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NMPF Website Update Offers Enhanced Member Resources

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF today announced important updates to its website, nmpf.org, designed to offer more information to dairy farmers and their cooperatives as well as an easier-to-navigate interface.

Updates to the website include an improved menu navigation, expansion of key issue areas and a streamlined sign-up for users seeking to stay up to date with the latest news from NMPF. Making this information more readily available for members serves NMPF’s mission and makes nmpf.org even more essential to the dairy community, said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern.

“Rich member resources and an easy-to-understand website are important parts of our service to our member cooperatives and everyone with an interest in dairy,” said Mulhern. “We strive to continue to be the one-stop-shop for policy information important to the dairy community.”

NMPF’s website is only one of many offerings available for the dairy community to learn more about the organization’s advocacy and service for its members. For more information and to sign up for NMPF publications, visit www.nmpf.org/subscribe.

Inflation is Hot. Dairy Stays Cooler.

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

It will come as no surprise to anyone reading this that inflation’s eating away at pocketbooks. The most recent Consumer Price Index is reporting the fastest retail price increases in costs in 40 years, with a hot economy and tight supply chains pushing up everything from cars to coffee.

And when consumers (and media outlets) focus their frustration, it tends to be on the prices that are most widely noticed. Gasoline’s the best example – what other product routinely posts its price on big signs next to highways? A gallon of milk is another one – when you’re in 94 percent of households, you can safely assume that a big part of the consuming public knows exactly what milk costs – and notices when it rises.

But before you pass unfair judgment on a jug of liquid goodness, a chart:

This is the most recent year-over-year Consumer Price Index covering overall inflation, food and beverage inflation, and dairy categories. A gallon of whole milk (the most popular variety in a jug) is going up, but it’s in line with other foods and beverages and lower than overall inflation. Subcategories fare even better. Cheese costs to consumers have barely budged. Ice cream remains an affordable (and relative to other categories, becoming even more so) treat. And yogurt, butter, et. al remain a compelling choice of affordable, high-quality nutrition for households.

So what’s going on with the inflation gap? A few things. Dairy supply chains tend to be more local and predominantly domestic, meaning some factors driving price gains in imported goods don’t apply. Dairy farmers have also done a great job of keeping markets adequately supplied, even in a year of record dairy export sales.

But whatever the reasons — if you’re frustrated with your grocery bill, dairy’s a place to find value. Dairy farmers are doing their part in keeping food prices under control. So much so, in fact, it might be worth slowing down a little bit the next time you’re pushing your cart past the dairy case. You might just want to take advantage of the opportunity dairy provides to nourish your family, without emptying your wallet. That’s not to be taken for granted these days.

NMPF Statement on Califf FDA Confirmation

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

Statement from NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern on the confirmation of Dr. Robert Califf as FDA Commissioner:

“We congratulate Dr. Robert Califf on his confirmation as FDA Commissioner. We are cheering for his success at a particularly challenging time, given the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the urgent need to address the opioids crisis and other public health issues. We are heartened that, in addition to these concerns, he has also cited addressing the proliferation of plant-based products mislabeled as dairy a ‘priority’ issue under his leadership.

“Nutritional confusion over the products is real, with meaningful public health implications, and the Biden Administration has promised guidance by mid-year. We look forward to working with Dr. Califf as he resolves this long-standing, and growing, concern.”

 

NMPF’s Galen on the Need for DMC Signup

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

Chris Galen, NMPF’s senior vice president for member services and strategic initiatives, talks with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters about the recent extension in signup and why all dairy producers benefit from the program. USDA last week announced an extension of signup for the program until March 25.

“Climate-smart” Farming is Efficient Farming, Medeiros Says

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

“Climate-smart” is becoming an agriculture buzzword. USDA last week unveiled $1 billion in pilot projects for lower-carbon farming practices. And just days earlier in Congress, a House Agriculture subcommittee heard testimony from livestock producers on how they’re working toward sustainability solutions. Melvin Medeiros — a Laton, CA dairy farmer, member of NMPF’s Executive Committee and Chairman of Dairy Farmers of America (DFA)’s Western Area Council — represented dairy producers.

Medeiros, who is profiled in the latest Farmer Focus from NMPF and the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, takes a wide range of approaches to sustainability. Tweaks to farming practices, new technologies, effective use of data-driven management – all add up to a bright future for climate-smart dairies, said Medeiros.

