James Weber is learning as he goes along – but the coronavirus pandemic, disrupted international markets, shifting technology and turbulent political debates make life as a beginning dairy farmer challenging, as Weber, explains in this week’s Dairy Defined podcast.

Weber, 30, operates Weber Family Dairy near Frankenmuth, Michigan. He’s a member of the Michigan Milk Producers Association dairy cooperative and the 2020 chairman of the National Milk Producers Federation’s Young Cooperators program. “There are lots of life lessons that are learned, that can only be learned through living them,” Weber says in the podcast. “One of the things that I’ve learned about through COVID here was risk management. And that’s just one of those things where you have to live it to learn it.”

To listen to the full discussion, click here. You can also find this and other NMPF podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  and SoundCloud. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

Given the national and strategic importance of U.S. dairy exports, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) today released an Executive Summary of its recent detailed analysis of the intricate web of global trade barriers that are hampering overseas dairy sales, to better inform and guide the work of the incoming administration and other policymakers.

The detailed submission to the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) office made late last month  was created as part of the USTR’s annual call for input to inform its National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. It outlined nearly 40 pages worth of various challenges and opportunities facing U.S. dairy exports in more than 30 foreign markets.

“Exports are essential to the economic survival of our industry, and it is important U.S. trade negotiators fully understand all of the trade-distorting tricks used to keep high-quality U.S. dairy products out of global markets,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “The USTR has worked hard to address many of these barriers, and USDEC members have benefited from our broad approach to handling issues ranging from trade policy to regulatory hurdles. We stand ready to continue our work alongside USTR and USDA to address these and future trade barriers.”

More than $6 billion of dairy products were exported in 2019, accounting for 15 percent of all U.S. milk production, with more potential to serve consumers overseas and create dairy jobs at home.

“Our comments to the USTR provide a road map for dozens of opportunities to create a more level and consistent global playing field for the U.S. dairy sector,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “The best avenue to stamp out many of these trade tactics that disadvantage American-made dairy products is to strongly convey the message that foreign restrictions on U.S. agriculture must end and that new trade agreements that dismantle trade barriers and put America’s dairy industry on a level playing field are necessary.”

The industry’s submission dedicated the most attention to key markets where trade barriers are limiting U.S. market access, including China and Europe. Foreign countries use policies including high tariffs, retaliatory duties, geographic indications, import licensing, and unscientific health requirements to keep U.S. goods at bay. The submission also focused on the importance of enforcing hard-won gains under existing free-trade agreements, particularly the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

NMPF and USDEC said the United States should prioritize trade deals most likely to yield net positive benefits for dairy and agriculture, such as with the United Kingdom and key Asian markets, including those in Southeast Asia.

A close reading of policy statements from dairy producers will reveal one word that keeps popping up: bipartisan.

Unfashionable though that may seem in certain quarters, bipartisan solutions are the best solutions. They acknowledge that one side doesn’t have a monopoly on the best ideas, a basic sign of mutual respect. They’re less controversial, because everyone has to buy in to a policy before it’s approved, minimizing later attempts to naysay and undercut whatever’s put in place. And that makes bipartisan solutions more likely to last: A policy that’s widely accepted is less likely to be tossed out the moment a different political party takes power.

Looking at the political landscape that’s coming into focus after the 2020 elections – the most bitter and viciously fought in anyone’s memory — it’s safe to say that for at least the next two years, bipartisanship isn’t everything. It’s the only thing, as hard as that may be for some to accept at this moment.

While some congressional electoral battles aren’t over yet, 2021’s political contours are already clear. The House of Representatives will be more narrowly divided. The Senate will be more narrowly divided. While the popular vote was not that close, the White House was won via razor-thin victories in several states. It’s a recipe for tension and stalemate, for attacking the other side in the hopes that a more favorable balance – for one’s own side – is achieved in the next election. That approach is understandable, predictable, and for the health of the country, toxic.

