Tag: environment

Raise Your Milk Glasses, America: NMPF Shares the Facts on World Milk Day

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Milk Producers Federation is pointing out some key facts about U.S. dairy in observance of World Milk Day on June 1 and the National Dairy Month that follows.

The state of the industry

  • Total domestic consumption of milk has risen four of the past five years and reached a record in 2018.
  • While per-capita milk U.S. consumption has declined, consumption of non-fluid dairy products such as cheese have increased, with butter last year at its highest per-capita consumption in more than 50 years.
  • U.S. dairy export volumes reached a record in 2018, increasing 9 percent over the prior year despite stiff trade winds. The value of U.S. exports was $5.59 billion, 2 percent more than the prior year, despite trade disturbances that to date have cost farmers at least $2.3 billion in revenues.

Sustainability and animal welfare

  • The U.S. dairy industry contributes approximately two percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions—the lowest average GHG intensity of milk production worldwide.
  • Fruits and vegetables, grains, and dairy are roughly equal in greenhouse-gas emissions.
  • Through the leadership of NMPF’s National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, which includes 98 percent of the U.S. milk supply, U.S. dairy producers are the first livestock animal care program in the world to be recognized for its animal welfare standards. FARM gained that recognition last year from the International Organization for Standardization, founded by the UN.

Consumer choice

  • Milk is consumers’ dominant choice compared compared to plant-based competitors. In a typical week, U.S. consumers buy more than 65 million gallons of milk, compared to about 6 million gallons of plant-based beverages. Milk also costs about 40 percent less, according to consumer sales and pricing data.
  • Milk is a key source of nine essential nutrients crucial to a healthy diet.

And, finally …

  • Milk is the product of a lactating animal, per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s unenforced rules.

“As World Milk Day is celebrated globally, remember some key facts,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Dairy has faced economic hardships these past few years, but hard-working producers stand strong behind a high-quality product. Thank a dairy farmer on World Milk Day, for feeding America and the world.”

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own.  For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

Cooperative Members, Dairy Experts Testify in Agriculture Subcommittee’s First Hearing

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

In its first hearing of the 116th Congress the House Agriculture Committee’s subcommittee on livestock and foreign agriculture focused on dairy’s improved safety net and the need for expanded exports, with farmers from NMPF cooperatives and industry leaders bringing national attention to industry concerns.

The hearing, called by Subcommittee Chairman Jim Costa (D-CA), spotlighted the low prices and trade concerns the sector faces while discussing the opportunities offered for producers through the new Dairy Margin Coverage program, calling solutions to dairy’s struggles one of the subcommittee’s highest priorities.

Testimony included:

  • Minnesota dairy farmer Sadie Frericks, a member of Land O’Lakes, spoke of the importance of the new Dairy Margin Coverage program as a risk management tool as her family weathers economic challenges;
  • California Dairies, Inc. President and CEO Andrei Mikhalevsky provided an overview of dairy’s trade issues, a rising concern as exports are crucial to increasing dairy demand;
  • Pennsylvania dairy farmer Dave Smith, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association, discussed additional challenges including the importance of milk consumption in schools and the need to combat mislabeled fake milks in the marketplace;
  • New York dairy farmer Michael McMahon gave voice to the dairy industry’s unique workforce challenges, including the lack of a viable guest worker program that covers year-round workers;
  • and Dr. Scott Brown, Director of Strategic Partnerships for the University of Missouri’s College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources, provided economic insight.

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern thanked the participating farmers and industry leaders for bringing their crucial dairy perspectives to a national level and applauded the subcommittee for putting dairy first on its 2019 agenda, noting that the sector’s “challenges reverberate through the U.S. economy.” Mulhern also thanked lawmakers including Costa, subcommittee ranking member Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC), Agriculture Committee Chairman Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), and Congressman GT Thompson (R-PA) for their helpful opening and closing statements at the hearing.

NMPF Endorses EPA WOTUS Proposal, Praising Clarity and Certainty

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Milk Producers Federation endorsed the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed changes to the Waters of the U.S. rule, a proposal meant to provide clarity and certainty about the waterways subject to regulation under the federal Clean Water Act. Released in February 2019, the EPA proposal was a response to the ill-fated 2015 WOTUS rule that has been mired in litigation.

NMPF urged the EPA in 2014 to rethink WOTUS, citing its many ambiguities and uncertainties. A subsequent NMPF analysis showed that the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal did not meet the requirements of various Supreme Court rulings that were the catalyst for the 2015 regulation.

NMPF expressed strong support for the basic jurisdictional line EPA made around intermittent and more significant waters as being within the regulatory power of the United States. NMPF believes this line accurately reflects the U.S. Constitution, statutes, and court decisions interpreting the law.

“Clean water is essential to milk production, and the dairy industry is very willing to work with EPA to protect U.S. waters,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “EPA’s latest draft provides the clarity and certainty we were seeking in 2014 around which waterways fall under the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act. While it has taken five years, we are grateful EPA has redrafted the WOTUS regulations.”

NMPF submitted 22 pages of comments on the EPA regulation for when farmers must seek Clean Water Act permits for a long list of normal farming activities near wetlands. While the WOTUS proposal did address many long-standing concerns, NMPF offered some additional points of clarity in other areas to further improve the proposal.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce the majority of U.S. milk, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.