The biggest news in the dairy industry today is the ongoing discussion of reforming the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) program. The COVID shutdown helped reveal a few flaws in the current rules that govern milk market pricing.
 
For those reading this who aren’t in the dairy industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees the FMMO program which includes 11 milk marketing orders and applies to about 75% of total U.S. milk production. The program establishes provisions under which dairy processors buy fresh milk from an area’s dairy farmers, and also establishes minimum prices paid to farmers, ensures payments to farmers are accurate and timely, and provides market information.
 
This will be the first time we have seen the FMMO program addressed since 2000. Stop and think about how different our lives are now compared to 2000. Dairy

markets also have changed drastically in the past 22 years. Especially in Texas. In 2000, our state was the seventh largest dairy state in the U.S. and had just over 200,000 dairy cows. Today, we’re number four and closing in on Idaho for third place, and Texas dairies are home to almost 650,000 cows. Over the past 22 years, we’ve also seen a number of milk processing plants open and expand in our state. Our export market has grown, and new protein blends of milk powder didn’t even exist in 2000.
 
As you can see, a review of the FMMO program is overdue.  ...

The midterm General Election is now officially behind us. Now elected officials start gearing up for the upcoming legislative session. Bill filing began on Nov. 14 and the 88^th Texas Legislature convenes on Jan. 10.
 
There were no major surprises on election day. All statewide elected officials were reelected to another term, and Texas continues to be a red state, continuing the 28-year streak of Republicans winning statewide. 

• Governor. Republican incumbent Greg Abbott defeated Democrat Beto O’Rourke. Abbott received 54.8% to O’Rourke’s 43.8%. Abbott won with 55.8% in 2018.
• Lt. Governor. Republican incumbent Dan Patrick defeated Democrat Mike Collier. Patrick received 53.8% to Collier’s 43.5%. Patrick won with 51% in 2018.
• Attorney General. Republican incumbent Ken Paxton defeated Democrat Rochelle Garza. Paxton received 53.4% to 43.6%. Paxton won with 50.6% in 2018.

• Comptroller. Republican incumbent Glenn Hegar defeated Democrat Janet Dudding. Hegar received 56.4% to Dudding’s 40.9%. Hegar won with 53.2% in 2018.
• Agriculture Commissioner. Republican incumbent Sid Miller defeated Democrat Susan Hays. Miller received 56.4% to Hays’ 43.6%. Miller won with 51.3% in 2018. 
• Railroad Commissioner. Republican incumbent Wayne Christian defeated Democrat Luke Warford. Christian received 55.4% to Warford’s 40.5%.  ...

Rainfall over the past several weeks has been a nice change of pace for the majority of Texas; however, the state continues to experience severe drought. 
 
As of the first week of November, the U.S. Drought Monitor for Texas reports over 90% of the state is in drought conditions, with approximately 22% of the state considered “Abnormally Dry,” 27% of the state classified as experiencing “Severe Drought,” and 1.7% in an “Exceptional Drought.” 
 
The pictured map shows the drought intensity for Nov. 3.
 
On the surface, the drought has certainly impacted hay production and pasture conditions, and Texas’ lakes and reservoirs across the state are currently 68% full, down from almost 80% a year ago. 

However, under the surface, Texas’ groundwater resources have also been hithard by the drought. Looking at some of the counties with concentrated dairy production, aquifer levels appear to be consistently lower than those reported a year ago. ...

Dairy Farmers care about the communities where they live and often give back, but in Friona, Texas, one local dairy farmer merged his family heritage and passion for serving to create a truly unique and special experience for his town. Harry DeWit was raised in the Netherlands and still visits often to see his family and it was on one of these visits that he witnessed a tradition that sparked an idea that would become a beloved event in his community.

The kidz building camp is a rural Dutch tradition that brings together young people from all backgrounds to build and create. Typically using pallets, the participants are encouraged to build any type of structure they can dream up. Seeing the benefit it could bring to the youth in his town, DeWit began hosting a Kidz Building Camp in Friona with the help of fellow dairy farmers Tom Alger, Koen Ally and other volunteers from the community. Kids ages 5-12 participate in the week-long event. ...

The 2022 Southwest Dairy Day hosted in Scotland and Windthorst Texas highlighted three different automated milking systems, or robotic dairies. This was the first time Southwest Dairy Day was held in this region of Texas and the first time there were three host dairies. This provided attendees an educational opportunity to see how each dairy was different. During the tours, attendees looked at the milking robots, and heard presentations and discussions by three field experts who talked about a unique aspect of each dairy. Speakers and topics discussed were:

Wolf’s Legendairy: The use of other precision technologies on close-up cows and within an automated milking system, Dr. Barbara Jones, assistant professor, Tarleton State University, and director of the Southwest Regional Dairy Center.

Hemmi Family Dairy: Retrofitting an

existing dairy facility to implement automated milking systems, Tim Terry, farm strategic planning specialist, Pro-Dairy, Cornell University.

Vieth Dairy: Cow comfort in automated milking systems and calf management, Dr. Marcia Endres, professor and director of graduate studies, University of Minnesota.

Approximately 500 people participated in this event including dairy families, allied industry professionals, AgriLife Extension personnel, students and local community residents. There were about 50 sponsors and 45 vendor booths displaying their companies’ services and products. ...