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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.

CDI’s Vanderham, NMPF’s Bjerga discuss California flooding

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF Board of Directors member Cory Vanderham of California Dairies, Inc., and NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga talk about the challenges of California dairy producers and the need for long-term policy solutions on RFD-TV. While record snowpack is replenishing water supplies battered by multi-year drought, it also is bringing chaos to producers who are facing extreme weather conditions that require immediate reaction. For more details on how Vanderham has handled this year’s deluge, check out NMPF’s recent Dairy Defined podcast.

CWT Assists with 1.7 million Pounds of Dairy Product Export Sales

Posted on by Khadija Gibson-White

ARLINGTON, VA – Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted eight offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 1.6 million pounds (722 MT) of American-type cheese, 55,000 pounds (25 MT) of butter and 44,000 pounds (20 MT) of whole milk powder. The product is going to customers in Asia, Middle East-North Africa, Oceania, and South America, and will be delivered from May through November 2023.

CWT-assisted member cooperative year-to-date export sales total 18.6 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 594,000 pounds of butter (82% milkfat), 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 24.6 million pounds of whole milk powder and 3.6 million pounds of cream cheese. The products are going to 19 countries in five regions. These sales are the equivalent of 392.6 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 U.S. 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.

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.

CWT Assists with 1.5 Million Pounds of Dairy Product Export Sales

Posted on by Khadija Gibson-White
ARLINGTON, VA – Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted 11 offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 1.3 million pounds (587 MT) of American-type cheese, 44,000 pounds (20 MT) of butter and 154,000 pounds (70 MT) of cream cheese. The product is going to customers in Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Middle East-North Africa, Oceania and South America, and will be delivered from May through November 2023.

 

CWT-assisted member cooperative year-to-date export sales total 17.0 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 539,000 pounds of butter (82% milkfat), 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 24.6 million pounds of whole milk powder and 3.6 million pounds of cream cheese. The products are going to 19 countries in five regions. These sales are the equivalent of 376.3 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 the export and delivery of the product are verified by the 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 dairy farmers’ milk prices and margins.

 

 

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.

NMPF’s Bjerga on Growing Momentum for FMMO Modernization

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses how the support of the American Farm Bureau Federation is a powerful statement of farmer consensus for NMPF’s Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization plan currently before USDA. Bjerga also talks about the industry’s active discussions on fighting misinformation about dairy, in an interview with RFD-TV’s Christina Loren.

A Critical Moment Arrives on the FMMO Scene

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

By Jim Mulhern, President and CEO, NMPF

Jim Mulhern, NMPF President and CEO

The march to milk-pricing modernization reached another milestone this month, as the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) submitted to USDA our comprehensive proposal for Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) reform.

After more than 150 meetings over nearly two years, a strong consensus has emerged among producers and our allies for changes that hold benefits for farmers of all sizes, in all regions, and for the broader industry that, together with producers, serves wholesome, nutritious products to consumers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

A lot of work has gone into this effort. We have examined the program in great detail and came up with a plan that modernizes and updates Federal Milk Marketing Orders so they can work better for today’s dairy industry.

Some key highlights:

  • Returning to the “higher of” Class I mover.
  • Discontinuing the use of barrel cheese in the protein component price formula.
  • Updating milk component factors for protein, other solids, and nonfat solids in the Class III and Class IV skim milk price formulas.
  • Updating the Class I differential price system to reflect changes in the cost of delivering bulk milk to fluid processing plants.
  • Updating dairy product manufacturing allowances contained in the USDA milk price formulas.
  • Developing a process to ensure make-allowances are reviewed more frequently through legislation directing USDA to conduct mandatory plant-cost studies every two years.
  • Extending the current 30-day reporting limit to 45 days on forward-priced sales on nonfat dry milk and dry whey to capture more export sales in the USDA product price reporting.

The first five of these are part of our proposal before USDA. We’re seeking the make-allowance review via the farm bill and the forward-pricing plan through separate federal rulemaking.

The components work together

It’s important to note how much the elements of our proposal rely on one another to succeed. Take the make-allowance, for example. It hasn’t had a meaningful update in 15 years. It’s a key priority of our hearing request, and it’s of intense interest to some. But it still needs to be addressed in a way that benefits all. Handling that issue in isolation would have the effect of reducing milk prices to farmers, a non-starter in a program that’s ultimately supported by a vote from producers.

That’s why we have the make allowance issue in our proposal, but one that’s included along with other necessary updates to milk pricing help economically offset our proposed make allowance adjustment, by bringing pricing formulas up-to-date and minimizing disruption to markets.

Modernizing the Federal Milk Marketing Order system has been due for some time; the pandemic experience, which exposed fault lines in the system, underscored just how necessary this effort has been and created the impetus for change. We’ve been deliberate in our approach because we wanted to make sure that we addressed the concern that Agriculture Secretary Vilsack stated well over a year ago when he said it was important to have consensus within the producer community.

We have achieved that consensus, and we believe we have sent USDA a strong signal — both in the thoroughness of our proposal and our depth of support among producers — that our comprehensive proposal is the proper basis for FMMO hearings and a path toward modernization.

And we’ll need to maintain that consensus throughout the process. As we move forward toward a hearing, we’ll continue listening to any concerns and providing any information that’s helpful for progress. Please don’t hesitate to write to the special address we’re using so that staff can respond to your questions. Thank you for your help and support.

This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on May 11, 2023.