Author: Theresa Sweeney

USDEC, NMPF Commend Senate Confirmation of Cindy McCain for U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) support the Senate confirmation yesterday of Cindy McCain’s nomination to serve as U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. The United States’ active involvement in the three Rome-based U.N. food agencies, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is critical as countries and their food producers combat hunger.

“Through Codex Alimentarius and other programs, the FAO plays a key role in setting global standards for the movement and consumption of safe food. U.S. dairy producers, manufacturers, and exporters rely on strong U.S. leadership in FAO convenings to ensure policy recommendations and decisions are science-based,” said Krysta Harden, President and CEO of USDEC. “With a wealth of experience working across international boundaries, Cindy McCain is well-positioned to serve as the next U.S. Representative to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture.”

As the global conversation on sustainable food systems shifts from the UN Food Systems Summit to work in the Rome-based agencies, it is critical that the U.S. has a strong voice in international fora to amplify the role that the U.S. dairy and agricultural industry is playing in advancing sustainability efforts. American dairy farmers, processors, and manufacturers are leaders in advancing voluntary action to reduce environmental impacts, including an industry-wide goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a first-of-its kind voluntary National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Animal Care program, which sets high standards for animal care, housing, and antibiotic stewardship for 99% of all milk originating in the United States.

“The position of U.S. Ambassador to the UN Food Agencies is uniquely important as countries grapple with feeding a growing world population in a sustainable manner. UN forums, including the important follow up work initiated by the Food Systems Summit, are opportunities for U.S. dairy to showcase our sustainability efforts, and it is vitally important for the U.S. dairy industry to be well represented in these discussions,” said Jim Mulhern, President and CEO of NMPF. “With a long and rich career devoted to serving people around the world, Cindy McCain epitomizes the qualities needed to serve the American people in Rome.”

‘Climate-Smart Ag’ Enhances Dairy Stewardship, NMPF’s Bleiberg Says

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The reconciliation bill being negotiated before Congress would help “climate-smart” agriculture move forward by adapting USDA conservation programs toward approaches that aid dairy in its Net Zero Initiative goal of being carbon neutral or better by 2050, says Paul Bleiberg, NMPF’s Senior Vice President for Government Relations, in a Dairy Defined podcast released today.

“The excitement here for us in the agriculture space, in particular for dairy, is the possibility of new funding, increased funding for conservation programs over time, really with an emphasis on those practices, those climate-smart ag practices that can generate and yield meaningful environmental benefits, whether that be sequestering carbon in soil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, better emphasis on the newer management, feed management, things like that,” Bleiberg said. “We see a tremendous amount of potential.”

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.

Michigan Dairy Farm Leader Highlights Need for Market Access Opportunities for U.S. Dairy in a Farmers for Free Trade Virtual Townhall

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

A Michigan dairy farmer stressed the job-creating and farm-supporting benefits of generating greater dairy market access opportunities during a virtual townhall organized by Farmers for Free Trade (FFT).

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) are members of FFT and play an active role in helping the organization carry out its mission of informing the public about the benefits of free trade and supporting the pursuit of beneficial trade agreements that expand export opportunities for American farms.

During today’s event, Doug Chapin, dairy producer and Chairman of the Michigan Milk Producers Association, highlighted the importance of exports for his family’s farm and the thousands of workers throughout the dairy supply chain. To support those American jobs, he urged a more aggressive pursuit of trade policies that can expand market access for U.S. dairy exports by removing tariff and non-tariff barriers that make it harder to compete around the world.

In his remarks, Chapin said that American exporters are facing an increasingly uneven playing field as the European Union and New Zealand continue to ink new trade deals with key markets while the United States falls behind.

“Aside from the USMCA update to NAFTA, the last new U.S. free trade agreements went into effect nearly a decade ago with negotiations having taken place even earlier than that,” Chapin said. “We seem to either be evaluating or at times negotiating deals, but not implementing new comprehensive trade agreements that eliminate tariffs on our exports.”

Chapin comes from a farming family that has operated a dairy in Remus, Michigan, for over a century. He manages Chapin Family Farms LLC along with his wife, Cheri, and son, Sam. In his comments, Chapin noted that his farm directly employs 14 workers, supporting the local economy as dairy farms do across the United States.

“We appreciate the opportunity this Farmers for Free Trade townhall has provided to highlight the need for expanded market access for American-made dairy products, and we thank Doug for being willing to share how Washington does impact dairy farmers throughout the country,” said NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We believe greater access to other key dairy markets where the U.S. is facing the challenge of competing at a disadvantage, particularly in Asia, will mean continued opportunity and growth for America’s dairy farmers like Chapin Family Farms.”