The more difficult, but needed, approach, is to find common ground, if not on everything, then at least the most pressing issues of the day: coronavirus, the economy, and other key concerns that are literally life-and-death for lives and livelihoods. Despite the easy impulse toward cynicism, bipartisan solutions have been found just this year, and can be found again.

Dairy has its own interests, just like everyone else. But the emphasis dairy places on bipartisanship isn’t just lip service. It’s rooted in specific circumstances that’s produced a distinct emphasis among dairy farmers to seek political common ground.

It’s no secret that farmers overall tend to be conservative politically. But unlike commodities in which production tends to cluster in deep-red states, dairy has always developed not far from urban areas, due to the perishable nature of its much-needed products. In the 21^st century, that’s naturally encouraged a bipartisan approach to problem-solving. Even the most conservative dairy farmer has an interest in working with someone who’s more liberal, given how many of those farmers live in deep blue (shout out to California and New York) or profoundly purple (hello, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan – and let’s not forget Arizona) states. Conversely, dairy has helped lawmakers who otherwise would have little contact with agriculture better understand its needs – because those lawmakers represent dairy farmers and need to understand their issues.

That ability to talk to and work with both sides has also given dairy a unique sensitivity, and ability to address, concerns from across the political and consumer spectrum. Dairy fights against regulations that needlessly undermine their ability to effectively feed the world; it’s also highly sensitive toward public concerns, proactively addressing issues such as animal welfare and workplace safety through its FARM Program and supporting initiatives such as the Dairy Environmental Sustainability Goals and dairy’s Net-Zero Initiative to achieve a carbon-neutral sector by 2050. Dairy producers know that successfully serving common goals is possible, because we achieve it every day. And we will continue to seek bipartisan solutions in today’s often-treacherous political environment.

In the end, dairy farmers produce a commodity, one among numerous other commodities jostling in the policy arena. But the most valuable commodity in America today may be the ability to bridge partisan divides: That’s always been important, but it may be becoming existential. Dairy, in its own way and for its own reasons, is well-positioned to be part of today’s necessary policy solutions, and it’s all because of that word that keeps coming up: bipartisan.

We congratulate President-elect Biden and the incoming members of the 117^th Congress. There’s a lot of work to do in this country in the next few months and years, from legislating to healing. Dairy is ready to do its part – and much more, if that’s what the nation needs.

The U.S. dairy industry commended the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for using its review of Indonesia’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status to hold Indonesia accountable for issues that had threatened the smooth flow of U.S. dairy exports. USTR announced yesterday the conclusion of its review of Indonesia’s eligibility to continue receiving preferential tariff access to the U.S. market under the GSP program.

“The U.S. dairy industry and all of its supplying dairy farmers rely on the enforcement of fair trade rules. We appreciate the work invested by the U.S. government to use the GSP review process to ensure that Indonesia complies with its trade obligations under the terms of the GSP program,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF).

“This outcome demonstrates how the GSP review process can be utilized to scrutinize a country’s compliance with the program and to achieve improvements in U.S. market access where changes are needed. We look forward to working with both governments to ensure that all U.S. exporters eager to ship to Indonesia have the ability to do so smoothly.”

NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) were among the organizations that originally filed a complaint with USTR regarding Indonesia’s GSP compliance in 2018, citing its law mandating local partnership arrangements in order to secure import licenses. In response to dairy’s concerns raised through the GSP process, Indonesia removed that requirement.

“We appreciate USTR ensuring that Indonesia meet its market access obligations under the GSP review process. Through that process, USTR helped address Indonesian policies that had endangered U.S. dairy exports to Indonesia, one of our largest markets. The government of Indonesia has been responsive to these concerns, and we look forward to building further upon this positive development,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC.

The U.S. dairy industry exported $238 million in dairy products to Indonesia in 2019, making it the seventh largest market for U.S. dairy exports. That represents an increase of 80% percent by value from 2017. With a potential for even greater growth for U.S. dairy in this key market, it’s important that U.S. products can flow smoothly.