Dairy farmers milk ag expo for expertise

Published online on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2008

Bigger herds mean bigger headaches for dairy operators around the world -- many of whom came to Tulare this week for answers.

The trend toward bigger dairies, driven by demand for greater efficiency, poses challenges, including disposing of what comes out of a cow and getting the most of out what they put into it.

Whatever the size or location of their herds, those in the industry face increasing pressures and challenges -- including how to address water quality and handle complaints from downwind neighbors.

Edward Kavanagh, originally from County Kildare in Ireland, was at the annual World Ag Expo on opening day Tuesday seeking expertise to deal with the kind of scorching heat that killed hundreds of cows in the central San Joaquin Valley two years ago. High temperatures also can cut production significantly on the South Dakota farm Kavanagh set up as a dairy in 2004.

"We're building a barn, and we have to put in a cooling system," Kavanagh said. "Otherwise, it will wreck our production." He spoke with a salesman for Edstrom Industries to gather information on that Waterford, Wis., company's spraying system.

Cow comfort figures into quality milk production, and that is one reason an Italian company was selling a foot bath system for cows. Aslessia Getto, with the Cremona-based Puli-Sistem, said milk production can be compromised when animals develop foot-health problems.

And there's no better place to come to find answers. Not only does Tulare County produce more than $1 billion worth of milk each year, topping any other county, it hosts the Ag Expo. The event draws about 100,000 people over its three days, from an estimated 67 countries.

As in years past, the expo features a full slate of seminars on subjects ranging from free-trade agreements to cooking and showcasing the latest in technology, from software to immense pieces of state-of-the-art equipment.

One hot topic in the dairy industry is water -- and waste. Stricter water rules have producers visiting the expo to look for any technology or expertise they can find.

Riding a shuttle bus toward the expo grounds through heavy fog, Michigan alfalfa grower Brent Maust said dairy operators there, as in California, are scrambling to meet new state water-quality regulations.

In both states dairy herds are growing rapidly. And, as a result, prices for his hay "are crashing through the roof," he said. One farmer has 1,400 cows and wants to double the size of his herd.

"There's a saying back there," Maust said. "People ask, 'How many cows are enough?' "

The answer: There are never enough.

In California, some smaller dairies have failed, said Michael Marsh, who heads Western United Dairymen. He said the trend is in part because of the killer heat wave, very low prices for milk and regulations that require expensive monitoring of water and waste discharges.

In 2006, the average herd size in California was 903. That is up from 776 in 2002. There are about 1,700 commercial dairies in the state, down from 2,153 in 2002.

Much the same has been happening in Wisconsin for some years, said Phil Miller, a sales manager for Wieser Concrete in Maiden Rock, Wis., which builds feed storage systems than can cost from $60,000 to $2 million.

"We no longer have the small farmer who wants to milk seven days a week," he said. "It has become a business."

Donny Rollin, a Riverdale dairyman, said dairies are under pressure: "You either need more cows to make a living or you look for new technologies to make you more cost effective."

Many states -- including South Dakota -- were at the expo to entice dairy operators -- whether from Porterville or Ireland -- to put down stakes in their region, touting plenty of more open land. And, in the case of Midwestern states, more staples such as wheat.

"We have happy cows, too," an exhibitor shouted from a Wisconsin booth. It's a dig at a California ad campaign.

Other states share the challenge of urban growth, which puts cities closer to cows, adding to such challenges as odor control.

Ryan Mallett said his father, a well-known dairy operator in Hollister, Idaho, said his family turned a problem into a new line of business.

Mallett is president of AgraKey Solutions, a company his family devised to reduce odors. It makes a liquid applied to manure that is undergoing research at Fresno State and at Pennsylvania State University.

The expo features more than 630 dairy exhibits, not to mention displays of some harvest machinery used for grain that is fed to the animals.

This year, a new Dairy Technology Center housed 130 of the exhibits.

For the first time in several years, the expo showcased live dairy cows for the Semex Walk of Fame. Semex markets semen internationally, and its dairy genetics have traveled around the world to 116 countries.

In past years, concerns about foot-and-mouth disease prevented displays of livestock, but this year precautions were taken to enable show visitors to size up the animals from about 5 feet away.