2020 ANNUAL REPORT
Activities & Accomplishments of the National Milk Producers Federation
Established in 1916 and based in Arlington, Virginia, the
NATIONAL MILK PRODUCERS FEDERATION carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For over 100 years, NMPF has been one of the country’s most recognized and influential membership organizations. Advocating policies determined by its members, the positions expressed by NMPF are the result of grassroots work by dairy farmers and their cooperatives on national policy.
FROM THE PRESIDENT & CEO 2020 was a year that many might like to forget, as a global pandemic upended even the bestlaid plans. But doing that would ignore the many accomplishments made during a time of true crisis and discount the valuable lessons we in dairy can carry on moving forward. From the advocacy led by the cooperative community from the beginning of the coronavirus crisis that began in March 2020, to the federal assistance packages taking effect early in 2021, the year brought progress NMPF will build upon. In trying times, we:
We also made progress on labor and climate legislation and remained vigilant in encouraging federal efforts to expand dairy exports and enforce existing trade agreements. At the same time, we defended our members against excessive regulation and promoted dairy as a crucial component of diets in the latest edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. And we effectively pivoted from an in-person to a virtual world, ranging from the re-orientation of our FARM program toward online training to our first-ever web-based annual meeting.
These are only a few of our many activities and accomplishments of the past year, and we’re proud • Helped secure $16 billion in direct farm aid to chronicle them in these pages. These gains only from Congress while engaging with USDA to come from credibility, persistence, tireless effort ensure that funding benefitted NMPF members and the patient building of relationships with key of all sizes. officials on Capitol Hill and in the administration. • Worked with Congress to extend the Small It’s the kind of work NMPF has prided itself on, dayBusiness Administration’s Paycheck Protection in and day-out, throughout its existence – and it’s Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury that dedication that shines through during times of Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to serve as crucial critical need. financial safety nets for farm businesses, as well as authorize a $400 million Dairy Donation The lessons learned in 2020 both prepare us, and Program to help farmer-owned cooperatives brace us, for the days ahead. With normal times and processors provide dairy products to foodnot yet here, 2021 thus far hasn’t been easy. But we insecure households. know it will be successful, because of the success • Ensured that farm and cooperative employees were recognized as “essential” workers, protecting their ability to continue working and providing access to sanitation and personal protective equipment needed to keep their businesses functioning.
we’ve already seen. Thank you for being part of this journey.
Jim Mulhern President & CEO
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Dairy Response to COVID-19 Robust as Cooperatives, Congress and USDA Rally to Support Farmers NMPF’s policy work took an unexpected turn in 2020 as the world reeled from the COVID-19 pandemic. But the crisis also brought out the best in dairy, as the sector coalesced around an effective series of actions that staved off the worst for producers and showed NMPF’s vital role as the industry’s leading voice. 2020 began with NMPF anticipating the year would be spent building on 2019’s progress on numerous important priority issues. But the coronavirus’s arrival in the U.S. by February began a period of significant devastation to the entire economy, disrupting lives and forcing everyone to adjust their priorities. Dairy was no exception. Farmers had just begun to see a light at the end of the tunnel following
five years of continually low milk prices when the foodservice market collapsed from the pandemic, devastating a sector that accounts for half of the cheese and 60 percent of all butter made in the U.S., leaving vast quantities of milk without a market for weeks. The milk supply exceeded demand by as much as 10 percent at times last year, dramatically dropping milk prices. Congress quickly sprang into action and approved crucial stimulus. The CARES Act, signed into law in March, included more than $23 billion in critical support to help producers struggling through the pandemic. Now-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and now-Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) specifically targeted dairy for strong support.
NMPF then secured a significant share of aid for dairy as the U.S. Department of Agriculture began to implement the law. Members of Congress, including key committee leaders, echoed NMPF’s call on a bipartisan, bicameral basis. When thenAgriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue initially unveiled the framework for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program last April, dairy producers were expected to receive $2.9 billion in direct support, a major increase relative to dairy’s share of similarly administered trade mitigation programs offered in recent years. Work continued as USDA continued to iron out CFAP details. One major priority for dairy was to ensure that CFAP provided equitable support to all dairy producers. NMPF urged USDA not to impose arbitrary payment limitations on CFAP, as doing so would prevent farmers from receiving coverage on much of the milk produced throughout the country. Because all producers suffered from the pandemic’s economic catastrophe, all needed support that accounted for their significant losses. NMPF’s efforts yielded important dividends when USDA finalized CFAP in May. While the program did include payment limits, USDA increased the levels, allowing some operations to receive up to $750,000 in payments, rather than only $125,000. NMPF sought additional improvements, ultimately winning enhanced support for operations structured as trusts and securing a fairer application of direct attribution to maximize CFAP benefits for many producers. Congress provided much-needed support on these efforts, with bipartisan support for payment-limit relief from more than one-quarter of all House and Senate members.
CFAP provided significant support to dairy farmers in an unexpectedly challenging year. NMPF estimates that dairy received nearly $3 billion total from both rounds of CFAP.
In tandem with CFAP, USDA also used resources provided by Congress to create the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. Through this program, USDA purchased displaced food products, including dairy, and provided them via food boxes to families in need throughout the United States. The program was funded over five distinct rounds in 2020; as of December, NMPF estimated that roughly $1.25 billion in dairy products were included across these rounds. NMPF advocated for significant dairy purchases in the program and successfully secured $100 million in additional dairy support beyond what was initially planned. Before adjourning for the year in December, Congress passed another major COVID-19 relief package that included nearly $1 billion in targeted support for dairy. Key provisions of this package included a Dairy Donation Program to help dairy stakeholders work directly with food banks to provide nutritious dairy products to families in need. The measure also provided Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage payments for some producers who had grown since the current dairy safety net was created; it also addressed retroactive relief for producers impacted by the previous CFAP payment limits. As the Biden Administration and the 117th Congress began work this year, NMPF continued its advocacy to ensure that dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own receive the critical support necessary to provide households here at home and worldwide with a steady supply of healthy, nutritious dairy products. While the arrival of a vaccine offers some light at the end of the tunnel, NMPF will ensure that for however long the COVID-19 pandemic persists, the 24/7 work of dairy never stops.
