DFA Mid-East Leadership Conference

On Thursday I had the good fortune to be invited to the Dairy Farmers of America Mid-East Region Leadership Conference.

The first person to speak was Rick Smith. President and CEO of DFA.

He started out by telling the conference not to worry about DFA during this difficult time. Farmers had enough to worry about with the survival of their business. He told them that as bad it is in other parts of the country Colorado was “Ground Zero”. There the bank which most of the farmers did their business with had collapsed. Loans where about to be sold. It is hoped that these will be bought by other banks, however that there is the real possibility that “vultures” will buy these loans at a knock down price and try and make a quick buck by foreclosing on the farms.

He referred to an off the cuff comment quoted in the press that he made at an Irish conference where he said “We sometimes have a way of killing the golden goose”. He said that in this case they didn’t kill it off. The goose just died!

He believes that the recovery has begun but fears that it will be a very slow recovery. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s not an oncoming train, we just don’t know how long the tunnel is”.

He predicted that milk payouts would be up around $15 by October/November.

Over the past few years there has been a steady increase in US exports, this had been matched for a while by the growth in world demand. He told the conference “We are now in a global industry whether we like it or not.”

One local initiative was to try and increase the amount of cheese of pizzas. The average pizza used to have 9 oz of cheese on it, this had now been reduced to 4 oz.

He said that the Holstein Association’s supply management program was a long term rather than a short term solution. He felt that the term growth management was better than supply management.

Cooperatives working together (CWT) are now exploring a partial herd liquidation program.

To help farmers as much as possible DFA are paying out 100% of this years patronage out in cash. The latest payment is 5c a cwt for the first half of 2009, this is a total of $9.5 million.

Last year DFA made $68.4 Million. Around two-thirds of this is profit from members which is distributed as patronage. One thirds of the profit comes from non-members this is taxed and not distributed.

A new initiative DFA has started up is Dairy Graziers Services to help US dairy farmers get more out of pasture. The CEO promoted this, “It’s not about getting the most milk out of the cow but about getting the most profit out of a cow”.


John Phipps.
TV Host of US Farm Program and award winning Agricultural Journalist.

“The end of the [outside] world we are all in this together.”

John started of by saying that as a crop he felt the ethanol subsidy has outlived its usefulness. It has disadvantaged crop farmer’s oldest customers (dairy farmers) in a way that is reprehensible.

He told the meeting that the current crisis was not their fault.

The atmosphere internationally is saturated with fear. Fear passes from person to person, it interferes with good decision making. The conscious part of the brain is disabled and we do all our thinking with the “old” or “reptile” brain which thinks in terms of “fight or flight”.

So many things considered “unthinkable” have happened in the last year that out “fear filters” don’t work anymore. This is why so many Americans are currently convinced that the US Healthcare Bill contains provisions for “death panels”.

Some people like to conjure up in their minds the worst possible scenarios thinking that they will be more prepared if they happen but they aren’t.

Conflict is really risky at the moment.

Don’t let a arbitrary number add another stress level to your life. This could be a yield per cow, financial figure or even a date by which you feel you must have something done or achieved.

Even if you are not feeling brave, pretend to be brave – the results are the same.

Think about the other side. In years to come your children and grandchildren will ask you about how you got through this time, after you survive this other challenges won’t seem so daunting.

He finished by comparing the current situation with Shakespeare’s account the Battle of Agincourt, “The reason why we’re not all speaking French today”. Henry V’s forces were outnumbered by a much larger French army, yet still gained the victory.

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.