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Thank You for All You Do.
Throughout my career, whether I was working on Capitol Hill or consulting for Fortune 500 companies, I found myself returning, in various ways, to dairy. And it was always because of the people.
Those who produce our food literally make life possible for all of us. But there’s something special about this dairy community. I’ve long felt dairy’s uniqueness is in its daily harvest – the ability to see in real time the fruits of your labor reflected in the health of your animals and the quality and quantity of milk they produce. It gives dairy a different character than other agricultural operations, producing people committed to nourishing our bodies with nutrient-rich milk and dairy products harvested through work that is hard and honest, and never lacking in integrity.
That’s what I will miss after more than four decades working in and near dairy. And that’s why the most important words I’ve been saying as I approach my final weeks at NMPF are “thank you” — to everyone from NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney and the many dairy-industry leaders who I’ve been fortunate to work with, to the farmers and staff who have supported and advanced our important work at NMPF.
And I also need to say, “I’m proud of this industry” for all the successes we’ve seen, and for how that success will help position everyone who cares about dairy for further gains to come – from the farmers and cooperatives I have represented to the entire industry.
I’ve had the opportunity to be part of nearly every major dairy policy debate since the early 1980s – from the establishment of the national dairy checkoff program in 1983, the very first dairy issue I worked on Capitol Hill, to the USDA Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization effort currently under way.
No achievements are ever static: The checkoff has become an incredibly vital instrument for our industry, and it continues to evolve, showing strong leadership in critical areas. Our Federal Order system is evolving as well – for the better, I predict, after our modernization proposal becomes the basis for a comprehensive USDA plan next year. The changes we are advocating, if approved, will strengthen the program’s ability to aid producers and improve orderly marketing of milk. And that change will happen because of the leadership, engagement, and hard work of all of NMPF’s dairy cooperative members.
Other examples of which we should all be proud – and confident in our future success – includes our sustainability journey. We recognized the climate issue as a looming challenge more than 15 years ago. We knew that our opponents would try to position dairy as part of the problem. But we vowed to be part of the solution. I was fortunate to be involved in those early efforts as the checkoff program engaged key stakeholders, conducted a carbon Life Cycle Assessment of fluid milk – the first-ever on a U.S. agricultural product – and helped develop the science to establish our industry’s baseline.
From there, we have identified numerous opportunities for dairy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to climate improvements. NMPF has focused on programs and policies that provide voluntary incentives to assist farmers in these improvements and prevent onerous, costly regulations. We are seeing the fruits of these efforts, as federal programs are beginning to provide funding to enable on-farm technologies to mitigate emissions and help facilitate our U.S. dairy industry goal to be Net Zero by 2050. There is much yet to be done, but with the right policies and approaches I am fully confident we will achieve our goal even before then.
I am also proud of our work in the economic policy arena to help producers of all sizes deal with the volatility inherent in commodity milk prices. The Dairy Margin Coverage program provides protection without stimulating increased milk production, and we have helped develop better and more effective risk management tools for larger farms through the USDA-supported Dairy Revenue Protection and LGM-Dairy programs. Collectively, these efforts provide the most comprehensive federal risk management suite our industry has ever had.
There are so many other issues I could talk about where we’ve made great progress, and a few – like immigration reform to help address our ag labor problem – where success remains elusive.
Despite these challenges, I know that the future of this industry is very bright. And that’s because of what I may be most proud of – how our industry works together to advance common goals.
By proactively engaging with a host of stakeholders – policymakers, customers, proprietary processors, consumer and public health groups, other agricultural organizations and even potential critics – we endeavor to advance our collective interests. I’m proud of the countless times we have engaged critical debates from a position of unity and strength.
When I accepted the role of NMPF president and CEO, I told the organization’s Board that my goal was simple: to strengthen the dairy cooperative and dairy producer community and help build a brighter future. Any success I’ve had has been because of great people – on the farm, in our marketing and processing operations, and in the policy and promotion organizations.
We produce a great product with a demand that’s growing both domestically and internationally. We have the most efficient, productive, resilient and sustainable dairy industry in the world. And it’s because of what you have done. Our industry is stronger because of our work together – and, under the leadership of my successor, Gregg Doud, our work is poised for greater success, as U.S. dairy remains a critical part of the American diet, and increasingly, the world’s.
My career journey has exceeded the wildest dreams of what I thought might be accomplished when I started in it many years ago. I’m proud of what we have accomplished together and gratified by the opportunity I’ve had to work with so many great people.
Thank you again, and Godspeed.