NMPF Secures Dairy Access to Critical COVID SmallBusiness Support Under PPP, EIDL Programs The coronavirus pandemic’s far-reaching, devastating economic effects forced business owners to figure out how to keep their doors open and their workforce employed. Crucial to many dairy operations were two programs run by the Small Business Administration (SBA) specifically focused on providing small businesses pandemic relief: The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, both fine-tuned for dairy-business effectiveness via NMPF advocacy. PPP, created in the CARES Act in March 2020, focused on helping small businesses keep their employees on the payroll with forgivable lowinterest business loans. The already existing Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, meanwhile, was retooled to respond to the COVID emergency, with Congress enacting in the CARES Act eligibility standards, advanced grant directives, and other program qualifications specific to the COVID-19 EIDLs. Many in agriculture historically have not been
able to access SBA programs due to eligibility restrictions, but Congress attempted to grant agribusinesses with 500 or fewer employees access to these programs in the CARES Act. Yet, as SBA began rolling out the COVID relief programs, NMPF realized that agency rules and guidance may have prevented dairy from getting the support Congress had intended, in part because of these programs’ fast rollout and SBA’s traditional lack of familiarity with agriculture. Fortunately, NMPF and dairy’s champions in Congress succeeded in a strong and coordinated effort to ensure dairy received its intended support. For example, when opening the EIDL program for COVID-specific loans, SBA initially determined farmers were not eligible, relying on a pre-CARES Act interpretation of eligibility standards. NMPF and other stakeholders quickly joined forces to address what agriculture viewed as a misinterpretation of the CARES Act. Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate Small Business and Agriculture committees shared NMPF’s view that SBA’s interpretation was incorrect, and sent numerous bipartisan messages telling the agency to grant producers access to COVID-EIDLs. NMPF focused on increasing the
issue’s profile on Capitol Hill, building bipartisan support in Congress for resolving the problem. Ultimately, Congress decisively addressed the issue with the enactment of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act in April, which expressly stated agriculture producers were eligible for COVID-specific EIDLs. When SBA reopened the program on May 4, agriculture was the first – and only – industry allowed to submit new applications. Dairy faced different barriers in PPP than in the EIDL program. Initially, confusion abounded as to whether farmer-owned cooperatives could access PPP loans. Shortly thereafter, NMPF and other ag-cooperative organizations received express guidance making clear agricultural coops were eligible, assuming they met the program’s other requirements. Remaining dairy obstacles in PPP revolved around the difficulty rural lenders had accessing PPP funds and rules for calculating loan amounts, which put producers at a disadvantage, sometimes eliminating their ability to qualify for PPP loans altogether.
NMPF worked effectively to address problems in both areas, often taking individual issues or setbacks to Congress, ensuring each were being elevated and producers’ voices were being heard.
Results started rolling in. Farm Credit institutions and community and rural lenders were granted improved access to PPP funds with the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act and the large coronavirus relief package that finally became law Dec. 27. That coronavirus relief package also included key provisions from the Paycheck Protection for Producers Act – bipartisan NMPF-led legislation aimed at addressing an issue important to many producers. As SBA issued guidance on loan application specifics, it became clear that soleproprietor and other self-employed farmers would not receive full access to PPP loans given SBA’s reliance on non-agribusiness specific tax forms and business operations. NMPF raised this problem with SBA and secured bipartisan support in Congress for a solution. The Paycheck Protection for Producers Act was incorporated into the larger December coronavirus relief law, allowing soleproprietor and other self-employed farmers to use their gross income from their Schedule F tax form when applying for a PPP loan, a vast improvement over the problematic net farm profit figure they were required to use before. As 2021 unfolds, the economic landscape for small businesses will continue to shift, and NMPF will continue to bring the voice of the dairy business owner to Congress and the Administration.
ECONOMICS The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the systems through which hundreds of dairy products reach billions of consumers. U.S. dairy products reach U.S. consumers through three basic channels: retail sales, mostly for at-home consumption; food service, such as restaurants; and institutions, such as schools, retirement communities, military facilities and prisons.
The pandemic seriously disrupted normal dairy consumption patterns by at times nearly eliminating food service and institutional consumption, shifting some, but not all, of that consumption to retail. USDA dairy purchases, through the Farmers to Families Food Box and other programs, were ramped up to unusually high levels to meet the twin goals of meeting the soaring demand for food donations by millions of the newly unemployed and replacing some of the lost out-of-home commercial demand. Despite these efforts, total U.S. dairy consumption through all the altered channels was down by 0.7 percent from a year earlier.
Consumption growth that lags milk production gains for an extended period depresses milk prices and creates financial hardship for dairy farmers. From 2011 through 2019, milk production and milk solids production, as measures of total supply placed on the market, increased by average annual percentages of 1.4 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. U.S. dairy exports, which increased by an average of 3.5 percent annually during that period, helped keep supply and demand in balance. Exports aided equilibrium again in 2020, growing by over 12 percent over a year earlier and boosting total dairy consumption growth to 1.1 percent. However, this still fell short of production gains, which increased by 1.9 percent for milk and 2.2 percent for milk solids during this period. Compounding dairy’s challenges in 2020 was unprecedented price volatility that reflected the surges of the pandemic and of government purchases. The year began with milk production growth soaring by 2 percent above a year earlier during 2020’s first three months. Markets and Dairy Margin Coverage Program margins then plunged, responding to the collapse of food service and institutional use in April and May. Dairy cooperatives and their farmer-owners responded quickly by implementing unusually widespread
supply-limiting base-excess programs to quickly curtail milk production growth. These highly successful measures were phased out as marketing channels adjusted and the first major round of food-box purchases took place later in the spring.
per cwt, averaged over all milk production during the year, not counting farm size-based payment limitations. NMPF was essential to securing the more than $5 billion of federal benefits dairy farmers received during a very difficult year.
