Monday June 30 Ag News

2014 NEBRASKA ACREAGE 

Nebraska corn growers planted 9.3 million acres, down 7 percent from last year, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Biotechnology varieties were used on 96 percent of the area planted, up 3 percentage points from a year ago. Growers expect to harvest 8.75 million acres for grain, down 8 percent from last year.
 
Soybean planted area is estimated at a record high 5.4 million acres, up 13 percent from last year’s total. Of the acres planted, 95 percent were planted with genetically modified, herbicide resistant seed.  Acres expected to be harvested are 5.35 million, up 12 percent from a year earlier.
 
Winter wheat seeded in the fall of 2013 totaled 1.5 million acres, up 2 percent from last year. Harvested acreage is forecasted at 1.4 million acres, up 24 percent from a year ago.

Alfalfa hay acreage to be cut for dry hay is 720,000 acres, up 3 percent from 2013. Other hay acreage to be cut for dry hay is 1.65 million acres, down 8 percent from last year.

Sorghum acreage planted and to be planted, at 150,000 acres, is down 47 percent from a year ago.  The area to be harvested for grain, at 100,000 acres, is down 29 percent from last year.

Oats planted acres declined to 120,000 acres, down 20 percent from the previous year. Area to be harvested for grain, at 45,000 acres, is up 20,000 acres from a year ago.

Dry edible bean planted acres increased to 175,000 acres, up 35 percent from  last year. Harvested acres are estimated at 161,000 acres, up 38 percent from previous year.

Proso millet plantings of 125,000 acres are down 22 percent from a year ago. 

Sugarbeet planted acres, at 48,000, are up 2,000 acres from last year.

Oil sunflower acres planted decreased to 25,000, down 3,000 acres from last year. Non-oil sunflower planted acreage is estimated at 10,000 acres, down from 15,000 acres a year ago.

Fall potato acres planted increased to 19,000 acres, up 500 acres from previous year.  Harvested acreage is forecasted at 18,700 acres, up 400 acres from the year earlier.



IOWA PLANTED ACREAGE 2014

Corn planted for all purposes in Iowa is estimated at 13.6 million acres, unchanged from 2013, but down 400,000 acres from  the March intentions according  to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service – Acreage report. Corn  to be harvested for grain is forecasted at 13.2 million acres.  Producers also reported the percent of genetically modified (GM) seed varieties used to plant  the 2014 corn acres.   The percent of corn acreage planted to insect resistant (Bt) varieties is estimated at 4 percent, herbicide resistant only varieties were planted on 8 percent of the acres, and stacked gene varieties were planted on 83 percent of the acres.  Overall, 95 percent of the corn was planted to GM seed.

Soybean acreage planted  is estimated at 10.1 million, up 800,000 acres  from 2013 and 500,000 acres above  the March intentions.  This is the first time planted acreage has exceeded 10 million since 2006.  Soybean acreage to be harvested is forecasted at 10.0 million acres.  Producers also reported the percent of genetically modified (GM) seed varieties used to plant  the 2014 soybean acres. Ninety-seven percent of Iowa’s soybean acreage was planted with herbicide resistant GM seed.  

An estimated 1.08 million acres will be harvested for hay, the lowest harvested acreage since records began in 1909.  Of the total, 730,000 acres of alfalfa will be harvested and 350,000 acres of other hay will be harvested.  

Acreage  seeded  to  oats  is  estimated  at  140,000,  down  80,000  acres  from  2013  but  10,000  acres  above  the March intentions.  Oat acreage to be harvested for grain is forcasted at 65,000 acres.  

Acres seeded to winter wheat last Fall is estimated at 35,000 acres, up 5,000 acres from 2013.  Winter wheat acreage to be harvested for grain is forcasted at 25,000 acres.



