Randy Mooney’s Remarks:
Well, thank you Tammi. I appreciate the introduction and thanks for all the energy you bring to the meeting, and to the people who opened up this meeting, Kendra and David with the prayer, thank you very much. All of our board meetings at National Milk, we open them up with a prayer and I just think that’s the way to do it. It gets us off to the right start. What a great crowd we have here. From when I’m talking to Barb and Gregg, 750 people signed up for the meeting. I got a call last week, I think, from Dennis Rodenbaugh and he said, “Are you watching the news about the traffic airlines?” I said, “Yeah,” and he said, “I hope that don’t affect the meeting.” We was concerned about that, and my statement was a negative statement back to him. I said, “Well, if I was a dairy farmer and I was on my farm and I was as busy as we all are and I was listening to the news, it’d probably be an easy decision for me not to go.”
But you didn’t do that. You’re here. You showed up, and it shows your dedication to the industry, and I thank you very much for that. Let me just say one word about the veterans. I’m a news junkie. I like to watch the news, and you look at everything going on in the world, and a lot of that stuff is not here. It’s not here on our land, and it’s because of you, what you’ve done to help protect us, but not only that, you got active service members now, and I know there’s a lot of parents in the room that are worried about their sons and daughters that may be in harm’s way helping also to protect us, so thank you for your sons and daughters that serve in the military. We appreciate it very much.
I can’t start my presentation without recognizing one person here. Michael Dykes is sitting here on the front row. Michael, if you know, is CEO of International Dairy Foods Association, IDFA, a group that we work very closely with. And I’ll never forget, one of our crisis that we had in the dairy industry was during COVID, March, April, May of 2020 when we was wondering what we was going to do with the milk and Michael and his team, and National Milk and our team was on weekly calls trying to figure out how we was going to get money to farmers, how we was going to get the milk taken care of without dumping it out. So Michael, thank you for taking the time to be here. Appreciate it.
Well, to get ready for meetings like this, it makes you pause and reflect, especially for me now that I’ve been part of National Milk for more than two decades, you can’t help but think of the magnitude of what we’ve accomplished in that time around the country. And I’m in awe by how this industry has grown, how it’s evolved, while never losing sight of who we serve, which is the dairy farmers back home. As many of you know, this is my last annual meeting as chairman. And while I’ll continue to serve on the board, this moment marks a meaningful transition for me personally and for our organization as a whole. It’s one of the greatest honors of my life to work alongside so many of you, dedicated farmer leaders, who care deeply about the future of dairy and about our fellow dairy farmers who work tirelessly every day to provide a safe, wholesome, nutritious product to families around the world.
And now as I prepare to hand over the responsibility, I’m proud to pass the baton to Brian Rexing, a leader who carries forward the spirit of dedication, vision, integrity that defines national milk in our entire industry. I’ve known Brian for a long time and I call on him to do some stuff at our co-op DFA. And when I call him, I say, “Brian, I know you’re too busy to do this.” And he always tells me a story about what his dad’s told him. His dad told him, “If you want to get a job done, find the busiest person that there is and ask him to do it and it’ll get done.” And that’s what I found in Brian. He always gets the job done. Now, there’s another story I’ll tell about him. As farmers, we all sometimes tease each other about our tractors. Red tractors, green tractors, orange tractors, blue tractors. Brian’s a big red tractor fan. I’m kind of a green tractor fan. Oh, listen to this.
So we’ll have this debate and he gets emotional about it. So I met him and his family, Ranell, his wife sitting up here by him, and he’s got three older daughters and one young son. And I met his son one day and I said, “Hi, how are you? What’s your name?” He said, “Case.” So I can see what he’s so passionate about. I’m glad I didn’t name my daughter John Deere, but I have confidence under his leadership that he’ll carry on this organization and be a great leader and continue to drive this forward. Progress doesn’t overnight, and I’ve seen firsthand the grit and work it takes to move something forward. It all happens when people come together. We roll up our sleeves and stand shoulder to shoulder, stay rooted in shared values, and keep the course. We’ve done just that working as one as we’ve built something we should be very, very proud of.
