Shawna Morris, Senior Vice President for Trade with the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, discusses U.S. dairy’s win over Canada in the first trade dispute ever brought before the USMCA’s dispute settlement panel on RFD-TV. The panel ruled against Canada in a case brought by the United States over its unfair allocation of quotas that limited U.S. dairy access to Canada agreed to as part of USMCA.
NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses this year’s enhanced benefits under the Dairy Margin Coverage Program on RFD-TV. A better feed-cost calculation and a production update for some smaller producers- are 2022 highlights for DMC, which along with risk-management initiatives such as Dairy-RP and LGM-Dairy from USDA, offer a wide range of tools for producers, all made more workable and useful via NMPF advocacy.
In an innovative collaboration that’s pointing dairy – and transportation – toward a net-zero future, Royal Dutch Shell and High Plains Ponderosa are working together to construct their first integrated dairy manure to renewable natural gas (RNG) facility in Plains, Kansas. Greg Bethard, General Manager, CEO and CFO of High Plains Ponderosa Dairy, says that in addition to the carbon reduction, sustainability at the dairy means longevity and economic viability.
“It is gratifying to contribute to reducing carbon load in the atmosphere while making positive enhancements to our dairy and our business,” Bethard says. “That is a win-win for everyone.”
In the latest Farmer Focus, Shell and Bethard share what led them to the inception of the RNG facility and why animal care and sustainability are so important to their shared 2050 goals.
For more Farmer Focus stories, co-sponsored by NMPF and the FARM Program, check out NMPF’s Sharing Our Story page, which also includes its Dairy Defined thought-leadership series and CEO’s Corner, a monthly column from NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern.
NMPF Senior Vice President Chris Galen discusses this year’s signup for the Dairy Margin Coverage program with Michael Clements of the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. This year’s DMC features a production update for some producers and an improved feed-cost calculation, further enhancing its value as a risk-protection program for dairy farmers.
NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses how dairy demand may fare over the holiday season as COVID worries clash with consumer cravings for eggnog. Meanwhile, U.S. senators are looking at milk pricing, a discussion NMPF is leading thanks to its nationwide scope and diverse membership. Bjerga spoke in an interview on RFD-TV.
NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern called for dairy farmers from all regions to work together for improvements to the Federal Milk Marketing Order system in his remarks at NMPF’s annual meeting in Las Vegas as shown on RFD-TV. Positive changes for dairy producers is possible through NMPF leadership because of the nature of the organization as an industry leader, said NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications, Alan Bjerga.
NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern speaks at the organization’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV on Nov. 16.
NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney, a dairy farmer from Rogersville, MO and a member of the DFA cooperative, speaks at the NMPF annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV on Nov. 16.
NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney discusses how dairy proved its worth to U.S. consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic at the organization’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV. Also, NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses some of the meeting’s key agenda items, including the industry’s sustainability commitments and the need to explore milk-pricing reform.
NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney and President and CEO Jim Mulhern touted dairy’s gains in 2021 at NMPF’s joint annual meeting Nov. 15-17, as record exports and per-capita U.S. consumption at a more than 60-year high point to a bright future for the industry.
“The past 20-plus months have shown us that life can change quickly, and in ways beyond our control,” said Mooney, a dairy farmer from Rogersville, Missouri, in remarks before dairy-farmer leaders from NMPF’s 24 member cooperatives. “It’s also shown that when that happens, people turn to what they know and trust. They turn to dairy.”
NMPF joined with the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association in the theme of “Make Every Drop Count,” returning to an in-person gathering this year as industry challenges evolve.
NMPF President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Mulhern highlighted NMPF’s work for its members in his remarks, including leading policy efforts that brought more than $6 billion in federal aid to dairy farmers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as regulatory initiatives and advances in trade.
“We are ‘The Voice of Dairy Farmers in Our Nation’s Capital,’ and we take that mission very seriously. And through our experience over the past year and a half, I know we are well-positioned to meet the many challenges that lie ahead,” Mulhern said. “When we are strategic, patient, and act with intelligence, and realistic expectations, we can meet our challenges.”
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh also spoke to the meeting via video, highlighting dairy’s leadership in climate-smart agriculture initiatives and environmental stewardship.
“It is inspiring to see the dairy industry as leaders in advancing solutions to the challenges we face in agriculture through inclusive, accessible innovation technology and approaches,” she said. “You are leading the way as United States dairy embraces a 2050 Net Zero Initiative to help dairy farms of all geographies and sizes continue to implement new technologies and adopt economically viable practices in feed production, animal care, energy efficiency and manure management.”
