2024 NMPF Annual Report

Annual Repor t

About Us

Established in 1916 and based in Arlington, Virginia, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) carries out policies that advance the well-being of dairy farmers 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 farmers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

For more than 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.

Letter from the President and CEO

In 2023, leadership defined NMPF.

Guided by the unanimous support of our member cooperatives, we led the industry through a challenging hearing on the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. We also led advocacy for improvements in the Dairy Margin Coverage program, successfully pushed against EPA overreach on emissions, and gained ground in the fight against FDA guidance on plant-based beverage labels.

These challenges continue in 2024, and we continue to fight. It’s the nature of Washington that nothing is ever truly “won,” because as soon as a victory is achieved, a competing interest analyzes the outcome and quickly creates a strategy to roll it back. But over time, through effective advocacy and diligent attention to the interests of dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own, we at the National Milk Producers Federation have established a track record of success that’s the envy of the ag-policy community. That’s through leadership. That’s what we do.

We at the National Milk Producers Federation have established a record of accomplishment that’s the envy of the ag-policy community. That’s through leadership. That’s what we do.

GREGG DOUD, NMPF President and CEO

I am honored to take the reins this year with an organization that was ably led for the past decade by Jim Mulhern. This is the first NMPF Activities & Accomplishments report presented under my leadership, and I couldn’t be more proud of the staff and farmer leadership that makes this organization go. I am proud of the work we do, and I hope these pages will provide you with just a few of the many reasons why.

GREGG DOUD President and CEO, NMPF

GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

Progress on Farm Bill and Nutrition

Won permanent inclusion of Supplemental DMC in one-year extension of Dairy Margin Coverage program.

Helped secure overwhelming House vote to approve returning 2% and whole milk to school meal programs.

Assisted House ag labor working group in developing its ag workforce report and recommendations.

Advanced legislation to spur approval of innovative products that help reduce enteric methane emissions.

Secured more than $90 million in USDA voluntary conservation funding.

NMPF’s 2023 government relations work focused on the upcoming five-year farm bill while advancing nutrition and sustainability policy and pointing the way toward further progress on ag labor reform.

Farm Bill on the Horizon

Agricultural stakeholders were prepared for 2023 to be the year of a new farm bill. The current law instead was extended for one year after extensive preparatory work.

NMPF’s groundwork paid off. NMPF’s Board of Directors voted on June 7 to build on the organization’s successes in the 2018 farm bill that overhauled the dairy safety net and gave producers broader access to a range of risk management tools. The plan supports changing the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program’s production history calculation to better reflect current production. NMPF also is seeking to restore the previous “higher of” Class I mover

formula and language to direct USDA to conduct mandatory plant cost studies every two years as part of its Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization efforts. One goal has already been met via the extension created in November, when the Supplemental DMC program, enacted in 2020 to provide farmers a partial production history update, was folded into the underlying DMC safety net. This important fix merges these two programs into one, providing certainty that the dairy industry will not have seek separate extensions in future years.

Whole Milk Bill Gains Overwhelming Support

NMPF’s years of effort to expand dairy access in school meal programs paid off in December via a commanding 330–99 House vote to approve the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act. This bipartisan bill, led by Agriculture Committee Chair G.T.

NMPF ORGANIZED AND LED 58 DAIRY ORGANIZATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE WHOLE MILK FOR HEALTHY KIDS ACT

Left: New York dairy farmer Blake Gendebien, an Agri-Mark member, joined a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.

330–99

Thompson, R-PA, and Rep. Kim Schrier, D-WA, would allow schools to serve 2% and whole milk in meal programs in addition to the skim and 1% varieties currently allowed.

NMPF built broad bipartisan support for the measure, including organizing a letter from 58 dairy organizations to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce urging the committee to advance the bill. NMPF’s focus is now on the Senate, where its version of the bill led by Sens. Roger Marshall, R-KS, and Peter Welch, D-VT, also has bipartisan support.

The whole milk win underscored NMPF gains via its coordinated

legislative and regulatory approach toward advancing nutrition policy. While whole milk gained traction in Congress, support for dairy’s benefits in all its compositions also made progress before federal agencies, ranging from USDA programs to the drafting of updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans due in 2025.

NMPF engaged members of Congress to call on USDA to protect dairy in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and in school meals. Beginning in March 2023 and continuing through the summer, NMPF staff helped organize five bipartisan messages sent from

lawmakers to the department that explained the vital importance of dairy’s nutrients for the life stages covered by WIC, urged USDA not to reduce the amount of dairy that participants can access through the program and called on the department to keep allowing flavored milk in schools as a means to offer the nutrients they need to grow and thrive. The letters were accompanied by multiple USDA meetings to discuss technical or specialized information beyond its submitted comments.

Bipartisan House vote to approve the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act

House Agriculture Committee members toured Alliance Dairies, a Dairy Farmers of America member, in Trenton, Florida.

Advancing Ag Labor

NMPF continues to advance dairy’s workforce needs, assisting the House Agriculture Committee’s bipartisan ag labor working group as it makes recommendations to improve the H-2A ag guestworker program. NMPF first presented to the panel’s members dairy’s workforce needs and the historical legal explanation for why dairy cannot access H-2A; it then served as the industry policy resource for the working group as it worked on its interim report, providing members and their staff additional information and insights. The bipartisan interim report made a compelling case for allowing dairy and other year-round sectors to access the program.