We’ve built stronger foundation for dairy farmers across the country by ensuring that each and every day farmers, no matter the size of their operation are where they call home, as the tools, the support, and the representation they need to succeed on their operation for generations to come. We’ve moved the industry forward on major policy fronts and together, we’ve made collective voice stronger in Washington. We’ve improved coordination across the industry and we continue investing in programs that secure markets for US milk and dairy products, capturing the bipartisan wins along the way. We’ve created and continue to evolve the farm program. Together, we’ve developed and adopted a program that our customers and our consumers recognize, a program that nearly 100% of farmers in the country belong to. We’ve developed risk management tools starting out in 2009, discussions of what we called back then Foundation for the Future, and we’ve evolved that into DMC and DRP, which recognizes different sizes of farms.
Now, those aren’t perfect, but they are risk management tools that we didn’t have in the past On taxes, we’ve worked to make certain that our co-ops and our farmers benefited from the tax breaks and the One Big Beautiful Bill. This includes Section 199 and estate tax issues that allow us to pass the farm on to the next generation. And through our work on farm bills, we’ve advocated for policies and strengthen farms, families and growing children. On nutrition, we’ve worked on whole milk for Healthy Kids Act, expanding healthy fluid milk incentive programs, child nutrition acts, school meals, and by defending dairy’s name against plant-based beverages, we’ve driven home the message of dairy’s nutritional superiority over plant-based. Three years ago, four years ago from now, but we took three years in making the Federal Milk Marketing Order changes, meaningful progress towards updating a system that reflects today’s market’s realities. The reform isn’t perfect, but it’s an important step in the right direction. Let me get a drink here.
On trade policy, a decade and a half ago, we helped get Trade Promotion Authority passed. We worked on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, dairy export incentive programs. We’ve evolved the CWT program into next, and we’re currently working with the administration on tariffs and trade policies where we can not only get non-tariff trade barriers reduced in other countries, but we’re working to get tariffs reduced also. We fought to protect dairy’s rightful place in the American diet through the dietary guidelines for America. We work tirelessly to preserve as a standalone food group and to remind policy makers that 90% of the people in this country don’t get enough dairy. On our workforce, our labor, we’ve tackled one of agriculture’s most persistent challenges that’s advocating for the H-2A reform recommendations through the Ag Labor Working Group and working to ensure dairy has access to a reliable year-round workforce.
And at National Milk, that’s the number one issue that we’ve got to solve right now. I applaud the administration for securing the border. We need a secure border in this country, but we also need immigration reform so we can have ag labor on our farms. My concern is, and I truly believe we will get immigration reform. We will get immigration reform as it relates to agriculture, but we’re different. We’re 365 days a year and we need to be specific about what we want. And I’m glad the secretary is going to be here today to be able to hear from some of us that this has got to be done and I believe we can make it done. So you’re going to see National Milk setting up a task force of some of the leaders in this room to figure out exactly what we want. Then when we figure out what we want, we’re going to have to be nimble. As it goes through Congress, things change. We’re going to have to be able to change and adapt and to make sure that we fit in whatever legislation that gets passed.
And we remain resilient throughout all of this. When Avian Flu appeared in dairy herds, we acted swiftly and collaboratively, sharing information to support dairy farmers and working closely with government officials. And we are always able to be nimble. We’re always a source for anybody who needs us when we’re talking about taking care of our families, taking care of our farms and taking care of our cows and things like the Avian flu. But also we’ve worked closely with the FDA and CDC in making consumers understand that pasteurization works and the milk we sell in stores is safe, and we’ll do the same if the new world screw arm crosses our border/ we will take the lead in that again if we need to.
We stand together through wildfires in the west, tornadoes across the south, the Midwest, and record-breaking heat and dry weather nationwide, always showing up for one another because that’s the community that we live in. That’s the dairy community, we show up for each other. We work to make sure funds are available to help dairy farmers who have been devastated by natural disasters. And one thing stands clear. When we work together, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish. When we work as one, when we speak with one voice, when we lead with unity and purpose, there’s almost nothing that we can’t do. The challenges ahead are real, from labor to climate pressures, to market volatility and changing consumer expectations, but our momentum is real as well. We have strong leadership in place. We have a dedicated farmer leaders that’s ready to step up, and we have a legacy of resilient, innovative, and integrity to build upon.
