Northeast Dairy Magazine | Q4 2020

CELEBRATING

MEMBER MILESTONES

WELCOME

New Members Join NDFA Board Fourth Quarter 2020

HISTORY

Timeline of Dairy

MEMBER NEWS

$20,000 in Scholarships Awarded

BUSINESS

Cybersecurity at Home nedairyfoods.org

contents Fourth Quarter 2020 • Volume 3, No. 4

MEMBER MILESTONES FRONT DESK 03

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE, NDFA 2020 Milestones

BY MIKE SUEVER

04

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE, NDSA

FEATURES

Milestones Part of History

05

BY BILL ELLIOTT

16

Member Anniversaries

EXECUTIVE VP MESSAGE

31

2021 Northeast Dairy Annual Convention

32

Timeline of Industry Dates Back to 1611

34

Landmark Supreme Court Ruling

Changes, Milestones, Coming Events

BY OZZIE ORSILLO

07 08

NDFA Welcomes New Board Members

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

45

Dairy Industry Has Proven Resilient

BY GARY LATTA

Editor’s Note on Photography Images used in this issue of Northeast Dairy were submitted by various sources and were taken pre-pandemic, which is why many of the subjects are not wearing masks or other protective gear in the photos.

38

How Byrne’s Past Paved the Way

43

Not Your Daddy’s Dairy Business

BY EILEEN DONOVAN

MEMBER NEWS

BY ALEX WALSH

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Have You Heard of Victory Cheese?

BY MELISSA GILMAN

BY GARY LATTA

2020 Comes to a Close

13

36

Dairy Con 2020 a Virtual Success

BY ALEX WALSH

46

Newly Named Krupke Scholarship Awards $20,000

48

Member News and Announcements

49

Welcome New Members

50

Cornell Ranks No. 1 for Ag. Science

50

Stewart’s Recognized for “Best Chocolate Milk”

51

SUNY Morrisville Helps Meet Demands With Ag HR Minor

52

MEMBER PROFILE Upstate Niagara Cooperative Made Milk Life’s Work

BY COURTNEY KLESS

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 1

contents Fourth Quarter 2020 • Volume 3, No. 4

NORTHEAST DAIRY FOODS ASSOCIATION, INC. EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

James “Ozzie” Orsillo

PRESIDENT

Daniel Lausch Lactalis American Group

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT

Leanne Ziemba

VICE PRESIDENT

Kevin Ellis Cayuga Milk Ingredients

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS

Alex Walsh

TREASURER

Melissa Altif Readington Farms

SECRETARY

Ryan Elliott Byrne Dairy

NORTHEAST DAIRY SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION, INC. PRESIDENT

BEST PRACTICES 54

Updating Your Employee Handbook

56

BY PAUL BANUSKI

orking from Home?

W Cybersecurity Can Be a Risk

57

BY WILLIAM PROHN

Steps to a Solid Digital 4 Marketing Plan

60

BY BRIAN BLUFF

Advertising Index

Bill Elliott Northeast Great Dane

VICE PRESIDENT

Melissa Fryer Alfa Laval

TREASURER

Ryan Osterhout KCO Resource Management

SECRETARY

Bruce Alling Double H Plastics, Inc.

NORTHEAST DAIRY MAGAZINE TEAM EXECUTIVE EDITOR

SALES

PUBLISHER/DIRECTOR OF SALES

Anne DeSantis anned@nedairymedia.com

James “Ozzie” Orsillo oo@nedairyfoods.org Bill Brod billbrod@nedairymedia.com EDITOR

Caroline K. Reff creff@nedairymedia.com CONTENT DIRECTOR

Steve Guglielmo steveg@nedairymedia.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Robin Barnes

Tim Hudson thudson@nedairymedia.com

CONTRIBUTORS

Paul Banuski, Brian Bluff, Eileen Donovan, Melissa Gilman, Courtney Kless, Gary Latta, William Prohn and Alex Walsh PRODUCED BY

Northeast Dairy Media

Editorial correspondence should be directed to editor@nedairymedia.com.

Advertising correspondence and materials should be sent to billbrod@nedairymedia.com.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to lz@nedairyfoods.org.

STAY CONNECTED

www.nedairyfoods.org www.neastda.org 427 S. MAIN ST, NORTH SYRACUSE, N.Y. 13212 315-452-MILK (6455)

2 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

An official magazine of the Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc., a nonprofit organization. This publication carries authoritative notices and articles in regard to the activities and interests of the associations. In all other respects, neither the association nor the producer of the publication, Northeast Dairy Media, is responsible for the contents thereof or the opinions of the contributors.

The entire contents are © 2020 by Northeast Dairy Media. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. The association and Northeast Dairy Media reserve the right to print portions or all of any correspondence mailed to the editors without liability on its part and no such correspondence will be returned.

Visit Northeast Dairy Foods Association online at nedairyfoods.org for current information on association programs and services, or call the association at 315-452-MILK (6455). Questions and comments may also be sent to the association at oo@nedairyfoods.org.

Front Desk

2020 Milestones: A Time for Change, A Time to Persevere

BY MIKE SUEVER President, Northeast Dairy Foods Association

A

s we talk about milestones in this issue, it seems appropriate to me that this be my last “President’s Column” for Northeast Dairy magazine. By now, most of you know that my term as president has come to an end. It’s time for me to step back and make room for the next set of “movers and shakers,” and I am confident that the organization will be secure in the hands of my successor, Daniel Lausch, who will take the reins moving forward. Thank you for your support throughout my term as president. It has been a privilege.