NMPF will continue working with the House ag labor working group as it drafts its final report with reform recommendations, expected to be released in the first half of this year.

Navigating Toward Net Zero

NMPF reinforced its efforts to secure wins for dairy farmers as they continue to work with a goal of becoming greenhouse gas neutral or better by 2050.

NMPF partnered with Sens. Roger Marshall, R-KS, and Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, to advance legislation enabling the Food and Drug Administration to review animal feed ingredients as food, not as drugs, which would help unlock animal feed ingredients to reduce enteric methane emissions by as much as 30 percent, a key tool in dairy’s sustainability efforts once approved

for use. The Senate HELP Committee passed the measure last June, by a vote of 19–2. NMPF in December worked with Reps. Greg Pence, R-IN, and Kim Schrier, D-WA, to introduce a companion measure in the House, adding momentum for its enactment.

Once enteric-reducing feed additives are approved, dairy farmers will need resources and support as they begin using the products. NMPF worked successfully with USDA to secure for the dairy industry more than $90 million under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program to help make this possible. The projects awarded to NMPF member cooperatives and partners under the program will help dairy producers nationwide in this effort.

$90 million

SECURED FOR THE DAIRY INDUSTRY UNDER THE REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

Senate Agriculture Committee member Sen. Tina Smith, D-MN, visited Bombay Dairy, where she spoke with owner Wayne Lexvold, a First District Association member-owner.

ECONOMICS

Leadership Toward Improved Federal Orders

Defined and led industry discussion of generational modernization of the Federal Milk Marketing Order system.

Supported more than 107.7 million lbs. of dairy exports in 2023, with a milk equivalent of 922.1 million lbs. through the Cooperatives Working Together program.

Offered expert insight into U.S. and global dairy markets to members, farmers and staff through a full suite of industry-serving, market intelligence publications, as well as conference presentations and media outreach.

NMPF economics staff led a once-ageneration effort to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO) system while providing timely and insightful analysis to its members.

FMMO Hearing Sets Record

NMPF economics staff work in 2023 and early 2024 was dominated by the first comprehensive hearing on FMMO pricing formulas since 2000, a USDA effort that simply would not be happening without NMPF’s leadership.

More than two years of NMPF study, discussion, and leadership, featuring more than 200 meetings and exhaustive, member-led examination of all issues that culminated with unanimous support from NMPF’s board, was followed by the organization’s leadership in the FMMO hearing that lasted from August through January.

The five parts of the proposal heard at the hearing are:

• Updating the milk composition factors in the skim milk price formulas

• Discontinuing use of barrel cheese in the protein component price formula

• Making interim increases in the make allowances in the component price formulas, pending USDA conducting mandatory, audited cost studies under authority being sought in the upcoming Farm Bill

• Returning to the “higher-of” Class I mover

• Updating the Class I differential pricing surface

The hearing itself was held in three stages in Carmel and Zionsville, IN. NMPF’s effort was organized and directed by marketing order expert Jim Sleper and anchored by economist Dr. Peter Vitaliano, who introduced each NMPF proposal at the hearing and held the informal record for the most time on the stand—more than 20 hours. Meanwhile,

108 million pounds

OF DAIRY EXPORTS SUPPORTED BY THE CWT PROGRAM IN 2023

Left: Frank Doll,

a Prairie Farms member-owner, with his family on their Illinois dairy farm.

NMPF staff, the FMMO modernization task force of economists and marketing experts from member cooperatives, and NMPF’s attorneys worked together to present NMPF’s positions and justifications, often enduring withering cross-examination, mostly by lawyers representing vested processor interests.

NMPF’s package is a balanced mix of changes designed to correct the growing gap between the current dynamic dairy industry and the turn-

of-the-century conditions locked into the current pricing formulas. Processor interests adamantly dismissed, often with little or no basis, NMPF arguments that this growing disconnect has created increasingly disorderly marketing conditions, threatening the basic functioning of the orders, instead offering proposals that opposed anything perceived as raising farmer prices and supported everything perceived as reducing prices for farmers and enriching processors.

With the hearing’s conclusion, 2024’s next step is to develop and submit a lengthy and detailed briefing document summarizing the elements of the hearing record that support NMPF’s positions as well as its opposition to those proposals by others, which will be followed by USDA’s recommendations and ultimately, a farmer, vote, which may occur early next year.

meetings led to unanimous board support for NMPF’s proposal

Colorado dairy farmer Chris Kraft, a DFA member-owner, participated in the FMMO hearing.

USDA’s decision is likely to shape the future of dairy for the next generation. We are excited to continue our leadership in this critical area, and will fight for the best approaches to ensure that dairy farms prosper.

GREGG DOUD PRESIDENT AND CEO OF NMPF

NMPF Thanks You

On behalf of dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own, NMPF would like to thank everyone who has helped develop and advocate for our proposals to modernize the FMMO system. Your leadership and expertise have been critical to building a better dairy industry and improving farmer prosperity. While this list doesn’t include everyone important to the NMPF plan’s eventual success, by spotlighting those who testified at the hearing and worked on the task forces that developed our plan, we can show just how wide-ranging and comprehensive this effort has been. Your work is inspiring, and it will guide us through the next year as we work to make NMPF’s proposals the bedrock of milk pricing.

