NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga details some of the policy and marketplace challenges U.S. dairy is striving to meet, regardless of the cloudy outcomes of Tuesday’s congressional elections, in an interview with RFD-TV. Opportunities to grow markets via sustainability, an adequate safety net in the upcoming farm bill, and sensible industry regulation all loom in 2023, with dairy well-positioned to make progress.
NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga talks about some of the challenges dairy farmers face, and how they’re facing it together, in an interview with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. As NMPF members gather in Denver this week for the organization’s annual meeting, milk-pricing modernization, sustainability and stewardship, and international trade are all taking the spotlight.
NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern speaks at the organization’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV on Nov. 16.
Alan Bjerga, NMPF’s senior vice president for communications, discusses the organization’s “Farmer Focus” initiative in tandem with the National Dairy FARM Program, on WEKZ radio, Janesville, Wisconsin.
Emily Yeiser Stepp, NMPF’s vice president for the National Dairy FARM Program, discusses how 2020 changed the way dairy-sector engagement has pivoted into the virtual world. She speaks on RFD-TV.
https://www.rfdtv.com/story/43427310/rethinking-engagement-strategies-in-the-dairy-industry
The National Milk Producers Federation today was awarded funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to develop and improve biosecurity on U.S. dairy farms.
As one of two livestock industry organizations chosen along with 16 state animal health authorities and 14 land-grant universities, NMPF will use the $488,603 grant to implement and coordinate the Secure Milk Supply (SMS) plan and develop a biosecurity program area through the National Dairy FARM Program (FARM). The FARM Animal Care program places an emphasis on biosecurity as a key element of dairy herd health and the grant funding will allow for further prioritization.
“The dairy industry has partnered with USDA for more than a decade on the Secure Milk Supply Plan. With this new funding, we are eager to continue and expand our work on biosecurity through integration with FARM,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We applaud USDA’s work to enhance the prevention, preparedness, detection, and response to animal diseases that threaten the viability of U.S. dairy farms.”
The grant is funded by the 2018 Farm Bill as part of an overall strategy to help prevent animal pests and diseases from entering the U.S. and reduce the spread and impact of potential disease incursions through advance planning and preparedness. APHIS will distribute funding through the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program (NADPRP) as well as the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN).
USDA has funded the NADPRP projects with the goal of individually and collectively addressing critical livestock biosecurity, large-scale depopulation and carcass disposal concerns in all major livestock industries across all U.S. regions. NMPF will apply the grant funding to advance biosecurity on dairy farms by partnering with stakeholders and experts including the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State University, dairy farmers, veterinarians, dairy cooperatives and processors, and state and federal animal health officials.
The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program team offers an issues update for the 2020 NMPF Virtual Town Hall.
NMPF’s Regulatory team offers an issues update for the 2020 NMPF Virtual Town Hall.
On National Farmer’s Day, dairy farmer Suzanne Vold is highlighting dairy’s commitments to the environment and a net-zero future, noting that her colleagues are already effective stewards and are committed to doing more.
“We need to work with our partners in government. We need to work with partners in academia, dairy science departments, and agronomy departments and our colleges and universities. And we need to work with our cooperatives, the companies that process our milk into products to sell,” said Vold in the latest Dairy Defined podcast, released today. “But we have to start the work somewhere, and we have to start the work now.”
Vold, with her husband, brother-in-law and two part-time employees, runs Dorrich Dairy, a 400-cow, fourth-generation dairy farm in western Minnesota. In the podcast, she also discusses specific practices on her farm that save money and create potential revenues as well as improve water and soil health – as well as the importance of other initiatives important to dairy and agriculture, from the Dairy Margin Coverage program to rural broadband.
The full podcast is here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.
The National Milk Producers Federation submitted comments supporting the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) proposal on the Use of Radio Frequency Identification Tags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison. APHIS has proposed to require the use of official 840-RFID tags for all dairy cattle involved in interstate commerce starting Jan. 1, 2023.
“We commend USDA-APHIS for taking this next step in moving animal identification forward, with the use of RFID tags for official animal identification for dairy cattle,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “A national animal identification system can provide immediate access to relevant information in an animal disease or food safety crisis that could endanger the entire dairy chain, while protecting farmers’ privacy.”
The U.S. dairy industry has long advocated modernizing animal ID and disease traceability systems. Farmer organizations including NMPF, the American Jersey Cattle Association, Holstein Association USA, Inc., National Association of Animal Breeders, National Dairy Herd Information Association and Dairy Calf and Heifer Association formed a group called IDairy to collectively advance official mandatory animal identification to aid disease traceability.
IDairy in received a USDA-APHIS cooperative agreement on premise registration and animal ID education that propelled the use of RFID tags in the U.S. dairy industry. Since 2009, the National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program has also recommend use of official 840-RFID tags for all dairy cattle.
Animal ID and disease traceability needs may be different for other livestock sectors, so NMPF encouraged APHIS to carefully consider comments from those other livestock industries when finalizing requirements and implementation timelines.
NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses NMPF’s new resource page for dairy farmers experiencing natural disasters and how that effort, as well as NMPF’s coronavirus page, is set up to serve dairy farmers and all of agriculture in times of need, on the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast.
In response to the continued spread of COVID-19 (the coronavirus) in the United States and the virus’s potential impact on domestic and international markets, National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jim Mulhern said the following:
“As the organization representing U.S. dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own, the National Milk Producers Federation stands ready to assist its members in addressing coronavirus challenges. From possible damages to domestic and world markets, to supply chain labor disruptions on the farm, at the processing plant or in transporting milk, the potential ramifications for dairy are wide-ranging. We will devote our resources to the best of our ability to helping dairy farmers and cooperatives respond to whatever challenges they may face.
“The good news is that the U.S. dairy supply is safe, and production of high-quality products continues unimpeded. The FDA has confirmed that heat treatment kills other coronaviruses, so pasteurization is expected to also inactivate this virus. In addition, there is no evidence that this strain of coronavirus is present in domestic livestock such as cattle.
“Still, all producers will remain vigilant as what has now been labeled a pandemic continues its path. We will continue to answer questions and offer information to help our members. Policy solutions also may be needed for producers whose operations have been affected by the virus. In keeping with our mission of serving our members, regardless of the challenge, we will work with lawmakers and regulators to ensure a safe and adequate supply of milk and to mitigate potential economic harm to dairy farmers.”
