Tag: Randy Mooney

The Guard Changes at NMPF

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF elected Indiana dairy farmer Brian Rexing as its 15th chairman at its annual meeting last week, succeeding Randy Mooney of Rogersville, MO, who had served in the position for the past 17 years.

This week’s Dairy Defined Podcast is taken from their remarks at the meeting in Arlington, TX, with Mooney reflecting on his tenure and dairy’s future and Rexing outlining his hope for the years to come.

To hear more Dairy Defined podcasts, you can find and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Amazon Music under the podcast name “Dairy Defined.”

NMPF Annual Meeting Spotlights Farmer Progress

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

U.S. dairy farmers are thriving in the marketplace even as labor shortages and a volatile policy environment remain challenges, dairy industry leaders stressed at NMPF’s annual meeting.

U.S. dairy is well-positioned for growth, NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud said in remarks at the meeting held jointly by NMPF, the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association, which concluded today.

“I love where we are in this industry right now, today, folks,” he said, noting $11 billion in new dairy-plant investment currently underway nationwide. “Yes, there’s going to be uncertainty. My goodness, there’s uncertainty. But we’re in expansion mode. And I love it.”

Dairy producers in the past year have grappled with workforce instability and a shifting trade environment even as consumer demand has remained strong and the benefits of dairy are increasingly recognized in the nutrition and policy communities. But the firm foundation built for dairy over the past several years bodes well for the industry’s future, said outgoing NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney, who used his remarks to reflect on 17 years leading NMPF’s Board of Directors.

“We’ve built a stronger foundation for dairy farmers across the country by ensuring that each and every day, farmers, no matter the size of their operation are where they call home, have the tools, the support, and the representation they need to succeed on their operation for generations to come,” he said. “We’ve moved the industry forward on major policy fronts, and together, we’ve made collective voice stronger in Washington.”

NMPF’s Board of Directors selected Brian Rexing, an Indiana dairy farmer and a member of the Dairy Farmers of America cooperative, as NMPF’s next chairman on Monday. Also highlighting the meeting was USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, who addressed the meeting Tuesday.

Featured panelists at the meeting’s general session included Doud, who appeared with fellow dairy CEOs Barb O’Brien of Dairy Management Inc. and Krysta Harden of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. A session on revenue opportunities for dairy farmers featuring Katie Cook, Vice President, Farm Animal Sustainability, Elanco Animal Health; Mark Purdy, Director of Product and Portfolio Management, Meristem; and Joel Ysselstein, General Manager, Meadowvale Dairy, also highlighted the event.

The meeting, which ran Nov. 9-12, included discussions of dairy workforce challenges, how the MAHA movement is shaping consumer taste and how AI is upending agriculture.

The annual meeting is held in conjunction with NMPF’s Young Cooperators annual meeting for younger dairy leaders, as well as NMPF’s annual cheese and dairy products competition. In the contest, the top prize was taken by Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery for its Habanero Ghost Jack, while Lanco Pennland took the overall Reserve Chairman’s award with its Sweet Cheddar. A full list of winners is here.

 

Chairman Mooney Highlights Dairy’s Strengths

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney, a dairy farmer outside Rogersville, MO, said the spirit of collaboration and facing challenges head on, embodied in the cooperative model, will give dairy strength in the years to come. He spoke on Oct. 25 at NMPF’s annual meeting in Denver.

“This is an exciting time in our industry,” Mooney said. “What we do on our farms and in our communities is important, how we do it is important, and it’s important that we stay at the forefront of this revolution, never settling for status quo, thinking differently, and seizing the opportunities.”

For more about the value cooperatives provide, NMPF has a page here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Amazon Music. A transcript is available below. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file below. Please attribute information to NMPF.

NMPF Touts Dairy’s Policy Gains in Annual Meeting

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney and President and CEO Jim Mulhern touted dairy’s gains in 2021 at NMPF’s joint annual meeting Nov. 15-17, as record exports and per-capita U.S. consumption at a more than 60-year high point to a bright future for the industry.

