Author: Theresa Sweeney

NMPF-Led Feed Additive Legislation Advances in Senate

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF efforts to spur approval of animal feed ingredients that can reduce enteric methane emissions in dairy cows took an important step forward June 15 when the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the bipartisan Innovative FEED Act (S. 1842) by a 19-2 vote.

The legislation sponsored by Sens. Roger Marshall, R-KS, Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, Jerry Moran, R-KS, and Michael Bennet, D-CO, would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to review animal feed additives, which are not drugs, using the Food Additive Petition (FAP) pathway as opposed to the drug pathway. That would make FDA reviews more efficient and help U.S. dairy farmers act quickly and proactively to reduce enteric methane emissions and maintain global competitiveness without compromising animal, human, or environmental safety.

Feed ingredients like Elanco’s Bovaer, or 3-NOP, can reduce enteric methane emissions by as much as 30 percent and, once approved for use, are poised to play a key role in dairy industry sustainability efforts.

The Innovative FEED Act was adopted as an amendment to the larger Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2023 (S. 1844), which subsequently passed the committee unanimously. NMPF worked closely with Sens. Marshall and Baldwin to develop and advance the language and looks forward to working with the bill sponsors and other stakeholders to move this measure across the finish line in final negotiations with the House.

Dietary Guidelines Protocols Need Newer Dairy Science, NMPF Tells Committee

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF called for newer science on dairy fats, and for no inferences to be made about the health benefits of plant-based milk alternatives based on dairy science, in comments submitted June 30 on draft protocols developed by the Dietary Guidelines Advisory committee.

These protocols will, when final, inform the conduct of systematic reviews and food pattern modeling that will form the science base of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).

Key points of NMPF’s comments include:

  • Allowing for the inclusion of studies shorter than 12 weeks in duration;
  • Advocating for newer body of science on dairy fat in the committee’s review;
  • Pushing for dairy milk and plant-based milk alternatives not to be grouped together for the same evidence review, strongly cautioning against any inferences made regarding the health impacts associated with milk consumption that would be applied to plant-based milk alternatives; and
  • Spotlighting dairy’s role in health equity, including lactose-free and low-lactose products being a nutrient-dense option.

Once the protocols are set, the committee will examine available information to answer the questions and develop recommendations to be released in its scientific report. USDA and HHS will then use the recommendations to update the current DGAs. The next public meeting is scheduled for Sept. 13.

NMPF Builds Support for Whole Milk in Schools

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF built support for the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act in both chambers of Congress in June, with lawmakers giving increased attention to the need to increase milk options in schools.

The measure would allow schools to serve 2% and whole milk in school breakfast and lunch programs, which aren’t currently allowed. Although versions of the bill have been introduced in previous congressional sessions, the legislation has more support and is advancing further in Congress this session.

The House bipartisan measure, H.R. 1146, was approved by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in early June, marking the first time the measure has made it through the committee approval process. NMPF worked with bill sponsors House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-PA, and Rep. Kim Schrier, D-WA, a pediatrician, to build bipartisan support for the bill within the House and the committee itself.

NMPF wrote and organized a letter of support for the bill signed by 58 dairy organizations, sending to the committee a strong message of support for the measure. With over 125 cosponsors, the bill providing this “practical solution” has bipartisan support from the committee and the House, with potential House action as soon as this month.

NMPF is also building support for the Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Sens. Marshall, R-KS, and Peter Welch, D-VT and introduced in mid-June. That legislation also has solid bipartisan support but has not yet had a committee vote.

DMC Margin Drops More than $1 in May to Record Low

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The May Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) margin dropped by $1.01/cwt from April to $4.83/cwt, the lowest it’s ever been and the first time below $5/cwt during the life of the current program or that of its predecessor, the Margin Protection Program (MPP), triggering payment at both the Tier I and Tier II levels.

The May all-milk price dropped by $1.40/cwt from a month earlier to $19.30/cwt, while the DMC feed cost eased lower by $0.39/cwt in that time, on lower corn and soybean meal prices. The May payment for the maximum Tier 1 coverage at the $9.50/cwt level will be $4.67/cwt. The May payment for the low-cost Tier 2 coverage at the $5.00/cwt level will be $0.17/cwt.

