Urban Water Institute Water Policy Conference Delta Fix

Urban Water Institute Water Policy Conference Delta Fix: Can Agribusiness Afford It? Geoffrey Vanden Heuvel Dairy Farmer / Vice-Chairman, Milk Producers Council August 24, 2012

Fun Facts About Milk and Dairy Cows Real milk comes from cows n A cow needs to have a calf to start producing milk n

Fun Facts About Milk and Dairy Cows n A calf: n n n Weighs about 100 pounds at birth Walks and starts nursing its mother at about 1 hour after birth Gains about 2 pounds per day, and is weaned at about 75 days of age Is ready to breed at 15 months old The gestation period of a cow is 9 months So at 2 years old, a cow is ready to have her first calf and start producing milk

What Is Milk Made Of? n “Average” Holstein cow milk is made up of: 3. 5% butterfat n 3. 2% protein n 5% lactose n 0. 5% minerals n 87. 8% water n

What Is Milk Made Of? n So in the grocery store: “Whole milk” is 3. 5% butterfat n “Lowfat milk” is 2% butterfat n “Skim milk” is 0. 25% butterfat or less n

Cheese About 40% of California’s milk is manufactured into cheese n Cheese is really the binding together of the protein in milk, 80% of which is casein (or glue), with the butterfat in milk n So when you make cheddar cheese, the butterfat and protein end up in the cheese, and the lactose and non-casein proteins end up in “whey” n n “Eating her curds and whey…”

Milk and Dairy Products n n n Milk weighs about 8. 6 pounds per gallon It takes about 1. 16 gallons of milk to make 1 pound of cheddar cheese In California, we produce more than 2 billion pounds of cheese per year (mostly cheddar and mozzarella), which makes up about 20% of the total U. S. production of cheese We also make about 620 million pounds of butter per year (about 40% of the U. S. ), and more than 1 billion pounds of milk powders per year (about 58% of the U. S. ) Only 11 -14% of California’s milk is actually sold as fluid milk in the stores

Lactose-Free Milk Do you know how they make “lactose-free” milk for those who are lactose intolerant? I didn’t either, until a few months ago. n At the processing plant, milk is put in a holding tank, and an enzyme is added to the milk, which converts the lactose to fructose. So “lactose-free” milk tastes sweeter because fructose is sweeter than lactose. n

How About Chocolate Milk? Do You Know Where It Comes From? “Bessy the Brown Cow”

What Cows Eat A cow is a “ruminant” animal, which means they need a certain amount of forages in their diet n About 40% of a dairy cow’s diet needs to be forage, which consists of alfalfa hay and/or silages n Mature milking cows eat about 50 pounds of “dry matter” per day n

California’s Dairy Industry About 1. 7 million dairy cows in California n These cows need a lot of forage, including alfalfa hay and silages, to be sustained n Silages cannot be transported long distances because they have a high moisture content n Alfalfa hay is an essential part of sustaining the California dairy herd n

California’s Dairy Industry There are 980, 000 acres of alfalfa hay production ground in California n 75% of the alfalfa produced in California goes to the dairy industry (15% to horses, 5% to export, and the balance to beef, sheep and others) n 50% of the alfalfa acres in California are located in regions of the State impacted by the Delta n

Delta Fix Impacts Current agricultural water costs to grow alfalfa range from $35 per acre-foot to $75 per acre-foot n Studies have indicated that the Delta fix will add $180 per acre-foot to the cost of agricultural water n

Delta Fix Impacts n Growing alfalfa in the Central Valley requires about 4 -5 acre-feet of water per acre of alfalfa. n n 500, 000 acres of alfalfa in the CV = 2. 0 -2. 5 million acrefeet $180 per acre-foot X 2 million acre-feet = $360 million The dairy industry is highly regulated. There is no method of “recapturing” this $360 million from our customers This seems like a problem

Economic Value of the Dairy Industry to California n The California Milk Advisory Board has analyzed the economic impact of the California dairy industry: $63 billion in economic impact n 443, 000 jobs n For every job on the farm, another 22 jobs are created beyond the farm n

Bottom Line No alfalfa No dairy industry

Thank You. Questions?