Food-service sales began recovering in the early summer months, as the first wave of coronavirus infections passed and restrictions were relaxed. Milk prices, driven by cheese prices boosted by USDA purchases and recovering food service, peaked first in July and then again in November, during a second wave of food box purchases. Foodservice use suffered again during the fall, as the pandemic’s second major wave of infections grew.
That blessing was not without unintended hiccups. The unusually uneven pattern of government purchases and demand spikes created a correspondingly uneven pattern of milk prices in federal milk marketing orders, with cheese price-driven Class III prices being unusually high compared with the other class prices for most of the second half of the year.
Monthly Dairy Margin Coverage Margins, 2020
The boom-and-bust pattern caused Class I prices to fall much lower, by an average of $3.56 per cwt during July through December, than they would have been as a result of a change in the Class I mover formula made in 2019. This reduced federal order pool revenues, harming producers throughout the country. Unusual alignments in dairy pricing also resulted in large negative producer price differentials (PPDs), averaging a negative $5.04/cwt during June through November. Prior to this, PPDs averaged plus $0.74/ cwt and never exceeded negative $2.07 per cwt, going back to 2010. Negative PPDs indicate that Class III prices exceed the average of the other federal order class prices, creating incentives for Class III handlers to depool milk, which lowers blend prices for milk that remains pooled. Class III utilization percentages in all orders averaged 32.7 percent during January through May last year, then dropped to an average of 14.4 percent during June through November before recovering partially to 21.9 percent in December. Producers normally pooled together in the same order experienced significant differences in prices between pooled and unpooled groups.
Despite the challenging imbalance of supply over demand during 2020, most milk production growth took place in the first and fourth quarters and was just 1.2 percent year-over-year during the second and third quarters. Significantly stronger exports, coupled with similarly higher USDA purchases and higher retail sales, kept U.S. milk prices for the year to within 30 cents of 2019’s annual average of $18.60 per cwt. Payments were triggered for the highest, These federal order disruptions have led NMPF $9.50 per cwt, coverage level under the Dairy and its member cooperatives to examine options to Margin Coverage program in only five months and restore stability in milk pricing. were significant in just two, April and May. But direct payments under CFAP amounted to $2.46
TRADE POLICY
Continuously working to expand exports of U.S. dairy, 2020 trade efforts focused on ensuring that America’s dairy producers maximized U.S. trade agreements and pressed for high-quality trade negotiations while partnering with the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) to help keep markets open to U.S. dairy products worldwide. NMPF closely collaborates with USDEC to evaluate emerging challenges, dismantle trade barriers, expand market access and strengthen America’s position as a reliable trade partner.
Dairy Works to Ensure USMCA Follow-Through The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a landmark trade deal with positive implications for dairy, officially took effect July 1. NMPF monitored Mexican and Canadian actions throughout the year and actively engaged officials to ensure that Canada and Mexico live up to their commitments. With Canada, NMPF’s persistence with the administration and cultivation of congressional champions paid off when the U.S. Trade Representative announced on Dec. 9 it was initiating official USMCA consultations with Canada over how they are administering dairy Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQ) pledged under USMCA. Meanwhile, NMPF, working in close cooperation with USDEC, kept a
careful eye on Canada’s milk-pricing commitments under USMCA. USMCA’s passage also reaffirmed access to the largest U.S. dairy-export market, Mexico; still, trading conditions remained contentious as Mexico has made several regulatory changes negative to U.S.-Mexico dairy trade, such as a decision to abruptly require new nutrition labeling for all products rather than only consumer-ready ones. That move led NMPF and USDEC to step up engagement with Mexico and U.S. officials to address the technical challenges, which were quickly rolled back.
NMPF, USDEC Help Achieve Improved Access to China The U.S.-China Phase One trade agreement implemented on Feb. 15, 2020, made important progress on nontariff barriers raised by NMPF with administration officials, including: tackling facility and product registration that have stymied firms seeking to export to China for several years; paving the pathway for fluid-milk exports to China; and creating new due-process obligations on geographical indications and common food names. The deal also includes a Chinese pledge to increase purchases of U.S. agricultural goods, including dairy, by $32 billion in 2020 and 2021.
Once the agreement was signed and implemented, NMPF actively worked with U.S. trade officials to ensure China implemented the provisions boosting dairy sales to China. While China did fix most of its unwarranted, non-tariff barriers, retaliatory tariffs still weigh heavily on U.S. dairy exports. NMPF and USDEC successfully worked with government and industry partners in China to secure a retaliatory tariff waiver on whey permeate for feed uses for another year in September. NMPF also has outlined to the U.S. government the case for wider dairy retaliatory tariff relief.
