Tag: regulations

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’s Bjerga on the State of Dairy Labeling

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

With a new FDA commissioner nearing confirmation, NMPF Senior Vice President for Communications Alan Bjerga discusses the state of dairy labeling in the U.S., on RFD-TV. Bjerga also talks about U.S. dairy’s recent win over the European Union on gruyere cheese, which a court ruled is a common name not subject to geographical indication trade restraints.

NMPF’s Mulhern Speaks at Annual Meeting

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern speaks at the organization’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV on Nov. 16.

Chairman Mooney Highlights Dairy’s Value at Annual Meeting

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney discusses how dairy proved its worth to U.S. consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic at the organization’s annual meeting in Las Vegas, NV. Also, NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses some of the meeting’s key agenda items, including the industry’s sustainability commitments and the need to explore milk-pricing reform.

NMPF’s Bjerga Discusses Dairy’s Joint Annual Meeting

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

National Milk Producers Federation Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses NMPF’s joint annual meeting with allied dairy organizations this week in Las Vegas. More than 600 dairy farmers and industry professionals are converging for discussions on policy and marketplace accomplishments in 2021, as well as future challenges. Bjerga says a united dairy sector can face whatever comes its way.

NMPF’s Bjerga Discusses Global Labeling Integrity, Dairy Defined

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

The U.S. needs to follow international norms on the proper labeling of butter and dairy terms, NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga said in an interview with RFD Radio. A recent decision by the Codex Alimentarius reaffirms labeling integrity internationally, with the FDA planning guidance on similar matter next year. Bjerga also discusses NMPF’s Dairy Defined series of informational essays and podcasts.

Podcast: Sen. Pat Roberts on His Past and Agriculture’s Future

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts is leaving Congress after 40 years in January. The only person to lead both the House and Senate agriculture committees takes with him a wealth of wisdom in agriculture policy – but also holds optimism for agriculture’s ability to get things done in an environment of difficult challenges.

“I would just say that I am very confident that the people who will be taking my place, they have a lot of experience,” Roberts said in a Dairy Defined interview released today. “They’re good folks. I think the same attempt, at least, with regards to making it bipartisan, will continue.”

Roberts, who first came to Washington as a congressional staffer a half-century ago, also reflects on the two farm bills he led — 1996’s Freedom to Farm law and the 2018 bill — as well as one area where he wished he could have done more: his leadership of the Senate Intelligence Committee during the Iraq War. He also said he doesn’t consider his career to be over – without revealing plans, he said that when it comes to farm policy, “I intend to have my finger in the pie somewhere.”

To listen to the full discussion, click here. You can also find this and other NMPF podcasts on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

Dairy Defined: Where Dairy Terms are Done Right – a Photo Essay

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

This week’s Dairy Defined is a little different: It’s a multi-lingual tour of alternative beverages, coming to you from the European Union, where an oat drink is called … an oat drink.

While many EU dairy policies leave much to be desired, its approach to dairy labeling shows how it’s possible to name beverages accurately, no matter what fake-milk marketers and FDA inaction may enable in the United States. From “hirse” and “chanvre” to “amande” and “soja,” EU grocery shoppers have a wealth of plant-based beverages to choose from – and somehow those beverages manage to exist, like they do in almost the entire world, without being called milk.

Don’t believe it? Click here for proof.

Dairy Farms Innovating Their Way to a Sustainable Future

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

“Innovation” is a buzzword thrown about to the point of cliché. What it is varies with the circumstance.

For tech professionals, innovation could be an updated app or a streamlined solution. For teachers, it might be the newest way to engage students remotely. For those in health care, it may be a vaccine or more-effective treatment.

On dairy farms, innovation can look like … entomological wastewater filtration and effluent subsurface drip irrigation. Neither are buzzwords. Both are examples of how dairy is innovating its way toward a more sustainable future.

Royal Dairy in Royal City, Washington, wanted to enhance its waste-management system and reduce GHG emissions. Seeking solutions, Austin Allred, owner of Royal Dairy and a member of Northwest Dairy Association, piloted and adopted the BIDA® System developed by BioFiltro. The international wastewater filtration company uses worms within a passive aerobic system to clean wastewater from the dairy for irrigation. By investing in this technology, Royal Dairy has reduced its Total Suspended Solids (TSS) by 99% and reduced total Nitrogen (TKN) by 83%. As an added benefit, it also creates a rich fertilizer from the worm castings.

Another sustainability solution is found at De Jager Dairy North and California Dairies Inc., member McRee Dairy, both near Chowchilla, California, where drip irrigation is leading toward a future of better harvests and reduced emissions.

The two dairies partnered with Israeli company Netafim and Sustainable Conservation to develop and test a sub-surface irrigation system that delivers liquid dairy cow manure as a fertilizer close to the crop’s root system. This results in needing up to 35 percent less water while maintaining or even increasing crop yields in addition to reducing irrigation-related greenhouse gas emissions by 70 percent – saving costs and building resilience against droughts projected to worsen with climate change.

Projects like these, which put in the work today to develop solutions for a better tomorrow, are only two of the many on-farm innovations taking place on dairies. For those who spend their time planting as well as milking, carbon sequestration made possible by cover cropping and conservation tillage further maximize efforts like Allred’s. From improved anaerobic digesters and technology that separates nutrients, to feed additives that reduce methane emissions, dairy farming is continuing to advance – and lead – in adoption of sustainable technologies and practices in agriculture.

And they’re efforts the industry supports, with programs like the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Environmental Stewardship initiative that measures a farm’s carbon and energy footprints. The initiative equips farmers with data that helps them understand their sustainability impact and chart a course for continued progress that’s essential to ensure industry progress toward the collective 2050 environmental goals of becoming carbon neutral or better; optimizing water use; and improving water quality.

On-farm innovation on dairies may not always be as obvious as an app or a vaccine. But they’re no less real or important. Dairy farms are sites of constant innovation, with farmers embracing new methods and new measures. And their proven track record of innovation is set to grow even further.

NMPF Congratulates President-Elect Biden and Incoming Congress

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The National Milk Producers Federation congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and members of the upcoming 117th Congress for their election victories, pledging to work for bipartisan solutions to the many challenges faced in agriculture and in the nation.

“Congratulations to President-elect Biden and the incoming members of the 117th Congress, who will have a lot of work to do in this country, from legislating to building common ground,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “Dairy is ready to do its part and work with the administration and Congress to face difficult problems successfully, in the bipartisan spirit we have always practiced and believed in.”

NMPF has long been committed to working with both major political parties for sound, consensus-based public policy. More on NMPF’s approach to policy, why dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own possess a distinct voice within agriculture, and the crucial role they can play in the months ahead, can be found in this week’s Dairy Defined column.