“The past 20-plus months have shown us that life can change quickly, and in ways beyond our control,” said Mooney, a dairy farmer from Rogersville, Missouri, in remarks before dairy-farmer leaders from NMPF’s 24 member cooperatives. “It’s also shown that when that happens, people turn to what they know and trust. They turn to dairy.”

NMPF joined with the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association in the theme of “Make Every Drop Count,” returning to an in-person gathering this year as industry challenges evolve.

NMPF President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Mulhern highlighted NMPF’s work for its members in his remarks, including leading policy efforts that brought more than $6 billion in federal aid to dairy farmers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as regulatory initiatives and advances in trade.

“We are ‘The Voice of Dairy Farmers in Our Nation’s Capital,’ and we take that mission very seriously. And through our experience over the past year and a half, I know we are well-positioned to meet the many challenges that lie ahead,” Mulhern said. “When we are strategic, patient, and act with intelligence, and realistic expectations, we can meet our challenges.”

Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh also spoke to the meeting via video, highlighting dairy’s leadership in climate-smart agriculture initiatives and environmental stewardship.

“It is inspiring to see the dairy industry as leaders in advancing solutions to the challenges we face in agriculture through inclusive, accessible innovation technology and approaches,” she said. “You are leading the way as United States dairy embraces a 2050 Net Zero Initiative to help dairy farms of all geographies and sizes continue to implement new technologies and adopt economically viable practices in feed production, animal care, energy efficiency and manure management.”

Also providing remarks via video were Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee; Rep. G.T. Thompson, R-PA, ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee; and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-ID.

NMPF also held governance meetings and revived its annual, nationally recognized cheese contest – successfully conducted virtually last year – as an in-person celebration. Results here.

Mooney was reelected Chair of the organization, and Dave Scheevel of Foremost Farms was reelected Treasurer.  New officers including Simon Vander Woude of California Dairies, Inc., First Vice Chair; Cricket Jacquier of Agri-Mark, Second Vice Chair; and Jay Bryant of Maryland-Virginia Milk Producers, Secretary.

Those five officers are joined ten others elected this week to NMPF’s Executive Committee:

Steve Schlangen, Associated Milk Producers, Inc.; Rob Vandenheuvel, California Dairies, Inc.; Melvin Medeiros, Dairy Farmers of America; Dennis Rodenbaugh, Dairy Farmers of America; Pete Kappelman, Land O’Lakes; Doug Chapin, Michigan Milk Producers Assn.; Allan Huttema, Northwest Dairy Association; Tony Graves, Prairie Farms Dairy; Craig Caballero, United Dairymen of Arizona; and Jimmy Kerr, Cooperative Milk Producers.

New directors elected to the Board of Directors approved by NMPF delegates in 2021 include:

  • Neil Zwart – California Dairies, Inc.
  • Travis Fogler – Dairy Farmers of America
  • Ed Gallagher – Dairy Farmers of America
  • Karen Jordan – Dairy Farmers of America
  • Melvin Medeiros – Dairy Farmers of America
  • Perry Tjaarda – Dairy Farmers of America
  • Greg Schlafer – Foremost Farms
  • Duane Hershey – Land O’Lakes
  • Doug Chapin – Michigan Milk Producers Assoc.
  • Tony Freeman – Northwest Dairy Association
  • Joe Jenck – Tillamook County Creamery Assoc.
  • Craig Caballero – United Dairymen of Arizona

NMPF also recognized two retiring board members, Greg Wickham of Dairy Farmers of America and Ken Nobis of Michigan Milk Producers Association, as Honorary Directors for Life.

NMPF also held its annual Young Cooperators gathering in conjunction with the annual meeting.

Sponsors supporting the meeting at the Partner level and above included CoBank; Edelman; Food Minds; Inmar Intelligence; mischief.; Rise Interactive; Team Services; the U.S. Dairy Export Council; Boehringer-Ingelheim;  Leprino Foods; MMS; Phibro Animal Health; Nelson-Jameson; StoneX; Elanco; Cheese Market News; Charm Sciences Inc.; Strategic Solutions; Vanguard Renewables; and Watkinson Miller LLC.