Nearly 750 dairy producers and industry representatives gathered in Denver, Colorado, on Oct. 24‑26 to learn the latest updates about dairy policy, exports, dairy checkoff, economics and more at the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA) and National Dairy Board (NDB) annual meeting.
Speakers, staff, and dairy farmer leaders emphasized the collaboration between the national policy and promotion organizations working on behalf of America’s dairy farmers. Attendees heard updates from NMPF; Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), which is comprised of UDIA and NDB; the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC); and others working to advance priorities in these areas.
Sustainability continues to be a key driver of the work done by organizations across the industry.
“At a time when anticipating and addressing challenges is at a premium, we in dairy have a proven track record of proactively addressing these issues and looking around corners and establishing ourselves as a leader in meeting these challenges head on,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We don’t always have an immediate solution, but we’ve worked to figure out how we can best protect and promote our interests through commitment and action.”
He said that the leadership and vision shown by farmers and industry professionals across the U.S. dairy community is a vital reason for this and that this leadership will only become more essential in the future.
“This leadership will become more important in the next few years as we see even greater pressure from consumers, from customers and government to show progress on the issues they care about. It won’t be easy, and as I said, we don’t have all the answers today, but we know that we can do it because of the incredibly strong base we’ve built over the last 15-plus years of forward-leaning engagement on sustainability and climate issues.”
Mulhern also reminded attendees about per-capita consumption statistics recently released by the USDA.
“Keep in mind that our biggest ally is the consumer. As the USDA just reported, per-capita dairy consumption in this country is the highest since 1959. This is an incredible endorsement of your hard work. Dairy is part of a sustainable, innovative future of which we can all be proud,” he said.
Findings from Purdue University’s recent consumer food insights report stated that the top six attributes presumed to impact consumers’ food buying choices are, in order of importance: taste, nutrition, affordability, availability, environmental impact and social responsibility.
“Look at the first four: taste, nutrition, affordability, availability. That’s our sweet spot. That’s what dairy is all about and why per-capita consumption is at record levels of our lifetime,” Mulhern said. “Most people love and want to continue loving dairy. We need to make sure they keep feeling that way, and that’s where the environmental impact and social responsibility come in. They’re there and they are clearly on consumers’ minds. Our task and our goal is to make sure consumers feel as good about our contributions on sustainability as they do about dairy’s taste and nutrition.”
Success, he said, is not only about responding to sustainability and other external challenges but also about making sure the dairy industry has internal unity within the producer community to push forward and ensure success on many other issues.
“Our efforts to modernize the important Federal Milk Marketing Order system [include] more than 100 meetings on this topic,” Mulhern said. “We’ve gathered a lot of views and engaged with many stakeholders. I’m happy to report that [during the annual meeting] our board of directors gave unanimous approval to a proposal to update the federal order program and will now begin to prepare a national federal order proposal to USDA. I expect we will put this together and submit it sometime early next year.”
In dairy promotion, DMI CEO Barbara O’Brien, who was named CEO in October 2021, provided an update on her first year at the helm of the national dairy checkoff organization. Her modernized checkoff strategy includes a new three-year plan, budget and organizational structure.
New DMI strategic priorities are based on the acronym ASPIRE, which drives action through sustainability, people, innovation, reputation and exports.
She discussed a new partnership with Raising Cane’s to address growth opportunities for chicken and cheese in the fast-growing QSR channel. O’Brien said there’s huge upside growth as there are roughly 3 billion chicken sandwiches produced by the top five U.S. chains every year, but about 2.3 billion of those are produced without a slice of cheese. Raising Cane’s is a popular destination for Gen Z consumers, and the partnership also will focus on dairy-based beverages, sides and sauces.
Sustainability and farmers’ longtime commitment to environmental stewardship is another checkoff focus, O’Brien said. DMI’s work includes more than 140 on-farm research projects involving large- and small-scale operations to continue proof-building efforts. Continued third-party and partner investment includes more than $4 million in the Greener Cattle Initiative, a multi-national study of the most promising interventions to reduce enteric emissions. And in addition to a $10 million investment from the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), there’s another $13 million from partners in the Dairy Soil and Water Regeneration program focused on soil management practices and manure-based products.
“This work is all about U.S. dairy as an environmental solution backed by science and proof and economically beneficial for farmers, markets and society,” O’Brien said.
Oregon dairy farmers Todd and Kim Leuthold try one of McDonald’s new McFlurry flavors during one of the dairy breaks. Photo by Kimmi Devaney.
Other 2022 highlights include:
- Taco Bell introducing extensions of its line of Freeze products that use real dairy creamer and relaunching the Grilled Cheese Burrito, products created by dairy checkoff food scientists.
- Assembling a team of social media influencers whose reach or followers exceeds any major traditional U.S. print or broadcast outlet. The efforts include sparking the recent butter board craze that included a TikTok video, which has generated millions of views.
- A continued partnership with gaming and YouTube icon Jimmy Donaldson – aka MrBeast – who has more than 100 million followers and launched a contest that includes his observations of farm stewardship based on a recent farm visit.
- Double-digit sales growth (18% over the last 52 weeks) for dairy on Amazon, which DMI has worked with for four years at no cost and continues to rely on checkoff experts for counsel in areas related to marketing and product insights.
- The second-year launch of Undeniably Dairy’s “Reset Yourself with Dairy” campaign series targeted to Gen Z consumers. The work features humorous content appearing on Gen Z channels, which have generated more than 255 million views to help grow the relevance of dairy’s wellness benefits.
In addition to presentations by industry organizations, Indiana dairy farmer Jill Houin hosted a live recording of Your Dairy Checkoff Podcast, which also focused on sustainability. The episode will be available on podcast platforms in the coming months.
There were many opportunities for dairy farmers and industry professionals to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones during dairy breaks and the annual cheese reception. During dairy breaks, attendees visited with representatives from various industry organizations at their booths and had an opportunity to try new menu items from DMI partners, such as Domino’s, Taco Bell and McDonald’s.
Additionally, Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) staff recognized awards winners:
- MVP Dairy LLC, Celina, Ohio, was awarded the 2022 FARM Excellence Award in Animal Care and Antibiotic Stewardship for their constant efforts to create the ideal environment for their cows, prevent potential illnesses and reduce the use of medications by following FARM facility guidelines and best management practices.
- Kibler Dairy Farms Inc., Warren, Ohio, was awarded the 2022 FARM Excellence Award in Environmental Stewardship for their focus on conservation practices and water quality initiatives to lower their environmental impact.
- Double A Dairy LLC, Jerome, Idaho, was awarded the 2022 FARM Excellence Award in Workforce Development for their commitment to employees by prioritizing new employee onboarding, focusing on continuous improvement and implementing a formal safety program.
- Ruth McCuin, field service supervisor and FARM Program coordinator for Agri-Mark Inc., was awarded the 2022 FARM Evaluator Excellence Award for her superior commitment to the farms she represents and the help she provides in ensuring everyone is working toward continuous improvement.
Attendees sample the award-winning cheeses during the cheese reception and connect with others across the dairy industry.
Photo courtesy of Dairy Management Inc.
