ANNUAL REPORT
to
THE CALIFORNIA DAIRY RESEARCH FOUNDATION

for
January 1-December 31, 2000

Executive Summary

To date 1,500 producers have received at least partial Stewardship training. The first 18 producers and their dairies have been certified. An evaluation hotline, certification database and web site have been established. The State and the CDQAP have cooperatively established an evaluation-certification program for novel environmental technologies. A partnership with the public-interest group Sustainable Conservation is developing financial incentive programs that would encourage producers to adapt environmentally friendly best- management practices. An environmental research priority document will assist researchers and funding agencies in directing resources towards projects most useful to producers. Development of a curriculum for a second environmental short course has begun. This course will expand the current-surface water program to include land-application of nutrients/waste. More then 100 print, television and radio releases have favorably depicted California producers as protecting the health and welfare of the state's consumers, livestock and environment. The program has continued to apply for and receive matching grants from non-dairy industry sources. The program's major achievements for the year 2000 are detailed by module below.

Environmental Stewardship Module

Environmental Stewardship Short-Course 1
(goal 10 sets for the year): A total of 20 sets (60 classes) of short courses were delivered during the year. The ESSC 1 was delivered in Bakersfield and Chino in January. Spring classes were delivered in Petaluma, Eureka, Stockton, Modesto, Orland, Los Banos, Tulare, and Riverdale. In May it was delivered again in Chino. Fall classes were held in Eureka, Petaluma, Orland, Elk Grove, Chowchilla, Tulare, Stockton, Modesto, and Chino. During 2000, 256 producers completed the ESSC 1 while an additional 267 attended at least one class. Spring classes have been scheduled for 2001. Processors have encouraged their producers to attend the short course. Land-O-Lakes has offered a $300 rebate to producers who complete the series. To date 40 producers have taken advantage of the LOL's program.

Training Provided To Service Organization And Creamery Field Personnel
(goal 3 classes) Eight allied industry classes were offered: Chino (2), Fresno, Merced, Davis (2), Tulare, and Modesto). These are 4.5 hr in duration and cover the material presented in the ESSC1. Considerable advertising was done to let people know about the availability of this training. Three of these sessions were targeted sessions. One was specifically for Department of Health Services employees, one was for partner staff members, and one was for American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists. A total of 123 individuals attended these sessions. Additionally, one full day course was provided to train people to assist producers in preparation for the evaluation process. Members of organizations represented in the Partnership agreement attended this course as did consultants.

Dairy Certifications
Third party evaluations began in July. To date 18 producers have been certified (see "Software to Manage Short Courses…" section below).

Software To Manage Short Courses & Certification Records
Microsoft Access is used to track participant data. The program allows immediate generation of measures of total program delivery, such as the following summary of participation in ESSC I & certification (all years):

Number producers completing all 6 hours (3 classes) = 972.
Number producers completing 2-4 hours (1-2 classes) = 520.
Number producers receiving some ESSC training (sum of above) = 1492.
Number producers completing pre-evaluation meeting = 79.
Number producers requesting evaluation = 33.
Number producers certified = 18. (Note: these 18 come from 14 facilities.)
Number Allied Industry reps attending compressed Short Course = 286

Evaluation Request Hotline Established
Producers wishing to request a facility evaluation can call 530-574-0524. Messages left on the answering machine are answered daily by the same technician maintaining the certification database (see above).

CDQAP Web Site Established
A web site has been established at www.cdqa.org. It contains a wide range of information about the program including program description & history, annual reports, Question-and-Answer documents and primary contacts.

Upgrades Of Java Program To Estimate Lagoon Storage Capacity Needs
The CDQA program has developed software to estimate lagoon storage capacity. Output from this program is required for evaluation and certification. As the initial evaluations were conducted, user comments directed modifications for the software. This program is available to designated users on the internet by password.

Teaching Module: Dos And Don'ts Of Manure Management
Photos depicting good and bad manure management have been collected from a variety of sources and scanned in graphics files. The photos have all been and have been reviewed by members of the interagency confined animal coordinating group, a process which began in May and took approximately eight months to complete. It is anticipated that the document will be printed in January.

Partnership with the Office of Environmental Technology
The State of California's Office of Environmental Technology (OET) and the CDQAP are collaboratively establishing a evaluation/certification program for novel environmental technologies for dairies. OET's program allows a technology sponsor (private company) to finance their own evaluations, which if satisfactory, OET publicly certifies. Various CDQA partners are assisting OET in the development of dairy technology evaluation protocols. This program will offer some assurance of effectiveness to dairy producers interested in investing in novel technologies.

