Established in 1950, the National Young Cooperators (YC) Program was created to provide up-and-coming leaders in the dairy industry with a better understanding of issues facing farmers and milk marketing cooperatives. The program’s goal is simple: to educate and build leadership abilities in the next generation of dairy farmers.
Leadership development is encouraged and recognized at the local and national levels. Many current dairy industry leaders, including some current NMPF board members, have participated in NMPF’s YC Program. Several of NMPF’s member cooperatives sponsor their own YC programs, but representatives from each cooperative have the opportunity to participate in national YC activities. Every June, a fly-in event is held in conjunction with NMPF’s June Board of Directors meeting. YCs learn about NMPF’s current policy priorities, attend a lobbying how-to event, and meet with their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In the fall, the national YC Leadership and Development Program is held in conjunction with NMPF’s Joint Annual Meeting.
To be eligible for participation in the National YC Program, you must meet the following criteria:
NMPF asks that participants in the program commit to attending two in-person events throughout the year. This includes the Virtual YC Leadership and Development Program and the Dairy Policy and Legislative Forum, which will be held June 7 – 9, 2021, at the Ritz Carlton Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia. Between the two meetings, we urge YCs to participate in live webinars, whenever possible and catch up by watching webinar recordings when scheduling conflicts occur.
Every NMPF member cooperative with a recognized YC program is eligible to have at least one seat (couple or individual) on NMPF’s YC Advisory Council. Additional seats are determined by the size of the cooperative’s program.
NMPF member cooperatives are responsible for selecting the YCs who will serve as their representatives on the YC Advisory Council. Each cooperative has its own way of choosing YCs for the council. Each new YC Advisory Council is democratically elected and takes office at the end of the Joint Annual Meeting.
Members of the council are the leaders of NMPF’s YC program. They have three principal duties:
James Weber
Chair
Michigan Milk Producers Association
Nathan & Angela Wiese
Vice Chairs
Farm First Dairy Cooperative
Tim Christiansen
Second Vice Chair
Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc.
Amanda Button
Agri-Mark
Rich & Shelby Holsopple
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association
Micah Jr. & Emily Meyers
Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Josh Neahring
Tillamook County Cooperative Association
Josh & Katie Sauter
Dairy Farmers of America
Kristopher & Chelsea Scheider
Foremost Farms USA
Jason & Tiffany Staehely
Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold)
Chad & Danielle Voelker
Prairie Farms
Matthew & Kaley Wolf
Dairy Farmers of America
Spring Board Meeting: March 9-10, 2020
The Ritz Carlton, Pentagon City
Arlington, VA
Summer Board Meeting/ YC Fly-in: June 1-3, 2020
The Ritz Carlton, Pentagon City
Arlington, VA
NMPF Joint Annual Meeting: October 25-28, 2020
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, FL