Craig Alexander, Upstate Niagara

Clara Ayer, Agri-Mark

Tom Bellavance, DFA

Tom Beringer, Bongards Creameries

Joe Brinker, DFA

Dr. Scott Brown, University of Missouri

Brent Butcher, United Dairymen of Arizona (UDA)

Robert Chesler, UDA

Sean Cornelius, DFA

Calvin Covington, Southeast Milk Inc. (SMI)

Paul Bauer, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery

Jeff Bushey, Nietzke Faupel

Travis Campsey, Lone Star Milk Producers

Doug Chapin, MMPA

Catherine deRonde, Agri-Mark

Frank Doll, Prairie Farms

Sara Dorland, Ceres Dairy Risk Management LLC

Emma Downing Reynolds, DFA

Christian Edmiston, Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Dr. Eric Erba, DFA

Jared Fernandes, Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Ed Gallagher, DFA

Blake Gendebien, Agri-Mark

Marty Hallock, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery

Darin Hanson, Foremost Farms USA

Brian Hemann, Lone Star Milk Producers

Bryan Henrichs, Prairie Farms

Mike Herting, DFA

Evan Hillan, Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Johnny Hiramoto, DFA

Chris Hoeger, Prairie Farms

Matt Hoff, Maryland & Virginia

Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA)

Neil Hoff, DFA

Foremost Farms USA’s Darin Hanson testified at the FMMO hearing.

Cricket Jacquier, Agri-Mark

Hunter Jensen, J.D. Heiskell & Co.

Mike John, MDVA

Matt Johnson, DFA

Dr. Harry Kaiser, Cornell University

John Kang, DFA

Dr. Stephen Koontz, Colorado State University

Leland Kootstra, Frasier, LLP

Chris Kraft, DFA

Jodi Smith Krzysiak, Upstate Niagara

Jennifer Lawrence, DFA

Gerben Leyendekker, CDI

Jeff Lyons, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative

Dr. Chuck Nicholson, University of Wisconsin

Brittany Nickerson-Thurlow, SMI

Ken Nobis, MMPA

Eric Palla, DFA

Brad Parks, MMPA

Rick Podtburg, DFA

David Pool, MDVA

Carl Rasch, MMPA

Brian Rexing, DFA

Skylar Ryll, DFA

Monty Schilter, NDA

Kris Scheider, Foremost Farms

Somula Schwoeppe, Prairie Farms

Jeff Sims, Lone Star Milk Producers

Kristine Spadgenske, DFA

Steve Stout, DFA

Perry Tjaarda, DFA

Sietse Tollenaar, DFA

NMPF’s team and legal counsel participated in the entirety of the Federal Order hearing.

Dr. Mike Van Amburgh, Cornell University

Rob Vandenheuvel, CDI

Simon Vander Woude, CDI

Karl Wedemeyer, DFA

Tom Wegner, Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Scott Werme, Agri-Mark

Mike Wolkow, Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI)

Paul Windemuller, DFA

Dr. Chris Wolf, Cornell University

Steve Zalar, DFA

12,000

PAGES OF TESTIMONY WERE PRODUCED BY THE LONGEST-EVER USDA FEDERAL ORDER HEARING

REPORTS AND MARKET INTELLIGENCE PUBLICATIONS AND 70 PRESENTATIONS TO INDUSTRY AUDIENCES

Economics Unit

De-Mystifies Dairy

While leading FMMO modernization— arguably the most important task in today’s dairy industry—and preparing for renewing CWT, the joint economics unit NMPF formed with the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) in its first full year also provided best-in-class insight and perspectives on dairy market conditions both at home and around the world.

The team published more than 65 reports and market intelligence publications for NMPF members and delivered more than 70 presentations to industry audiences.

CWT Heads Toward Renewal

Despite weak international demand in 2023, the Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) program helped support the industry through assisting export sales. Without CWT helping members win export sales, last year would have seen additional product overhang in the domestic market.

2024 is a renewal year for CWT, and continuing the program’s work to benefit the entire industry is key.

CWT member cooperatives in 2023 secured 553 contracts, representing 58.4 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 1.1 million pounds of butter, 46,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 39 million pounds of whole milk powder and 9.1 million pounds of cream cheese. In milk equivalent, this is equal to 922.1 million pounds on a milkfat basis.

Other than cheese, all CWT-supported products increased in sales volumes in 2023. Notably, CWT assisted butter sales rose 73 percent and whole milk powder gained 27 percent. CWT supported sales also reached more countries than the year before—helping more consumers around the world access high-quality, U.S. dairy products.

NMPF leaders and CWT member co-ops began discussing innovative

ideas for where the program could expand support moving forward—all with the aim of moving more domestic dairy products overseas and expanding market access for American-made dairy goods.

Cheese was the top product supported by CWT in 2023.

COOPERATIVES WORKING TOGETHER 2023 IN REVIEW

553 bids accepted by CWT

24 country destinations

992.1 million pounds Milk Equivalent Supported

2023 COMMITTED PRODUCT VOLUME (’000 LBS)

5 continents received CWT supported exports

CHEESE BUTTER AMF

58,389

WMP CREAM CHEESE

39,031

9,134

1,140

46

ASIA

46.9 million pounds

TOP THREE REGIONS BY PRODUCT VOLUME

SOUTH AMERICA

37.6 million pounds

MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AMERICA

13.1 million pounds

REGULATORY AFFAIRS

Pushing Back on Anti-Dairy Efforts

Successfully pushed EPA to hold off on ending the exemption for farm air emissions under the EPCRA regulation.

