As usually happens in the fall, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB) and the United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA) met to share in their common accomplishments and challenges, as well as to discuss the best route for the industry's future. This year, the joint annual meeting took place Oct. 29-31 in Orlando, Florida. Nearly 1,000 producer and industry representatives were in attendance. Here are some highlights provided by participating organizations. NMPF leaders evaluate organization’s success at annual meeting During the 2012 annual meeting of the NMPF, Chairman Randy Mooney and President/CEO Jerry Kozak addressed the NMPF membership and discussed the organization’s progress over the past year.

“The DSA was included by the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee in the draft Farm Bill approved last spring,” Kozak explained. “Subsequently, the entire Senate approved a Farm Bill containing the DSA. Then, the House Agriculture Committee approved its own version of the Farm Bill earlier this summer.”

Despite this support, and NMPF’s success in defeating challenges to the DSA (like the Goodlatte amendment, which would have stripped the market stabilization plan from the program), the Farm Bill was not brought to a vote by the full House.

With the expiration of the old Farm Bill, NMPF has been increasing pressure on Congress and urging its member cooperatives and farmers to ask their representatives for a “Farm Bill Now.”

NMPF’s leaders discussed other priority issues that the organization had dealt with in the past year.

Participation in the National Dairy FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) Program has continued to increase, but more farms, co-ops, and companies are still needed. The program recently launched a “See It, Stop It” campaign that encourages workers to share information about potentially problematic animal care practices with farm management.

Although there weren’t any new trade deals completed or signed in 2012, NMPF has been working with industry partners like the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the Consortium for Common Food Names to represent dairy farmer interests in negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement and Geographic Indications.

The voluntary, dairy farmer-funded Cooperatives Working Together program has helped export the equivalent of 2.2 billion pounds of milk, or 60 percent of the increase in 2012 milk production, to buyers overseas.

The joint presentation concluded with Mooney and Kozak emphasizing the proactive attitude the organization assumed throughout the year. “The best way to deal with that future is being proactive, always doing the right things, and most importantly, taking care of our own,” Kozak said.

Click here to view the full text from Mooney and Kozak's joint speech.

Dairy producer leaders applaud industry collaboration to grow sales and enhance image
The dairy checkoff’s strategy of working with powerful partners is helping to “secure dairy’s future” by contributing to billions of additional pounds of milk sales and enhancing dairy’s image.

Working with industry leaders McDonald’s and Domino’s represents a business strategy that helps the dairy checkoff “do more with less,” said California producer Steve Maddox, NDB chairman.

NDB carries out coordinated promotion and research programs to help build demand and expand domestic and international markets for dairy products.

“In the past, checkoff efforts were largely focused on generic promotion to help raise consumer awareness through generic advertising,” Maddox said. “We had some great ads that producers were extremely proud of, but we didn't grow sustained dairy sales.”

Maddox said the checkoff’s partnership with McDonald’s directly contributed to an additional 1.7 billion pounds of milk sold between 2009 and 2011. Producers can expect continued growth in McDonald’s dairy sales, he said, pointing to menu development efforts driven by checkoff employees who work at McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois.

Beyond McDonald’s, the checkoff’s partnerships with Domino’s and other pizza companies and suppliers have moved more than 6 billion pounds of milk since 2009, according to the USDA. Pizza innovation continues with the recent introduction of Domino’s Handmade Pan Pizza, which uses up to 40 percent more cheese than the chain’s two-topping, hand-tossed pizzas.

Innovation Center unifies industry on common goals
The Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, created by producers in 2008, allows the checkoff to partner with processors, manufacturers and others to leverage their financial and other resources.

More than 800 professionals representing 300 companies dedicate their time and expertise to help advance checkoff goals and priorities.

“Our checkoff program cannot do it alone,” said Paul Rovey, Arizona dairy producer and chair of Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), which manages the national dairy checkoff through funding from NDB and UDIA. “We need the added muscle and backing of powerful partners through an industry-wide approach.”

Rovey said the Innovation Center is one of the most groundbreaking partnership concepts the checkoff has created, and its successes benefit the entire industry.

In the area of food safety, the Innovation Center has facilitated an industry-funded training program to help reduce the risk of pathogen contamination in dairy foods. It also has conducted a greenhouse gas life cycle assessment for fluid milk to set the record straight about milk’s environmental impact.

Fuel Up to Play 60 positively impacting future consumers
Other checkoff partnerships are aimed at youth to help reverse the alarming obesity epidemic that is putting the health of future generations at risk.

Fuel Up to Play 60 is a partnership between the dairy checkoff and the National Football League, with support from USDA. State and regional checkoff staffs have implemented it in more than 73,000 schools.

Schools are important to producers because 55 million students across the country are in class an average of 180 days a year. These students account for 7 percent of total fluid milk consumption.

“Children represent 100 percent of our future consumers,” said Bill Siebenborn, Missouri producer and UDIA chair. “We have a tremendous opportunity to positively impact these youngsters' diets with healthy, nutritious dairy products.”

Local checkoff organizations also remain critical to protecting and promoting dairy’s image. Image efforts are focused on having more conversations – especially through social media channels – with consumers who are generations removed from food production.

These consumers are interested in learning more about the work that occurs on dairy farms. Research shows they will be more loyal to products whose values – real or perceived – mirror their own.

Dairy’s story is one that “consumers tell us they want to hear,” Siebenborn said.

At the core of these efforts is the partnership between national and local organizations that form UDIA, a federation of 19 state and regional dairy promotion organizations that collaborate to develop and implement strategies to grow sales.

“There is no more important relationship than the one between our national and state and regional dairy promotion organizations,” Siebenborn said.

“Through DMI, dairy producers are able to implement programs nationally so that we have a consistent, unified approach to protect and promote dairy. Our staffs at the state and regional level bring our programs to life.” PD

—Compiled from NMPF and DMI news releases