CONNECTICUT FARMER AND AGRI-MARK MEMBER JAMES “CRICKET” JACQUIER TESTIFIES BEFORE THE HOUSE AG COMMITTEE’S SUBCOMMITTEE ON LIVESTOCK AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURE MARCH 10, 2020
Trade Efforts Keep Export Doors Open Around the World NMPF and USDEC in 2020 promoted science-based regulations and policies and found creative solutions to enhance export opportunities, combating the broad range of non-tariff barriers that can put at risk U.S. dairy exports. The work spans a wide range of areas and markets; a few examples included: • Building allies to help head off problems in international forums before they plant roots. NMPF continued its partnerships in Latin America with FEPALE, the Pan-American Dairy Federation, and with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, holding virtual events with each. • Working to help promote revisions on how USDA and FDA work together to tackle non-tariff dairy trade problems, addressing the increased challenges U.S. products face in overseas markets as its exports have risen. Years of effort in that area culminated in October in a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by USDA and FDA to establish an updated interagency process to further support exports of U.S. dairy products. • Defending U.S. dairy exports to India, one of the world’s most important, and most protected, dairy markets through its high tariffs and unscientific animal feeding requirements. For many years, U.S. exporters have been able to sell select lactose and high-protein whey products despite these barriers; beginning in March, India’s government
implemented an unannounced policy change to require its dairy import certificate for these products, stranding dozens of shipments at Indian ports. NMPF and USDEC worked alongside USTR and USDA to secure the release of the shipments and continued to advocate for a longerterm solution to industry access challenges. • Pressing aggressively to preserve access to the EU market. The EU in June proposed new certification requirements for all imported dairy products, which could have curbed U.S. dairy exports. NMPF worked closely with USDEC to ensure that the problems with these new requirements were clearly outlined to both the U.S. and EU governments. That work continues into 2021, given a mid-2021 implementation date for the new requirements. NMPF’s trade policy team closed 2020 by laying critical groundwork to ensure that the Biden Administration is up to speed on the priority trade issues facing America’s dairy farmers and farmerowned cooperatives. NMPF’s work this year is focused on working closely with the new U.S. trade team to advance those priorities.
Collaboration Protects Common Terms Working through the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) and in concert with USDEC, NMPF continues to lead opposition to European Union (EU) attempts to ban U.S. dairy producers from using common terms for cheeses and limit market opportunities for U.S. dairy manufacturers and exporters. That work secured tremendous support from Congress in 2020, with 61 Senators and 111 House members urging USTR and USDA to combat the misuse of geographical indications and make defending common food and wine terms a core policy objective in all current and future trade discussions and negotiations. This complemented other steps forward that included key improvement to U.S. procedures for dealing with GI applications and important legal wins for generic term users both in the U.S. and abroad.
NMPF’S SHAWNA MORRIS TESTIFIES AT USTR SPECIAL 301 HEARING
FEBRUARY 26, 2020
NMPF Pursues a More Level Global Playing Field As U.S. competitors plow ahead with trade agreements, lowering tariffs on U.S. exports is becoming an increasingly urgent dairy challenge. NMPF is taking every opportunity to promote a more aggressive U.S. trade-agreement agenda and maximize near-term opportunities – both via freetrade agreements and other mechanisms.
NMPF and USDEC also worked with Vietnam’s government to lower its tariffs on dairy products with the support of USTR and USDA, encouraging sales in that key, growing market. Vietnam announced in May it would reduce tariffs on imports of milk powders, cheeses, infant formula, and other dairy ingredients.
NMPF in 2020 engaged with the administration, Congress, and the British Embassy to advance U.S. dairy in U.S.-U.K. negotiations on market access, non-tariff barriers and the free use of common food names. NMPF also submitted comments to USTR and the International Trade Commission outlining dairy priorities for the U.S.-Kenya trade agreement negotiating objectives to help get the template for future African trade deals set correctly. In addition, NMPF ramped up outreach to the Biden Administration and Congress on the importance of entering into new trade agreements with other key countries, including those in southeast Asia, and a broader agreement with Japan.
The trade policy team also continued to successfully make the case for using WTO-approved U.S. retaliatory tariffs against EU cheese exports to keep up the heat on the EU to comply with its WTO obligations and to take steps to address the gaping dairy trade deficit of more than $1 billion annually the U.S. has with Europe. In response, USTR maintained its focus on EU cheeses, particularly those products U.S. cheesemakers are banned from exporting to the EU such as parmesan and asiago.
CWT Program Assists Member Cooperatives with Export Sales of 116 Million Pounds of Dairy Products With the COVID-19 pandemic roiling domestic dairy markets, exports became even more important in marketing U.S. dairy farmer milk in 2020. With the assistance of Cooperatives Working Together (CWT), member cooperatives captured sales contracts totaling 115.9 million pounds of dairy products in 2020. Cheese, butter, whole milk powder, cream cheese and anhydrous milkfat (AMF) is going to customers in 30 different countries in six regions of the world, moving the equivalent of 1.2 billion pounds of milk overseas. CWT staff analyzed the 881 requests for assistance member cooperatives submitted during the year. The offers of assistance made on these requests resulted in 623 being accepted. The assistance provided helped members secure 331 export sales contracts for 35.7 million pounds of Cheddar, Gouda, and Monterey Jack cheese, 78 sales contracts for 14.8 million pounds of butter (82 percent milkfat), 10 sales contracts for 2.8 million pounds of AMF, 107 sales contracts for 7.3 million pounds of cream cheese, and 100 contracts for 55.4 million pounds of whole milk powder. Asia accounted for 74 percent of the cheese sales. The Middle East was the primary destination for
butter and AMF sales, receiving 60 percent of each product. South America accounted for 73 percent of whole milk powder sales, and Asia received 93 percent of the cream cheese contracts. By focusing the assistance CWT provides on products with the most export market growth potential, CWT can most directly impact dairy farmers’ milk prices. Assisting member cooperatives in making export sales removed that product from the domestic market, thus helping improve the supply-demand balance. Cooperatives Working Together benefits all U.S. dairy farmers and dairy cooperatives by helping to grow U.S. dairy-product exports and helping member cooperatives compete in export markets. CWT will continue its efforts on behalf of dairy farmers to increase the export assistance program’s effectiveness through improvements designed to increase innovation, better address challenges in the current and future world market environment and through continuing collaboration with related dairy producer export efforts of the U.S. Dairy Export Council and Dairy Management, Inc.