Filed extensive comments on plant-based milk alternative labeling guidance and filed a Freedom of Information Act request to push FDA toward transparency.

Successfully represented dairy farmer needs at the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments.

NMPF’s regulatory team in 2023 responded to challenges ranging from environmental regulation to beverage labeling while ensuring dairy farmers are well-represented in all regulatory discussions facing the industry.

EPA Backs Off on Emissions

NMPF’s regulatory staff gained a years-earned win in November when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided to solicit information on a proposed end to an exemption from reporting ammonia and hydrogen sulfide air emissions from manure under the Emergency Planning CommunityRight-to-Know Act (EPCRA) rather than to simply overturn that exemption. The advanced notice of proposed rulemaking all but ensures that the Biden Administration will not overturn the exemption, which benefits dairy, before the end of the presidential term that ends in 2025.

NMPF and animal agriculture groups since 2019 have worked with EPA to promulgate the EPCRA exemption after

securing a congressional exemption under the FARM Act in March 2018 for the same type of reporting under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). EPCRA and CERCLA are separate but interrelated environmental statutes. Both exemptions remain in place today, but while the CERCLA exemption would require congressional action, EPA retains the authority to overturn the EPCRA exemption.

FDA Acknowledges Plant-Based Flaws

FDA in 2023 released a proposed definition for healthy; proposed guidance on plantbased milk alternatives; and researched what front-of-pack labeling would look like. NMPF has been vocal on each issue. NMPF submitted extensive comments July 30 to FDA on draft guidance on plantbased beverages, offering a balanced tone appreciating the agency’s acknowledgment of the public health concern regarding nutritional confusion but emphasizing

150

MORE THAN 150 ADVOCATES SUBMITTED COMMENTS TO FDA SUPPORTING PROPER MILK LABELING VIA AN NMPF CALL TO ACTION

Left: An employee at Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery’s dairy processing plant.

the guidance’s failure to end the decades-old problem of misleading plant-based labeling using dairy terminology. As the leading voice of American dairy producers, NMPF emphasized the importance of transparent product labeling to ensure consumer understanding and informed purchasing decisions and urged FDA to take prompt enforcement action against misbranded non-dairy beverages that resemble milk.

NMPF’s comments outline a solution to the misleading labeling practices existing in the marketplace today, and provide clear, truthful labeling options for marketers of plant-based beverages. Accompanying the comments has

been a consistent media drumbeat on the inadequacy of both plant-based and lab-based dairy alternatives, a task made easier by recent declines in plant-based beverage sales as consumers turn away from inferior imitations.

Food Safety Leadership

Through NCIMS

NMPF successfully advocated on behalf of dairy farmers at the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS), ensuring that any changes would be neutral or favorable for members.

Dairy stakeholders met in Indianapolis to address 72 proposals submitted to revise the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO) and its related documents with 40 of those proposals being accepted. Each NMPF-submitted proposal achieved a positive outcome. FDA announced its plan to go through all the Memoranda of Information (M-I) issued and determine which meets the M-I definition and which does not. This issue snowballed after an inquiry from NMPF on behalf of a member regarding an M-I which said a Grade A milk plant had to be delisted from the Interstate Milk Shipments program when ownership transferred

Milk samples from a United Dairymen of Arizona plant.

72 proposals submitted to revise the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance

until it was reinspected. NMPF wrote to FDA asserting the agency had not legal authority to delist the plant. FDA’s legal department agreed and has ordered all M-I’s to be reviewed; a number of them have already been revoked.

Clay Detlefsen, senior vice president and staff counsel, also joined the U.S. Dairy Innovation Center’s Food Safety Operating Committee to represent member needs and keep a pulse on what is happening in the greater industry.

Demonstrating Global Influence on Animal Health

NMPF’s Chief Science Officer, Dr. Jamie Jonker, has been appointed to the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) established in November 2020 following the recommendation of the Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance to strengthen global political momentum and leadership on AMR.

The group collaborates globally with governments, agencies, civil society and the private sector through a One Health for all species approach to advocate for prioritized actions for the mitigation of drug resistant infections through responsible and sustainable access to and use of antimicrobials. The leaders’ group is administered by the Quadripartite Joint Secretariat on Antimicrobial Resistance, a joint effort by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Environment Program, The World Health Organization, and the World Organization for Animal Health.

Jonker participated in several virtual and in-person international forums with AMR experts, building toward the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR this September.

Residues Continue Decline

NMPF’s leadership in antibiotic use and residue testing through the veterinary oversight standards in

the FARM Animal Care Program and long-term commitment to the residue testing requirements in the PMO continue to pay dividends.

<0.001%

MILK TANKERS YIELDED A POSITIVE RESULT WHEN TESTED FOR ANTIBIOTIC RESIDUES, INDICATING INCREASING MILK QUALITY

Less than seven-hundredths of one percent tested positive for antibiotic residues last year, according to the 2023 National Milk Drug Residue Database annual report released on Dec. 15 by FDA. The data illustrates the continued long-term national pattern of improvements in milk quality practices. Of the approximately 3.3 million milk pickup tankers tested in the past year, only 238 (0.001%) yielded a positive result. The number of samples tested (tankers, packaged products, producer samples) and reported positive decreased from 424 in 2022 to 345 in 2023; no pasteurized packaged dairy products out of 28,842 tested were found to have an antibiotic residue.

