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Mooney, Mulhern, Staff Presentations Highlight Virtual Annual Meeting

November 2, 2020

NMPF Chairman Randy Monday and President and CEO Jim Mulhern praised the resilience of the dairy producer community this year in comments at NMPF’s first-ever virtual joint annual meeting Oct. 27-28. NMPF joined with the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association in coordinating a two-day, online review of industry achievements this year.

The extreme disruptions and financial upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have created real struggles for dairy producers – and the industry has responded by collaborating to protect the financial health of dairy farmers and cooperatives, said Mooney to delegates gathered online Oct. 26, the day before the main programming began, in one of several events associated with the meeting that were spread over a two-week period to meet the busy schedules of participants and attendees. More than 1,000 people registered for the two-day session, offered free of charge to participants.

“We haven’t landed safely yet, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that we as an organization and an industry have risen to the biggest challenges of our lifetimes, and that we’ll be able to look back with pride on our response to the pandemic,” Mooney said.

Mulhern discussed how NMPF, working with its cooperative members and other dairy organizations, have risen to the challenges of 2020 in his remarks at the Oct. 27 NMPF Town Hall meeting.

“We’ve already proven a lot – to ourselves, and to the nation,” Mulhern said, noting progress in federal legislation that has assisted dairy farmers and the continued strength of the industry in areas such as trade throughout this year’s COVID-19 crisis. “We will get through this, and we’re stronger now than before.

Mulhern’s remarks were followed by a presentation on the year and challenges ahead from senior NMPF staff, supplemented by more detailed pre-taped Town Hall digests of key NMPF issue areas, including the following videos:

All of the meeting’s content was recorded and will be posted at the meeting web portal Nov. 4.  Along with the public events, NMPF held governance meetings throughout the month to complete organization business. Three new directors were elected to the Board last Monday by NMPF’s Delegates, including Pete Kappelman and Dan Siemers of Land O’Lakes, and Gib Martin of Mt. Joy Farmers Cooperative.  Beth Ford and Nic Schoenberger of Land O’Lakes left the Board, as did Dennis Tonak of Midwest Dairymens Company. The annual Young Cooperators gathering, held in conjunction with the annual meeting, took place Oct. 29-30. And of course, NMPF held its annual cheese contest – unique this year as it was what’s believed to be the first virtual competition held nationwide. Results here.

Sponsors supporting the meeting included CoBank; Farm Credit; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Elanco; Leprino Foods; Phibro Animal Health; Nelson-Jameson; Cheese Market News; and Cornerstone.