Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Cooperating Agencies and Principal Leaders:

Frank Allaire,*% Ohio State University

Bradford Barham, University of Wisconsin-Madison

William Crist, University of Kentucky

Tricia Dyk, University of Kentucky

Jeremy Foltz,* University of Connecticut

Lori Garkovich,* University of Kentucky

Gilbert Gillespie,* Chair, Cornell University

Catherine Grossclose, Utah State University

Douglas Jackson-Smith,* Utah State University

Rick Krannich, Utah State University

William Lazarus, University of Minnesota

Thomas Lyson, Cornell University

Jennifer McAdam,* Utah State University

Wm. Aex McIntosh,* Texas A&M University

Margot Rudstrom,* University of Minnesota

Carolyn Sachs,*% Pennsylvania State University

Harry Schwarzweller, Michigan State University

Anthony Shelton,* Administrative Advisor, Cornell University

Stewart Smith,* University of Maine

Loren Tauer, Cornell University

Peggy Tomasula, USDA/ARS/ERRC, Pennsylvania

Michael Tunick, USDA/ARS/ERRC, Pennsylvania

Henry Tyrrell,* CSREES liaison, USDA

Chris Wolf* Michigan State University

Patrick Berends, Fresno State University

* voting member from participating state

 state fully active in 2000

 state activities limited in 2000

% state previously active, not active in 2000

Progress of the Work and Principal Accomplishments:

Overview:

Members of the technical committee are generally progressing toward completing the research protocols agreed upon at the 1996 NE-177 meeting in Vermont. Baseline surveys have been completed in a number of states. Surveys of non-dairy farming segments of the dairy dependent communities have been undertaken in a number of states. Work is progressing on development of an aggregate data set containing common variables across actively participating states.

Secondary data from the Census of Agriculture (1985, 1992, 1997) has been compiled for states, counties and zip codes for participating states. Zip code information was compiled for those states working with specific communities.

NE-177 Objective 1, Determine the interrelationships among and relative importance of social, economic, technological and political environments, regional conditions, and entrepreneurial strategies affecting restructuring of the dairy industry in different dairy localities.

Consolidation of data from the state surveys was the focus of 2001. Common data variables in state surveys were identified in a number of areas, farm demographics, dairy technology, cropping practices, community attachment and involvement, farmer attitudes and goals, and manure handling practices. The grid formed the bases for the development of an aggregate dataset across all actively participating states.

A number of spreadsheets from the 1987, 1992 and 1997 Census of Agriculture were developed for the actively participating states. At the State level, data for dairy (as defined by SIC) was summarized. Where appropriate, county and zip code data was also summarized.

A common set of descriptors was developed. Each participating state will use the common descriptors so dairy communities can be compared and contrasted. Much can be learned about similarities and differences as they relate to underlying causes of structural change.

Both Connecticut and Wisconsin did work in the area of entry/exit. In Connecticut, the number of dairy farms remaining in a town is an influential factor in the decision to exit dairy farming. Wisconsin discovered that farmers leaving dairy could be clustered into 2 groups; 1) Those who were late in their careers and chose to exit and 2) Those who were early in their dairy career and were forced to exit.

NE-177 Objective 2: Identify, examine, and assess the effects of structural change in the dairy sector on local communities and related enterprises.

This objective on exploring the farm-community linkages that are central to the revised NE-177 project continues to be the most difficult to carry out. Understanding linkages between dairy farming and non-dairy farm residents is an important component of NE-177.

A mail questionnaire was developed by New York, Maine and Texas, for the general public. This common survey instrument will provide data from the general non-dairy farming public in the dairy dependent communities. Texas is awaiting Internal Review Board approval on the survey instrument.

Usefulness of the Findings:

There has been significant progress to the development of a common database across all actively participating states. While most states are seeing declines in the number of small dairy farms, the underlying causes of the declines differ across states. The decline in farm numbers in Kentucky can be attributed to the decline in tobacco industry. Without the financial support of tobacco, the decline in dairy farm numbers accelerated. Loss of small dairy farms in Wisconsin appears to be driven by farmer age.

Technology adoption was a focus of several states. The use of bovine somatotropin (rbST) was examined in Wisconsin, Maine, and Connecticut. In Connecticut, it was found that younger, better-educated farmers with larger herds were more likely to adopt rbST. The Maine results indicated that farmers choosing to use rbST are likely to have more education and less farming experience than farmers who adopt management intensive rotational grazing (MIRG).