So before I close, I want to take a moment to thank the many people who have made this journey possible and who have supported me through the years DMI, NDB, UDIA, USDEC, your collaboration has been essential in amplifying dairy’s voice and impact. And I want to thank Joanna, Alex, Marilyn, Barb Krista, thank you guys for what you do, what you’ve meant to the industry and what you’ve meant to me personally. And Marilyn, thank you for traveling the world on behalf of the US dairy farmer, letting the world know what we can do that. If they want to just get out of the way, the US dairy industry will feed the world. Now, I know they don’t want to do that, but that’s the message that you got. You know we can do it. And to Gregg and the National Milk staff, thank you for your dedication, your expertise, and your belief in our mission.
I’ve worked side by side with a lot of this dedicated staff for 17 years. They understand that dairy farm families depend on them to protect our interest in Washington, DC and all of them understand they work for farmers, which in this industry never closes, one that never lets up. They all know this is a 365 day a year business. And when we call, when need them, they’re there.
And to Gregg, I want to thank you. This is the end of your second year. You’ve had a great two years, and I’m a firm believer that whenever a board of directors goes to hire a CEO, you got to look at what you need as an organization and you got to try to figure out what you need into the future. That’s our job. And when we hired Gregg, we know that one day out of seven of our products goes to exports. Gregg’s past life with the past Trump administration was chief ag ambassador, ag negotiator. That fits what we need today in US dairy among a lot of other things but he fits that mold. He also knows the Trump administration. And for the next 38 months, we’re going to have the Trump administration. And Gregg, I know you’ll continue to pay your expertise. We’ll continue to pay big dividends for the next several years. So Gregg, thank you for what you’ve done.
To my fellow board members and officers, your leadership has been a constant source of strength and inspiration. And you’ve heard me say this before, you’re the who’s who of the dairy industry. And I’ll tell you, sitting it in front of a board, looking out over the board and seeing the CEOs and the chairmans of all the leading cooperatives across the country, all the elected leadership that comes and sit in front of me in the board meeting, there’s a strength in that that’s unremarkable. There’s a strength in that that gives you the power to run through any wall, to get anything done. And I want to thank the board of directors for what they’ve done.
To our cooperatives, to all of you, thank you for sending that leadership to the board. Thank you for providing the resources that we have at National Milk. It cost about four tenths of a cent a hundredweight to fund this organization. I thank the dividends and the return on that four tenths of a cent is very, very good.
To my family that supported me through all these years, I want to thank them. I want to thank my wife, Jan. Thank you for sticking with me. We’ve been married for 44 years. She’s the love of my life. She’s the business partner and friend and appreciate everything you’ve done. We go to a lot of these meetings and you see her sitting in these meetings and she does that because I don’t give her any money to go shopping, I guess. Maybe Michael could give her a couple of hundred or so, but she does it because this is our life. This is our conversation at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This is who we are and I’m not ashamed of that. When you’re part of a group like this that produces the most nutritious product in the world every day, that’s something to be proud of. And I’m proud of being dairy farmers, and I want to thank Jan for helping me.
Along this other list, my daughter there, Christina, we’ve got one child, Christina, she works for us, and then she’s a full-time mom. The boy in front of me there is Cole, then Annabel, Adeline. And the little one there that Christina is holding is Cameron. And he wants to be with me all the time. So if people ask me, “What are you going to do if you got a little extra time?”, that’s where I’m going to be. And that’s my son-in-law, Chad. He don’t work on the farm, but he’s a great son-in-law. So I’ve got a great family.
And most of all, to the farmers in the room, thank you. You are the heart of this organization. You’re the ones who’ve shown what’s possible when we lead with unity and purpose, when resiliency is alive and at the core of who we are as the dairy farmers. You’ve made me proud to serve on your behalf in this position, and I’m deeply optimistic about what’s to come. Thank you very much.
