Dairy producers in Washington State got some undeserved treatment from the Environmental Protection Agency. I talked about it in the July 15 Dairy Radio Now broadcast with Gerald Baron, executive director of Save Family Farming, headquartered in Bellingham, Wash.

Baron said farmers across the country have had their issues with the EPA but this problem in region 10, which includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska, has been a major problem for a long time.

It focuses on an EPA nitrate study completed in 2013 that Baron says “points the finger at current dairy operations for nitrate in ground water that we know has been there for many years, based upon previous farm practices.”

The EPA sought to place the blame on dairy farmers, Baron said, with a study that every science expert who has looked at it, and there have been 15 to 20 nationally recognized experts, have called the study “false.”

“Worse than that,” added Baron, “many of the experts said the study was intentionally false.” He said the experts believe the study “set about to prove that dairy farmers were responsible (for the nitrates) when the data simply does not show that.”

Baron said they hope President Trump’s new regional administrator to the district will be helpful in resolving the issue and has showed promise that he might however Baron says the administrator’s staff has “overwhelmed him.” “The administrator is unwilling to allow a peer review, a real science review that this study never had and that’s what we’re complaining about.”

Other national farm groups are taking interest in the case, Baron says, especially in the dairy community, and are working with the Washington State Dairy Federation to “get the EPA to take action on this. We want them to retract the study and call in a peer review for this study that never occurred,” he concluded. More details can be found at www.savefamilyfarming.org.

The USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened enrollment for the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program on June 17 and has started issuing payments to producers who purchased coverage. Producers can enroll through September 20

“Times have been especially tough for dairy farmers, and while we hope producers’ margins will increase, the DMC program is providing support at a critical time for many in the industry,” said Bill Northey, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation.

The action drew praise from the National Milk Producers Federation’s Jim Mulhern who stated; “DMC aid represents significant improvement from previous programs, and with dairy farmers facing a fifth year of low prices, receiving better assistance in a timely fashion is a matter of survival for some family farms.”

The Agriculture Department left its 2019 milk production estimate in the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report unchanged from last month, ending seven consecutive reductions. It reduced the 2020 forecast due to slower expected growth in milk per cow. The report also stated that USDA’s Cattle report, to be released July 19, will provide a mid-year estimate of the dairy cow inventory and producer intentions regarding retention of heifers for dairy cow replacement.

2019 production and marketings remain estimated at 218.2 and 217.2 billion pounds respectively, unchanged from last month’s estimate. If realized, 2019 production would be up just 600 million pounds or 0.3 percent from 2018.

While the earth shook a bit in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest on Friday, cheese prices at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange did a little shaking as well. The Cheddar blocks, having hit the highest level since November 2016 on July 1, closed Friday July 12 at $1.7850, down 4 1/2-cents on the day and 6 1/4-cents on the week, but were still 22 1/2-cents above a year ago.

 The barrels, after hitting $1.79 on June 28, also the highest since November 2016, closed July 12 at $1.74, 4 cents lower on the week, 31 3/4-cents above a year ago, and a more typical 4 1/2-cents below the blocks. 23 cars of block were traded on the week at the CME and 34 of barrel.

Midwest cheesemakers suggest the milk supply may be tightening, according to Dairy Market News. While there is still plenty of milk for cheese vats, there does not seem to be an abundance of spot milk offers and holiday offers were less available than in previous years. Cheesemakers understand milk intakes and components may slide lower as heat and humidity issue into the Upper Midwest. Crop and forage concerns, and the exodus of more dairy farms from the industry, may compel manufacturers to work harder in finding extra milk later in the year. Manufacturers are running facilities at or near full schedules with cheese orders to fill. Cheese stocks are adequate to meet most needs, but processors want to stay ahead of late season demand.

Butter started the week with some slippage but ended at $2.4125 per pound, up three quarter cents and 18 3/4-cents above a year ago, on 9 sales for the week.

Butter manufacturing in the Central region is steadily slowing as cream volumes are less available, according to DMN. Cream pulls from Class II, especially ice cream makers are strong. Bulk and print butter demands from grocery stores, wholesalers, and restaurants are reported as fair to good. With summer season in full swing and milk butterfat levels at the lowest level of the year, the butter market is expected to firm, according to some processors.

Spot nonfat dry milk closed 1 1/4-cents lower on the week at $1.0275, lowest since April 24, but 27 1/4-cents above a year ago. 7 cars were sold on the week.

Interestingly, while U.S. cheese and butter prices are the highest in the world, U.S. powder is the lowest.

Dry whey closed Friday at 32 1/4-cents per pound, down a half-cent on the week and 9 1/2-cents below a year ago, with 5 sales reported on the week at the CME.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Lee Mielke may write to him in care of this publication.