06/30/06 Dairymen face price, energy issues

Idaho dairy producers have to make a decision by this weekend. Do they double the amount of their CWT assessment from a nickel to ten cents per hundredweight of milk? With over supply has come a drop in prices at the same time fuel costs have skyrocketed. Cutting production will help but so will increased consumption. Mike Hutjens of the University of Illinois says if you want to do you part to help the industry, be the average American. HUTJENS "Eat almost 32 pounds of cheese, about four and a half pounds of butter, about 23 pounds of ice cream and frozen products and about two and a half pounds of cottage cheese." No pun intended, its small potatoes compared to some other countries. HUTJENS "France, Greece and that, they'll eat 50, 60 pounds of cheese so we are not the big dairy consumers and of course you go to New Zealand they drink lots and lots of milk. And then go to China and Japan they're talking like single digit numbers." Hutjens says there will be greater world wide demand for US dairy products, not necessarily milk, but other products made from milk and whey. He says the most exciting may be dairy products that contain whey protein, which he describes as a designer protein, a magic ingredient that has health benefits. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott