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Co-ops Build Farm Sustainability, Maryland-Virginia’s Reames Says
With Earth Day tomorrow placing a spotlight on environmental stewardship, dairy cooperatives are a critical link in ensuring dairy-farmer leadership in meeting ambitious sustainability goals, said Lindsay Reames, executive vice president of sustainability and external relations for Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association.
“Sustainability does have a number of different meanings, and I think the most important thing that we can do as a dairy co-op is understand what it means on each of our individual farms,” said Reames in a Dairy Defined Podcast released today. “The way we approach sustainability with our member owners is by finding ways where we can add value to their operation and improve the environmental outcomes from their farm.
“So, any investments that we make through our partnerships and through our sustainability programs have to align with that farm’s business model to bring them real value back to their operation. And we found that a number of new technologies, best management practices not only improve the environmental outputs on that operation, but also improve the overall economic wellbeing of the farm, which is a really important component of sustainability.”
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. Please attribute information to NMPF.
U.S. Dairy Announces New Collaboration to Lead on Climate
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) announced today the signing of a set of principles and a new partnership with the National Agricultural Organizations (FARM) from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Colombia to constructively engage governments and international organizations around the world on the issues of livestock, agriculture, climate and trade.
Far too often, global convenings and climate proposals reflect ideologies at the expense of science, ignore progress that the industry has made in reducing emissions, and try to impose one-size-fits-all approaches on an industry they do not fully understand.
In collaboration with the National Agriculture Organizations (FARM), and the Pan-American Dairy Federation (FEPALE), USDEC and NMPF will coordinate and support engagements with government officials and international organizations in promoting policies that encourage sustainable productivity growth while taking into consideration the unique needs of the livestock industry as well as profitability for farmers.
To launch this important strategic collaboration, USDEC, NMPF, FARM and FEPALE co-hosted a seminar on April 19 and 20, 2023, on “The Road to Sustainability in Livestock Production in the Americas,” bringing together influential leaders from across the livestock sectors of the MERCOSUR and South America region. Attendees heard from global experts and discussed ways to reduce the livestock sector’s greenhouse gas emissions while remaining viable for the next generation of farmers.
Both the partnership and meeting are being organized with an eye toward the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment and COP28, where the organizations will play a role in shaping the discussion around agriculture’s role in a sustainable future.
Resources Available for California Farms Affected by Flooding
After the driest three years on record, California dairy producers are reeling from storms that have displaced families and cattle, damaged farms and feed supplies, and severely impacted crops being grown to feed the state’s 1.7 million dairy cows. California dairy farmers are now bracing for more flooding as temperatures rise and this year’s historic Sierra snowpack thaws.
Federal, state and local officials are working to repair damaged canals, levees and roads while preparing flood barriers and limiting reservoir water levels to leave room for melting snow. However, overflowing water continues to impact the nation’s top-producing dairy region, and farmers’ full losses have yet to be realized.
NMPF is working with affected members, federal agencies and Congress to mobilize meaningful, timely support for California dairy farmers and secure funding and support for critical water infrastructure and storage in the future.
Preparation and Response
The resources below outline how dairies can best prepare for and respond to a flooding emergency. For immediate help, producers should contact local emergency management officials or dial 2-1-1. California dairy farmers are urged to keep in close contact with their county agriculture commissioners when dealing with losses and problems on the farm as they are the best local resource for agriculture-related information and are tasked with collecting data for USDA disaster assistance.
