Author: Theresa Sweeney

Jim Mulhern to Retire as NMPF CEO; Gregg Doud Named Successor

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern announced Tuesday he will retire from his position at the end of this year, concluding a decade of service leading the organization and capping a 45-year career in U.S. agricultural and dairy policy. Gregg Doud, a globally recognized agricultural leader and former Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative, was named his replacement by NMPF’s Board of Directors later that day.

“Directing the policy efforts of the nation’s dairy farmers and their cooperatives has been the highlight of my professional career,” said Mulhern, who was asked to lead the organization in 2013 and guided NMPF through two completed farm bills, the .COVID-19 crisis, and an ever-quickening pace of change in an industry that in some ways is unrecognizable from that he entered in 1979, when he began his career working for a Midwest dairy cooperative.

Mulhern leaves NMPF in a commanding position, with the organization spearheading a once-a-generation update of federal milk marketing orders and advancing both a fairer economic and regulatory environment for dairy farmers and a more transparent marketplace for consumers amid the proliferation of plant-based dairy imposters. Through its partnerships with the U.S. Dairy Export Council and others, NMPF has supported policy changes to boost dairy exports, which are reaching records; and through its stewardship of the National Dairy FARM Program, it is enhancing dairy’s leadership agricultural sustainability and animal care.

“Dairy farmers have numerous reasons to be thankful for Jim Mulhern’s leadership at NMPF,” said NMPF Board of Directors Chairman Randy Mooney. “Jim has been a leader, a visionary, and a friend to dairy, and through that, a leader in agriculture. The combination of his depth of knowledge, his energy, and his unflagging passion for dairy producers is impossible to replace, but we all will know that his influence and achievements will resonate in this industry for years to come.”

Doud has served in numerous leadership roles in trade association and government work in his more than 30-year career in agricultural policy and economics, most recently at Aimpoint Research, a global intelligence firm specializing in agriculture and food. As Chief Agricultural Negotiator for the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative, from 2018-2021, he led numerous successful efforts to create a fair, prosperous environment for U.S. agricultural exports, including the U.S.-China “Phase One” agreement and the USMCA negotiations.

Before that role, he served as president of the Commodity Markets Council, a trade association for commodities exchanges and industry counterparts; as senior professional staff on the Senate Agriculture Committee; and as chief economist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, among other roles.

Doud said that as the organization’s next leader, he’s excited to engage on critical issues facing dairy farmers. “From the policy arena to new technologies, there are many great new opportunities for dairy producers at home and internationally,” he said. “It is a tremendous privilege to have the opportunity in these exciting times to lead NMPF, one of Washington’s oldest, most prestigious and well-respected agricultural trade associations.”

Doud was born and raised on a 1,000-acre grain, hog and cattle farm near Mankato, KS. He is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in animal science and a master’s in agricultural economics. He remains actively engaged in production agriculture through partnership in a cow-calf operation and lives with his wife and two children on their horse farm in Lothian, MD.

Doud will begin official work at NMPF in September as its chief operating officer before assuming the role of president and CEO upon Mulhern’s retirement.

“Dairy farmers across the nation are pleased to endorse a true champion of agriculture, someone who both understands the hard work we do and the opportunities and challenges we face both here and abroad,” Mooney said. “NMPF has long been blessed with leadership that’s been able to take its advocacy for dairy to a higher level. We strongly believe that Gregg Doud more than amply provides the expertise, the background, and the passion we will need as we navigate a challenging, but promising, new era.”

NMPF Eager for Next Steps in Milk Marketing Modernization with USDA “Action Plan”

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF’s two-year effort toward Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) modernization achieved a significant milestone June 1, when USDA released its proposed “Action Plan” to move toward a national hearing based on the organization’s proposal to update to FMMO system to benefit farmers, the cooperatives they own and the broader industry.

The next phase of creating a federal order system that better reflects today’s market conditions and dairy producer needs begins with an informational hearing June 16 that should serve as a prelude to a full formal hearing in late August, according to the plan. Should the entire process go smoothly, an updated FMMO system could be actively benefiting farmers in late 2024.

“We’re gratified that USDA recognizes the comprehensive nature of our proposal and are looking forward to it being considered in full, because the whole of our plan adds up to more than the sum of its individual parts,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We will bring the same level of dedication and preparation to this part of the process that we did in drafting our own plan, which included more than 150 meetings and wide consultation across dairy producers and the entire industry.”

NMPF’s Federal Milk Marketing Order proposal, detailed here, offers comprehensive solutions that recognize the needs of today’s dynamic industry. While the complexity of the process will require detailed discussions, the unity seen among dairy producers supporting NMPF’s proposal, which the organization’s Board of Directors approved unanimously, puts adoption on a positive path moving forward, since producers vote for Federal Orders, Mulhern said.

Randy Mooney, NMPF chairman and a dairy farmer near Rogersville, MO, called the proposal’s strong momentum a testament to the power of dairy farmers, through their cooperatives, to undertake bold initiatives that advance their industry. Farmers will continue to lead as modernization moves forward, Mooney said.

