On behalf of America’s dairy farmers, exporters and manufacturers, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) commend President Biden’s selection of Elaine Trevino as the Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

“The role of Chief Agricultural Negotiator is essential in pursuing positive trade policy results for U.S. dairy farmers and in expanding overseas markets for dairy products,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “NMPF is pleased that in choosing Ms. Trevino to nominate for this position, President Biden has selected someone with the right background and clear understanding of trade’s importance to American agriculture, both of which are vital to success in this position. I’ve been fortunate to serve on the president’s Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee with Ms. Trevino and hope to see swift confirmation of her nomination by the Senate so she can commence the work that’s so key for farmers across the country.”

“U.S. dairy farmers, exporters and manufacturers have been eagerly awaiting the nomination of a Chief Agricultural Negotiator given the sizable role that trade plays in providing a home for the equivalent of more than a day’s worth of U.S. milk production each week,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “The world needs U.S. dairy and U.S. dairy needs the world. Our industry is eager for additional market opportunities to help us create more jobs here in America as we meet that demand with our high-quality, sustainably produced products. We urge the Senate to move swiftly to confirm Ms. Trevino and look forward to working closely with her to expand markets around the world.”

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) joined several other organizations urging the Biden administration to take additional steps to alleviate the ongoing ports crisis in a letter sent today to the White House from a coalition of 77 agriculture and food associations.

Since early 2021, dairy and other agriculture exporters have been facing unprecedented challenges in securing shipping container space on ocean vessels while contending with an accumulation of exorbitant detention and demurrage fees. Foreign owned and operated ocean carriers have been driving this crisis by providing unpredictable and unreasonable timelines for exporters to load agricultural goods and by exacerbating pressure on supply chains by opting to return empty containers rather than allowing time for them to be loaded with Asian-bound goods for the vessel’s return journey. As a result, over 70% of containers are leaving West Coast ports empty, an all-time record.

Delays and an intentional lack of transparency and flexibility from ocean carriers have cost American dairy exporters over $300 million dollars through just the first half of the year, or 12% of total export value. In addition to this added cost, continued delays put at risk critical trading relationships with Asian importers as the U.S. increasingly risks becoming viewed as an unreliable supplier.

“We thank the Biden administration for the initial actions taken to address the extraordinary challenges dairy exporters are facing when exporting their products,” said Krysta Harden, USDEC president and CEO. “Unfortunately, the shipping crisis only continues to grow as container availability becomes scarcer with the ocean carriers’ increasing refusal to export American-made products. To further its goals of supporting the workers and companies producing Made-In-America products, we are urging the White House to take a more active role in ensuring that foreign carriers are not permitted to dictate U.S. export flows and put our established trading relationships in jeopardy. Right now, imports seem to be enjoying the equivalent of an eight-lane highway while our exports have been relegated to narrow country roads; that’s not right and we know that Congress and the Administration can take steps to create fairer trading practices.

“Without question, ocean carriers are abusing a unique situation created by the pandemic and the lack of sufficient regulatory action to enforce reasonable shipping practices,” said Jim Mulhern, NMPF president and CEO. “We recognize that increased import demand has driven higher rates for shipping, but it does not warrant the cancellations, refusal to load U.S. dairy and agriculture products, and unreasonable detention and demurrage practices that ocean carriers have turned into an additional revenue stream. It is imperative that the Administration takes immediate steps to work with Congress and the FMC to limit these unfair practices and ensure our exporters can reach their customers around the world.”

As America slowed down during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, dairy farmers and other essential workers stepped up. The Rucks family not only took care of their herd of 1500 on Milking R dairy in Okeechobee, FL, they were up until 2 or 3 a.m. each night making ice cream.

Sutton Rucks, his wife, Kris, and their two children, Lindsey and Garrett, started making ice cream before the pandemic to share during farm tours.

“People were just raving about the ice cream,” Sutton says. “We had a bunch of tours in the early spring of 2020, and it felt like we made more ice cream than we could give away in six months. Then COVID hit.”

In the latest Farmer Focus, the Rucks share how they connect with their community through delicious ice cream and sustainable production.

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.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) today announced the recipients of its 2021 National Dairy Leadership Scholarship awards. The awards, presented by the NMPF Board of Directors, support the next generation of dairy leaders and researchers and are open to qualified graduate students who are actively pursuing dairy-related fields of study.

“The value these students bring to the dairy industry can’t be overstated,” said Brian Hardy, Utah dairy farmer and Chair of the NMPF Scholarship Committee. “This scholarship helps them pursue research that brings scientific solutions to dairy farmers, the animals we care for, and the entire dairy supply chain.”

NMPF this year awarded scholarships to:

• Alycia Drwencke, a Ph.D. candidate in Animal Behavior at the University of California-Davis, whose research focuses on the welfare implications of caustic paste disbudding and pain mitigation for dairy calves. Prior to her Ph.D., Drwencke’s master’s program research focused on innovative detection and abatement of heat load in cattle.
• Paulo Menta, a Ph.D. candidate in Animal Science at Texas Tech University, whose research focuses on minimizing antimicrobial use in dairy cows with metritis, or inflammation of the uterus. Menta is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and came to the U.S. in 2018 to pursue a master’s degree, researching calcium and energy metabolism of early lactation dairy cows.
• Kelly Mitchell, a Ph.D. candidate in Nutrition at The Ohio State University studying the stimulation of microbial protein synthesis by branched volatile fatty acids. Mitchell said she realized her interest in fat metabolism during her master’s degree research on ketosis incidence in commercial herds at the University of California-Davis.

NMPF also sponsors student awards through the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA). The Richard M. Hoyt Award was created to recognize research efforts with direct application to the problems of the U.S. dairy industry.

This year’s winner, Achilles Vieira-Neto, was recognized at the ADSA Virtual Annual Meeting on July 11-14. His research focuses on the role of acid-base status in mineral metabolism and how vitamin D metabolites can be used during the transition period to improve mineral metabolism and health.

Lucas Rocha Rebelo and Hailey Galyon received first-place recognition as part of the NMPF Graduate Student Paper Presentation Contest in Dairy Production in the Ph.D. and M.S. divisions, respectively. Rebelo is a Ph.D. candidate studying dairy nutrition at Ohio State. Galyon is developing a bio-based polymer product to replace current agricultural single-use plastics.

Learn more about the NMPF scholarship program here. The 2022 application period will open in January 2022. For information about ADSA awards, visit its awards page here.

Arlington, VA – On Dotterer Dairy in Mill Hill, PA, sisters Candice White and Amanda Condo work alongside their cousin Lori Dotterer Butler as the third generation on the farm. Their fathers and grandfathers still have large roles in day-to-day operations – but the three women manage crops, take care of the cows, and oversee the 1,250-Holstein dairy business.

“I feel like there’s now more women coming out and saying they are a farmer,” Candice, dairy manager at Dotterer Dairy says. “Women are being empowered about standing beside her husband, not behind him.”

In the latest Farmer Focus, the Dotterers share how they work closely with their women-led cooperative to foster sustainability and longevity on the dairy.

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.

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“NMPF commends the United States Senate for passing the bipartisan Growing Climate Solutions Act by an overwhelming margin.

“This important legislation will enable USDA to informally endorse technical service providers that help farmers implement stewardship practices that can generate carbon and other environmental credits. The Growing Climate Solutions Act will encourage more farmers to participate in environmental markets, a crucial part of dairy’s Net Zero Initiative that helps dairy farmers of all sizes across the country meet our industry’s 2050 environmental stewardship goals.

“NMPF is grateful to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) for their bipartisan leadership in getting this measure through the Senate.”