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Dairy Priorities Emphasized in Congressional Letter on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) today praised a bipartisan letter from 87 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who called on U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, “to make agriculture a priority in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework” (IPEF).

The letter was led by Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Jodey Arrington (R-TX), together with Jim Costa (D-CA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Ron Kind (D-WI) and Randy Feenstra (R-IA). The members of Congress called on the administration to use IPEF to address barriers to U.S. agricultural exports, create mutually agreed-upon regulatory reforms that would benefit U.S. dairy and others in American agriculture, “include efforts to reduce tariffs on U.S. agricultural exports” and more.

“These members of Congress have their fingers on the pulse of the agricultural economy, which in turn supports so much of rural America,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “Dairy farmers and manufacturers need a framework that lives up to the recommendations laid out in this letter, ensuring America’s dairy industry – from farmers to workers to manufacturers – are able to compete fairly and efficiently in fast-growing markets across Asia and the Pacific.”

“America’s dairy farmers and their cooperatives are strongly reliant on exports, which is why it’s essential that the Biden administration focus on tackling global barriers that stand in the way of our high-quality products,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Consumers around the world are hungry for dairy and our industry is eager to better meet that demand, unburdened by trade barriers and tariffs. But for that to happen, we need effective economic engagement with key trading partners, just as these members of Congress envision.”

The Congressional Research Service reported in February that the U.S. has held exploratory talks on IPEF with Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea, although no determination has been made on the framework’s participants. Southeast Asia is one of the largest export destinations for U.S. dairy exports and sales to that region grew by 11% last year despite headwinds caused by supply chain issues and tariff disadvantages in key markets. South Korea and Japan round out the top ten markets for U.S. dairy products and saw growth rates of 15% and 17% respectively in 2021, making clear that these markets are priorities for U.S. dairy.

The full letter and list of signatories can be found here.

NMPF and IDFA Urge USDA to Improve Child Nutrition and Food Security Through Increased Dairy Consumption in School Meals

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Nutritious Dairy Options Are Essential to Child Health and Development, Yet Are Underconsumed, Groups Say

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) today submitted joint comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service urging the agency to improve nutrition security by updating school meal nutrition standards to encourage increased consumption of dairy in keeping with recommendations from the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) report and with leading health organizations.

In 2020, the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report found that a staggering 79 percent of 9- to 13-year-olds are not meeting the recommended intake of dairy foods and thereby under-consuming a variety of nutrients during childhood and adolescence, including potassium, calcium, and vitamin D. In their comments to USDA, IDFA and NMPF noted that school children of all ages are falling short of these recommendations, and they rely on school meals to meet their nutritional needs. IDFA and NMPF also noted that falling participation rates in school breakfast and lunch programs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic are a growing concern for overall  nutrition security among students.

USDA this spring announced transitional school meal nutrition standards for the next two school years that will allow schools to continue to serve low-fat flavored milk consistent with DGA recommendations, and pause overly stringent sodium reduction targets that threaten the ability of school meals professionals to serve nutrient-rich cheeses. USDA intends to craft more permanent standards for school year 2024/2025 and beyond that pave the way for healthy and nutritious school meals.

“IDFA applauds the USDA’s goal of creating ambitious, achievable, and durable nutrition standards for students that support positive health and development outcomes for children while improving nutrition security,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA. “The most recent DGA report is clear: children are not receiving enough essential nutrients for growth, development, healthy immune function, and overall wellness. School meals offer the most important opportunity of the day for children to get the essential nutrients they need, and dairy foods—including milk, yogurt, and cheese—are absolutely critical to building meals that children want to consume. Now the spotlight is on USDA to make dairy a central building block in its effort to craft ambitious, achievable, and durable school meal standards consistent with the DGAs.”

“On behalf of American dairy farmers, NMPF thanks USDA for their work to enhance school meal nutrition standards to reverse the underconsumption of dairy and help students boost their intake of key nutrients,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Milk and other dairy products support USDA’s critical goal of boosting consumption of essential nutrients, including potassium, calcium and vitamin D. Low-fat flavored milk is fully consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and is a nutrient-dense option that kids in schools choose to drink.”

In their joint comments, IDFA and NMPF urge USDA to embrace the recommendations of the DGA report and expand nutritious dairy options that encourage dairy consumption among children. USDA can do this by continuing flavored milk and yogurt offerings in schools and setting sodium limits that accommodate  use of cheese in school meal products, the associations said.

An overall decline in school milk consumption has been identified in recent years, particularly after whole milk and low-fat flavored milk options were removed from school meals 10 years ago. “USDA can begin to reverse the trend through providing certainty for schools offering flavored milks, which provide the same micronutrients as white milk but with a flavor that many children prefer,” IDFA and NMPF said. “Flavored milks, like all cow’s milk, are a source of 13 essential nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D and potassium.”