- California Dairies: Coping with Flooding and Evacuation, California Dairy Quality Assurance Program
- Action-Items for Emergency Flood Evacuation for a Dairy, California Dairy Quality Assurance Program
- Managing Dairies During Heavy Rainfall: Actions Producers Can Take In-Between Rain Storms, California Dairy Quality Assurance Program
- Flooding and Livestock Owners: Preparing, Responding and Recovering, UC Davis
- Developing a Storm Preparedness and Response Plan for Dairies, University of Georgia Extension
- Forage and Livestock Management after a Flood, West Virginia Extension
- Managing Flood-Damaged Crops, Penn State Extension
- Disaster Resource Center, USDA
Recovery
USDA is offering technical and financial assistance to help California dairy farmers recover. Affected producers should contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure and livestock losses and damages. Applicable programs include:
- Emergency Conservation Program: The Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) helps farmers repair damage to farmlands caused by natural disasters and put in place methods for water conservation during severe drought. The ECP does this through funding and technical assistance. (Application deadline: Oct. 13)
- Emergency Farm Loans: Farm Service Agency emergency loans help producers who suffer qualifying farm related losses directly caused by the disaster in a county declared or designated as a primary disaster or quarantine area. Also, farmers located in counties contiguous to the declared or designated area may qualify for loans. (Application deadline: Within eight months of disaster declaration)
- Livestock Indemnity Program: The Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather or by attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the Federal Government. LIP payments are equal to 75 percent of the average fair market value of the livestock. (Application deadline: File of Loss must be filed within 30 days of event or when loss becomes apparent)
- Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program: The Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) provides financial assistance to eligible producers of livestock for losses due to certain adverse weather events or loss conditions. Assistance can cover loss of grazing land and stored feed losses. (Application deadline: File of Loss must be filed within 30 days of event or when loss becomes apparent)
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program: While not designed to be an emergency response program the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) can play a vital role in assisting producers recovering from natural disasters. Through EQIP, USDA’s National Resources Conservation Service provides financial assistance to repair and prevent excessive soil erosion caused or impacted by natural disasters.
Click here to navigate USDA’s Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool. The discovery tool walks producers through five questions to help them identify personalized results of what USDA disaster assistance programs may meet their needs.
Additional federal relief is available in counties that have been declared major disaster areas. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster. Visit FEMA.org for more information.
Contact Us
Please contact Theresa Sweeney-Murphy at tsweeney@nmpf.org with any questions and for more information.
NCIMS Collaborates on Grade A Milk Safety
By Miquela Hanselman, Regulatory Affairs Manager, NMPF
The 2023 National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) was held in Indianapolis from April 3 to 7. The gathering once again highlighted the successful collaboration between the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS)/Food and Drug Administration (FDA), state regulators, and dairy industry representatives in an ongoing effort to promote and protect a safe supply of Grade A milk and milk products.
Since it began in 1950, the conference serves as a model program of stakeholder cooperation. It brings together all affected parties to develop and maintain an effective and efficient system of regulating the interstate shipment of milk and milk products to ensure the safest milk supply possible.
The conference is held biannually to update the Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO). The PMO, of course, regulates the interstate shipment of milk and milk products, outlining the standards for Grade A raw milk for pasteurization, ultra-pasteurization, aseptic processing and packaging, retort processed after packaging or fermented high-acid, shelf-stable processing, and packaging. The PMO affects every dairy farmer in the United States.
Prior to the NCIMS conference, proposals are submitted to update the PMO. Those proposals are then discussed and voted on at the conference by committees, councils, and finally state delegates. From there, FDA has the choice to concur or nonconcur. The 2023 conference featured more than 400 attendees — the most in its history — after taking a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FDA, state regulators, and industry representatives submitted 72 proposals for the conference. Those proposals touched on everything from water testing to the addition of kefir to determining how to handle yogurt parfaits. Below is an overview of three proposals NMPF believes are significant for dairy farmers:
Proposal 207, submitted by the National Milk Producers Federation, would require a 48-hour notice prior to on-farm inspection. Reasons for this include the risks to human health following the COVID-19 pandemic, the farm’s biosecurity, and overall personnel safety. The proposal was amended at the conference and passed through the delegates to be assigned to a standing or ad-hoc committee to review specific sections of the PMO that reference on-farm biosecurity. Summary thoughts: This is an important first step in recognizing the importance of biosecurity measures on dairy farms and will hopefully lead to further discussion of inspection notices.