NMPF’s Dr. Jamie Jonker speaks at the first G20 Symposium on Sustainable Livestock in Anand, India.

TRADE POLICY

Trade Strengthens U.S. Dairy Worldwide

Fought to safeguard export sales access to markets around the globe by addressing and preventing trade barriers in key markets.

Formed and deepened alliances with eight dairy and agricultural organizations worldwide to oppose anti-trade and anti-dairy policy proposals.

Guaranteed the right to use the common name “gruyere” in the U.S. market and prompted Congress to introduce the SAVE Act to secure market access for U.S. cheesemakers.

In close partnership with the USDEC, NMPF’s trade policy activities support U.S. dairy exports, helping secure the industry’s long-term success.

Tackling World Trade Barriers

NMPF’s work to maximize U.S. dairy’s market access takes on even greater significance as the United States continues to fall behind competitors in negotiating trade agreements and other governments adopt more protectionist stances. These efforts include:

• Advancing tariff reduction initiatives in key markets, including the United Kingdom, Thailand and the Philippines

• Focusing on expediting and renewing dairy facility registrations in Indonesia and China, and pursuing workable solutions to proposed regulatory compliance issues in the European Union, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia

• Working to preserve common food names in Australia and Chile during their Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the European Union

• Addressing specific trade barriers, such as Halal requirements in Egypt, sodium regulations in Colombia and burdensome import questionnaires in Costa Rica

• Ensuring that growing anti-trade sentiment in Mexico and throughout Latin America does not translate into harmful policies

Building Global Alliances

NMPF formed and deepened partnerships with dairy and agriculture organizations all over the world that support pro-dairy, pro-trade and science-based rules as many governments regress toward protectionist stances and ill-advised policies.

NMPF and USDEC signed a memorandum of understanding with European dairy trade organization Eucolait following that group’s May annual meeting in Poland to nurture the common ground the two industries share on trade, innovation and dairy’s image around the world.

Strengthening ties in Asia, NMPF formalized a “Letter of Friendship” with

8THE

Left: MMPA’s milk processing plant in Ovid, Michigan.

TRADE POLICY TEAM FORMED AND DEEPENED ALLIANCES WITH EIGHT DAIRY AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS WORLDWIDE

JA-Zenchu, Japan’s Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives, during a July trip to Japan to join forces in promoting dairy-friendly policies that support dairy farmers in the two countries. Shortly thereafter, NMPF and USDEC signed a July 27 agreement with the Italian Dairy Association, Assolatte, to promote the nutritional benefits of dairy products and support pro-farmer policies in international forums.

Common Names: Securing a Win, Inspiring Legislation

NMPF won a significant victory on behalf of American cheesemakers last March, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that “gruyere” is a common name for a variety of cheese, and not an indication of country of origin.

NMPF’s trade policy team worked closely with USDEC and the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) to show the widespread use of “gruyere” in the U.S. marketplace and prove that non-European companies should keep their right to make and sell gruyere cheese in the United States.

In rejecting French and Swiss consortiums, who had hoped to trademark the term in the U.S. market, the court also set an important precedent that the European Union cannot come into the United States and confiscate common food and beverage names.

Building on its mission to protect common names, NMPF, USDEC and CCFN educated U.S. congressional members and staff on the importance of the issue to America’s dairy farmers,

inspiring the introduction of the Safeguarding American Value-Added Exports (SAVE) Act on May 17.

Outlined and welcomed by the NMPF trade policy team, the SAVE Act would direct U.S. administrations to prioritize the protection of common food and beverage names in two ways:

• By instructing the Secretary of Agriculture to compile a definitive list of common names that are routinely affected by the European Union’s geographical indications restrictions in overseas markets

• By explicitly directing the Secretary of Agriculture to work with the U.S. Trade Representative to proactively negotiate the protection of those common names with trading partners

The NMPF trade policy team is working with the bill’s congressional sponsors to ensure that it is incorporated into the next farm bill.

Representing U.S. Dairy’s Interests at International Forums

The NMPF trade policy team served as U.S. dairy’s advocate at multiple international events in 2023, ensuring that the industry has a voice in the policymaking processes that impact the dairy sector. Those forums include the World Trade Organization, the World Intellectual Property Organization, CODEX Alimentarius, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, among others.

These international forums represent unique opportunities to educate and engage relevant policymakers and advocate for global policies that work for the U.S. dairy industry.

NMPF’s Shawna Morris (left) participated in a panel discussion with USDA Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs Under Secretary Alexis Taylor and Chief Agricultural Negotiator Doug McKalip.

It is often said in Washington D.C., and I’ve heard it said and I’ve said it myself, that dairy as an industry punches way above its weight.

TOM VILSACK U.S AGRICULTURE SECRETARY

Updates Ahead

Updated FARM Animal Care standards, with implementation scheduled for mid-year.

Launched FARM Biosecurity–Enhanced to protect dairy cattle, build resiliency and ensure business continuity in the event of a Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak.