Also providing remarks via video were Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee; Rep. G.T. Thompson, R-PA, ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee; and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID.
NMPF also held governance meetings and revived its annual, nationally recognized cheese contest – successfully conducted virtually last year – as an in-person celebration. Results here.
Mooney was reelected Chair of the organization, and Dave Scheevel of Foremost Farms was reelected Treasurer. New officers including Simon Vander Woude of California Dairies, Inc., First Vice Chair; Cricket Jacquier of Agri-Mark, Second Vice Chair; and Jay Bryant of Maryland-Virginia Milk Producers, Secretary.
Those five officers are joined ten others elected this week to NMPF’s Executive Committee:
Steve Schlangen, Associated Milk Producers, Inc.; Rob Vandenheuvel, California Dairies, Inc.; Melvin Medeiros, Dairy Farmers of America; Dennis Rodenbaugh, Dairy Farmers of America; Pete Kappelman, Land O’Lakes; Doug Chapin, Michigan Milk Producers Assn.; Allan Huttema, Northwest Dairy Association; Tony Graves, Prairie Farms Dairy; Craig Caballero, United Dairymen of Arizona; and Jimmy Kerr, Cooperative Milk Producers.
New directors elected to the Board of Directors approved by NMPF delegates in 2021 include:
NMPF also recognized two retiring board members, Greg Wickham of Dairy Farmers of America and Ken Nobis of Michigan Milk Producers Association, as Honorary Directors for Life.
NMPF also held its annual Young Cooperators gathering in conjunction with the annual meeting.
Sponsors supporting the meeting at the Partner level and above included CoBank; Edelman; Food Minds; Inmar Intelligence; mischief.; Rise Interactive; Team Services; the U.S. Dairy Export Council; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Leprino Foods; MMS; Phibro Animal Health; Nelson-Jameson; StoneX; Elanco; Cheese Market News; Charm Sciences Inc.; Strategic Solutions; Vanguard Renewables; and Watkinson Miller LLC.
National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) First Vice Chairman and U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) board member Simon Vander Woude encouraged the U.S. government to prioritize expanded market access opportunities for U.S. dairy exports at a House Subcommittee for Livestock and Foreign Agriculture hearing today focused on trade policies and priorities.
Vander Woude and his wife, Christine, operate a 3,200-head dairy in Merced, CA. He also serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of California Dairies, Inc. (CDI), the largest dairy farmer-owned cooperative in California and the second largest in the United States. With sixty percent of the cooperative’s milk powder sold to foreign markets, CDI’s 360 family-owned dairy farms strongly rely on U.S. trade policy tools to keep export markets for their products open and growing.
“I think Chairman Costa and Ranking Member Johnson for the opportunity to testify today about U.S. trade policies and priorities impacting the U.S dairy industry. Despite all the growth and success the dairy industry has enjoyed on the export front over the past two decades, we could be doing even better with a level playing field,” said Vander Woude. “While trade is all too often disparaged in this country and its benefits sold short, our competitors are busy forging new agreements. We farmers need a proactive trade policy to keep pace and continue to increase sales to support the good farm and manufacturing jobs our industry creates.”
Vander Woude stressed in his testimony the urgency of expanding access to key dairy markets like the UK, Asia (Japan, Southeast Asia, China) and the Middle East to catch up with dairy competitors whose countries have aggressively sought trade agreements over the past decade. Vander Woude also highlighted other policy priorities significantly impacting U.S. dairy operations, including the current supply chain crisis, securing long-term relief from Chinese retaliatory tariffs, and implementation and enforcement of existing trade agreements, including USMCA.
“As Simon outlined so well to the House Livestock and Foreign Agriculture subcommittee today, exports are essential to the health of dairy farmers and to our wider industry,” said Jim Mulhern, NMPF president and CEO. “New access into markets like Canada and Japan last year was a welcome first step, but still far less than what our farmers need to remain competitive globally. The United States needs to begin moving forward again with trade agreements and other policies that expand foreign market opportunities to help family dairy farms thrive and support the thousands of jobs that depend on dairy across this country.”
“Sound trade policy that opens doors for American-made products takes time to negotiate and the time is ripe for laying that foundation,” said Krysta Harden, USDEC president and CEO. “With the administration and Congress having charted progress on many domestic priorities, now is the time for the U.S. government to take a proactive approach to tearing down both tariff and nontariff trade barriers. We also need forward-looking solutions to the nation’s supply chain issues that are hindering U.S. exports, particularly in markets where America’s farmers are at a disadvantage to our competitors.”
Read full testimony here.