REGULATORY AFFAIRS Dietary Guidelines Reaffirm Dairy’s Nutritional Benefits The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines released by USDA and Health and Human Services (HHS) on Dec. 29 reaffirmed dairy’s central role as a provider of essential nutrients that are often under-consumed in the American diet. Highlights include: • A recommendation of three servings of dairy in the Healthy U.S. Eating and Healthy Vegetarian Eating patterns, in keeping with past guidelines and dairy’s continued recognition as a distinct food group; • A recognition that Americans aren’t consuming enough dairy to meet their nutritional needs; • Dairy’s reaffirmation as a source of four nutrients of public health concern, including potassium, calcium, and vitamin D, as well as iodine for pregnant women. And; • In the first ever infant and toddler dietary
pattern recommendations, yogurt and cheese were recommended as complementary foods for infants 6 months of age and older, and 1.52 servings were recommended in the dietary patterns for toddlers 12-23 months. NMPF worked throughout the entire two-year dietary guidelines process to advocate for dairy’s appropriate place in the guidelines and the inclusion of newer science on full-fat dairy. This included written and oral comments, meetings with USDA staff, congressional support letters and a grassroots campaign using NMPF’s newly activated Advocacy Alerts. NMPF will continue efforts to broaden consideration of the latest science on dairy fats in the next examination of the guidelines, which are released twice each decade.
NMPF’S MIQUELA HANSELMAN PROVIDES COMMENTS ON THE THE 2020 DIETARY GUIDELINES ADVISORY COMMITTEE’S SCIENTIFIC REPORT AUGUST 11, 2020
NMPF, FARM Program Awarded USDA Grant to Advance On-Farm Biosecurity USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in 2020 awarded NMPF $488,603 to develop and improve biosecurity on U.S. dairy farms. NMPF will use the grant to implement and coordinate the Secure Milk Supply plan and develop a biosecurity program area for the National Dairy FARM Program (FARM). Biosecurity is a key element of dairy herd health and keeping the United States’ milk supply safe and without interruption of movement. 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 in-advance planning and preparedness. USDA has funded the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program 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.
Environmental Efforts Advance Net-Zero Initiative The dairy sector in 2020 collectively announced its formal goal for the industry to be carbon-neutral by 2050, with the Net-Zero Initiative (NZI) as its roadmap. The initiative will help U.S. dairy farms of all sizes and geographies implement new technologies, adopt economically viable practices and create new markets and products that present revenue opportunities for the environmental assets they generate. Net-Zero focuses on four areas: feed production and practice changes; cow care and efficiency; on-farm energy efficiency; and manure handling and nutrient management. NMPF has submitted comments to several dockets supporting Net Zero, including the Conservation Stewardship docket (CSP), the Environmental Quality Incentives program (EQIP), and the Regional Conservation Partnership program (RCPP). Such programs will be essential to lower the cost of effective new technologies for farmers. “U.S. dairy producers are looking to be global leaders who are economically viable and
environmentally sustainable while providing the highest-quality animal care,” NMPF wrote in its comments. NMPF also coordinated with Newtrient LLC and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy to submit a series of comments to USDA on the U.S. Agriculture Innovation Agenda (AIA). The USDA goal for AIA is to stimulate innovation so that U.S. agriculture can increase production by 40 percent while halving its environmental footprint by 2050. USDA on Jan. 12, 2021 released the U.S. Agriculture Innovation Strategy Directional Vision for Research summary and dashboard including a section specifically devoted to dairy, which will help to guide future research decisions within USDA. These wide-ranging comments helped USDA put forth a clear and comprehensive research strategy specific for the U.S. dairy industry.
NMPF Leads COVID-19 Food-Chain Efforts NMPF has worked to ensure that the food and agriculture sector continue to be able to operate as close to normal as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic, both within dairy and across the supply chain in general, guided greatly by NMPF Senior Vice President, Clay Detlefsen, who serves as private-sector chair of the Food and Agricultural Sector Coordinating Council through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. These efforts included: • Developing an Essential Food and Agricultural Employee Work Permit Template to be used by food and agriculture employees to be granted permission to travel to and from work; • Developing with food industry professionals a document describing what should be done when an employee or customer tests positive for COVID-19. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reviewed the document before FDA linked it on its websites; • Successfully advocating that food and agriculture workers be prioritized for vaccination; • Working with the federal agencies to ensure flexibilities throughout the pandemic for dairy producers and processors; and • Taking on a leadership role with government and industry stakeholders in solving shortages of cleaners and disinfectants, hand sanitizers and personal protective equipment.
NMPF has worked to ensure that the food and agriculture sector operates as close to normal as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic
Staff Take on Outside Leadership Roles NMPF’s reach and influence on behalf of dairy cooperatives was felt within and beyond dairy worldwide through staffers who hold key positions in food and agriculture. Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs and Staff Counsel Clay Detlefsen is the private-sector chair of the Food and Agricultural Sector Coordinating Council, developed under a presidential directive after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks to maintain secure, functioning, resilient critical infrastructure in the United States. In that role, Detlefsen works across agriculture to address supply-chain issues throughout the country, including initial runs on grocery items including milk in stores during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also successfully advocated for food and agriculture workers to be categorized as essential and prioritized for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Vice President of Sustainability and Scientific Affairs Jamie Jonker was elected Chair of the International Dairy Federation’s (IDF) Science and Program Coordination Committee on Nov. 2. This position is IDF’s second highest-elected position, leading overall management of the more than 150 scientific and technical projects currently being conducted by IDF experts in areas ranging from food safety to animal welfare, economics to sustainability, and everything in between. Jonker has been active in IDF for many years, ensuring alignment between U.S. dairy practices, science and technology and those in other nations. Since 1903, IDF has provided a mechanism for the dairy sector to reach global consensus on how to help feed the world with safe and sustainable dairy products and is a recognized international authority in the development of science-based standards for the dairy sector.
Fake-Milk Fight Expands to FDA Watchdog NMPF staved off a rear-guard effort at FDA to set in stone the improper labeling of imitation dairy products late in 2020, alerting the agency’s ombudsman in an October letter pointing out its role in ensuring that rules are properly enforced. “Allowing unlawfully labeled ‘plant-based’ imitation dairy foods to proliferate poses an immediate and growing risk to public health; it is a clear dereliction of the FDA’s duty to enforce federal law and agency regulations,” wrote NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. The FDA ombudsman, based in the agency commissioner’s office, is a neutral and independent resource for members of FDA-regulated industries when they experience problems with the regulatory process. NMPF’s action helped ensure that efforts among plant-based advocates to create improper policies didn’t succeed, allowing dairy farmers to continue their fight for common-sense solutions on labeling for plantbased products.