Coordinated testing on volunteer farms nationwide to further development of the RuFaS model for use in FARM Environmental Stewardship.

The FARM Program throughout 2023 strengthened and enhanced its five program areas: Animal Care, Antibiotic Stewardship, Biosecurity, Workforce Development and Environmental Stewardship, with new versions of three program areas (Animal Care, Environmental Stewardship and Workforce Development) expected this year.

Animal Care Advances

The FARM Animal Care Program completed its recommendations for Version 5 and received NMPF Board of Directors approval for the changes in June. Resources to outline the Animal Care Version 5 standards were drafted throughout the second half of the year to prepare for this year’s rollout. FARM Animal Care certified or re-certified 392 new and experienced animal care evaluators this year, who together completed 11,460 Animal Care Version 4 evaluations in 2023.

Since the start of Animal Care Version 4 in 2020, evaluators have completed 19,850 Animal Care Version 4 evaluations, covering about 85 percent of the FARM Animal Care

Program participants. The remaining 15 percent are due to be completed in the first half of 2024.

FARM Animal Care also received Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization recertification for the third year in a row. The Calf Care Quality Assurance Program—a joint effort between the FARM Program, the Beef Quality Assurance, Veal Quality Assurance, and Dairy Calf and Heifer Association—continued program promotion in 2023.

Biosecurity-Enhanced Launches

The FARM Biosecurity Program, developed in 2021 through a cooperative agreement with USDA National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, in 2023 launched Biosecurity-Enhanced resources and training to complement the Everyday Biosecurity resources that began the previous year. The FARM Biosecurity–Enhanced program aligns with the Secure Milk Supply (SMS) Plan for Continuity of Business to provide dairy farmers with the

392

FARM ANIMAL CARE

ANIMAL CARE

EVALUATORS WERE CERTIFIED OR RECERTIFIED IN 2023

Left: Stephen McKnight of River Breeze Farm, a DFA member-owner, checks heifers on his New York dairy farm.

I’ve dairied for a long time, through good times and bad times, but there’s never been a time that I haven’t laid my head down on my pillow at night and been proud of what I accomplished on my farm.

RANDY MOONEY NMPF CHAIRMAN

tools needed to develop an enhanced biosecurity plan (EBP). These resources include:

• An online database to securely store producers’ EBPs. The database also gives producers the option to share a completed copy of their SMS EBP with state officials for review

• An engaging, online training that guides learners through developing EBPs using real-life dairy farms and interactive experiences, all at no cost

• Tutorial videos on how to efficiently use the FARM Database-Enhanced

Biosecurity and for state animal health officials reviewing EBPs in the FARM Database

• FARM Biosecurity-Enhanced resources, including a guide for developing an EBP, a user guide for the FARM Database-Enhanced Biosecurity, and the SMS Enhanced Biosecurity Premises Map checklist Stronger, enhanced levels of biosecurity will be needed to protect dairy cattle against the highly contagious Foot-andMouth Disease found in two-thirds of the world.

500 human resource and safety evaluations have taken place since launching the FARM WFD evaluation in 2020

Workforce Development Highlights Progress

The FARM Workforce Development (WFD) Program equips dairy owners and managers with tools to enhance their work environments. Since launching the FARM WFD evaluation in 2020, more than 500 evaluations covering human resources and safety topics have been conducted on farms that together employ more than 9,700 workers.

In 2023, the FARM WFD Task Force reviewed the existing evaluation tool and discussed minor proposed changes for the next version. The FARM Program continued to highlight farms using FARM WFD Program resources through FARM’s Impact Stories series on the FARM blog.

Environmental Stewardship Incorporating RuFaS

FARM Environmental Stewardship (ES) continued its widespread program implementation, with evaluators conducting more than 1,000 evaluations. The FARM Program and Dairy Management Inc. are collaborating to incorporate the Ruminant Farm System (RuFaS) model for use in the next version of FARM ES. Data collection was completed on 25 volunteer farms in 2023 to evaluate the model’s performance on farms of varying geography, management style and size. The data collection also yielded valuable farmer and evaluator feedback for building the next version’s new platform, evaluator training curriculum and reference materials.

Molly McWilliams of J-Team Dairy, an MDVA member farm, in the milking parlor.

Dairy Advances to Summit & Beyond

Hosted the IDF – World Dairy Summit, convening industry leaders in first U.S.-hosted meeting in 30 years.

Passed torch to new President and CEO at year’s end.

Developed next generation of farmer leadership.

Expanded Dairy Voice Network.

NMPF outreach maximized rare opportunities to advance dairy’s story globally and enhance its domestic leadership, with efforts including hosting the International Dairy Federation (IDF) World Dairy Summit. A leadership transition also gave opportunities to advance dairy’s story, even as ties were strengthened throughout the dairy community.

A Showcase for U.S. Dairy

NMPF played a leading role at the 2023 IDF World Dairy Summit in Chicago Oct. 16–19, as more than 1,200 dairy professionals from 55 countries registered to attend the summit, hosted by the United States for the first time since 1993.

Executive Vice President Shawna Morris served as co-chair of the summit, while NMPF staff and farmer leadership populated the conference with high-profile speaking engagements. The conference itself was an industry-wide partnership with leadership and funding from Dairy Management Inc., USDEC, numerous NMPF member cooperatives and a wide range of dairy organizations and businesses.