Jim Mulhern
President & CEO, NMPF
NMPF’s Bjerga on Trade, FMMO
NMPF Executive Vice President Alan Bjerga speaks with RFD-TV about how all of agriculture needs to fight for the integrity of trade agreements in the wake of a USMCA dispute panel decision that failed to protect U.S. access to Canada’s market. The President’s Export Council, with member co-op Land O’Lakes representing farmers, discussed the importance of market access in a White House meeting on Wednesday. Bjerga also talked about the resumption of the USDA Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing in Indiana this week, and how repeated delays aren’t helpful for milk producers.
Milk Prices Rising on Strong Consumer Demand
NMPF Cheese Contest: A Tradition of Excellence
NMPF’s annual cheese contest, held in conjunction with its annual meeting, has evolved from a quality-improvement initiative to a showcase of some of the world’s top cheeses, as produced by NMPF member cooperatives. RFD-TV goes behind the scenes to talk with cheese judges, contest coordinators and winners to show how the contest — which now features other dairy products — encourages the best in NMPF co-ops, and the best in cheesemaking as well.
USMCA Dispute Panel Limits Canadian Market Access
Today’s ruling by a U.S-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute panel allowing Canada to restrict the dairy access that the United States negotiated for in the USMCA pact weakens the agreement’s value to the US dairy industry, according to the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.
An earlier panel ruled in January 2022 that Canada had improperly restricted access to its market for U.S. dairy products. In response, Canada made insufficient changes to its dairy tariff rate quota (TRQ) system, resulting in an outcome that still fell far short of the market access the U.S. expected to receive under USMCA. To address that shortcoming, the U.S. brought a second case to challenge the changes that Canada instituted. Today the panel announced that Canada was not obligated to make further changes.
“It is profoundly disappointing that the dispute settlement panel has ruled in favor of obstruction of trade rather than trade facilitation,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Despite this independent panel’s adverse ruling, we’d like to thank the Biden Administration and the many members of Congress who supported us for their tireless pursuit of justice for America’s dairy sector. We urge Ambassador Tai and Secretary Vilsack to look at all available options to ensure that Canada stops playing games and respects what was negotiated.”
Since the U.S. Trade Representative initially launched the first dispute settlement case against Canada in 2021, USDEC and NMPF have worked with USTR, USDA, and Congress to try to secure full use and value of USMCA’s dairy TRQs for American dairy producers and processors.
“By allowing Canada to ignore its USMCA obligations, this ruling has unfortunately set a dangerous and damaging precedent,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “We do however want to express our appreciation for allies in Congress and the Administration for their efforts and commitment to fighting for U.S. dairy. This is unfortunately not the only shortcoming in Canada’s compliance with its international commitments. We are committed to working with USTR and USDA to evaluate efforts to address Canada’s continued harmful actions that depress dairy imports while simultaneously evading USMCA’s dairy export disciplines.”
When first implemented in 2020, USMCA established 14 different TRQs, which allow a predetermined quantity of imports at a specified low tariff rate. The TRQ system that Canada implemented awarded the vast majority of TRQ volumes to Canadian processors and granted very limited access to TRQs to distributors – resulting in limited market access for U.S. exporters. Minor modifications to that system made in 2022 have continued that imbalanced approach.
NMPF’s Galen Reflects on Reasons to Give Thanks during Thanksgiving 2023
NMPF’s senior vice president Chris Galen assesses the challenges of 2023 for dairy farmers, but also the reasons to be grateful during the Thanksgiving season.
NMPF Chairman Mooney Discusses Dairy’s Strength Through Consensus
NMPF Board of Directors Chairman Randy Mooney of Dairy Farmers of America explains the organization’s role as the essential advocate for dairy farmers in Washington and how the organization works with other groups to advance industry prosperity in an interview with RFD-TV. Mooney also talks about what challenges the industry faces and how resilience is the key to future success. The segment also highlights Prairie Farms’ overall win in this year’s NMPF cheese contest.
Overcoming challenges is what we do
By Randy Mooney, Chairman, NMPF Board of Directors
We’ve had a lot of achievements this year, but it’s also been a challenging time.
A year ago, costs on the farm were extremely high, but we had prices that would cover that. This year, costs are still high, but prices are down. That’s a lot of stress on the farm. And we’re also dealing with problems that we’ve dealt with for years.
There are labor problems; you just can’t find anybody to work. Supply chain disruptions are closer to the farm this year. It’s milk trucks getting milk off the farm; it’s feed trucks bringing feed into the farm. It’s getting simple parts that we took for granted we could get anytime we wanted to. There are geopolitical issues and extreme weather events.
We have challenges all the time, but it just seems like we continue to have more. It seems like we’re in the eye of a storm. But as farmers, we always anticipate a moment before the dawn, before things turn, before things get good again.