Proposal 218, submitted by the Methods for Making Sanitation Ratings committee, backed eliminating the evaluation of a milking time inspection program from the calculation of enforcement ratings for dairy farms. This proposal did not make any changes or expectations of milk time inspections in Sections 5 or 6 of the PMO. The justification for the removal of the milking time inspection program was that it wasn’t being done, giving dairy farms an automatic credit of 5 points. The proposal passed as amended through the delegates to evenly redistribute the weight of those 5 points among the remaining items evaluated when calculating the enforcement rating score for dairy farms. Summary thoughts: NMPF is concerned about the unintended consequences of the reallocation.
Proposal 301, submitted by the National Milk Producers Federation, provided a definition of equivalence for the USPHS/FDA responsibility to determine whether a foreign country’s regulatory program and government oversight of that program has an equivalent effect on the safety of the regulated milk or milk product. The term “equivalence” is important for international trade; unfortunately, the PMO has long lacked a definition. This proposal passed through the delegates as amended to include a definition more like that of the World Trade Organization. Defining equivalence provides clarity for foreign countries wishing to participate in the PMO. Summary thoughts: This proposal sends an important message to FDA on the importance of transparency when analyzing equivalence for foreign countries.
Future plans
For the 40 proposals that the state delegates passed, FDA will choose to concur or not concur. From there, a new edition of the PMO will be made available. The every-other-year conference will be held in Minneapolis in 2025.
This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on April 17, 2023.
CWT Assists with 229,000 Pounds of Dairy Product Export Sales
ARLINGTON, VA – Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted four offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 229,000 pounds (104 MT) of cream cheese. The product is going to customers in Asia and will be delivered from April through June 2023.
CWT-assisted member cooperative year-to-date export sales total 13.0 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 550,000 pounds of butter (82% milkfat), 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 17.9 million pounds of whole milk powder and 2.7 million pounds of cream cheese. The products are going to 18 countries in five regions. These sales are the equivalent of 284.3 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.
Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers and cooperatives by fostering the competitiveness of US dairy products in the global marketplace and helping member cooperatives gain and maintain world market share for U.S dairy products. As a result, the program has helped significantly expand the total demand for U.S. dairy products and the demand for U.S. farm milk that produces those products.
The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT pays export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by required documentation.
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The Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) Export Assistance program is funded by voluntary contributions from dairy cooperatives and individual dairy farmers. The money raised by their investment is being used to strengthen and stabilize the dairy farmers’ milk prices and margins.
CWT Assists with Over 1 Million Pounds of Dairy Product Export Sales
ARLINGTON, VA – Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted eight offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 908,000 pounds (412 MT) of American-type cheese, 2,000 pounds (1 MT) of anhydrous milkfat and 132,000 pounds (60 MT) of whole milk powder. The product is going to customers in Asia, the Caribbean and Oceania, and will be delivered from April through October 2023.
CWT-assisted member cooperative year-to-date export sales total 13.5 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 550,000 pounds of butter (82% milkfat), 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 17.9 million pounds of whole milk powder and 2.5 million pounds of cream cheese. The products are going to 18 countries in five regions. These sales are the equivalent of 287.7 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.
Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers and cooperatives by fostering the competitiveness of US dairy products in the global marketplace and helping member cooperatives gain and maintain world market share for U.S dairy products. As a result, the program has helped significantly expand the total demand for U.S. dairy products and the demand for U.S. farm milk that produces those products.
The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT pays export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by required documentation.
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The Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) Export Assistance program is funded by voluntary contributions from dairy cooperatives and individual dairy farmers. The money raised by their investment is being used to strengthen and stabilize the dairy farmers’ milk prices and margins.
Need Peanut “Butter”? Got “Milk” of Magnesia? We’re Fine with That
Of all the misinformation the plant-based sector has aimed at dairy over the decades, one of the most aggravating has been the idea that because dairy farmers want nut-juice manufacturers to stop pretending their products are equal to theirs, they must somehow also oppose terms like peanut butter, Cream of Wheat, and other common products that have dairy-associated words in them.
They do this to both to obscure our real point – that their mimicking of dairy’s properties and use of dairy terms to sell nutritionally inferior imitations creates a real public health issue – and to try to make our arguments seem silly. But the problem is, that’s never been our position – it’s just another “plant”-ed lie. We’ve even specifically rebutted the point, in the Citizen Petition we sent FDA in 2019. So once more, with feeling, here’s the difference between our position on terms like “peanut butter” vs. plant-based dairy alternatives.