FARM PROGRAM FARM Enhances Program Areas The National Dairy FARM Program (FARM) began 2020 by launching Version 4 of its Animal Care program on New Year’s Day. As the FARM Program’s first pillar, Animal Care helps establish and maintain the highest level of science-based animal care standards for the U.S. dairy industry and covers 99 percent of the milk supply. FARM released Version 1 of the FARM Workforce Development evaluation after approval from NMPF’s Board of Directors in March, after completing a pilot and public comment period in 2019. This voluntary evaluation focuses on human resources and safety best practices and was developed in collaboration with the FARM Workforce Development Task Force. The evaluation helps farmers identify which HR and safety practices will be most useful to implement within their operation, track improvement over time, and provide important assurances to the supply chain. FARM also released Version 2 of its Environmental Stewardship (ES) Program, containing important scientific updates and new data inputs including updated crop emissions factors, a breakdown of greenhouse gas emissions by gas type, a metric on the use of nutrient management plans, and the ability to capture the benefits of solid-liquid separation, and solar and wind energy. FARM also released an online training for second-party evaluators for FARM ES. This self-paced training program promotes consistent program implementation and equips evaluators with
the knowledge they need to be successful. Creating new resources and updating existing material was a priority for FARM in 2020. These include: • Euthanasia Decision Tree in English and Spanish • Animal Care Reference Manual, Version 4 • Evaluator Pocket Guide • Body Condition Scoring Guide • FARM Program Participant Handbook • ICare – A Mi Si Me Importa video (Partnership with Elanco, Alltech and Animal Ag Alliance) • Animal Care Participant Overview online modules • Updated & created customizable Excel Daily and Individual Animal Treatment Record Files • 2020 Drug Residue Prevention Manual & Pocket Guide • Workforce Development Evaluation Preparation Guide • Nationwide Labor Survey Report • Updated State Legal Fact Sheets • Environmental Stewardship Evaluation Preparation Guide • Environmental Stewardship Version 2 User Guide; and • FARM ES Data Collection Sheet
FARM Initiatives Evolve to Reflect Dairy’s Needs Responding quickly and effectively to 2020’s unique needs, FARM pivoted to address the needs of all program stakeholders through a mostly virtual environment. In-person FARM evaluations were temporarily suspended in March to uphold U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and maintain the health and safety of everyone involved with on-farm evaluations. Third-party verifications were also temporarily suspended, and all program cycles were extended.
The NMPF/FARM Stakeholder Summit Meeting and the annual Evaluator Conference in July were held online as well. The Summit covered the latest happenings with the FARM Animal Care and Workforce Development Programs and examined other developments in the areas of animal care legislation, antibiotic use, and environmental policy. The Evaluator Conference included a Town Hall and a Training Development & Producer Engagement Panel where industry experts explained various stakeholder’s roles in producer trainings and education in collaboration with FARM.
With no in-person opportunities to connect with evaluators, stakeholders, and farmers, FARM staff shifted communications channels online. Webinars with organizations including the Dairy Welfare Council and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners allowed FARM to reach wider audiences, while engagement partnerships with Zoetis, Alltech and Elanco generated new content. FARM also organized monthly engagement hours to keep in touch with evaluators that provided general program updates, program area information and discussion time.
The FARM Program also held a series of “Quick Convo” online informational sessions that gave farmers opportunities to engage and ask questions about program components, expectations and resources in a quick and digestible format. Each 30-minute, livestreamed segment was hosted on Zoom and streamed via Facebook. The 2020 sessions included a FARM Program overview, a discussion on the farmer’s role within the program, and separate sessions on the Animal Care and Environmental Stewardship Program areas.
International Recognition, Grants and Partnerships Create New Opportunities for FARM Program USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service on July 21 again approved the FARM Animal Care Program’s animal welfare standards, determining that Version 4 meets the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Specification requirements. The ISO standard assessment determines whether animal welfare programs meet international animalcare standards set by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). FARM is the first world’s first animal-care program to successfully complete this stringent process twice.
FARM further partnered with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Beef Quality Assurance Program, the Veal Quality Assurance Program, and the Dairy Calf and Heifer Association to align, develop and disseminate a calf care training and education platform. The Calf Care and Quality Assurance Program’s working group, made up of farmers, veterinarians and calf specialists from industry and academia, guided the development of this program, focused on calf and heifer raisers. FARM developed a program manual as the foundational resource for the program, which will continue to grow through training module and self-assessment tools in 2021.
NMPF Rallies Dairy During Unprecedented Times NMPF was busy the second week of March in 2020. Executive Committee member James “Cricket” Jacquier was testifying before a congressional subcommittee on the benefits of trade, while a member Capitol Hill fly-in highlighted the need for agricultural labor reform. And at NMPF’s March Board of Directors meeting on March 10-11, the organization welcomed Cayuga Marketing, LLC based in Auburn, NY, to its membership. That meeting was NMPF’s last in-person event of the year. As the novel coronavirus swept across the country, upending society and forcing dramatic changes, NMPF also retooled. COVID-19 defined dairy’s challenges, even as dairy refused to be defined by its negative effects. NMPF on March 12 launched its coronavirus webpage, which quickly became the go-to resource for dairy farmers and employers needing answers to fast-moving situations. Informational podcasts featuring NMPF staff and frequent statements from leadership both reassured and led the industry as extreme price volatility prompted collective action and a federal response. Meanwhile, a series of online “toolboxes” connected the dairy community with resources ranging from coronavirus assistance to challenges such as natural disasters and farmer stress. Policy staff worked with members and federal partners to alleviate dairy’s rapidly developing crisis as marketing channels collapsed. Emergency conference calls of NMPF’s Executive Committee provided policy guidance, while NMPF led dairy’s advocacy for measures that included direct assistance to farmers, loan programs benefiting dairy-business owners, and federal purchases that stimulated demand.