Similarly, continuing to recognize flavored yogurt in school meals would encourage consumption of a nutritious dairy product that has been associated with higher diet quality in children, with higher intake of multiple nutrients, including calcium, potassium, magnesium, and vitamin D. In addition to being nutritious offerings for children, flavored milk and flavored yogurt have been shown to decrease food waste from school meals and increase overall meal participation.

View the comments here.

Dairy Leader Calls for New Export Opportunities to Support Rural Economy

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

An Illinois dairy processor highlighted the importance of exports to dairy manufacturing jobs in a virtual townhall organized by Farmers for Free Trade (FFT) today. Chris Hoeger, vice president of procurement for Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., participated in a panel with Representative Dusty Johnson (R-SD), farmers and economists to discuss the critical role U.S. agricultural exports have in supporting the rural economy.

A participant in the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and U.S. Dairy Export Council’s (USDEC) Dairy Trade Envoys program, Hoeger joined with the panel in calling on the U.S. government to pursue comprehensive trade deals. He noted that, in the absence of negotiations on tariff reductions, American dairy exporters face an increasingly unbalanced playing field as the European Union and New Zealand forge ahead with new agreements.

“We appreciate the Administration’s important work in enforcing existing trade deals, including USMCA, but without new access opportunities, U.S. dairy exports will continue to face a disadvantage, and American jobs will suffer as a result,” Hoeger shared in his remarks. “Workers in the dairy industry want the Biden trade policy strategy to include following through with agreements already under negotiation, such as with the United Kingdom, a big dairy importing market, as well as going after new deals.”

NMPF and USDEC are members of FFT. Both 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 farmers and workers throughout the export supply chain.

“We appreciate the opportunity this Farmers for Free Trade townhall has provided to highlight how exports benefit not only American dairy farms, but also the thousands of workers in the dairy industry at the manufacturing level and throughout the supporting supply chain,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We believe expanding market access to key dairy markets where the United States currently competes at a disadvantage would create continued much-needed opportunities for America’s dairy cooperatives like Prairie Farms. NMPF thanks Chris Hoeger and Representative Johnson for highlighting that need during today’s event.”

“As Chris Hoeger outlined so well at today’s event, dairy exports have a deep and positive impact on food manufacturing jobs in Illinois and throughout the country,” said Krysta Harden, USDEC president and CEO. “As reiterated throughout today’s event, American agricultural exports have wide-ranging benefits for workers at the farm, at the processing plant, in the supply chain and beyond. We appreciate Farmers for Free Trade’s and Congressman Johnson’s persistent advocacy for greater market access opportunities that will continue to support and grow our rural economies and the millions of American jobs that depend on them.”

The Dairy Trade Envoys are a select group of dairy producers and processing staff focused on educating elected officials and media about dairy trade policy priorities.

NMPF, USDEC Commend Congressional Progress on Ocean Shipping Reform Act

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) lauded today’s passage by the Senate Commerce Committee of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA). The approval establishes Senate committee support for action to address shipping supply chain challenges as Congress prepares to commence conference procedures on the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation & Competition Act (USICA) and the House-passed America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act in the coming weeks. The House COMPETES Act includes the House-passed version of OSRA.

“Today’s action by the Senate Commerce Committee brings the Ocean Shipping Reform Act one step closer to passage,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Export supply chain issues continue to pose immense challenges to dairy exporters, which is why this legislation remains so critical as part of a broad-based approach to tackling those problems. Dairy farmers appreciate the leadership of OSRA sponsors Senators Klobuchar and Thune as well as Commerce Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Wicker on this issue. We urge the Senate and House to expeditiously advance the conference process and ensure that the final text includes a strong focus on the needs of American agricultural exporters.”

“America’s dairy farmers and manufacturers are delighted to see the Ocean Shipping Reform Act continue to move forward and thank the many Senate Commerce Committee members who supported its approval today,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “Dairy exporters need the changes OSRA would deliver. As such, we encourage Congress to swiftly move the COMPETES/USICA conference work forward and send a bill that prioritizes the export shipping needs of U.S. agricultural exporters to the President’s desk.”

Dairy Progress Possible on Capitol Hill, NMPF’s Bleiberg Says

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

With rising energy costs and a war effort riveting attention in Washington, 2022 is turning out to be an unusually busy year on Capitol Hill – one that holds opportunity for dairy, said Paul Bleiberg, Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the National Milk Producers Federation, in a Dairy Defined podcast released today.