Available forecasts anticipate the margin dipping down closer to $4/cwt during early summer, with a bottom in July, and not rebounding above $9.50/cwt until early in 2024.

NMPF Warns FDA: Don’t Repeat Plant-Based Mistakes with Lab-Produced Fake ‘Milk’

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must end dairy product mislabeling by manufacturers of synthetic, cell-based “dairy” ingredients that are in violation of federal dairy Standards of Identity to prevent a repeat of the plant-based labeling fiasco that’s created confusion among consumers and regulatory headaches at the agency, the National Milk Producers Federation said in a letter to the agency.

“Bored Cow’s product takes water and adds what we believe to be one unidentified, lab-engineered ‘whey protein’ along with a highly processed concoction of food additives, preservatives, oil, sugar and several added vitamins, and claims to have created ‘animal-free dairy milk.’ It is baseless, preposterous and absurd to call the resulting product ‘milk,’” NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said in the letter sent to FDA on June 26. “In the interest of public health, the misleading labeling charade must end before it gets out of hand. FDA must act, and must do so now.”

NMPF, which has repeatedly called on FDA to enforce its identity standards for milk as plant-based fakes have proliferated, has been warning the agency that lab-based milk imposters would be next on the horizon without agency action. Even as the agency is wrestling with draft guidance that finally acknowledges consumers’ core concern over plant-based beverages – their false positioning as dairy equivalents in the face of glaring nutritional inferiority – lab-based imitators are following the plant-based playbook and plastering “milk” and other standardized dairy terms on products that in composition bear little resemblance to true dairy.

“As we have seen in the decades-long folly of plant-based beverage labeling, an ounce of prevention is worth oceans of cure,” Mulhern wrote. “We ask the agency to exercise its well-established authority to prevent this company and others that seek to follow from leading consumers down what will become a superhighway of misinformation, absent your willingness to enforce the law.”

Consumers concerned with labeling integrity may visit NMPF’s Call to Action on plant-based labeling here. For an in-depth discussion on lab-based “dairy” and its pitfalls, listen to this podcast here. A copy of NMPF’s full letter regarding Bored Cow, a brand offered by New York City-based Tomorrow Farms, is here.

NMPF’s Galen Discusses Lab-Produced Fake “Milk”

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Chris Galen, NMPF’s senior vice president of membership services and strategic initiatives, discusses NMPF’s recent effort to end dairy product mislabeling by manufacturers of synthetic, cell-based “dairy” ingredients that are in violation of federal dairy Standards of Identity to prevent a repeat of the plant-based labeling fiasco that’s created confusion among consumers and regulatory headaches at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

NMPF, which has repeatedly called on FDA to enforce its identity standards for milk as plant-based fakes have proliferated, has been warning the agency that lab-based milk imposters would be next on the horizon without agency action. Even as the agency is wrestling with draft guidance that finally acknowledges consumers’ core concern over plant-based beverages – their false positioning as dairy equivalents in the face of glaring nutritional inferiority – lab-based imitators are following the plant-based playbook and plastering “milk” and other standardized dairy terms on products that in composition bear little resemblance to true dairy.

Consumers concerned with labeling integrity may visit NMPF’s Call to Action on plant-based labeling here.

Dairy Gains Strength Through its Advocates

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Dairy farmers don’t advance better policy unless dairy farmers get involved. And don’t take my word for it: Listen to NMPF’s Young Cooperators, who met with members of Congress last month at their annual Capitol Hill fly-in.

“Forging connections with our elected officials is so important for dairy farmers,” wrote Isabel Mullin, an Agri-Mark farmer near Kittery, ME, in feedback after the event. “The communication informs them about the real-life impact of policy proposals and it informs us about potential changes coming for our farms.”

“As the general public becomes further and further removed from agriculture, it is even more important to share our experiences and build relationships with our elected officials,” said Katelyn Packard, who dairies outside Manchester, MI. “They represent our community and make decisions that affect us each day.”