REACHING OUT
Throughout the crisis, the FARM team offered resources and guidance on best practices to managing the pandemic, while regulatory experts monitored how government actions translated to the farm. Heading into 2021, the coronavirus pandemic left outlooks uncertain; however, increased vaccine availability gave reason for a hope to a return to a “new normal” by year’s end. “It would be very difficult to exaggerate the extent of the challenges that the dairy industry, and the nation, has faced in the past year – and those challenges are far from over. But it’s also true that the promise of 2021 shouldn’t be underestimated,” wrote NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern in February 2021. “It’s crucial that policymakers share a genuine desire to get beyond present difficulties and hit the ground running.”
Randy Mooney
NMPF Chairman
Marilyn Hershey DMI Chair
Larry Hancock USDEC Chair
Virtual Annual Meeting Highlights Dairy Determination NMPF Chairman Randy Monday and President and CEO Jim Mulhern praised dairy’s resilience 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 the online review. The COVID-19 pandemic’s extreme disruptions were met by industrywide collaboration to protect the financial health of dairy farmers and cooperatives, Mooney told delegates at one of several meeting-related events spread over a twoweek period to meet participant and attendee needs. More than 1,000 people registered for the main two-day session, offered free of charge.
“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, has risen to the challenges of 2020 in his remarks at NMPF’s Oct. 27 Town Hall meeting. “We will get through this, and we’re stronger now
than before,” Mulhern said. The format encompassed all governance activities of the NMPF Board of Directors and Delegates. The general sessions offered perspective on the 2020 elections from political analyst David Wasserman and an assessment of dairy marketing trends from management consultant Peter Sheahan. A dairy farmer leadership panel with farmers representing NMPF, DMI and the U.S. Dairy Export Council reviewed 2020’s lessons. Mulhern’s remarks were followed by presentations from senior NMPF staff, supplemented by more detailed pretaped Town Hall digests of key NMPF issue areas, including economics, government relations, and regulatory and FARM Program updates. All of the meeting’s content was recorded and then posted at the meeting web portal. 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. AMPI won the top award for its Asiago Italian-style cheese.
YC CHAIR JAMES WEBER ADDRESSES BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFF AT NMPF’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MARCH 10, 2020
Young Cooperators Program Provides Remote Opportunities Throughout Challenging Year NMPF’s Young Cooperators (YC) Program expanded its offerings, updated its branding and grew its reach during a difficult 2020. And, for the first time in its 70-year history, NMPF hosted a virtual YC Leadership & Development Program, attracting 137 attendees from 14 cooperatives and 30 states. The program included a panel of industry leaders discussing the value of cooperative membership; a deep dive into factors that influence financially resilient dairy farms; and a conversation about planning for and coping with stress on the farm.
the most significant challenge faced at the local level is recruiting young members and keeping them engaged. The YC Program unveiled a new logo and theme, along with other outreach materials intended to support cooperatives’ recruitment efforts.
In addition to the two-day Leadership & Development Program held in conjunction with NMPF’s virtual Annual Meeting, YCs and cooperative staff were invited to participate in six remote learning opportunities throughout 2020. NMPF tapped staff and member expertise to provide up-and-coming leaders with a better understanding of current issues facing dairy farmers and their cooperatives. Webinar topics included:
• Nathan & Angela Wiese, Vice Chairs, Farm First Dairy Cooperative
Members of NMPF’s YC Advisory Council who provided leadership behind this year’s program included: • James Weber, Chair, Michigan Milk Producers Association
• Tim Christiansen, Second Vice Chair, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc. • Amanda Button, Agri-Mark • Rich & Shelby Holsopple, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association • Micah Jr. & Emily Meyers, Land O’Lakes, Inc.
• Coronavirus and Dairy: Economic Impact and Policy Updates
• Josh Neahring, Tillamook County Cooperative Association
• National Milk Producers Federation 101
• Josh & Katie Sauter, Dairy Farmers of America
• Dairy on the Hill: Policy Outlook and Updates
• Kristopher & Chelsea Scheider, Foremost Farms
• How to Be the Advocate that Your Member of Congress Needs • Farming and the Future Panel NMPF also responded to feedback received from its YC Advisory Council and YC coordinators that
• Jason & Tiffany Staehely, Northwest Dairy Association • Chad & Danielle Voelker, Prairie Farms • Matthew & Kaley Wolf, Dairy Farmers of America
NMPF Awards Three Scholarships NMPF’s Scholarship Committee selected three graduate students to receive awards as part of the 2020 NMPF National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program. These students are conducting research in areas that will ultimately benefit dairy farmers and their cooperatives. Scholarships were awarded to: • Ellen Lai, a PhD candidate in Integrative Genetics and Genomics at the University of California, Davis, whose research focuses on improving production and welfare of Holstein cattle by providing genetic tools to reduce lameness caused by foot warts and sole ulcers.
• Conor McCabe, a MS candidate in Animal Science at Purdue University, studying tissue mobilization in transition dairy cows. • Mateus Peiter, a PhD candidate in Animal Science at the University of Minnesota studying the use of automated technologies to improve animal health and herd management on dairy farms.
Staff Hires Grow Team Four employees joined NMPF in 2020 and early 2021, bringing new perspectives and a wealth of knowledge to the organization.
Kartik Sachdeva joined NMPF as the organization’s Accounts Payable Coordinator
in April. He is responsible for a variety of financial and administrative duties that contribute to the overall efficiency of the office and staff. Kartik is a recent graduate of George Mason University, where he studied accounting and finance.