“Election years can sometimes be quiet in a lot of ways. But there’s still a lot of sausage making that goes on,” he said. “We are hopeful that we’ll see some progress on supply chain legislation, in particular the Ocean Shipping Reform Act that our trade team has worked really hard on, to move forward in a variety of different contexts. And then that farm bill process is just going to get more and more significant as the date gets closer.”

Bleiberg also in the podcast discusses the prospects for “climate-smart” agricultural legislation to pass Congress this year and looks at gains for dairy in recent spending legislation.

The full podcast and transcript are below. You can find and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,   Google Podcasts and Amazon Music under the podcast name “Dairy Defined.” Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

NMPF, USDEC Praise Partnership to Ease Port Congestion in Northwest

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) praised the launch today of a new partnership between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) aimed at easing port congestion and restoring more reliable shipping access for U.S. agricultural exporters.

The initiative builds on the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to address the export supply chain crisis and USDA’s leadership in prioritizing the needs of agricultural exporters. USDA and NWSA will enhance access to a 49-acre “pop-up” site in Seattle to provide staging ground storage for both dry and refrigerated containerized agricultural exports to facilitate their quick loading onto shipping vessels destined for overseas markets.

A similar “pop-up” site was launched at the Port of Oakland on March 1 and has helped improve conditions at that port. USDA and NWSA are announcing the partnership today in an event featuring Stan Ryan, president and CEO of Darigold, an NMPF and USDEC member cooperative and a driving force behind the supply chain improvement.

“Dairy farmers and manufacturers celebrate today’s great news of an additional ‘pop-up’ site focused on helping to deliver relief for U.S. agricultural exporters grappling with severe supply chain challenges. This will provide meaningful assistance in getting their high-quality products to overseas customers. We appreciate Secretary Vilsack’s focus on continuing to find additional ways to tackle this concern,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “This is an important new tool as the Biden administration and Congress work together to find multiple pathways to address this complex issue, including passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act.”

“Today’s announcement of a new agriculture-focused ‘pop-up’ site in Seattle, coupled with likely Senate advancement of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act next week, show momentum building on tackling the export supply chain challenges in increasingly meaningful ways. That’s critical for dairy farmers and their exporting cooperatives,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We’re thankful to Secretary Vilsack for his leadership on this topic that’s so crucial to dairy. We urge the administration to build on today’s great news by expanding further to inland locations as well. We urge Congress to move forward swiftly with legislative solutions to the supply chain crunch by passing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act and advancing immigration reform to address the growing labor challenges facing our dairy farms and plants.”

Dairy Joins Problem Solvers Caucus Roundtable on Supply Chain Snarls

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) joined the U.S. House of Representatives’ bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus in a roundtable today to discuss additional steps Congress could take to address the ongoing export supply chain crisis facing American exports, including dairy.

Jaime Castaneda, executive vice president for policy development and strategy for USDEC and NMPF, spoke during a panel discussion moderated by Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD) to identify the challenges exporters are facing in securing container and vessel space, unprecedented congestion, and record fees to ship products to international customers.

“A conservative estimate of the supply chain challenges for dairy exporters in 2021 is over $1.5 billion in higher direct costs, reduced value, and lost sales,” Castaneda noted in his remarks. “If this continues, we risk losing ground to our competitors in highly competitive foreign markets, which has ripple effects on the paychecks of American dairy farmers and the thousands of workers who support the export supply chain.”

“The Problem Solvers Caucus is known for its laser-like focus on delivering practical legislative solutions. We’re proud to be part of that process today in identifying additional areas where Congress can act to help alleviate the supply chain snarls that have been limiting U.S. dairy producers’ ability to export,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We thank Representatives Costa and Johnson for their continued leadership on advancing bipartisan solutions to bring about some much-needed relief to American dairy and agricultural exporters.”

“Last year proved to be a very difficult and unsustainable environment for U.S. dairy exporters, as supply chain challenges risked American agricultural exporters’ reputation as reliable suppliers. I have heard directly from customers their intent to switch suppliers to our competitors solely because of these congestion issues,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “We want to thank Representatives Costa and Johnson for their bipartisan leadership in leading today’s discussion on these issues and for their invitation to be part of today’s discussion. Their work continues to be essential to American farmers and the entire agricultural value chain.”

Other organizations speaking at the event included the American Trucking Association, National Retail Federation, Agricultural Transportation Coalition, and the National Association of Manufacturers.

Plant-Based = Higher Cost, Lower Quality. Be Sure to Tell Your Barista

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Vegan activists like to hand-wring from time to time about surcharges to add their favorite plant-based beverage to their coffee drinks, citing all sorts of reasons behind the alleged injustice. Here’s a simpler explanation: Plant-based additives cost more because … they cost more.