USDA: Corn Planted Acreage Down 4 Percent from 2013
Soybean Acreage Up 11 Percent
All Wheat Acreage Up Less Than 1 Percent
All Cotton Acreage Up 9 Percent

Principal Crops Area Planted - States and United States: 2012-2014
[Crops included in area planted are corn, sorghum, oats, barley, rye, winter wheat, Durum wheat, other spring wheat, rice, soybeans, peanuts, sunflower, cotton, dry edible beans, potatoes, sugarbeets, canola, and proso millet.  Harvested acreage is used for all hay, tobacco, and sugarcane in computing total area planted. Includes double cropped acres and unharvested small grains planted as cover crops]
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             State        :      2012        :      2013        :      2014     
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                             :                   1,000 acres                   
Iowa .....................:     24,838            24,320           24,955    
Nebraska ..............:     19,551            19,553           19,242    
United States  .......:    326,251          324,800          330,508

Corn planted area for all purposes in 2014 is estimated at 91.6 million acres, down 4 percent from last year. This represents the lowest planted acreage in the United States since 2010; however, this is the fifth largest corn acreage in the United States since 1944.

Soybean planted area for 2014 is estimated at a record high 84.8 million acres, up 11 percent from last year. Area for harvest, at 84.1 million acres, is up 11 percent from 2013 and will be a record high by more than 7.4 million acres, if realized. Record high planted acreage is estimated in Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

All wheat planted area for 2014 is estimated at 56.5 million acres, up less than 1 percent from 2013. The 2014 winter wheat planted area, at 42.3 million acres, is down 2 percent from last year but up less than 1 percent from the previous estimate. Of this total, about 30.4 million acres are Hard Red Winter, 8.50 million acres are Soft Red Winter, and 3.41 million acres are White Winter. Area planted to other spring wheat for 2014 is estimated at 12.7 million acres, up 10 percent from 2013. Of this total, about 12.0 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. The intended Durum planted area for 2014 is estimated at 1.47 million acres, down slightly from the previous year.

All cotton planted area for 2014 is estimated at 11.4 million acres, 9 percent above last year. Upland area is estimated at 11.2 million acres, up 10 percent from 2013. American Pima area is estimated at 178,000 acres, down 11 percent from 2013.



NEBRASKA JUNE 1, 2014 GRAIN STOCKS

Nebraska corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2014 totaled 444 million bushels, up 48 percent from 2013, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.  Of the total, 190 million bushels are stored on farms, up 46 percent from a year ago.  Off-farm stocks, at 254 million bushels, are up 49 percent from last year. 

Soybeans stored in all positions totaled 36.9 million bushels, up 27 percent from last year.  On-farm stocks of 3.9 million bushels are down 47 percent from a year ago, while off-farm stocks, at 33.0 million bushels, are up 53 percent from 2013. 

Wheat stored in all positions totaled 13.8 million bushels, down 34 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks of 270,000 bushels are down 78 percent from 2013 and off-farm stocks of  13.5 million bushels are down 31 percent from last year. 

Sorghum stored in all positions totaled 3.44 million bushels, up 97 percent from 2013.  On-farm stocks of 200,000 are up 100 percent and off-farm holdings of 3.24 million are up 97 percent from last year. 



IOWA GRAIN STOCKS AS OF JUNE 1, 2014

Iowa  corn  stocks  in  all  positions  on  June  1,  2014  totaled 728 million  bushels  according  to  the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service  June 1 – Grain Stocks  report. This  is 29 percent more  than  last  year,  but  still  the  second  lowest  June  1  level  since 2004.  Of the total stocks, 49 percent were stored in on-farm storage facilities.    The  indicated  quarterly  disappearance  from  March through May  totaled  489 million  bushels,  1 percent more  than  the 485 million bushels used during the same quarter last year.

Iowa  soybeans  stored  in  all  positions  on  June  1,  2014  totaled 94.2 million  bushels,  down  9  percent  from  June  1,  2013.   Of  the total  stocks,  25 percent  were  held  in  on-farm  storage  facilities.  Indicated  disappearance  for  the  March  -  May  quarter  was 114 million  bushels,  9 percent  more  than  the  104 million  bushels used during the same quarter last year.

Iowa  oat  stocks  stored  in  all  positions  on  June  1,  2014  totaled 3.55 million bushels, down 18 percent from the 4.34 million bushels on  hand  June  1,  2013.    This  is  the  lowest  June  1  stocks  since estimates began in 1950.  Of the total stocks, 15 percent were stored in on-farm facilities.