NMPF members’ leadership had the unique opportunity to meet with farmers and companies from around the world to share experiences and build relationships. Along with technical tours showcasing U.S. dairy farms led and coordinated by the FARM Program and other partners, NMPF also organized the first-ever Young Farmer Roundtable. NMPF co-ops greatly contributed to the event’s success through their sponsorship, product donations and participation.

Mulhern Honored, Doud Welcomed

Jim Mulhern, NMPF’s president and CEO in 2023, was also honored for his decades of service at the summit, as Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack honored him for his “exemplary leadership and decades of service to the U.S. dairy community.”

The pivot from Mulhern, who led NMPF for a decade, to new President and CEO Gregg Doud became a powerful opportunity to share dairy’s messages of both consistency and innovation as NMPF held its joint annual meeting with checkoff organizations in Orlando, FL, in November.

Top: USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack (left) awarded Jim Mulhern, NMPF’s former president and CEO, with a service and leadership award.

Left: Prairie Farms YCs Ben Selman, Amber Selman and Lorilee Schultz talk to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-IA, during NMPF’s Dairy Policy and Legislative Forum.

NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney commended U.S. dairy farmers for their persistence in supporting positive change for their industry at the meeting, noting that challenges are nothing new to producers and that their unity has brought progress toward better federal farm policy.

“We’re nourishing families around the world through milk’s unbeatable nutritional value,” said Mooney in remarks at the meeting held jointly by NMPF, the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association. “I’ve dairied for a long time, through good times and bad times, but there’s never been a time that I haven’t laid my head down on my pillow at night and been proud of what I accomplished on my farm,” said Mooney, a DFA member-owner who farms in Missouri.

Doud, a former chief agricultural trade negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, predicted a bright future for dairy farmers and the broader industry.

“In terms of the world of protein, dairy is a huge part of the future,” Doud said. “My message to you today is very simple,” he said. “Let’s go. Let’s get it in gear.”

YC Program Develops

Next Generation

NMPF’s Young Cooperators (YC) Program, led by Illinois dairy farmer and Prairie Farms member-owner Lorilee Schultz, reached more than 600 producers and cooperative staff through its 2023 offerings, highlighted by its own program at the annual meeting.

Prairie Farms, Inc. received the Chairman’s Award for their Cave Aged Rinded Swiss, produced in Faribault, Minnesota.

About 75 younger dairy farmers and co-op coordinators representing 14 NMPF member cooperatives convened for intensive leadership discussions during the National YC Program’s annual Leadership and Development Program, which runs concurrently with the joint annual

meeting. The professional development event held Nov. 12–13 included two leadership workshops; a co-op leadership panel; an overview of dairy production in Florida; a tour of the largest cow-calf operation in the United States and a visit to Orlando’s historic Milk District.

The cooperative spirit animated the year, with NMPF YCs convening staff from nine member cooperatives for its first-ever coordinators training March 21–22, followed in June by the annual YC Program Dairy Policy and Legislative Forum in Washington, D.C. June 5–6. Forty-nine dairy farmers from 21 states participated in the event, which included discussions about political engagement and policy issues. YCs then headed to Capitol Hill to speak with members of Congress and their staff about NMPF priorities.

The YC Program also hosted a workshop at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, WI, along with activity at the IDF World Dairy Summit in Chicago later that month. Along with in-person programming, YC engagement was encouraged through its webinar series that included among its topics finding work-life balance on the farm, an update on NMPF’s FMMO modernization efforts and dairy farm disaster preparedness and management.

The YC program both trains the next generation of dairy leadership at NMPF cooperatives and creates an outlet for emerging dairy communicators, providing a pool of talent for other initiatives such as the Dairy Voice Network, which expanded in 2023 from 18 to 24 media-trained dairy farmer spokespeople representing NMPF positions before wider audiences.

Real Seal Generates Engagement

NMPF also enhanced its outreach via its management of the American Butter Institute and the National Ice Cream Mix Association, both of which offer meetings and services to their members, and through overseeing the REAL Seal program, managed by NMPF for more than a decade. REAL Seal empowers America’s dairy marketers to play offense against plant-based imitators by proclaiming their use of genuine made-in-America dairy ingredients. NMPF invests the fees paid by REAL Seal users in a digital consumer marketing campaign touting the value of real dairy foods. Media impressions in 2023 across all REAL Seal platforms totaled more than four million, spurred by 167 pieces of content generating 500,000 engagements on Facebook and Pinterest. One of the most popular series last year was “Imitators Can’t Measure Up,” which demonstrated the superior performance of real dairy in various dishes, resulting in nearly 400,000 impressions. The campaign generated 475,000 engagements on Facebook alone with a 9.45 percent engagement rate, triple the industry average. 24

NMPF’s Real Seal campaign generated more than four million social media impressions based on clever images and marketing.