The use of total mixed ration (TMR) technology was examined in Minnesota. Major factors influencing TMR adoption include facility type and herd size. Farmers with tie-stall barns are less likely to use TMRs. Farms with milking herds of more than 80 cows had a very high probability of adopting TMRs.

Connecticut had a nmber of outreach activities in the past year. At the state level the extension activities associated with the dairy project followed two approaches: one to bring results of our research to policy makers and farmers, and the other to work specifically with one of the communities on maintaining their dairy industry.

The Connecticut dairy project organized two conferences to present dairy research. The first, held in the fall was a breakfast for legislative leaders to present our findings (and pancakes) to the legislators at the beginning of a legislative session in which they were going to be considering their support for the Northeast Dairy Compact and for the states farmland preservation program. Then in the spring an interdisciplinary conference on the outlook for the Connecticut dairy industry was held and attended by farmers, policy makers, and college of agriculture personnel.

The project has also worked with the town of Woodstock, which has the most dairy farms of any Connecticut town, on right to farm legislation, meetings between dairy farmers and non-farmers, town manure management plans, and other planning and zoning issues related to maintaining the rural character of the town. As part of this process, the town held a Celebration of Agriculture town fair in September (pancakes were provided).

Work Planned for Next Year:

At the October, 2001 meeting of the technical committee, we assessed the current state of data collection and made plans for combining existing and projected data by the time of our next annual meeting. While some additional data collection would be done in 2001, most states will focus on using the existing data in a combined dataset. An organized symposium on the topic of technology adoption on dairy farms will be proposed for the American Agricultural Economics Association annual meetings. Specific plans are outlined in the 2001 NE-177 technical committee meeting minutes.

Foltz, Jeremy D. and Hsiu-Hui Chang. :"The Adoption of rBST on Connecticut Dairy Farms." Accepted for publication at the American Journal of Agricultural Economics

Foltz, Jeremy D., Douglas Jackson-Smith, Lucy Chen. Forthcoming. "Do Purchasing Patterns Differ Between Large and Small Dairy Farms? Econometric Evidence From Three Wisconsin Communities." Agricultural and Resource Economics Review. Spring 2002.

Foltz, Jeremy D. and Bruce Larson. "Understanding Public Support for Farmland Preservation Programs: Theory and Empirical Evidence" 2000. submitted to Land Economics.

Foltz, Jeremy D. and Gillis Lang. 2001. "The Adoption and Profitability of Rotational Grazing on Dairy Farms in Connecticut" Submitted to the Agricultural and Resource Economics Review

Rudstrom, Margaretha. "Total Mixed Ration Adoption on Minnesota Dairy Farm." Submitted to Journal of Agribusiness

Rudstrom, Margaretha, Hugh Chester-Jones, Avanish Singh, Dennis Johnson and Roger Imdieke. "Pasture-Based Versus Feedlot Growing Dairy Heifers: A Comparison of Animal Performance and Costs." Submitted to Journal of American Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers

Abstracts in Proceedings:

DiGiacomo, G. and M. Rudstrom. Organic Grazing Dairy: Profitability and Financial Efficiency Under Alternative Pricing scenarios, 1998-99. AAEA Annual Meetings, Chicago IL, August 2001.

Reports:

Barham, Bradfird L., Douglas Jackson-Smith and Sunung Moon. "Use and Implication of Bovine Somatotropin for the Wisconsin Dairy Sector in the 1990s". Program on Agricultural Technology Studies, Research Report No. 9. June 2001.

Foltz, Jeremy. 2001. "Profitability of Dairy Farms in Connecticut." Chapter 2. in The Outlook for the Connecticut Dairy Industry

Foltz, Jeremy. 2001. "Technology Adoption on Connecticut Dairy Farms." Chapter 3. in The Outlook for the Connecticut Dairy Industry

Foltz, Jeremy. 2001. "Dairy Farming in Connecticut." Connecticut Dairy Project Extension Fact Sheet.

Foltz, Jeremy. 2001. "Dairy Farming in Connecticut." Connecticut Dairy Project Extension Fact Sheet.

