “serving to their friends and family” dairy products made from milk of cows supplemented with rbST/Posilac. He denied a request requiring Arla to publish “corrective” advertising.
Source: Court documents
Agreement opens U.S. dairy access to China
A memorandum of understanding (MOU) could increase U.S. dairy exporter access to China.
In May 2014, the Chinese government mandated exporting nations register and certify that dairy facilities meet Chinese food safety standards. Without a resolution, no new U.S. dairy plants could be added to China’s import registry.
U.S. Dairy Export Council and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) staff worked for more than two years with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China to implement a workable process. The MOU outlines a process in which third-party certification entities, on FDA’s behalf, will audit U.S. dairy facilities for compliance.
China is already the world’s largest dairy importer, and the third-leading U.S. dairy export market, behind Mexico and Canada.
Source: NMPF
April fluid milk sales falter
After showing signs of strength in March, April fluid milk sales faltered.
April 2017 total U.S. packaged fluid milk sales were down 6.1 percent from April 2016. Sales of conventional products totaled 3.64 billion pounds, down 6.2 percent. Sales of organic products, at 201 million pounds, were down 5.6 percent. Organic represented about 5.2 percent of total sales for the month.
Bucking recent positive trends, sales of whole conventional milk were down 0.6 percent compared to a year earlier, and sales of organic whole milk were up just 1.4 percent.
The U.S. figures represent consumption of fluid milk products in federal milk order marketing areas and California, which account for approximately 92 percent of total U.S. fluid milk sales.
Source: USDA Dairy Market News
National Dairy Board nominees sought
Want to have a greater say in how your dairy checkoff dollars are spent? July 10 is the nomination deadline for regional directors to serve on the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. Those selected will join the board on Nov. 1 and serve three-year terms.
Nominations are being accepted for: Region 1 (Alaska, Oregon and Washington); Region 3 (Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Wyoming); Region 4 (Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas); Region 5 (Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota); Region 6 (Wisconsin); Region 7 (Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska); Region 8 (Idaho); Region 9 (Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia); Region 10 (Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia); and Region 12 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont).
For nominating forms and information, visit https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/research-promotion/dairy
Source: USDA
IFCN: World dairy price crisis is over
The IFCN Dairy Research Network, an international body of dairy researchers, has declared a two-year down cycle in global dairy prices over. However, due to a rise in milk production worldwide, short-term dairy prices are not likely to show a significant increase.
Persistent low prices over the last two years triggered the lowest global milk production growth since 1998. Production gains in India, the U.S. and the Netherlands was offset by lower production growth in China, Brazil, Argentina and Oceania. Demand growth has not yet fully recovered, but milk import demand has picked up in China, Brazil, the Philippines and Mexico.
While declaring the recent cycle ended, Dr. Torsten Hemme, IFCN managing director, urged the global dairy industry to prepare for the next one. The issue of large stocks remains of major uncertainty. Furthermore, oil and feed prices should be stable.
Source: IFCN
Court ruling limits FAA oversight of ‘hobby’ drones, but probably not those used in agriculture
A court ruling regarding Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) registration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones) will probably have limited impact on farm operators, according to Paul Goeringer, Extension legal specialist in the University of Maryland Department of Agricultural and Resources Economics.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Taylor v. Huerta, No. 15-1495, 2017 WL 2192935) ruled FAA’s registration requirements for all UAVs, including hobby aircraft, violated federal law.
In 2012, Congress passed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act, codifying FAA’s longstanding view of exempting model aircraft. In 2015, FAA announced final rules, creating an online registration process and requiring a $5 fee, with FAA issuing a unique identifier number for all UAVs.
The ruling leaves some unanswered questions. Farmers using drones primarily for recreation and only occasionally for business should still consider FAA registration to avoid potential penalties, Goeringer said. UAVs will likely be the subject of future lawsuits to provide a clearer picture of FAA registration authority.
Source: Maryland Risk Management Education Blog 
-
Dave Natzke
- Editor
- Progressive Dairyman
- Email Dave Natzke