USDA Grain Stocks Report - As of June 1, 2014
Corn Stocks Up 39 Percent
Soybean Stocks Down 7 Percent
All Wheat Stocks Down 18 Percent

Corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2014 totaled 3.85 billion bushels, up 39 percent from June 1, 2013. Of the total stocks, 1.86 billion bushels are stored on farms, up 48 percent from a year earlier. Off-farm stocks, at 1.99 billion bushels, are up 32 percent from a year ago. The March - May 2014 indicated disappearance is 3.15 billion bushels, compared with 2.63 billion bushels during the same period last year.

Soybeans stored in all positions on June 1, 2014 totaled 405 million bushels, down 7 percent from June 1, 2013. On-farm stocks totaled 109 million bushels, down 36 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 296 million bushels, are up 12 percent from a year ago. Indicated disappearance for the March - May 2014 quarter totaled 589 million bushels, up 4 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Old crop all wheat stored in all positions on June 1, 2014 totaled 590 million bushels, down 18 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks are estimated at 97.0 million bushels, down 19 percent from last year. Off-farm stocks, at 493 million bushels, are down 18 percent from a year ago. The March - May 2014 indicated disappearance is 467 million bushels, down 10 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Old crop Durum wheat stocks in all positions on June 1, 2014 totaled 21.5 million bushels, down 7 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks, at 12.8 million bushels, are down 6 percent from June 1, 2013. Off-farm stocks totaled 8.73 million bushels, down 8 percent from a year ago. The March - May 2014 indicated disappearance of 16.6 million bushels is down 15 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Old crop barley stocks in all positions on June 1, 2014 totaled 82.0 million bushels, up 2 percent from June 1, 2013. On-farm stocks are estimated at 19.1 million bushels, 21 percent above a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 62.9 million bushels, are 3 percent below June 1, 2013. The March - May 2014 indicated disappearance is 39.5 million bushels, 8 percent above the same period a year earlier.

Old crop oats stored in all positions on June 1, 2014 totaled 24.7 million bushels, 32 percent below the stocks on June 1, 2013. Of the total stocks on hand, 9.71 million bushels are stored on farms, 15 percent lower than a year ago. Off-farm stocks totaled 15.0 million bushels, 40 percent below the previous year. Indicated disappearance during March - May 2014 totaled 10.4 million bushels, compared with 16.3 million bushels during the same period a year ago.

Grain sorghum stored in all positions on June 1, 2014 totaled 92.3 million bushels, up 125 percent from a year ago. On-farm stocks, at 4.50 million bushels, are up 66 percent from last year. Off-farm stocks, at 87.8 million bushels, are up 129 percent from June 1, 2013. The March - May 2014 indicated disappearance from all positions is 83.4 million bushels, up 65 percent from the same period last year.



Seedling Soybean Diseases Continue in Replant
Loren Giesler, UNL Extension Plant Pathologist

It seems to be late in the year to be talking about seedling diseases, but this year is a little different. In the last week we have had several contacts on seedling disease problems in replant soybean.  In addition, some fields also may have stand issues related to disease that are being affected by stormy weather patterns that injure the plants. This results in stress that lowers the plant's defenses, triggering infection by our common seedling disease pathogens (Fusarium, Pythium, Phytophthora, and Rhizoctonia).

Over the last couple weeks many parts of the state have experienced stormy conditions and/or heavy rainfall which favors seedling diseases in soybean.  Earlier in the year when it was cooler, Pythium was the main cause identified in problem fields. As soil temperatures have warmed, I suspect that conditions are more favorable for Phytophthora to be the cause in really wet fields.

Phytophthora can kill plants at any stage of development, but Pythium typically does not kill plants much past the V5 growth stage. Fields that have had hail or wind damage could be affected by Rhizoctonia and /or Fusarium if they are not in heavy moisture areas. These two are usually a more common problem in well-drained soil types.

As replanting usually occurs with warmer soil temps, it is often not recommended to treat the seed as emergence occurs rapidly. The problem with some fields is that continuous rain has occurred since replanting and the extremely wet soil conditions favor the fungus more than emergence. If you are considering any replant at this point (even though it is really late), I would suggest a seed treatment if you have had a history of stand issues during wet conditions.  If you're planting in a field that has never had a stand problem, treatment is usually not needed.

