ARLINGTON, VA – The National Milk Producers Federation today joined 15 other farm organizations in sending a letter to President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Michael Pence highlighting the importance of trade to America’s farmers.

Echoing points made in NMPF’s own letter to the President-elect last month, the producer groups’ Jan. 6 letter stated: “We know that securing positive benefits for American farmers, ranchers, and workers in trade will be a priority in your Administration. This includes enforcing existing agreements so that other countries abide by their commitments, as well as expanding market access for U.S. producers through new agreements. As the Trump Administration assembles its team and policies, U.S. agricultural trade interests must be maintained, not only in existing markets but by expanding access to new markets,” wrote the 16 groups.

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern noted that farm groups must continue to emphasize that “the health of U.S. agriculture depends on our ability to sell our products outside of the United States. The growth of America’s dairy sector is directly tied to our ability to export. We have a positive trade balance in agriculture, and don’t want to see those hard-earned export markets eroded.”

Mulhern said the U.S. dairy sector exports 14 percent of its milk production, “which last year was worth over $5 billion, in the process generating more than 120,000 jobs in dairy farming, manufacturing and related sectors. Any disruption in exports of dairy and other food products would have devastating consequences for our farmers, and the many American processing and transportation industries and workers supported by these exports.”

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit our website at www.nmpf.org.

From Jim Mulhern, President and CEO of NMPF, and Matt McKnight, Senior Vice President of Market Access, Regulatory and Industry Affairs for USDEC:

ARLINGTON, VA – “America’s dairy farmers and processors welcome the opportunity to work closely with Robert Lighthizer as the new U.S. Trade Representative. The role of the U.S. Trade Representative is critical to successful U.S. engagement with growing global markets. Mr. Lighthizer’s previous experiences as Deputy USTR, Chief of Staff for the Senate Finance Committee, and his direct private sector engagement in enforcing trade rules on behalf of his clients will serve him well in forging a path forward on trade policy that will benefit this country.

“The U.S. dairy industry, like most other agricultural sectors across America, has significantly benefited from the agricultural provisions of prior U.S. free trade agreements. At the same time, however, we face a growing wave of nontariff barriers that threaten to impede overseas sales. Our NAFTA partners epitomize both sides of that story: Our dairy agreement with Mexico has created an export market worth well over $1 billion a year, while on the other side of the border Canada has at every opportunity decided to flout its dairy trade commitments to the U.S.

“A focus on preserving and growing what is working well, while cracking down further on what is not, will help to expand global markets for U.S. dairy farmers and the companies that turn their milk into nutritious dairy products shipped all over the world. Given that every $1 billion in U.S. dairy exports translates into over 23,000 jobs in the dairy sector and related industries, expanding dairy sales abroad is a strong job-creation strategy.

“USDEC and NMPF look forward to continuing our dialogue with the incoming Administration on the importance of pursuing well-negotiated trade agreements that bolster our ability to serve consumers in foreign markets.”

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, Va., develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of U.S. dairy producers and the cooperatives they collectively own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S, milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF’s activities, visit www.nmpf.org.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, marital status, military status, and arrest or conviction record.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new congressional effort to prod federal regulators to crack down on the inappropriate labeling of products designed to imitate milk drew support today from the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), which thanked lawmakers for speaking out on the issue.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A new congressional effort to prod federal regulators to crack down on the inappropriate labeling of products designed to imitate milk drew support today from the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), which thanked lawmakers for speaking out on the issue.

In a letter written by Reps. Mike Simpson (R-ID) and Peter Welch (D-VT), and cosigned by a bipartisan coalition of 32 other members of the House, lawmakers urge U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf to more aggressively police the improper use of dairy terms, which are used on the labels of many products that have no real dairy ingredients.

Federal standards of identity stipulate that milk and related foods have to be made from animal sources to use these established dairy terms. Thus, plant-based foods and beverages made of nuts and grains are “misleading to consumers, harmful to the dairy industry, and a violation of milk’s standard of identity,” the letter said.

“We request that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) exercise its legal authority to investigate and take appropriate action against the manufacturers of these misbranded products.”

Dairy organizations have voiced similar concerns in the past, urging FDA to restrict the use of dairy terms on labels of plant-based imitation products such as milk, cheese and yogurt.