Isabel and Katelyn are right. As dairy farmers grow fewer in number and demands on congressional attention rise, a personal voice is critical to breaking through the noise and misinformation that dominates federal policymaking. Important decisions for the future of dairy are coming over the next few months, ranging from a new farm bill and Federal Milk Marketing Order discussions to efforts to get whole milk back in schools and bring greater transparency to the labeling of plant-based beverages that use dairy terms.

All these challenges will make grass-roots engagement from dairy farmers and their affiliated organizations, as well the broader dairy industry and allies among the public, that much more important. That’s why our preparations for an FMMO order hearing are being led by our member cooperatives, who with us are coordinating farmer testimony during the upcoming weekslong USDA hearing. That’s why we’ve created a Dairy Voice Network of farmers trained to deal with media interviews and speak out for the industry. It’s why we help our cooperatives prepare farmers for congressional hearings on the farm bill and other topics.

Dairy farmers need a seat at the table; we work both to get them there and help them be effective in that position.

Also critical to our efforts are our Calls to Action – a way for dairy farmers and their friends to get involved that’s as simple as sending an e-mail. Our Advocacy page, found at https://www.nmpf.org/take-action/ offers updates on critical initiatives affecting farmers and provides tools for dairy advocates to make themselves heard via letters to relevant lawmakers and policy officials.

Currently, the page offers opportunities to help on the FDA’s draft guidance on plant-based beverages; the SAVE Act, a critical piece of legislation defending U.S. cheesemakers from European Union attempts to restrict what names are used for cheeses; and the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which would put whole and 2% milk back on school lunch menus. Calls to support dairy farmers in the farm bill and through Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization will be coming soon.

We’d urge everyone who cares about dairy’s future to visit the page and sign up for our Advocacy Alerts, where advocates are notified of important policy developments and asked to act upon them. As an organization, the National Milk Producers Federation has always worked with a strength that’s greater than its numbers – and that strength comes from the unity of our community. With important initiatives imminent, now is a great time to reinforce this strength. We’re hoping you can help.

 

Jim Mulhern

President & CEO, NMPF

 

NMPF Letter Warns FDA: Don’t Repeat Plant-Based Mistakes with Lab-Produced Fake ‘Milk’

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must end dairy product mislabeling by manufacturers of synthetic, cell-based “dairy” ingredients that are in violation of federal dairy Standards of Identity to prevent a repeat of the plant-based labeling fiasco that’s created confusion among consumers and regulatory headaches at the agency, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said in a letter to the agency.

“Bored Cow’s product takes water and adds what we believe to be one unidentified, lab-engineered ‘whey protein’ along with a highly processed concoction of food additives, preservatives, oil, sugar and several added vitamins, and claims to have created ‘animal-free dairy milk.’ It is baseless, preposterous and absurd to call the resulting product ‘milk,’” NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said in the letter. “In the interest of public health, the misleading labeling charade must end before it gets out of hand. FDA must act, and must do so now.”

NMPF, which has repeatedly called on FDA to enforce its identity standards for milk as plant-based fakes have proliferated, has been warning the agency that lab-based milk imposters would be next on the horizon without agency action. Even as the agency is wrestling with draft guidance that finally acknowledges consumers’ core concern over plant-based beverages – their false positioning as dairy equivalents in the face of glaring nutritional inferiority – lab-based imitators are following the plant-based playbook and plastering “milk” and other standardized dairy terms on products that in composition bear little resemblance to true dairy.

“As we have seen in the decades-long folly of plant-based beverage labeling, an ounce of prevention is worth oceans of cure,” Mulhern wrote. “We ask the agency to exercise its well-established authority to prevent this company and others that seek to follow from leading consumers down what will become a superhighway of misinformation, absent your willingness to enforce the law.”

Consumers concerned with labeling integrity may visit NMPF’s Call to Action on plant-based labeling here. For an in-depth discussion on lab-based “dairy” and its pitfalls, listen to this podcast here. A copy of NMPF’s full letter regarding Bored Cow, a brand offered by New York City-based Tomorrow Farms, is here.

Cheese-Name Fight Vital for Industry

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

What’s in a name? Quite a lot. In dairy, a name defines a taste and experience. And that’s why European Union attempts to monopolize commonly understood cheese names poses a problem for consumers and cheese companies, as John Umhoefer, executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association in Madison explains in the latest Dairy Defined Podcast.