Leighona Bernstein joined NMPF in July as the Director of Communications for the National Dairy FARM Program. She leads content creation, issues management, and media strategy in this new role. Prior to joining NMPF, Leighona spent over two years as the communications manager for CropLife International.
Stephen Cain joined NMPF in October. Stephen supports NMPF through
economic analysis of both domestic dairy production and global trade in dairy products. Previously, he worked as an agribusiness consultant with IHS Markit where he covered several commodities and specialized in economic impact analysis.
Sage Saffran became the newest NMPF staff member in February 2021 as the
Sustainability Initiatives Coordinator for the FARM program. A recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, she will support the Environmental Stewardship and Workforce Development program area. Immediately prior to joining NMPF, Sage was the Public Policy Intern at the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture.
REAL® Seal Adapts to The Era As people cooked more at home and sought ways to improve their health under the constraints of COVID-19 lockdowns, the REAL® Seal program in 2020 offered nutritious and helpful solutions highlighting the benefits of real dairy foods. NMPF became the REAL Seal symbol’s administrator in 2012 with the goal of remaking it for the social media age, boosting dairy sales and taking on imitation dairy products.
REAL® Seal social-media content appealed to changing consumer expectations about the difference between authentic, wholesome dairy foods and dairy imitators in 2020. The program educated consumers about real dairy’s benefits by drawing comparisons to the dubious aspects of fake dairy foods. It also encouraged consumers to use dairy products in a variety of recipes. Finally, it highlighted the program’s sponsors by creating content through our “Keeping it REAL” brand spotlight program. Engagement and awareness of REAL® Seal brands on social media continued to grow year-over-year, with spotlight features averaging a 13.5 percent engagement rate on Facebook in 2020, four times the industry average. Branded Facebook and Pinterest content combined to generate 959,527 impressions, doubling the previous year’s. Meanwhile, the newly revamped REAL® Seal website had nearly 30,000 pageviews in 2020,
BOARD OF DIRECTORS * Executive Committee Member *
James Jacquier
Craig Edler
Sheryl Meshke
Brian Hardy
Steve Schlangen
Jerrel Heatwole
Tom Beringer
Kent Herman
Brad Anderson
Neil Hoff
William Dyt
Harold Howrigan
Gerben Leyendekker
Jackie Klippenstein
Robert Vandenheuvel
Chris Kraft
Agri-Mark, Inc.
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Associated Milk Producers, Inc.
*
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Associated Milk Producers, Inc.
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Bongards Creameries
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
California Dairies Inc.
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
California Dairies Inc.
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
California Dairies Inc.
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
California Dairies Inc.
*
Simon Vander Woude
*
Randy Mooney, Chairman
Dale Mattoon
*
Doug Nuttelman
California Dairies Inc. Cayuga Marketing
*
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Jimmy Kerr Cooperative Milk Producers Assn.
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Jeff Raney
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Brian Rexing
Sonia Fabian
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Dennis Rodenbaugh
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Lone Star Milk Producers
*
Dan Senestraro
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Michigan Milk Producers Association
*
Case Van Steyn
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
*
*
Allan Huttema
Northwest Dairy Association
John Wilson
Leroy Plagerman
Scot Meyer
Stan Ryan
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Jeff Lyon
FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative
Northwest Dairy Association Northwest Dairy Association
*
Joe Becker Dave Kyle
Foremost Farms USA
Tony Graves
Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.
Tom Pittman
First District Association
Premier Milk, Inc.
*
Mike McCloskey, Second Vice Chairman Select Milk Producers, Inc.
David Scheevel, Treasurer
Jonathan Vander Dussen
Joey Fernandes
Mike Visser
Pete Kappelman
Joe Wright
Foremost Farms USA
Select Milk Producers, Inc.
Land O’Lakes, Inc.
*
Michigan Milk Producers Association Mount Joy Farmers Co-Op
Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery
*
Ken Nobis, First Vice Chairman Gib Martin
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Greg Wickham
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers
Joe Diglio
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Rick Smith
Jay Bryant
Select Milk Producers, Inc.
Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Levi Ransom
Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Dan Siemers
Land O’Lakes, Inc.
Southeast Milk Producers, Inc.
*
Keith Murfield, Secretary
United Dairymen of Arizona
Larry Webster
Upstate Niagara Cooperatives, Inc.
STAFF Jim Mulhern
Jamie Jonker
Nicole Ayache
Louise Kamali
Tom Balmer
Tyler Knapp
Leighona Bernstein
Claudia Larson
Alan Bjerga
Gail Mobley
Paul Bleiberg
Shawna Morris
Charlene Boulden
Tony Rice
Stephen Cain
Kartik Sachdeva
Jaime Castaneda
Sage Saffran
President & Chief Executive Officer Senior Director, Sustainability Initiatives Executive Vice President Director, FARM Program Communications Senior Vice President, Communications Senior Vice President, Government Relations Executive Assistant to the President & CEO Economic Analyst Senior Vice President, Policy Strategy & International Trade
Clay Detlefsen
Senior Vice President, Regulatory & Environmental Affairs
Chris Galen
Vice President, Sustainability & Scientific Affairs Senior Director, Meetings & Office Services Manager of Information Systems, FARM Program Senior Director, Government Relations Senior Director, Finance & Administration Vice President, Trade Policy Manager, Trade Policy Coordinator, Accounts Payable Coordinator, Sustainability Initiatives
Emily Yeiser Stepp
Vice President, FARM Animal Care
Theresa Sweeney-Murphy Manager, Communications
Senior Vice President, Membership Services & Strategic Initiatives
Lorena Tatusko
Khadija Gibson-White
Peter Vitaliano
Miquela Hanselman
Bobby Yi
Program Manager, CWT Manager, Regulatory Affairs
Office Assistant
Vice President, Economic Policy & Market Research Senior Director, Information Technology
National Milk Producers Federation 2107 Wilson Blvd., Suite 600 Arlington, VA 22201 Phone: (703) 243-6111