“Dairy producers have proven throughout this process that, with unity and careful attention to each other’s needs, we can achieve impressive things,” he said.  “Dairy’s strength comes from its farms, and producers ready to face challenges and seize opportunities. We’re excited to begin the formal hearing process.”

Dairy’s Future Found in New Markets, New Leaders

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Dairy’s future will be increasingly global and diverse, as emerging markets increase demand and women take on greater leadership roles in the industry, this year’s chairwoman of the NMPF Young Cooperators program said in a dairy defined podcast.

“The U.S. really had a competitive edge, as far as the quality and safety of the products,” said Lorilee Schultz, who milks 60 registered Holsteins and manages more than 200 acres at Mil-R-Mor Farm in Orangeville, IL, said of her time briefly working with the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service. The member of Prairie Farms cooperative is very active in community leadership and has a special interest in teaching kids about agriculture, including interactions with more than 200,000 school children through the Adopt-A-Cow program, a free, years-long virtual experience where students care for a calf and interact with a dairy farmer.

That investment in dairy’s future will also be critical as new leaders emerge through programs such as NMPF’s YCs, which will be in Washington next week for their annual congressional fly-in, she said. Schultz, 38, said one of her messages to lawmakers will be that “If we want to retain the talented young people that we have in our rural communities, we really need to make sure that we’re investing in those communities, making sure we have things like good schools, access to healthcare, quality and affordable childcare.”

And for dairy’s next generation of leadership – especially for women, who are currently under- represented in top industry positions – it’s critical to get involved, Schultz said. “It’s really important to have our voices heard,” she said. “I just want to encourage everybody to know that they can be involved in leadership and make a difference.”

The full podcast is below. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

The World Wants Protein. Dairy Builds on That.

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Ah, protein –a building block of life. That refreshing post-exercise recovery drink, that yogurt in a school lunch box, that succulent cut of meat, those humble but mighty dry beans. All rich with exquisite chains of amino acids that repair your cells and make new ones. Without protein, we are nothing. With it, we are human, and resilient.

So it’s no wonder that, as people become wealthier, one of the first things they seek out is protein – both more protein and higher-quality protein. And just as protein is a basic need for life, that may be the basic reason why dairy – coveted for its protein and unparalleled in its quality, has been steadily rising as a share of global protein consumption for the entire 21st century.

From our friends at the NMPF/USDEC Economics Unit:

From just under 11.5 percent of global protein consumption to just over 13 percent today, dairy keep inching upward in serving global protein needs. Combine that with the fact that global population itself is growing, and you have a recipe for profound growth in coming decades. Higher population + higher incomes that help consumers meet their daily nutrition needs and access quality nutrients = rising dairy demand.

And who is supplying that dairy? Increasingly, the United States, which saw record exports in 2020, 2021 and 2022. With world-leading sustainability and productivity, U.S. dairy exports have powerhouse potential for a powerhouse product, providing protein to a world in which demand will only rise.

So if you ever hear anyone doubt the importance of dairy exports, or wonder whether international trade is critical to the industry’s future, just show them this chart and say, “It’s the protein, stupid.” Because protein isn’t going away, and dairy’s only becoming more important to providing it.

Now that’s a block to build on.

Bipartisan Group of Members of Congress Introduce Legislation to Strengthen Common Name Protection in Upcoming Farm Bill

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

A coalition of American agricultural organizations hail introduction of legislation to proactively establish protections for foods and beverages using common terms in export markets.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) and allied organizations commend today’s introduction of the Safeguarding American Value-Added Exports (SAVE) Act to promote the protection of common names in the 2023 Farm Bill. Led in the Senate by Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Tina Smith (D-MN) and led in the House by Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Jim Costa (D-CA), Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), the language would explicitly direct USDA Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) to work with the U.S. Trade Representative to include the protection of commonly used terms like “parmesan”, “chateau” and “bologna” as a priority in international negotiations. This is the first farm bill effort on common names.

“The lack of strong action by previous administrations has allowed the European Union to misuse and abuse its geographical indications, hurting U.S. exporters in several markets,” said Jaime Castaneda, Executive Director of CCFN. “This new emphasis on protecting common names is a much-needed step in the right direction to ensure that our producers can sell their products in markets around the world.”

The proposed language would amend the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to define “common names” and direct the Secretary of Agriculture to coordinate with the U.S. Trade Representative to proactively defend the right to use common names for agricultural commodities or food products in international markets.

“For years, the European Union has been using illegitimate GIs to boost its own producers at the expense of others, putting a tremendous political priority on giving European companies a leg up over producers in the U.S. and other countries,” noted Castaneda. “It is time that our government takes a more proactive approach to tackling this challenge so that we can turn the tide to stand up for food and beverage producers relying on common names.”

  • Many agricultural producers in the United States and around the world depend on common food and beverage terms – such as parmesan, chateau, or bologna – to market and sell their products.
  • Since 2009, the EU has used trade negotiations and intellectual property rules to confiscate common names for their own producers – essentially monopolizing certain products in specific markets.
  • For American farmers and producers, this leads to lost opportunities overseas and expensive fights domestically, in addition to fewer choices for consumers.
  • Recently, there has been significant efforts from the private sector to defend common names, including a favorable U.S. Court of Appeals ruling and actions by congressional champions on Capitol Hill.