It all comes down to:
21 U.S. Code § 343 – Misbranded food
Plant-based fake-dairy products are misbranded. According to FDA regulations, a food shall be deemed to be misbranded … “If it purports to be or is represented as a food for which a definition and standard of identity has been prescribed by regulations.”
The italicized part is the important part. (That’s why we italicized it.) The main principle behind the concept of misbranding is “don’t pretend to be something you’re not,” and that’s the difference between plant-based imitators and common foods that have long used dairy terms without pretending to be in the same food category.
Cream of Wheat is a wholesome breakfast food, but no one’s urging you to pour it in your coffee. Coconut-milk-in-a-carton is problematic (we’ll explain why), but coconut-milk-in-a-can isn’t being sold as a beverage.
Nut butters are spreads, but they don’t substitute for butter in baking — and if you decide to slather body butter on your toast because you thought it’s dairy flavored with … then you’re just an awful human being, and you deserve to vomit. By the same token, Milk of Magnesia isn’t pushing to worm its way into the federal school lunch program, even if the occasional school lunch may make some students wish that were so.
The common thread is that none of these items are trying to masquerade as dairy products. They aren’t promoting marketplace confusion, and they aren’t implying nutrient content they don’t provide.
Contrast that with the plant-based imposters. They’re sold in gallon jugs, cartons and tubs. Even though most don’t require refrigeration because they’re not fresh, they try to fool consumers by paying grocery stores to put their products in the dairy case. They add artificial colorings to make them look like the dairy products they mimic, and they market themselves as being able to do whatever true dairy milk, butter, cheese, or yogurt can do – with the implication that if they can do the same things, they must be equivalent, which in nutrition, they clearly are not.
That’s misleading, as consumer research shows. That’s misbranding, as the FDA defines the term. And that’s what we oppose, as we continue our fight for labeling transparency.
This charade’s been going on for decades. As then-WhiteWave CEO Steven Demos said in 2001 of how soy beverage came to be a dairy imitator: “We also had to figure out how to get this product category to market. Dairy milk is a staple food that we consider a fundamental part of the scenery in a supermarket. Why not position fresh soymilk to be as close as possible?”
That attitude is all about market position – but not market integrity. But integrity has never been the plant-based sector’s strong suit. We’re hoping that our campaign to add comments to FDA’s draft guidance on plant-based beverage labeling will encourage the agency to start enforcing its own rules, just as we’re supporting the DAIRY PRIDE Act as a congressional solution.
We’d encourage you to use the materials we provide as you compose your letter to FDA. Write it while you’re enjoying a peanut butter sandwich and cooking a coconut-milk-based curry. Maybe treat yourself to some chocolates for dessert (the cocoa butter in them must be 100 percent pure to meet FDA’s chocolate standard of identity, by the way).
Dairy is fine with that. We know who we are — and we know where the confusion always comes from. It’s time for it to end.
Application Deadline Approaching for National Dairy Leadership Scholarship
The National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program’s April 14 application deadline for academic year 2023-2024 is quickly approaching.
Each year, NMPF awards scholarships to outstanding students enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs actively pursuing dairy-related fields of research of immediate interest to NMPF member cooperatives and the U.S. dairy industry.
Graduate students pursuing research of direct benefit to milk marketing cooperatives and dairy producers are encouraged to submit an application. Applicants do not need to be NMPF members to qualify). Scholarship recipients will be invited to present their research via webinar this summer. Top applicants are eligible to be awarded the Hintz Memorial Scholarship, created in 2005 in honor of the late Cass-Clay Creamery Board Chairman Murray Hintz, who was instrumental in establishing NMPF’s scholarship program.
Recommended fields of study include but are not limited to Agriculture Communications and Journalism, Animal Health, Animal and/or Human Nutrition, Bovine Genetics, Dairy Products Processing, Dairy Science, Economics, Environmental Science, Food Science, Food Safety, Herd Management, and Marketing and Price Analysis.