“Trying to envision what a dairy farm could look like in 2050, and where technology is going today, and the speed it’s going at — every tractor on the farm, every piece of machinery could be run by electricity. We’ll be supplying that energy either through solar, or methane, and dairy farms could be a net exporter of energy. That’s where I see it going, and that’s a positive thing.”

For more of the Medeiros story and profiles of innovative dairy-farm families, visit NMPF’s Sharing Our Story page.

Read Our Latest Farmer Focus

 

NMPF’s Bjerga on WOTUS Efforts

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses NMPF’s leadership in ensuring dairy voices are heard in proposed revision to Waters of the U.S. regulations on RFD-Radio, hosted by the Illinois Farm Bureau. NMPF submitted comments to EPA on Monday along with the American Farm Bureau Federation and other organizations expressing concern with the pace of Biden Administration revisions, asking for clear regulatory language and policies that respect legal precedent and the Clean Water Act.

NMPF and USDEC Applaud Record U.S. Dairy Exports in 2021

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

On behalf of U.S. dairy producers and manufacturers, the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council lauded the industry’s decades of work that’s led to a record year for U.S. dairy exports after the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced record sales of $7.75 billion in 2021, accounting for over 17% of U.S. milk production.

“The record demand for U.S. milk overseas in 2021 is a testament to the hard work and dedication of U.S. dairy farmers and the entire industry to making sure our high-quality, nutritious products feed the world as well as Americans,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. “As we’ve said many times, exports represent the next frontier for U.S. dairy – it’s gratifying to see decades of effort bear fruit and only makes us more excited about the future successes ahead.”

“Outstanding results like last year’s record-setting $7.75 billion in U.S. dairy exports don’t happen overnight. They’re the result of a lot of hard work by our industry to build demand for U.S. dairy products around the world and harness the opportunities that past trade deals – from U.S. free trade agreements to the World Trade Organization’s Uruguay Round – have made available,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. “We look forward to continuing to build on this success further and to ensure we have the right trade and export supply chain policy tools to support that growth.”

Exports may have reached even higher levels had U.S. exporters not been battered by supply chain challenges that drove up costs and complexity of delivering dairy products to foreign customers. The U.S. dairy industry will need proactive trade policies that remove barriers to trade and ensure that U.S. dairy farmers and manufacturers are equipped to compete on a level playing field, the organizations added.

NMPF Statement on USDA’s Extension of 2022 DMC Signup

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Statement from NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern on USDA’s Extension of 2022 DMC Signup:

“Dairy farmers thank USDA and Secretary Vilsack for extending signup for this year’s Dairy Margin Coverage Program in order to maximize producer signup for this important program. DMC offers cost-effective margin protection for small and medium-sized producers and inexpensive catastrophic coverage for larger dairies. It provides critical protection against unforeseen market disruptions – and if the past two years have shown anything, it’s that unforeseen market disruptions can happen. We urge all producers to sign up for DMC protection, part of a suite of NMPF-supported, federally backed risk-management that also includes the Dairy-RP and LGM-Dairy programs.”

For more information on DMC and NMPF’s support for effective risk management, visit NMPF’s website here.

NMPF Commends USDA Leadership on Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“We applaud Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and his team at USDA for working to fashion the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative in a way that will provide significant opportunities for U.S. dairy producers of all sizes to build on their proactive sustainability work. This new initiative will support voluntary, producer-led efforts to increase on-farm adoption of climate smart agricultural technologies and practices. Such efforts are essential to help U.S. dairy farmers fulfill their environmental stewardship goals to become greenhouse gas neutral or better by 2050 and improve water quality while optimizing water use.

“NMPF looks forward to working with USDA to make this program a success —and a springboard for additional achievements.”

Progress on Ports Problems

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Bottlenecks at U.S. ports and their impact on agricultural exports took center stage at the National Press Club last week, with a webinar sponsored by the National Milk Producers Federation, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and Agri-Pulse. This week’s podcast features Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC, moderating a panel from the webinar featuring USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack; John Porcari, the Biden Administration’s Supply Chain Ports Envoy; Reps. John Garamendi (D-CA) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD), co-sponsor of a House of Representatives ports bill.

Vilsack at the panel announced a new initiative adding access for U.S. agricultural exports at the Port of Oakland. Vilsack also noted the importance of the public understanding that ports backlogs don’t only affect shipments of consumer goods.

“We hope to be able to make sure that people understand this isn’t just an import issue, it’s also an export issue,” Vilsack said at the event.  “And the Department of Agriculture wants to be part of the solution.”

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