Well like Marketeye said at the beginning of his post yesterday it feels like a turn around wendsday and it was. Dairy showed strength again traders and processors felt the fear which had led to the downturn had been overdone and most contracts showed gains most recouping at least half of the previous days losses. Blocks bumped back up to 1.50 but had to settle at 1.495. This resistance will be critical as the moment we move over that we will be looking toward a new ceiling. I haven't done enough research to see just where exactly that next resistance might be but I do know last December we traded up to 1.70 and that may well be our next target. Today's activity will be the real test as alot of traders may take off Friday for a 4 day weekend volumes may be slightly heavier as we position for the next week. When we have the beginning of the EU offerings of butter and powder stocks. Just domething to keep attached to the sticky side of your head for next week.
Yesterday I talked about margins. Margins are that thin sliver we have been operating on for ever! It always seems so hard to gain a greater margin yet it is so easy to squander it also. Yesterday an Ohio based group released a video of abuse on a dairy farm in Conklin, Ohio. I am not here to report the facts of the case or defend them. I only want to say my opinion after watching part of the video. (I tried to watch the whole thing but I couldn't It made me sick!). While these actions were those of one signal employee who it appeared to me was doing some of these things with the knowledge that he was being taped and maybe even staged some of the attacks. It is the images of the abuse and irresponsible acts committed that will linger with the public for far longer than the facts ever will.
As I viewed the dairy cows they looked to be in good shape clean and well fed. The calves which I am going to assume were in a maternity pen were also clean and healthy. Yesterday was a good day for the financial margins but really lousey for the public relations margin which Dairy has had far to many troubles with over the past few years. We know there are people out there with an agenda I have had the arguments with many of them. We can not patronize them or put off their concerns as foolish or even stupid. We must whole heartedly condemn the actions of this one rogue employee and continue to work to educate ourselves to the scrutiny we are now under. Every person with a cell phone is now a cub reporter. And to the public the facts don't matter only the images!
I think maybe it's about time we might want to ban Cell phones and other video equipment from the barns where livestock are kept. We give out tours to folks on our farm last summer we had a grandma in the area who wanted her granddaughter and great grandchildren to see a Dairy farm they were visitng iowa but lived in a suburb of Philadelphia. I said we would be happy to have them come on out to the farm. We are proud of our worn out facilities here.
As we walked up to our hospital pen which also has two maternity pens attached I found a cow calving. It was in a clean pen with easy access to feed and water and good lighting. I thought a very good place for this calf to be born on this cool summer day. I was shocked at the response of the Philly Folks who were annoyed at the fact that the cow didn't have more privacy from other animals at this most intimate moment! I didn't have a response ( I still don't) but I did learn that the publics perception to animal agriculture is only viewed from their personal experience. I don't know if we can overcome this but I do know we must stop shooting ourselves in the foot. By the way the man in the video has been arrested and charges have been filed. I hope they throw the book at him! That's all for now. All of this is my own opinion (I know why would anybody take credit for this) JR