Brian Rexing’s Remarks:
I just want to tell you a little bit about myself, kind of introduce myself and let you know where I’m from and what my vision is. Like I said, I am Brian Rexing. I’m a fourth-generation dairy farmer. My wife and I built our own dairy in 2008 where we started milking. So my first full year of milking was 2009, and I think we can all think back of how much fun that was, but it was a learning experience and I got through it. We got through it, we got through it.
Pictured here is myself, along with my wife, Ranell, who’s here in the front row. I will be happily married to her for 28 years this Saturday, so I did remember. Along with, like Randy said, it makes it a lot easier when you have the support at home. My father’s told me that the most important crop you raise is those kids you see there and we do a really good job of it, but she does even a better job. The one sitting next to her is Blaire. Blaire has graduated college. She is just a wonderful kid. She’s working in an assisted living facility for retired nuns and sisters and loves it, loves the ability to be able to pray with them, loves the ability to be able to go to church with them. And we’re not sure where she come from, but we’re happy that she’s praying for us too. Behind them is Aliyah and Miley. Aliyah is the one in black, Miley is the taller one. Miley is a junior at Purdue studying ag, and Aliyah is a freshman at Purdue.
A week ago, this past Saturday, it was 11:30, I was working around the farm, I get a text from Aliyah. And I didn’t really know anything about this, but I got a text and I had a picture attached to it and a picture come in and she is past elbow deep in a cow and said, “Dad, I just got AI certified.” And I tell you what, as a dairyman and a dad, when I got that, it just kind of, I don’t know, it just put this feeling in my heart like it’s pretty cool when your kids go after the passion that you’ve had. And that was a pretty neat text.
My wife got the text and showed it to her girlfriend, so they were a little bit different about, their reaction was a little different, but mine, it was pretty cool. Everybody asked, are they going to come back? And I always say, “You know what? I want to draw them back. I don’t want to pull them back. I want them to go out and live their life and hopefully, we have an opportunity where they can be a part of if they so choose.” So we take that one day at a time. Beside me is Case, and Randy, what you didn’t know, you didn’t ask him his middle name. So his middle name is John. That’s true. Each of his grandfather’s middle name was John, so it stops there. But Case is 12. He plans on playing basketball for the Pacers. That way, we’re only about two and a half hours away, so he can come home and help on the farm in between games. So that’s his vision right now. But that’s what I’m proud of right there. That’s truly what I’m proud of.
Thank you, Randy, for all your years of service, your dedication. I’ve learned from the best. I’ve known Randy for a long time as our DFA Chairman, as National Milk Chairman, I’ve learned a lot. And while we don’t maybe agree on colors or tractors, most of the time we are aligned with what’s right for the dairy industry and we find a way to get it done. So thank you for all that. I may be stepping into this role, but what I’ll tell you, it’s not about me, guys. It’s about everybody in this room and everybody back home running our farms and everyone else on their farms. That’s what this role is about. This role is about creating an environment for those kids and your kids that they want to be a part of, and that’s the way I look at this. So it’s not about me.
DFA come down and took some pictures on our farm last summer and they took a picture of me in the barn and then they showed me and said, and I looked at it and I was like, “I want you to take a picture of my kids. I want them. I want to see what their vision is.” And when I see those pictures, I see that in their eyes, I see that vision. I see hope, I see passion, and that’s what drives me. That right there drives me. So I think together we can lead very boldly and we’re going to have to collaborate. We’ve got to work with other industry leaders, everybody in this business going forward ’cause we’re working for really one group of people, we’re working for dairy farmers and that’s what it’s all about.
So I want to thank all of you for your trust in me, for giving me this opportunity, for this role. Gregg, I look forward to working with you. Randy, you’re not going anywhere. You said you’re sticking around for a while, so I’ll have Randy to lean on and all the other board. So thank you for the opportunity and it’s going to be a pleasure working with this group for a long time I hope, so thank you.