“The U.S. Dairy Export Council supports Doug’s comments today on the need for the administration to pursue new trade agreements that benefit the dairy producers and processors in Michigan and elsewhere in America,” said USDEC president and CEO Krysta Harden. “U.S. dairy exporters are able to compete on quality and price anywhere in the world – so long as there is a level playing field. Unfortunately, that playing field continues to tilt in our competitors’ favor as the tariff gap between the United States and our trade competitors only widens. We thank Doug for highlighting this trade situation and the ripple effects it has throughout the supply chain. We urge the administration to take more aggressive steps to grow agricultural market access opportunities.”

Chapin is a participant in NMPF and USDEC’s inaugural class of Dairy Trade Envoys, a select group of dairy producers and processing staff focused on educating elected officials and media about dairy trade policy priorities.

Dairy’s 2020 Gains Were Steady in a Year That Was Anything But

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

We’ll spare you the long story of how 2020 was difficult for everyone – assuming you aren’t a time-traveler or a visitor from outer space, you already know it. And if you follow this column, you’ll know that consumers turned to dairy in difficult times, from baking at home to stocking up on fluid milk in the COVID-19 pandemic’s earliest days.

But the final consumption data for 2020 is now in, and the spreadsheet confirms what we already knew in our hearts: For the third consecutive year, U.S. per-capita dairy consumption increased, to 655 pounds per person from 653 pounds in 2019, showing a resilience in dairy that reflects that of those who relied on it.

No eye-poppers in this year’s report. A small uptick in yogurt, a gain in butter as it marches back to 1960’s-level consumption, increased buying of both full-fat and lower-fat ice cream – because what’s a ­­­lockdown without ice cream? And fluid milk consumption held steady, belying the haters who always use receding prominence  as fake evidence of the “death of dairy” even as gains among other dairy products more than outpace any fluid losses.

In the end, “steady” is ­­­what dairy’s been all about. At a time when everything from public health to supply chains have been in upheaval, consumers can count on dairy – for quality, for nutrition, for affordability, and for care in its creation.

2020 is over, and 2021 hasn’t been a picnic either. But we do know – and the data does show – what consumers have counted on throughout. Dairy farmers are proud to provide products that keep the country nourished. They will continue to meet that steadily growing need until current challenges have passed – and far, far beyond.

CWT-Assisted Export Dairy Sales Through September Top a Billion Pounds

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

CWT member cooperatives secured 40 contracts in August adding 2.3 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 5.5 million pounds of whole milk powder, 567,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat and 891,000 pounds of cream cheese to CWT-assisted sales in 2021. These products will go customers in Asia, Middle East-North Africa, Central America, Caribbean and South America, and will be shipped September 2021 through February 2022.

CWT-assisted 2021 dairy product sales contracts year-to-date total 37.7 million pounds of American-type cheese, 12.7 million pounds of butter, 6.1 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 10.4 million pounds of cream cheese and 24 million pounds of whole milk powder. This brings the total milk equivalent for the year to roughly 1.056 billion 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.

FARM, YCs Boost NMPF Visibility at World Dairy Expo

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF’s National Dairy FARM Program and Young Cooperators (YC) Program joined industry stakeholders in Madison, Wisconsin Sept. 28-Oct. 2 for the 2021 World Dairy Expo. The annual event, which attracts over 50,000 attendees annually, serves as a forum for dairy producers, companies and organizations to come together to compete, and to exchange ideas, knowledge, technology and commerce.

The FARM Program hosted a panel lunch on Thursday, Sept. 30 in which 50 industry stakeholders, farmers and NMPF staff discussed the newest FARM initiatives, FARM Biosecurity and the Calf Care & Quality Assurance (CCQA). Miquela Hanselman, manager of regulatory affairs for NMPF, introduced the new FARM Biosecurity program area address producer’s biggest concerns in the biosecurity space. Kris Scheider, Wisconsin farmer and vice-chair of the FARM Farmer Advisory Council, talked about farmer involvement in the program and what biosecurity looks like on his farm.

“At the on-farm level we have our vaccines, we have animal identification, and we have two skid steers – one for pushing feed and the other for manure handling,” Scheider said. “There are all these steps we are taking and now were ready for Enhanced Biosecurity.”

Justin Potts, senior manager of Dairy 2025 at Land O’ Lakes talked about the customer concerns in the biosecurity space and how the organizations are approaching calf care considerations.

Josh White, executive director of producer education at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, explained why the CCQA program was developed and what is included within the standards. Dr. Jennifer Van Os, PhD animal welfare assistant professor and extension specialist at University of Wisconsin – Madison, answered questions about pressure points in the calf space and veterinary involvement in the CCQA program.

“We wanted to inform the CCQA recommendations with the latest scientific research and find any pain points within the calf space,” Van Os said. “Those were identified as special needs of calf raisers and animal husbandry.” The recording of the event is available on the FARM Program’s Facebook page.