THE DAIRY VOICE NETWORK EXPANDED ITS REACH OF MEDIA-TRAINED FARMER ADVOCATES TO 24 LEADERS WHO APPEARED IN NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS AND ON TV NETWORKS

Staff

GREGG DOUD

President & CEO

NICOLE AYACHE

Chief Sustainability Officer

ALAN BJERGA

Executive Vice President, Communications & Industry Relations

PAUL BLEIBERG

Executive Vice President, Government Relations

CHARLENE BOULDEN

Executive Assistant to the Office of the President & CEO

STEPHEN CAIN

Senior Director, Economic Research & Analysis

JAIME CASTANEDA

Executive Vice President, Policy Development & Strategy

CLAY DETLEFSEN

Senior Vice President, Regulatory & Environmental Affairs

CHRIS GALEN

Senior Vice President, Member Services & Governance

KHADIJA GIBSON-WHITE Program Manager, Cooperatives Working Together

BEVERLY HAMPTON PHIFER

Senior Director, FARM Animal Care

MIQUELA HANSELMAN Director, Regulatory Affairs

ABDULLAH IBRAHIMZADA Information System Analyst, FARM Program

JAMIE JONKER

Chief Science Officer and Vice President, Sustainability & Scientific Affairs

LOUISE KAMALI Vice President, Meetings & Office Services

PATRICIA KOCH Manager, Finance & Administration

WILL LOUX

Senior Vice President, Global Economic Affairs

SHAWNA MORRIS

Executive Vice President, Trade Policy & Global Affairs

RACHEL RAVENCRAFT Manager, FARM Program Communications

TONY RICE Director, Trade Policy

SAGE SAFFRAN Manager, Sustainability Initiatives

SCOTT SANBORN Office Assistant

EMILY YEISER STEPP Executive Director, FARM Program

THERESA SWEENEY-MURPHY Senior Director, Communications & Outreach

PETER VITALIANO

Vice President, Economic Policy & Market Research

DAVID WEST Chief Administrative Officer

ALLISON WILTON Coordinator, Economic Policy & Global Analysis

BOBBY YI Senior Director, Information Technology

Board of Directors

Executive Committee

Randy Mooney, Chairman – DFA

Simon Vander Woude, First Vice Chairman – CDI

Cricket Jacquier, Second Vice Chairman – Agri-Mark

Jay Bryant, Secretary – MDVA

Pete Kappelman, Treasurer –Land O’ Lakes, Inc.

Steve Schlangen, AMPI

Rob Vandenheuvel, CDI

Jimmy Kerr, Cooperative Milk Producers Association

Melvin Medeiros, DFA

Dennis Rodenbaugh, DFA

Rick Burkhamer, Foremost Farms – USA

Doug Chapin, MMPA

Allan Huttema, NDA/Darigold

Frank Doll, Prairie Farms Dairy

Craig Caballero, UDA

Board of Directors

James Jacquier, Agri-Mark – Connecticut

Sheryl Meshke, AMPI – Minnesota

Steve Schlangen, AMPI – Minnesota

Tom Beringer, Bongards’ Creameries – Minnesota

Brad Anderson, CDI – California

Gerben Leyendekker, CDI – California

Robert Vandenheuvel, CDI – California

Cory Vanderham, CDI – California

Simon Vander Woude, CDI – California

Neil Zwart, CDI – California

Dale Mattoon, Cayuga

Marketing – New York

Jimmy Kerr, Cooperative

Milk Producers Association –Virginia

Brad Bateman, DFA – Utah

Rob Byrne, DFA – Kansas

Craig Edler, DFA – Wisconsin

Travis Fogler, DFA – Maine

Ed Gallagher, DFA – New York

Jerrel Heatwole, DFA – Delaware

Kent Herman, DFA – North Carolina

Neil Hoff, DFA – Texas

Harold Howrigan, DFA – Vermont

Karen Jordan, DFA – North Carolina

Jackie Klippenstein, DFA – Kansas

Chris Kraft, DFA – Colorado

Michael Lichte, DFA – Kansas

Melvin Medeiros, DFA – California

Randy Mooney, DFA – Missouri

Doug Nuttelman, DFA – Nebraska

Jeff Raney, DFA – Pennsylvania

Brian Rexing, DFA – Indiana

Dennis Rodenbaugh, DFA – Kansas

Dan Senestraro, DFA – Kansas

Perry Tjaarda, DFA –California

John Wilson, DFA – Kansas

Dan Rosen, Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery –Wisconsin

Jeff Lyon, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative – Wisconsin

Joe Becker, First District Association – Minnesota

Rick Burkhamer, Foremost Farms USA – Wisconsin

Greg Schlafer, Foremost Farms USA – Wisconsin

Joey Fernandes, Land O’ Lakes, Inc. – California

Andy Mason, Land O’ Lakes, Inc. – Maryland

Pete Kappelman, Land O’ Lakes, Inc. – Wisconsin

Chris Sukalski, Land O’ Lakes, Inc. – Minnesota

Jeff Sims, Lone Star Milk Producers – Texas

Jay Bryant, MDVA – Virginia

Joe Diglio, MMPA – Michigan

Doug Chapin, MMPA – Michigan

Gib Martin, Mt. Joy Farmers Cooperative – Pennsylvania

Tony Freeman, NDA/ Darigold – Washington

Allan Huttema, NDA/Darigold – Idaho

Frank Doll, Prairie Farms Dairy – Illinois

Jacob Larson, SMI – Florida

Joe Jenck, Tillamook County Creamery Association – Oregon

Craig Caballero, UDA – Arizona

Kevin Ellis, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc. – New York

Front cover: Bos Dairy, a California Dairies, Inc. member-owner farm in Tulare, California.