In any situation where you have had a seedling disease/stand problem it is important to get it identified correctly. Field identification can be difficult and many symptoms are similar among seedling diseases. I encourage you to get a diagnosis of what the problem is in your fields so that proper management actions can be taken in the future.

Seed treatment and the use of resistant varieties (for Phytophthora) are the management actions which are modified based on the field history. In fields where a seed treatment fungicide was used and seedling disease is still developing, this can be due to the wrong treatment being used or excessive moisture leading to reduced product performance under extreme conditions. This can be the case with very wet conditions.

More information on Phytophthora management and product rates is in NebGuide G1785, Management of Phytophthora Root and Stem Rot of Soybeans.



Start Scouting for Potato Leafhoppers in Alfalfa
Tom Hunt, UNL Extension Entomologist, Haskell Ag Lab, Concord

Potato leafhoppers have the potential to cause economic injury to alfalfa every year in Nebraska, usually to second or third cutting. They do not overwinter in Nebraska, but are brought in on southerly winds. A good time to check fields is right after storm fronts move through an area.

Given the very active weather patterns we have been experiencing, I went on an alfalfa scouting tour in northeast Nebraska and observed fields with 0.25 to 2 potato leafhoppers per sweep. This level could merit treatment for some alfalfa fields. If you have not scouted your alfalfa lately, now is a good time to begin.

These small (1/8 inch long), bright green, wedge-shaped insects can cause severe damage to alfalfa by injecting a toxin into the plant as they feed. This feeding results in a distinctive yellow or purple triangle shape at the leaf tip. First year, spring-planted alfalfa fields are particularly attractive to and vulnerable to potato leafhoppers, as are fields planted last year. In older fields, these insects are usually a problem on second and third cuttings.

Newly developed, resistant alfalfa varieties provide fairly good protection from potato leafhoppers; however, seedling alfalfa may still be damaged. All fields should still be scouted, as large numbers of leafhoppers can cause a problem, even in resistant-variety fields.



Ethanol Sector Wages Outpace Other Nebraska Industries

Over the last decade, wages earned in Nebraska’s ethanol production sector outpaced all other manufacturing groups in state, according to the Nebraska Department of Labor’s Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program.  In 2013, the average annual wage in the ethanol sector was $59,541.  By comparison, the average for all other manufacturing sectors in the state was $39,966. 

“Nebraska’s ethanol industry now has twenty-four operating plants located across the state with the capacity to produce more than two billion gallons annually,” according to Todd Sneller, Administrator of the Nebraska Ethanol Board.  “The impact of ethanol production goes far beyond rural Nebraska.  Virtually every sector of the state’s economy benefits from ethanol’s growth.  Economic benefits accrue to technology and manufacturing sectors that provide software and sophisticated equipment to the agricultural sector that provides the raw materials processed in the plants,” he said.     

“A vibrant agricultural economy is a major component of Nebraska’s economic success and the growing importance of ethanol is particularly notable.  The ethanol industry generates 7,700 jobs, increases Nebraska’s annual economic base by $5.8 billion, and pays more than $38 million in local and state tax revenues each year.” Sneller said.   



Combustible Grain Dust Prevention Workshop July 31

Kansas State University will offer a combustible grain dust prevention workshop teaching advanced mitigation methods on July 31 in Kansas City, Missouri. The free workshop will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Westin Crown Center Hotel.

It will follow a safety conference being co-sponsored by the National Grain and Feed Association and Grain Journal.

The three-hour training will focus on housekeeping practices, proper grain unloading and grain handling, and controls, with a demonstration of sensors and other engineering controls. In this program, the emphasis will be on controlling dust in the grain receiving area, spouting design, bucket elevator safety, sensors for bucket elevators and other material handling equipment. In addition, the course will cover venting, explosion suppression and isolation.

"The past two years, we have focused on increasing awareness of basic grain dust explosion understanding and mitigation techniques. Now we will go beyond this to research-based mitigation methods," said Kingsly Ambrose, project leader and K-State assistant professor in grain science and industry.