The National YC Program sponsored a Dairy Cow Productivity Seminar Sept. 29 featuring NMPF’s Peter Vitaliano, Ph.D., vice president of economic policy and market research. And later that day, the program hosted an offsite reception and dinner, offering 30 YCs the opportunity to network with each other and to meet and ask the seminar speaker questions in an informal setting.

FARM Surveys Provide Opportunity for Input

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program released its Animal Care Version 5.0 Stakeholder Survey on Sept. 22. This survey gives dairy farmers, industry stakeholders, and partners an opportunity to provide early input on topics, issues, and potential changes they would like considered for Version 5.0.

FARM will use the input from this survey and work with the FARM Farmer Advisory Council, Animal Care Task Force, NMPF Animal Health and Wellbeing Committee, and the NMPF Board of Directors to review Version 4.0 of the program and design updates and improvements for Version 5.0, which would come into effect July 1.

Survey information will be used to inform decisions, although no decisions will be made solely from the responses, which are anonymous. The survey will take approximately 15 minutes to complete and is open to any farmers and other stakeholders wishing to lend their expertise to the FARM Animal Care Program update. Click here to access and complete the survey. For more information and to follow Version 5.0 progress, visit the development page on the FARM website.

The FARM Program has also provided support to Kansas State University to develop an antibiotic stewardship use survey for dairy farmers to provide a better understanding of dairy producer perceptions of antibiotic stewardship and their willingness to contribute to a dairy antibiotic use database. The survey is also anonymous, and input received will serve as a valuable resource for university researchers who are collaborating with FARM and participating in discussions on national policies related to dairy antibiotic use.

Administration, Congress Pressed to Address Port Problems

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF, USDEC and a coalition of agricultural associations are keeping up pressure on the White House and Congress to take immediate, substantive actions to relieve worsening problems with port delays and costs.

NMPF and over 75 national and regional agricultural organizations, companies, and dairy cooperatives sent a letter to President Biden Sept. 13 listing specific steps the administration can take to provide near-term solutions to supply chain problems. NMPF and USDEC wrote the letter and initiated the effort.

Meanwhile, NMPF’s Trade Policy team organized an agricultural coalition meeting Sept. 14 with Carlos Monje, U.S. Department of Transportation Under Secretary for Policy, and John Pocari, Port Envoy to the Administration’s Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, to discuss additional specific steps the White House and Transportation Department could take to force a change in carrier behavior and improve the conditions facing agricultural exporters.

NMPF, USDEC and other members of the agriculture coalition also met virtually Sept. 2 with Tim Manning, White House National COVID-19 Supply Coordinator, to recommend the administration build upon a July 9 Executive Order from President Biden directing the Federal Maritime Commission to “vigorously enforce” guidelines on reasonable detention and demurrage fees by taking additional steps to address the mounting shipping crisis.

Throughout these discussions, NMPF, USDEC and coalition members have also urged the administration to work to extend terminal gate hours and push for the integration of key technology to optimize port efficiency, among other key funding and enforcement steps. The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports announced Sept. 17 they were incrementally increasing their hours operations – a step in the right direction but not yet enough to provide the capacity needed to process increasing shipping flows.

NMPF Trade Policy staff is also continuing to build bipartisan support in Congress for the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (H.R. 4996), introduced on August 11 by Representatives John Garamendi (D-CA) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD). The legislation would address the unfair practices and charges implemented by ocean carriers.

The bill currently has 32 cosponsors, and NMPF is working to encourage additional members of Congress to sign onto the legislation. The bill was referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation for consideration. A briefing paper on the legislation can be found here.

U.S. Dairy Sustainability Efforts Recognized at UN Food Systems Summit

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Dairy efforts led by NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) capped off months of work Sept. 23-24 by making great strides in positioning dairy as a core part of a sustainable food system in a well-balanced UN Food Systems Summit.

NMPF and other farm organizations have spent much of the year conducting extensive outreach with U.S. officials to help ensure that the U.S. government maximized its ability to shape the summit and the additional efforts it has been spurring to move in a trade-friendly, science-based direction.

NMPF seized multiple opportunities in September to emphasize key dairy priorities to the U.S. interagency team working on finalizing U.S. stances and messages for the summit.