Partnership with Sustainable Conservation Sustainable Conservation
is a non-profit public interest group lead by Stanford-trained MBA's. SusCon's mission is to develop financial incentive programs with encourage private business to adapt environmentally friendly best management practices. SusCon funds their activities through a variety of grants, primarily from philanthropic organizations. This year for its dairies program initiatives, SusCon was awarded a total of $275,000 from the Goldman Fund, the Packard Foundation and the Joseph Drown Foundation. Among those initiatives includes a review of potential "green labeling", environmental training for training Portuguese-speaking dairy producers and the development of "satellite" composting facilities providing an inexpensive means of managing manure while generating a saleable compost product. SusCon does not receive any dairy industry funds.

Environmental Research Prioritization
A particular problem facing CDRF has been determining which, if any, environmental research projects to support. To help address the problem the CDQAP & University of California's Dairy Quality Assurance Workgroup have drafted a Environmental Research Prioritization document. The Dairy QA Workgroup is composed of a wide variety of University researchers and extension specialists having a dairy focus. Importantly all UC Cooperative Extension Dairy Advisors are members of the Workgroup. The document is also being reviewed by the (regulatory) environmental Inter-agency Workgroup which includes various state and federal regulatory agencies. The workgroup reviewed and ranked 57 different projects/areas (17 extension/education, 10 technical, 30 research, and 2 demonstration).

Coordination of Statewide Response to New EPA Guidelines
The US-EPA has released its new Effluent Limit Guidelines (ELG) draft. This 900-page document outlines EPA's new CAFO requirements. Importantly it requires dairy producers to complete a vaguely defined nutrient management program ("Permit Nutrient Plan" or PNP). Further confusing the issue was the concurrent release of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS, formerly the Soil Conservation Service) draft guide for a "Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan" (CNMP). In addition, various private and academic organizations have or are drafting pollution prevention programs for either free distribution or sale. None of these documents outline exactly what procedures producers must complete in order to remain in compliance. The CDQAP partners have collaboratively initiated development of a curriculum that will clearly define a program that will ensure that producers to meet all state, federal and local requirements regarding land-application of nutrients/waste. This will be offered to producers throughout the state as Environmental Stewardship Short Course II. The new course will simply expand the successful education & certification program (ESSC I) dealing with surface-water regulations. Both EPA and NRCS will assist in development.

Special Projects
A considerable amount of researcher and partner time is spent on special projects that typically result from either technical questions or crisis management. Two 2000 special projects are of particular note:

Back-Flow Prevention: Irrigation well water pumps that have cross connections to piping carrying lagoon water have the potential to contaminate ground water. State regulations requiring "back-flow prevention" (BFP) devices for such pumps have existed for years but have not been publicized or enforced. The CDQAP partners have summarized technical information detailing which methods qualify as adequate BFP. With the announcement that proof of BFP will be required for renewal of a producer's pesticide application license, this information has become crucial to even those producers not seeking CDQAP certification.

Milk Diversion to Lagoons: Starting as a project to streamline the process authorizing disposal of antibiotic-contaminated milk into retention ponds, this issue took on great importance when power black-outs closed down processing plants. The policy document which would allow producers to add milk to ponds is currently being reviewed by state regulatory authorities.

Program Publicity An enormous amount of positive publicity has been generated as a result of the CDQAP. Particularly after the awards ceremony on the steps of the State Capital, numerous print, TV and radio releases depicted California dairymen as producing a product in concert with the environment. A summary of the types of media releases appears below. Detailed information on these media releases appears in Appendix II.

Potential NRCS Position
CDQA, the Department Animal Science and USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have entered into discussions regarding the potential for a NRCS agronomist being placed in Animal Science. NRCS is working a job description that involves primarily leading development of Environmental Stewardship Short Course II.

Food Safety Module

Food Safety Curriculum
Development of the food safety short-course curriculum is proceeding. The first video "A Dairy Producer's Tour of a Slaughter Facility" has been completed. A second video "Residue Prevention for Dairy Producers" has been funded through two non-dairy industry grants and scripted. The shooting schedule for it is being developed. The California Department of Food and Agriculture has developed a slide set, pamphlet and wall poster for its new emergency response program. University experts have been agreed to develop slide sets for antibiotic resistance and bootleg milk sections. Lastly, although part of the Animal Health and Welfare Module rather then the Food Safety Module, the CDQAP has been participating in implementation of the California Johne's Disease Control Program.

Partnership with the Dairy Food Safety Task Force
The California Department of Food & Agriculture organized the Dairy Food Safety Task Force in the wake of three devastating toxic events on California dairies (two botulism and one pesticide). The goal of the group is to establish protocols to mitigate animal death and condemned product in the event of future similar cases. A list of potential chemical contaminations was constructed and work begun. The FDA has accepted California's plan for future nitrate cases in the State and is reviewing the monensin protocol. In addition a protocol which would allow antibiotic contaminated-milk to be shipped to calf raisers for use as feed is being reviewed by FDA.

Assistance to Dairy Issues Forum
Various partners have provided factual information on and assisted in the development of press releases from DIF. Subjects addressed have included :