As a result of the workshop, participants will be able to identify active steps to mitigate immediate threats, improve their knowledge on dust mitigation methods and have a better understanding of equipment used throughout a grain handling facility.

This initiative is funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Online registration for the workshops is available at www.grains.kstate.edu/igp/ (scroll to Combustible Dust Workshop). More information is available by contacting Ambrose at graindust@k-state.edu or 785-532-4091.



USDA Releases Tool to Estimate Phosphorus Loss

A tool developed by USDA scientists can help farmers model phosphorus loss in runoff and determine ways to reduce these losses.  "Annual Phosphorus Loss Estimator" or APLE, was developed to reduce widely variable state-by-state phosphorus indices.  APLE is a spreadsheet program that predicts field-scale phosphorus loss in runoff for a whole year.  The program also can be used in many different states to quantify field-scale phosphorus loss and soil phosphorus changes over 10 years for a given set of runoff, erosion and management conditions.



USDA Continues Farm Bill Implementation with Provisions to Help Farmers Manage Risk

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced continued progress in implementing provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill that provide new risk management options for farmers and ranchers. These improvements to crop insurance programs will provide better protection from weather disaster, market volatility and other risk factors to ensure farmers aren't wiped out by events beyond their control.

Vilsack also announced new support for beginning farmers that will make crop insurance more affordable and provide greater support when new farmers experience substantial losses. These announcements build on other recent USDA efforts to support beginning farmers.

"Crop insurance is critical to the ongoing success of today's farmers and ranchers and our agriculture economy. These improvements provide additional flexibility to ensure families do not lose everything due to events beyond their control," said Vilsack. "We're also acting to provide more support to beginning farmers and ranchers so that they can manage their risk effectively. We need to not only encourage new farmers to get into agriculture, we must ensure they're not wiped out in their riskiest initial seasons so they can remain in agriculture for years to come."

The U. S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) filed an interim rule with the Federal Register today, allowing USDA to move forward with changes to crop insurance provisions. The provisions provide better options for beginning farmers, allow producers to have enterprise units for irrigated and non-irrigated crops, give farmers and ranchers the ability to purchase different levels of coverage for a variety of irrigation practices, provide guidance on conservation compliance, implement protections for native sod and provide adjustments to historical yields following significant disasters.

The Farm Bill authorizes specific coverage benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers starting with the 2015 crop year. The changes announced today exempt new farmers from paying the $300 administrative fee for catastrophic policies. New farmers' premium support rates will also increase ten percentage points during their first five years of farming. Beginning farmers will also receive a greater yield adjustment when yields are below 60 percent of the applicable transitional yield. These incentives will be available for most insurance plans in the 2015 crop year and all plans by 2016.

Starting in the fall of 2014, producers who till native sod and plant an annual crop on that land will see reductions in their crop insurance benefits during the first four years. Native sod is acreage that has never been tilled, or land which a producer cannot substantiate has ever been tilled for the production of a crop. The provision applies to acreage in all counties in Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota that is greater than five acres per policy and is producing annual crops.

Additional flexibility for irrigated and non-irrigated enterprise units and coverage levels will be available in the spring of 2015. Additional information on implementation of these changes is available at the RMA website, www.rma.usda.gov.

The interim rule is available to the public at the Federal Register at www.ofr.gov/inspection.aspx.

More information is available on the RMA website at www.rma.usda.gov. Written comments on the rule can be submitted to www.regulations.gov by Sept. 2, 2014. All comments will be considered when the rule is made final.

Today's announcement was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill. The Farm Bill builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past five years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.

Since the signing of the Farm Bill, RMA has been working to implement the provisions as quickly as possible. The Federal Crop Insurance Board approved RMA's Whole-Farm Revenue Insurance policy in May. RMA will finalize the policy materials and expects to release the Whole-Farm Revenue Protection product to the public in late fall.



25x'25 Statement on CBO's Renewable Fuel Standard Report

How the Congressional Budget Office reached the conclusion in a report released Thursday that the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) will raise gas and biodiesel prices is a mystery, given the deep price discount advantages biofuels offer in the transportation fuel market. A spot check this week shows E85 is selling at more than 200 locations in Iowa at an average of $1.64 per gallon, nearly half of the $3.23 being charged for a gallon of regular gasoline there.