One of the things I’ve learned is that a lot of the world is envious of what we have.
They’re envious because we have the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, a self-governing program. We have a government that recognizes what we’re doing with sustainability — it’s not being mandated down from the top.
We’re taking care of our own. Today, we produce more milk using fewer and fewer natural resources. We’re revitalizing rural communities. For every dollar generated in dairy farming, it turns over three to seven times in local communities, generating $750 billion in the United States. That‘s pretty impressive.
We’re nourishing families around the world through milk’s unbeatable nutritional value. I’ve dairy farmed for a long time, through good times and bad times, but there’s never been a time that I haven’t laid my head down on my pillow at night and been proud of what I accomplished on my farm. We’re putting the most nourishing, most nutritious product known to man in that milk tank. And when that truck leaves, I know I’ve done something good.
Our ability to evolve how we work and adapt our resiliency is becoming more and more important. This year, we came together as an industry to unite around issues that helped build that resiliency. NMPF worked with member co-ops, farm bureaus, and state dairy organizations to come to consensus on the most substantial issues. Even going back to 2021, when you talk about Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization, we’ve worked hard to get these things done. Nobody knows what the outcome’s going to be, but you telling your story has made a difference.
Beyond that, we’re going to get a farm bill passed — we’re going have an extension. We’ve been working to implement the next version of FARM, FARM 5.0, that goes into effect in July. We also will work on promoting dairy’s sustainable nutrition. Dairy offers the most complete nutritional package available, and what’s amazing is that as we produce more milk, we’ll continue to use fewer natural resources. That’s the definition of sustainable nutrition.
For years, we’ve talked about sustainability in terms of environmental stewardship and how that translates into financial value for farms. Now, the financial values are there. You take solar panels, wind, methane digesters, and a lot of things happen on a farm that’s generating electricity to run your farms and to run your neighbor’s households. We’re there now. What we need is conservation funding in the farm bill through USDA grants through state and federal programs. There’s real money available to help us continue to do that, and we will.
No imitation food from a nut, a bean, or grain can hold a candle to dairy’s nutritional package. We all know that. That’s why it’s important to keep fighting the fight on plant-based alternative labeling. In the guidance that was issued earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized and admitted that plant-based alternatives are nutritionally inferior to real dairy.
Dairy protein plays a critical role in feeding people around the world, and it can’t be replaced by alternatives, including plant-based. Consumers have the right to understand how they’re nourishing their families, and we’re going to continue to advocate for the Dairy PRIDE Act to try to get that passed in Congress.
We’re going to continue to fight for more flavored milk in schools and higher fat levels, especially for those children whose main source of nutrition is through the school milk program. Milk is essential to their diets, and we’re not going to give up that fight. We’re all part of an industry that’s doing remarkable things. We are winning.
This has been adapted from Chairman of the NMPF Board of Directors Randy Mooney’s speech at the National Milk Producers Federation annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 14, 2023. This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on Nov. 22, 2023.
Douglass, an NMPF Young Cooperator, Discusses Dairy Leadership
Sarah Douglass, a northeast Ohio dairy farmer and an NMPF Young Cooperator, talks about the crucial issues facing younger farmers and the importance of training the next generation of dairy leaders, in an interview with RFD-TV. Douglass spoke at NMPF’s annual meeting in Orlando, which features two days of programming specifically directed at younger dairy leaders.
NMPF’s Bjerga on the Return of the FMMO Hearing
NMPF Executive Vice President of Communications & Industry Relations Alan Bjerga speaks on WEKZ Radio, Janesville, WI, about the resumption of USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing in Carmel, IN, next week. The hearing, which was originally expected to last until mid-October, may now slip into 2024. Scheduling issues and unexpected confrontations are pushing back the timeline for the necessary modernization many farmers are hoping can take effect to help their operations thrive, Bjerga said.
NMPF Statement on Farm Bill Extension in Funding Law
From NMPF President & CEO Jim Mulhern:
ARLINGTON, VA – “We commend House and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairs Glenn Thompson and Debbie Stabenow, as well as Ranking Members David Scott and John Boozman, for their bipartisan work to finalize this farm bill extension as part of the congressional spending agreement President Biden signed today.
“Along with continuing critical programs for dairy farmers, the legislation allows the Dairy Margin Coverage program to continue operating without the uncertainty of a potential disruption. DMC is an important and effective safety net for dairy farmers nationwide. This legislation includes the 2019 production history update as part of the program, and we look forward to 2024 DMC sign-up in the coming weeks.
“With this bill passed, we stand ready to work closely with the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to deliver a strong, five-year farm bill as swiftly as possible.”