Foltz, Jeremy. 2000 Profitability of Connecticut Dairy Farms Connecticut Dairy Project Extension Fact Sheet. Available in adobe acrobat at http//www.sp.uconn.edu/~foltz/factsheets.html

Foltz, Jeremy. 2000 Connecticut Dairy Farm Statistics Summary Connecticut Dairy Project Extension Fact Sheet. Available in adobe acrobat at http//www.sp.uconn.edu/~foltz/factsheets.html

Foltz, Jeremy. 2000 Technology Use on Connecticut Dairy Farms Connecticut Dairy Project Extension Fact Sheet. Available in adobe acrobat at http//www.sp.uconn.edu/~foltz/factsheets.html

Foltz, Jeremy. 2000 RBST use on Connecticut Dairy Farms Connecticut Dairy Project Extension Fact Sheet. Available in adobe acrobat at http//www.sp.uconn.edu/~foltz/factsheets.html

Foltz, Jeremy. 2000 Rotational Grazing on Connecticut Dairy Farms Connecticut Dairy Project Extension Fact Sheet. Available in adobe acrobat at http//www.sp.uconn.edu/~foltz/factsheets.html

Foltz, Jeremy, 2000. "The Connecticut Dairy Project." Text and Posters for Legislative Briefing, December, 2000.

Jackson-Smith, Douglas and Bradford Barham, "Historical and Regional Trends in the U.S. and Wisconsin Dairy Sectors" Wisconsin Family Farm Facts No. 11. Current research findings from the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies. June 2001.

Jackson-Smith, Douglas and Bradford Barham, "The Aggregate Performance of the U.S and Wisconsin Dairy Sectors" Wisconsin Family Farm Facts No. 12. Current research findings from the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies. June 2001.

Jackson-Smith, Douglas and Bradford Barham, "Dynamics of Expansion on Wisconsin Dairy Farms in the 1990s" Wisconsin Family Farm Facts No. 13. Current research findings from the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies. June 2001.

Jackson-Smith, Douglas and Bradford Barham, "Dynamics of Entry and Exit on Wisconsin Dairy Farms in the 1990s" Wisconsin Family Farm Facts No. 14. Current research findings from the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies. June 2001.

Jackson-Smith, Douglas and Bradford Barham, "Technology Adoption among Wisconsins Dairy Farmers in the 1990s" Wisconsin Family Farm Facts No. 15. Current research findings from the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies. June 2001.

Lazarus, W.F. "Executive Summary," "Current Situation and Recent History: Geographic Distribution and Size of Enterprise in Minnesota Animal Agriculture," "Forces Affecting Structural Change in the Minnesota Livestock Industry," and "Literature Review Update: Industry Structure and Competitiveness, and Profitability and Economic Viability," sections of Final Technical Working Paper on Topics D, E & F: Economic Structures, Profitability & External Costs, Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Animal Agriculture in Minnesota, prepared by the University of Minnesota for the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, June 2001.

Lazarus, W.F., J. Conlin, K. Edberg, S. Carpenter, D. Johnson, and J. Linn. "Economic Topic IID, Industry Structure and Competitiveness, and Economic Topic IIE, Profitability and Economic Viability", in A Summary of the Literature Related to the Social, Environmental, Economic and Health Effects, Generic Environmental Impact Statement on Animal Agriculture, prepared by the University of Minnesota for the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, July 1999.

Lazarus, W. "For Small Farms: Household Income Safety Net Better Than Commodity Programs?" and "Safety Net Programs Hard to Implement," University of Minnesota Extension Service news releases, August 3, 2001, on the Internet at http://www.extension.umn.edu/, also published in The Land, August 17, 2001; Agweek, September 3, 2001; and to be in Fruit Growers News, September 2001 Edition.

Rudstrom, M.V. "Dairy Farming in Stearns County: Summary and Analysis of the 2000 Dairy Farm Survey". Staff Paper No. P01-5, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, June 2001.

Rudstrom, M.V., G.J. Cuomo, D.J. Johnson, and M. Reese. "Beef Stockers and Dairy Heifers Grazing Standing Corn." 2001 Meet the Researchers, American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention. January 7-9, 2001. Orlando FL. Conference Proceedings

Singh, A. M.V. Rudstrom, D.G. Johnson, M.H. Reese, and G.C. Cuomo. "Grazing Corn for Finishing Beef Stockers on Pasture". 2001 Minnesota Cattle Feeder Report. University of Minnesota Extension Service, February 2001.