And CBO's citation of "available evidence" in contending corn ethanol has "limited potential for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions" is even more curious, suggesting the congressional agency simply failed to pick up on the latest science, including the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory model that shows average corn ethanol reduces GHG emissions by 34 percent compared to gasoline.

Furthermore, research earlier this year by Dr. Steffen Mueller, principal economist with the University of Illinois at Chicago's Energy Resources Center, demonstrates that the RFS is a principal driver of the reduction in emissions that is taking place with the use of biofuels, noting that by 2022, corn based fuels (corn ethanol and stover cellulosic fuels) will offer a 60-percent reduction in carbon intensity or total annual emissions savings of 90 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent compared to petroleum-based fuels. Under current blending requirements (2013) corn based fuels save already 40 million metric tons or 2.2 percent of transportation related emissions (1,827 million metric tons) in the United States. 

The emissions savings trends are in part due to the continuously increasing efficiency of corn based fuel production as opposed to the decreasing efficiency of accessing tight oil supplies. While CBO admitted their estimates were "highly uncertain," it is important that policy makers know there is solid research from leading scientific resources to show the RFS should be sustained to ensure biofuel's economic and environmental benefits.



NMPF Asks FDA to Exempt Dairy Farms from Additional Regulation Under Food Safety Modernization Act

Efforts to impose added regulations on dairy farms under the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) are not warranted because milk leaving farms for further processing is not a significant public health risk from intentional adulteration, the National Milk Producers Federation wrote today in comments to the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA is reviewing comments about the FSMA law, which is the most significant change to food safety legislation in many years.  Part of the scope of FSMA is to enhance the safety protocols around foods that may be subject to intentional adulteration, by terrorists looking to threaten or injure people, or cause economic harm to certain companies or industries.

“We disagree with the premise that on-farm milk destined for pasteurization is a high-risk food,” said Beth Briczinski, NMPF’s Vice President of Dairy Foods and Nutrition.  Raw fluid milk for pasteurization moves among various regions of the country and is in constant flux to meet specific processing demands.  Because of the challenge of predicting the precise processing facility and type of product or ingredient to which an individual farm’s milk is ultimately destined, NMPF concluded that “activities on dairy farms should not be addressed through this rule.”  A full copy of NMPF’s comments can be found here.

“Dairy farmers currently implement a number of general security strategies to protect the investment of their property, equipment, animals and milk supply, which further reduce any risk that may be represented by on-farm milk destined for pasteurization,” NMPF wrote.

The organization added that if FDA were to require farms to comply with specific aspects of food defense regulations, such requirements should be developed in close collaboration with federal and state stakeholders, as well as the dairy industry, through the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS).

NMPF also noted that many elements of food defense are already being employed by dairy farms for reasons related to biosecurity.  Because biosecurity measures that help prevent the introduction of infectious and contagious diseases among cattle also help prevent the spread of harmful problems in the milk from those cows, new security measures would only be warranted “when a credible threat of intentional adulteration against the milk supply is identified.”

In addition to its perspective on food defense and dairy farms, NMPF also submitted comments today to the FDA with the International Dairy Foods Association, focused on preventing intentional adulteration at dairy processing plants.

Those comments also expressed concern with the direction of FDA’s proposal, and asked the agency to “fundamentally reconsider its proposed approach.”  Like dairy farms, dairy processing facilities have worked with FDA to take an active approach in applying food defense concepts to their manufacturing operations, according to the two organizations.

IDFA and NMPF proposed that FDA only require basic food defense plans consisting of cost-effective mitigation strategies, allowing facilities to then identify reserved focused mitigation strategies that can be quickly implemented in response to heightened concerns or credible threats, should they be deemed necessary.

The joint comments also emphasized that each processing facility and dairy farm is unique.  If FDA were to require food defense plans, the dairy industry must have the flexibility to address intentional adulteration in ways that are custom-tailored with respect to their individual attributes, rather than prescribing “one-size-fits-all” specific criteria.