“You haven’t ‘got milk’ if it comes from a seed, nut or bean,” said Jim Mulhern, President and CEO of NMPF. “In the many years since we first raised concerns about the misbranding of these products, we’ve seen an explosion of imitators attaching the word ‘milk’ to everything from hemp to peas to algae. We don’t need new regulations on this issue, we just need FDA to enforce those that have been on the books for years.”

Michael Dykes, president and CEO of IDFA, said that while “imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, dairy imitators do not naturally provide the same level of nutrition to the people buying them as milk does.” He noted that non-dairy beverages “can mislead people into thinking these products are comparable replacements for milk, when in fact most are nutritionally inferior.”

The congressional letter points out that while consumers are entitled to choose imitation products, “it is misleading for manufacturers of these items to profit from the ‘milk’ name.  These products should be allowed on the market only when accurately labeled.”

Welch and Simpson noted that the European Union offers an example of how product terminology can be altered to make it less misleading. Regulators in the EU allow the use of the term “soy drink,” but prohibit “soy milk.”

Addressing this issue, the letter concluded, “will provide consumers with the accurate information they expect.”

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About IDFA
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA’s nearly 200 dairy processing members run nearly 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.

About NMPF
The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the wellbeing of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. Visit www.nmpf.org for more information.

Efforts to update child nutrition programs – and to enhance the milk options available in school lunch programs – faded this month as negotiations between the Senate and House failed to arrive at new school nutrition legislation.

The authorization for federal child nutrition programs formally expired at the end of September 2015, but existing programs continue to operate pending approval of a bill to reauthorize federal feeding programs, including school lunch regulations. NMPF worked on a bipartisan basis with both the House and Senate during the past two years to include language in the reauthorization bill that would prompt the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to review milk consumption in school meals and WIC programs, as well as take steps to increase the intake of milk and the nutrients it provides.

NMPF held out hope that the December congressional lame-duck session would offer the opportunity to pass the nutrition legislation, but Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) said this week that negotiations have reached an impasse.

"I'm very disappointed that the bipartisan, bicameral Child Nutrition Reauthorization negotiations have come to an end for the 114th Congress,” Roberts said. “I remain committed to continuing to look for ways to increase integrity within the program and to provide flexibility to local school and summer meal program operators.”

Both the Senate and House Agriculture Committees had approved legislation in the past year, supported by NMPF, to reverse the decline of milk consumption in schools. NMPF’s goal was to prompt a reassessment of the current USDA policy that only allows fat-free flavored milk – and not 1% flavored milk – in the school lunch line, even though federal dietary guidelines support the inclusion of low-fat flavored milk.

After USDA removed low-fat flavored milk from lunch programs, schools served 187 million fewer half-pints of milk during the years 2012-2014, although total public school enrollment grew during that period.

“We will continue to work on this issue in the coming year to bolster the important role of milk in the nation’s schools,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “Ignoring the decline in school milk consumption could have serious consequences for children’s health today and throughout their adult lives.”

As governments around the world focus additional resources on battling the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria and its causes, NMPF continues to engage on behalf of the U.S. dairy industry at international discussions of the emerging public health concern – including an international meeting last week.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, created in 1963 to develop international food standards that protect consumer health and promote fair trade practices, is one of the key global platforms for addressing the intersection of food safety and antibiotic use.  Back in July, the Codex Commission approved the re-establishment of an intergovernmental Task Force on Antimicrobial Resistance, a group that develops science-based guidance on the management of foodborne antimicrobial resistance.

Last week, a working group met in London to finalize the task force’s Terms of Reference and draft proposals for new work to revise guidelines to monitor for and reduce the incidence of antibiotic resistance bacteria. Dr. Jamie Jonker, NMPF Vice President for Sustainability & Scientific Affairs, is representing U.S. dairy interests as a Codex stakeholder through his involvement with both the U.S. government delegation to Codex, and his engagement with the International Dairy Federation. His work is also made possible through support of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

In comments submitted to the U.S. Codex delegates on Oct. 6, NMPF asked for more clarity in the Terms of Reference, and proposed new work items to ensure that the task force focuses on managing antimicrobial resistance through the food chain. In London last week, the Codex working group adopted key elements of NMPF’s request to focus this effort on food safety and fair trade in food. The revised project documents will now be submitted to the 40th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption. The resulting standards are intended to give countries guidance on how to manage antimicrobial resistance through the food chain.

The 2016 edition of NMPF’s Dairy Data Highlights – complete with a redesigned cover – is now available to order.