  • NMPF delivered remarks at a Sept. 3 State Department summit preparation listening session calling on U.S. government leadership to ensure that future food systems work supports the role of trade, agricultural innovation, and livestock products.
  • NMPF and USDEC also submitted more detailed recommendations 8 to the U.S. government underscoring the additional needs to: (1) clearly communicate and promote the positive role of sustainable livestock systems; (2) promote a role for school milk as a key component in school meals; (3) actively work to shape UN leadership comments and reports to align with the U.S. interests; and (4) work to shape future work and steer that process toward being conducted by multilateral organizations that prioritize science-based policy making.
  • NMPF also worked with USDEC to play an active role in helping shape an agriculture coalition letter outlining summit priorities that was sent to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sept. 13. The letter urged enhanced work with like-minded countries to promote the benefits of rules-based international trade; support science, innovation, and technology; recognize that all production systems should seek to minimize environmental impacts without sacrificing overall diet quality and diversity; and support flexibility in addressing national, cultural, and personal interests without prescriptive or “one-size-fits-all” approaches.
  • On Sept. 14, NMPF joined a small group of other agricultural organizations to meet with USDA Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh and emphasize the type of results that U.S. agriculture views as critical to feeding the world sustainably.

Secretary Vilsack and USAID Ambassador Samantha Powers announced U.S. commitments near the outset of the summit Sept. 23; those remarks focused on addressing hunger and drawing on a variety of tools to build sustainable food systems. NMPF’s President and CEO Jim Mulhern said dairy farmers need to be at the table given the positive role they play on both fronts.

“Some have viewed the summit as an opportunity to issue lengthy lists of dos and don’ts to the farmers worldwide who work hard every day to feed us all,” Mulhern said in a statement released in conjunction with the summit. “We’re proud to promote an approach that recognizes that farmers everywhere advance sustainability in many ways – with America’s dairy farmers at the forefront. Rather than trying to impose a uniform, misguided ideology on how the world eats, farms, and produces food, we all need to do our part to use limited resources wisely and efficiently to feed a growing world population in environmentally sound ways.”

The U.S. dairy industry has a big role to play to sustainably meet the world’s growing demand for dairy. To allow that to flourish, NMPF will continue to promote trade-friendly and evidence-based solutions to support diverse and healthy diets as core to sustainable food systems as U.S. dairy enhances its critical role in sustainably meeting growing global dairy demand.

August DMC Margin Lowest Ever

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The August margin USDA announced for the Dairy Margin Coverage program, $5.25/cwt., fell to its lowest-ever since margin protection became the main federal dairy safety net in 2014, slipping below the previous low of $5.37/cwt. margin from May 2020. A $0.20/cwt. drop in the U.S. average all-milk price from a month earlier, to $17.70/cwt., and a $0.24/cwt. rise in feed costs, mostly due to a higher corn price, produced the August margin.

USDA has still not begun to announce the revised margins using 100 percent dairy quality alfalfa, a change to the program’s feed-cost calculation made in August at NMPF’s urging. Incorporating the change, which will be retroactive to 2020, would set the August margin at $5.03/cwt.

USDA reported that, as of Sept. 27, the 19,009 operations enrolled in this year’s DMC program are expected to receive $817,171,664 in payments, based on previously announced margins.  Margins for the remaining five months in 2021, including August, are not included in this total.  Dairy futures continue to indicate further DMC payments for $9.50/cwt coverage for every month remaining this year.

Stepped-Up Basis Survives First Hurdle After NMPF, Farm Groups Pressure

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF and other farm groups have thus far successfully protected the current tax policy referred to as “stepped-up basis” during the ongoing budget reconciliation negotiations, with the House Ways and Means Committee excluding any change to current policy in its contribution to the reconciliation package.

The reconciliation bill, which has been actively worked on since August, will only pass Congress with unanimous support from Senate Democrats and near-unanimous backing from their House counterparts, due to united Republican opposition. Reconciliation has become the vehicle for the Democratic legislative agenda, and its final form will include critical provisions to raise the revenue required to pay for various programs and projects.

One proposal initially floated to raise these funds was to change when capital gains on inherited assets are taxed as well as altering the basis for evaluating the amount of capital gains to be taxed. NMPF and other farm groups have been working to prevent these proposed changes from becoming law and protect stepped-up basis.

While many provisions currently in the mix for the final reconciliation package are popular within agriculture – such as funds for rural development, climate change research, biofuel investment, and forestry – agriculture has solidly opposed any proposals to eliminate or otherwise change stepped-up basis because it would likely increase taxes heirs have to pay on inherited farm assets. NMPF and the agriculture community are hopeful the committee’s preservation of current policy will be maintained in the final package and will continue work to ensure that outcome, although circumstances can change rapidly as last-minute negotiations occur.

One area of special interest to dairy — funding for conservation programs with emphasis on climate-smart ag practices — will likely be included in the bill. The plan will invest nearly $28 billion in such programs, which will benefit dairy’s proactive sustainability efforts to become carbon neutral or better by 2050 and to improve water quality and optimize water use. NMPF previously led 12 agricultural and conservation organizations in advocating for this important new funding.