California Flood Woes Far from Ebbing

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

A record snowpack that’s far from fully melted, combined with last winter’s record rains, may mean it will be some time before Cory Vanderham, owner of Vanderham West Dairy in Corcoran, CA, will get his 4,500 cows all back to his farm.

In the meantime, he’s relying on leases in other locations, help from friends, and faith, to get through an ongoing disruption to the dairy industry in the nation’s top milk-producing state that creates new challenges every day.

“You don’t realize how strong this community is and how strong ag is until things get wild like this,” said Vanderham, a member of NMPF’s Board of Directors and the California Dairies Inc. cooperative, said in a Dairy Defined podcast released today. “And when it got wild, everybody showed up to help.”

Vanderham also discusses his on-the-ground observations on what kind of policy changes and investments at all levels of government could improve the state’s water management and infrastructure as farmers look toward a more resilient future in the face of weather extremes. The full podcast is below. 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.

Co-ops Lead in Developing Milk-Pricing Consensus

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

It would seem daunting that the highly diverse dairy community, which ranges from small, 20 cow farms to 20,000+ animal operations using state-of-the-art equipment for everything from housing to enhanced sustainability, would be able to reach a unanimous consensus on a comprehensive proposal to modernize milk pricing, which is both incredibly important and incredibly complicated for each of those farms.

But dairy farmers, as represented by the members of NMPF, have a mechanism that allows the industry to tackle complex issues and work on solutions that can make improvements for all: the cooperative. And after two years and more than 150 meetings on milk marketing orders, that structure again is proving essential to industry progress.

Even after decades of consolidation and increasingly sophisticated operations, the co-op remains the heart and soul of dairy. Cooperatives handle 85 percent of U.S. milk, produced on farms that are 97 percent family owned. By providing technical and risk-management support, economic expertise and most importantly, a guaranteed buyer for a perishable product, co-ops meet dairy needs – including the need to reach agreement on all-encompassing issues such Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization. Working together for mutual self-help is the cooperative spirit. It’s the engine that makes dairy move.

Though not every dairy cooperative is an NMPF member (although they should be, if they want to be engaged in building industry positions on critical issues such as FMMO modernization), the strength of its membership covers two-thirds of the U.S. milk supply –which enables us to solidly speak for dairy farmers in federal policy debates. That’s why NMPF became the natural place to craft an FMMO modernization proposal. Top economists and analysts from member cooperatives talked with the farmer-leaders of NMPF co-ops nationwide, arriving at solutions to thorny problems that respected the interests of all and, in total, achieves mutual benefits.

The result is the plan NMPF submitted to USDA last week. That’s how things should be done – and that’s how things will continue to be done as the Agriculture Department considers the plan and, assuming successful consideration, a federal order hearing takes place.

Not every dairy farmer is a co-op member, of course, and the industry includes other parts of the supply chain that have an interest in FMMO issues. That’s obvious, and the farmer-led plan NMPF has submitted wouldn’t have been as well-considered – and certainly not as likely to succeed – without the input and support from stakeholders across dairy.

But in the end, the vehicle driving the first major FMMO update in nearly a quarter-century is the farmer-owned cooperative. Co-ops are where the ideas come from, and where the initiative to realize those ideas come from as well. As the federal-order process continues, each will be important to success. Fortunately, supplies of both are ample.

West Brings Finance Expertise to Staff

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF’s newest staff member, David West, has joined the organization as its Vice President of Finance and Administration for the Federation and its related organizations.

In that role, West is responsible for overseeing all finance and accounting, human resources, information technology, contract management, and other administrative matters. He also serves as the advisor to the senior leadership team on financial planning, reporting, budgeting, and operations and ensures organizational legal and regulatory compliance. In carrying out these responsibilities, David supervises a team of in-house administrative personnel and outsourced accounting, human resources, and legal services professionals.

Prior to joining NMPF, David served as the Director of Finance and Administration at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, a non-profit with 650 employees that generates $70 million in revenue and $200 million in investments. During his tenure, he led the organization’s efforts, in budgeting, finance, compliance, payroll, and system administration. Before that, David worked in public accounting at Tate & Tryon, where he oversaw non-profit financial preparation for a variety of non-profit organizations.

A native of Northern Virginia, David resides in Springfield, VA and is a graduate of High Point University in North Carolina.

April CWT-Assisted Dairy Export Sales Totaled 10.7 Million Pounds

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

CWT member cooperatives secured 38 contracts in April, adding 3 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 55,000 pounds of butter, 6.7 million pounds of whole milk powder, 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat and 522,000 pounds of cream cheese to CWT-assisted sales in 2023. In milk equivalent, this is equal to 85.6 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. These products will go to customers in Oceania, South America, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, and will be shipped from April through October 2023.

CWT-assisted 2023 dairy product sales contracts year-to-date total 15.6 million pounds of American-type cheese, 495,000 pounds of butter, 3.4 million pounds of cream cheese, 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat and 24.5 million pounds of whole milk powder. This brings the total milk equivalent for the year to 361.4 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.