The Dairy Data Highlights booklet is an extensive collection of tables and graphs that provides national and state data on all aspects of milk production, federal milk marketing orders, sales of milk and dairy products, farm and retail prices, and dairy product production, as well as dairy export and import information through 2015. It has been published annually by NMPF for more than 60 years.

Copies of the current Dairy Data Highlights are available at the following rates:

NMPF member cooperatives or associate members:
Fewer than 10 copies: $7.50/booklet
Orders larger than 10: $5.00/booklet.

Non-members:
Fewer than 10 copies: $10/booklet
Orders larger than 10: $7.50/booklet.

To purchase copies, complete an order form and mail it back to NMPF with payment. We accept checks or money orders. Checks should be made payable to the National Milk Producers Federation. Booklets will be mailed upon receipt of payment. The booklet is not available electronically.

Even before it ends, 2016 has been a busy year for the National Dairy FARM Program, complete with the addition of new team members, plenty of training events and the rollout of new materials in preparation for the introduction next month of FARM Animal Care Version 3.0.

One important milestone was achieved this year: The FARM Animal Care Program now has 98 percent of the U.S. milk supply enrolled, thanks to the value the program provides by assuring customers and consumers that their dairy products come from farms that take the utmost care of their animals. The FARM Program greatly appreciates the support for the program by all of its participating co-ops, processors and most critically, farmers.

Here are some other changes the FARM Program underwent this year:

Team Additions

In May, FARM welcomed two new team members to manage its day-to-day activities. Emily Yeiser Stepp joined as the new director of the FARM Animal Care Program, and Beverly Hampton joined as program coordinator, focusing on communication and outreach. Ryan Bennett, NMPF’s Senior Director of Sustainability and Industry Affairs, now manages FARM Environmental Stewardship, a voluntary program set to launch in 2017, and Jamie Jonker continues to direct FARM Antibiotic Stewardship. Emily Meredith continues to oversee the entire FARM team, now as NMPF Chief of Staff.

Animal Care Version 3.0 Finalized

The latest version of FARM’s Animal Care program will be implemented starting Jan. 1, 2017. In addition to the Version 3.0 FARM Animal Care Manual, FARM is offering other complimentary materials to assist participating co-ops, processors and farmers in preparing for the new version. Additionally, customizable binders are available that cooperatives and processors can order for their members that will provide these materials in hard copy.

Also in preparation for FARM Animal Care Version 3.0, FARM staff hosted four regional Train-the-Trainer events. More than 100 trainers came to Ithaca, N.Y., Minneapolis, Minn., Columbus, Ohio, and Phoenix, Ariz., to participate in two days of intensive training provided by experts from Praedium in conjunction with the FARM Animal Care staff.

Materials and other information on FARM 3.0 are available on the FARM Program website. Additional materials related to animal care will be available in 2017.

FARM Stakeholder Engagement

For the first time, the FARM Program hosted a full day of programming at the annual meeting of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) to further engage with the veterinary community.

Veterinarians have and will continue to play an integral role in ensuring excellent animal care on dairy farms. With a heightened focus on a Veterinarian-Client-Patient-Relationship and the Herd Health Plan in Version 3.0 of FARM Animal Care, the AABP meeting was an excellent venue to communicate the importance of veterinary involvement.

Additionally, FARM held its first-ever Evaluator Conference last month in Nashville, TN as a professional development and networking opportunity for nearly 70 FARM Program evaluators. Attendees participated in leadership development training, learned how to further help farmers embrace the FARM program, and heard about the latest research related to animal welfare and sustainability. Bringing together evaluators from all over the country allowed for shared conversations around successes, challenges and peer-to-peer learnings.

Cooperatives Working Together assisted member cooperatives in securing 22 contracts to export 3.1 million pounds of American-type cheese and 1.4 million pounds of butter in the month of November. The products will go to customers in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Oceania. The product will be shipped from November 2016 through February 2017.

Year to date, CWT has assisted its members in winning export sales contracts totaling 47.3 million pounds of American-type cheese, 12.7 million pounds of butter (82% milkfat) and 21.3 million pounds of whole milk powder, destined for customers in 24 countries on five continents. These sales are the equivalent of 878.5 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Totals are adjusted for cancellations received during the month.

Assisting CWT member cooperatives gain and maintain world market share through the Export Assistance program in the long-term expands the demand for U.S. dairy products and the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This increases demand which positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

All cooperatives and dairy farmers are encouraged to add their support to this important program. Membership forms are available online.