“Our dairy farmers here in Wisconsin and other states, we can’t go to Europe and sell a Parmesan cheese. We can’t go to Europe and sell a cheese called feta,” he said. “It’s infuriating because those names are used worldwide and the cheeses are produced worldwide. But the EU has put up walls.”

Umhoefer, joined by NMPF Senior Vice President for Trade Policy Shawna Morris, also discusses recent legal victories and a congressional effort to help U.S. producers stifle EU attempts to use cheese names as a trade barrier. The full podcast is here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file below. Please attribute information to NMPF.

Good News for Consumers on Inflation

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

When dairy prices rise, people notice.

That’s what happens when your product is so ubiquitous that grocery stores price it below-cost to bring in consumers who make up for the loss by buying higher-margin items. That’s what happens when your products are so essential that there’s no way around spending a premium if that’s what it takes to bake a perfect cake. And that’s what happens when people rely on you for affordable, efficient nutrition.

But in recent months, even as last year’s general run-up in inflation has eased, some of that easing has been even more pronounced in dairy products. Butter prices, which in December were 31 percent higher than a year earlier, are now only up 5 percent year-over-year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index numbers – much more in line with overall inflation. Cheese was up 13.5 percent last August – but by April it has fallen to 6.1 percent, less than overall food inflation of 7.5 percent.

And fluid milk, which last August was witnessing year-over-year inflation of 17 percent, in April was up a meager 1.6 percent over the year before, a number that, given all that’s occurred, seems positively … normal.

Which shouldn’t be surprising in the end. While dairy, like many perishable products, is prone to more dramatic price swings than many other goods, over the long haul it remains extremely affordable, and has only become more so over time. Check out the divergence seen from 2008, when long-term overall inflation, food inflation and dairy inflation were relatively equal, through today, as dairy prices have risen less, during most of that period, relative to those other categories.

The best bargain in nutrition is only getting better. And while short-term blips get headlines, as the spikes recede, all that remains is dairy’s well-deserved reputation for quality and affordability. Something to keep in mind as the summer months heat up – dairy will cool you down, from your body to your pocketbook.

May CWT-Assisted Dairy Export Sales Totaled 5 Million Pounds

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

CWT member cooperatives secured 41 contracts in May, adding 4.1 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 99,000 pounds of butter, 88,000 pounds of whole milk powder and 717,000 pounds of cream cheese to CWT-assisted sales in 2023.

In milk equivalent, this is equal to 46.3 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. These products will go to customers in Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Oceania, South America and Middle East-North Africa, and will be shipped from May through November 2023.

CWT-assisted 2023 dairy product sales contracts year-to-date total 19.7 million pounds of American-type cheese, 594,000 pounds of butter, 24.6 million pounds of whole milk powder, 4.1 million pounds of cream cheese and 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat. This brings the total milk equivalent for the year to 407.6 million pounds on a milkfat basis.

Exporting dairy products is critical to the viability of dairy farmers and their cooperatives across the country. Whether or not a cooperative is actively engaged in exporting cheese, butter, anhydrous milkfat, cream cheese, or whole milk powder, moving products into world markets is essential. CWT provides a means to move domestic dairy products to overseas markets by helping to overcome U.S. dairy’s trade disadvantages.

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.

Recording Available for Eurofins Webinar on new rBST Testing Method

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF hosted a webinar May 25 on a new rBST testing method featuring Eurofins’ Senior Applications Scientist, Sarah King, and Vice President of Business Development, Dino Holmquist. Sarah and Dino provided an overview of how the method works and answered questions about the test’s capabilities.

The testing method, developed by Eurofins, detects a peptide of the recombinant protein. The peptide is detected utilizing liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer (LC-MS/MS). This state-of-the-art technology allows for sensitive and accurate detection of rBST at concentrations lower than 0.001%. Many dairy companies state on their labels that the product is “rBST-free” without any scientific data to support this claim. This new testing offers an interesting opportunity while raising many questions about how it can be implemented and what the implications may be. The recording can be watched here with the passcode #hBv7QJ2.