Higher costs and lower quality are hallmarks of the “innovation” behind the proliferation of non-dairy products that trade on dairy terms in an attempt to win consumer favor. The lower nutritional content of plant-based beverages is well-established, with some almond brands having one-eighth the protein of dairy and none of them having the unique blend of 13 essential nutrients that set dairy apart. But here’s a quick refresher on the cost side of the equation:

This is year-end data of the cost of a gallon of milk (all varieties) compared to alternatives, year-end 2021. Now you can see why marketers are so enthusiastic about selling highly processed oat water.

Here’s a comparison for yogurt. Not a surprise, when you look at the ingredients label of a pint of yogurt versus a plant-based alternative.

And here’s the one product in which dairy doesn’t win on price, though an asterisk should be involved. Admittedly, a pound of “Imitation Cheese” is more pocketbook-friendly than true, FDA-standard-of-identity compliant cheese – a fact that undoubtedly delights “cheese-type product” lovers everywhere.

But it’s worth noting that even imitation cheese usually contains some dairy – just not in a way that meets cheese standards of identity. Vegan varieties, on the other hand, don’t just function terribly – they cost more than twice as much as real cheese and almost four times as much as the cheaper imitations.

Why does this matter? Because in their long-running efforts to disparage dairy, opponents sometimes use bad-faith arguments to call out companies that are acting rationally when what they really need to do is a little math. Complicated and often expensive ingredients, far-flung supply chains, and high advertising costs all feed into the more-expensive structure of plant-based alternatives (and let’s not even get into profit margins).

The point is, if you’re ever in line for a latte and someone in front of you complains about paying more for an almond addition, you can always point out that their choice may cost more money because … it costs more money. Then, add some whole milk to your beverage, for emphasis. It will bring a smile to your day – and information to someone else’s.

NMPF’s Bjerga on Agriculture and Ukraine’s Humanitarian Crisis

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses the widening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and Eastern Europe on RFD-TV. NMPF’s Board of Directors last week moved to ask federal policymakers to expand all forms of domestic energy production to ease expected price spikes for farmers; meanwhile, the Board also encouraged NMPF to seek out ways dairy producers can offer humanitarian and agricultural assistance to Ukrainians, which is expected to be both a short- and longer-term effort.

NMPF Advances Marketing Order Discussions at March Board Meeting

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Board Endorses Federal Efforts to Ease Energy Disruptions, Expresses Support for Ukraine

National Milk Producers Federation celebrated strong global demand for U.S. milk in a time of turmoil and asserted leadership in its efforts toward Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization in its two-day March Board of Directors meeting that concluded today.

The first in-person board meeting held in Arlington, VA, since March 2020 provided an opportunity both to look back on dairy’s resilience and look forward to building a better future for dairy farmers, said board chairman Randy Mooney, a dairy farmer from Rogersville, MO, in remarks to the board.

“We’re here today with a strong sense of gratitude” for consumer support of dairy and the ability of farmers to weather challenging times, Mooney said in remarks to the board on Tuesday. “The world needs our product.”

U.S. per capita dairy consumption is at its highest since 1960, and exports reached an all-time high in 2021. Record prices are forecast in 2022.

High on NMPF’s list of priorities for 2022 is leading discussions on updated the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, the bedrock of orderly milk markets in the U.S. As the largest U.S. organization representing dairy farmers, NMPF is taking a deliberate approach toward meaningful modernization, crafting consensus among all sizes and regions, said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF.

“We may take the rest of this year to get this all done and get it right,” Mulhern said. “If we can keep a spirit of collaboration going throughout the process, we’re going to end up in a very good place. I’m confident that we’ll have a national federal order hearing proposal that reflects the consensus of our membership and reflects the needs of dairy producers across the country.”

NMPF’s Economic Policy Committee since last fall has been conducting analysis and engaging with farmers on the FMMO system, created in the 1930s and last updated in 2000.

NMPF’s board also discussed the response of agriculture and dairy to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and potential resulting volatility in agricultural markets. Board members pledged to seeks ways to assist Ukrainian families and farmers as the fast-developing situation evolves. The board unanimously adopted a resolution calling on policymakers “to immediately take the steps necessary to facilitate increased domestic energy production of all forms” to avoid agricultural supply disruptions at a time of already high and rising input costs.

Other topics ranged from sustainability to supply chains during the meeting, which also featured remarks from Rep. Glenn “G.T.” Thompson, R-PA, ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee. Valerie Lavigne, a dairy farmer from Schaghticoke, NY, and a member of Agri-Mark, also spoke in her new role as chairwoman of NMPF’s Young Cooperators.

New directors welcomed to NMPF’s board included:

  • Rob Byrne, Dairy Farmers of America
  • Chris Sukalski, Land O’Lakes
  • Andy Mason, Land O’Lakes
  • Frank Doll, Prairie Farms