Georgia

Weather, Aphid-Vectored Virus Affecting Forage Oat Crops in Georgia

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:19:42 GMT

From what’s being observed in some south Georgia pastures this fall, oats are struggling, with growers seeing issues from cold damage, nutrient and moisture stress, and possible barley yellow dwarf virus. Above-average rainfall in November and December have also prevented cattle from getting into oat pastures for winter grazing.

Farmers have observed older, lower leaves on oat plants turning off-color due to unseasonably cold temperatures in south Georgia. Oats are particularly vulnerable to freezing temperatures, and when temperatures start to drop, anthocyanins (pigments that give plants their color) collect in the plant and cause a purplish color.

In the absence of cold weather, this color can be attributed to phosphorous deficiency or, more concerning, as an early warning symptom of barley yellow dwarf virus, which can also cause this purple color in oats. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Professor David Buntin confirms that the virus has been more prevalent throughout the state.

The virus is vectored by the bird cherry-oat aphid and growers who suspect infection should have lab test to confirm the virus.

It’s important to remember that oats are more susceptible to the barley yellow dwarf virus than any other small grain. Although recent colder temperatures in south Georgia will reduce how active the aphids are, and a hard freeze could kill off aphid populations, very high aphid populations could migrate low to the ground and survive.

UGA Extension offers the following tips for farmers who are concerned about oat crop health:

If oats are highly infected with barley yellow dwarf virus, it is not likely an insecticide will be of any benefit.
If oats do not appear infected with barley yellow dwarf virus and aphids are present, an insecticide will be of benefit.
If oats do not appear infected with barley yellow dwarf virus and aphids are not present, scout the field for aphids.

For more on growing small grains in Georgia, visit http://extension.uga.edu/topic-areas/field-crop-forage-turfgrass-production/small-grains.html .

Dean Foods Closing Mayfield Dairy Plant in Georgia

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 05:54:04 GMT

Dean Foods plans to close its Mayfield Dairy Farms plant in Braselton, Georgia, resulting in the 108 employees losing their jobs.

A letter from Mayfield Dairy was sent to Braselton Mayor Bill Orr back in July announced the plants closing. The letter said layoffs would start on Sept. 16 and would continue through Nov. 30. The layoffs are expected to be permanent.

The letter was sent by Mayfield Dairy to the mayor “providing this notice to request, on behalf of our workers, any assistance you may provide to help locate employment opportunities in the community for the workers impacted by this plant closure.”

It is never stated why the plant is closing in the letter. However, the move is just the latest fluid milk plant closing made by Mayfield Dairy owner Dean Foods in the past year. Dean Foods has acknowledged that more plant closings would occur after a number of plants were closed earlier in 2018.

“We expect to consolidate our supply chain by a meaningful amount over the next 18 to 24 months while also making sure that we deliver the same great quality, value and service that our customers have come to expect from us,” Ralph P. Scozzafava, chief executive officer at Dean Foods told the Food Business News in March . “For this important reason, we’ll implement our supply chain changes in phases with targeted completion in 2019.”

The Mayfield Dairy plant in Braselton is located approximately 50 miles northeast of Atlanta and was opened in 1997. The plant recently stopped doing tours and closed its visitor center on Aug. 31.

Mayfield Dairy traces its roots back to T.B. Mayfield Jr. when he purchased 45 Jersey cows in 1910 and started delivering milk in his hometown of Athens, Tennessee. In 1990, Mayfield Dairy became a part of Dean Foods and still has processing plant at its original location in Athens. There is also an ice cream plant in Birmingham, Alabama that is operated with Barber’s Dairy and owned by Dean Foods.

Select Sires Reveals Cooperative Merger Creating Premier Select Sires

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 05:53:45 GMT

Combining forces, the Select Sire Power, Inc. and Southeast Select Sires, Inc. will officially become one and renamed Premier Select Sires, Inc. effective Jan. 1, 2019.

The same specialists who currently serve beef and dairy customers will continue to support their local member-owners, only as part of a larger team with a wider network of in-house support, according to Select Sires. Premier Select Sires will combine the territories of the two previous cooperatives, covering a total of 23 states.

These states include:

Maine
Vermont
Maryland
New Hampshire
Massachusetts
Delaware
Connecticut
New York
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
Rhode Island
West Virginia
Virginia
North Carolina
Florida
Kansas
Tennessee
Arkansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Alabama
Georgia
And Washington DC

“Premier Select Sires is the result of combining two financially strong cooperatives in order to benefit both memberships with pooled resources. We look forward to working together to continue to be the Premier genetic provider,” said Tim Riley, General Manager of Southeast Select Sires, in a press release.

Because of an aligned set of strengths and goals, the boards of Select Sire Power and Southeast Select Sires unanimously approved the affiliation agreement.

“This is a very exciting time for both organizations and we look forward to charting a successful future together. The larger cooperative will allow us to provide greater diversity of products and services to meet the modern needs of beef and dairy producers throughout our territory,” said Mark Carpenter, General Manager of Select Sire Power and future CEO of Premier Select Sires.

This is not the first merger the company has experienced throughout the past two years. In June 2017, Select Sires and Accelerated Genetics announced that Select Sires would acquire the assets of Accelerated Genetics.

This news also comes after the announcement of the holding companies Alta Genetics and GENEX forming their new organization, URUS. The intent to merge Koepon Holding BV and Cooperative Resources International (CRI) was first announced last December. Included in the merger are the following companies: AgSource , Alta Genetics , GENEX , Jetstream Genetics , PEAK/GENESIS , SCCL and VAS .