For an application or more information, please visit the NMPF websiteNMPF website or email scholarship@nmpf.org.
The scholarship program is funded through the National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Fund. If you would like to support the scholarship fund, please consider a donation here.
NMPF Brings Together YC Coordinators for Inaugural Training
NMPF hosted its first-ever training of Young Cooperators (YC) Program coordinators March 21-22, bringing together staff from nine member cooperatives to share ideas and experiences, build community and brainstorm ways to boost the impact of beginning farmer programs at the cooperative and national levels.
The two-day hybrid meeting, hosted by Land O’Lakes Inc. at its Arden Hills, MN headquarters, also included representatives from USDA, Dairy Girl Network and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
The training was filled with robust discussion on a variety of topics including relationship building and recruitment, communications and outreach, sponsorships, event planning and facilitating feedback and measuring success.
Supporting effective and robust cooperative-level programs by providing training and assistance to staff serving as points of contact for beginning dairy farmers is a core objective of NMPF’s National YC Program, first established in 1950.
EPA Misses Mark with New PFAS Drinking Water Limits
New EPA drinking water limits issued March 14 are raising concerns at NMPF that they may be arbitrarily restrictive and not based on the best science available.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new limits, known as Maximum Contaminant Limits (MCLs), cover six PFAS chemicals, which environmental advocates say increase health risks. EPA set the limit for PFOA and PFOS, the focus of much of EPA’s attention on the issue, at 4 parts-per-trillion (PPT) individually. It’s using health hazard index to set limits for 4 other PFAS chemicals.
The limits are below international standards, including those set by the World Health Organization. As well as all state-imposed limits for PFAS ( per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in drinking water. Unlike the previous EPA Health Hazard Advisory, which originally set the advisable limit at 70ppt, these new proposed limits are enforceable regulations. The proposed limits will not apply to private well water.
The new limits, if finalized, will require thousands of drinking water utilities to spend significant amount of money to upgrade their water filtration systems to remove all detectable PFAS. Water in many areas of the country is already very expensive, and it will get even more expensive with this regulation. In addition to raising drinking water costs, the change also will increase food costs, as the food processing industry uses significant amounts of water to make food and to clean and sanitize food facilities.
NMPF also is concerned that the low limits on drinking water will impact potential limits in food, either in a regulation or in public perception. Thus far, FDA has declined to set a food limit and generally does not feel that trace levels of PFAS in human food are a human health concern, with rare exceptions.
While everyone should have an ample supply of clean water, the fact is many drinking water systems are contaminated with a variety of chemicals and it is economically impossible to get public drinking water to be 100% contaminant free. NMPF has cautioned EPA to be careful and follow the science on the regulation of all things PFAS for years.
The comment period is open until April 24. NMPF will once again file comments to EPA advising it to follow the science and be consistent with the global approach to regulating PFAS chemicals.
NMPF Strengthening Ties with USTR
A series of March meetings between NMPF staff and new U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator Doug McKalip is strengthening ties with the critical agency for U.S dairy exports, with NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern and others sharing industry priorities.
Officially confirmed by the Senate late last year, Amb. McKalip is U.S. agriculture’s top advocate at the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and a critical ally to America’s dairy industry. Mulhern sat down with Amb. McKalip over dinner to talk over dairy trade challenges and opportunities on March 1.
Two days later, Trade Policy Manager Tony Rice joined the U.S. Agricultural Coalition for World Trade Organization (WTO) Reform in a meeting with Ambassador McKalip to discuss dairy priorities in the context of the WTO’s Ministerial Conference taking place early next year. Finally, those conversations were followed by an in-depth, policy-focused dialogue with NMPF trade policy leaders Jaime Castaneda and Shawna Morris on March 9.
NMPF also worked with congressional allies to support their preparations for questioning U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai during trade oversight hearings held by the Senate Finance Committee on March 23 and the House Ways and Means Committee on March 24, pressing Amb. Tai to pursue market-liberalizing opportunities for U.S. agriculture and removal of nontariff barriers to dairy exports, including the EU’s aggressive campaign to monopolize common cheese names.