Certainly, 2020 will go down in history as one of the most unprecedented, tumultuous and trying in recent times. If anyone would have told me just a year ago that we would be shutting down businesses, wearing masks everywhere we go, and facing unbelievable economic, social and health disruptions, I would have thought they’d gone mad. But it happened, and we’re still living it. And yet, our industry has done a remarkable job of getting the cows milked every day, processing and packaging our products, making sure these highly perishable staples of the American diet get to the people who need them, and, of course, keeping our food supply safe and our employees healthy. Never have I taken such pride in our industry as when I see many of you generously giving products away to those most vulnerable. Every time I watch the news and see our community, including our own members, sponsoring a drivethru milk give away or food distribution, it gives me a sense of joy knowing that when times get tough, we pull together for each other. I hope this is something that we will continue to do for those in need even when this nightmare is finally over.

Like our industry, our organization has persevered, and I am very gratified by that. Not only have we been living in the midst of a pandemic in 2020, but we also lost our leader, Bruce Krupke. Still, we carried on as he would have wanted.

Our annual convention had to be cancelled due to the virus, but we quickly pivoted to make the best out of our circumstances

Our industry has done a remarkable job of getting the cows milked every day, processing and packaging our products, making sure these highly perishable staples of the American diet get to the people who need them. with Dairy Con 2020, a virtual event that brought outstanding speakers and important information to the forefront – even if it was the forefront of our computer screens. Yes, we could have simply thrown up our hands and cancelled – but that’s not what those in the dairy industry do. Instead, we adapted, and, from the feedback I’ve heard, our participants enjoyed the virtual event and were glad to be a part of it.

As we move into 2021, and hopefully a year of health and rebuilding, I know that you will put your support behind our new board president and all of our board members, particularly those who have stepped up to serve for the very first time. It’s an outstanding group, and they are ready to tackle whatever comes our way for the benefit of you, our members, and the entire dairy industry. In addition, my thanks also goes out to our executive vice president, Ozzie Orsillo, as well as Alex Walsh, associate vice president of regulatory affairs; and Leanne Ziemba, executive assistant, who work so hard but make it all look so easy!

Finally, congratulations to all of our NDFA and NDSA members who are celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2020.

We applaud and support you as tenacious leaders in what we know is not an easy industry — but surely is a rewarding one.

Best wishes for many more years ahead!

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 3

Front Desk

Milestones Are Part of NDSA History: Now, Let’s Make Some More!

BY BILL ELLIOTT President, Board Of Directors, NDSA

A

look back at milestones in this issue of Northeast Dairy magazine brings back a few things I learned in history class. Did you know that the first cows arrived in Jamestown in 1611 from Europe? 1611! I can only imagine the logistics of making that happened, but when you think about it, that was THE key moment in what we’re all doing for a living today. The first rail shipment of milk came from Orange County, New York — which is actually my neck of the woods — into New York City in 1841, and what a breakthrough that must have been. Until then, those living in big cities without close proximity to farms relied on milk from “mash cows” that were housed at breweries and distilleries and fed on processed waste. (It goes without saying that milk had a certain taste to it, which was often referred to in those days as “swill milk.”)

By 1843, New York City residents were lining up at the train station for as far as the eye could see for fresh, delicious milk from the country — which sold for 4 cents a quart, by the way.

This same transportation process was starting to take place into major cities all over the Northeast. In 1884, the milk bottle was invented in Potsdam, New York, and just two years later, the automatic bottle filler was patented — both such important steps in moving our industry forward.

I mention this quick history lesson because these, and many other milestones, made the dairy industry what it is today. The same can be said for many of the members that we are celebrating in this quarter’s issue: AFCO, 165 years; Penn State Berkey Creamery, 155 years; Evergreen Packaging, 140 years, Star Kay White, 130 years; and Clofine Dairy & Food Products 110 years. That kind of longevity is just amazing! They’ve not only made their own businesses thrive, but they’ve blazed the trail for so many of the products and 4 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

processes our other members use today. Let’s give a round of applause to every one of our members on their milestone anniversaries in 2020.

As you know, I am relatively new to the position of president of the NDSA board of directors, and I again thank you for your support. Our suppliers are so important to making our industry and our association work smoothly. I like to think of the Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association and the Northeast Dairy Foods Association as “bread and butter”— we have to work together to be successful.

Since my time as a board member and now in this leadership role, I’ve noticed that when people join an organization like NDSA, those who benefit the most are those who actively participate. Most of you probably already realize that, but we actively encourage those of you who might still be waiting in the wings to step up and join us. We have a number of great activities throughout the year. And, while 2020 wasn’t the year anyone expected, and some of our events had to be changed or cancelled, we have some great plans for our members in 2021. Our yearly golf tournament and clambake was cancelled this year due to the pandemic, but mark your calendars today for July 14, 2021, as we get together for what is now aptly named the Bruce W. Krupke Annual Golf Tournament, in memory of the friend and leader we lost this past year. Bruce was always in his element at this event, so I’m challenging all of you to ensure 2021’s event has record attendance! Let’s make next year’s golf tournament and clambake one for the history books.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me or anyone in our office if you have concerns, questions or want to get more involved in our activities. I wish you better days ahead as 2021 approaches. Happy New Year!

Front Desk

Board and Director Changes at Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Milestones and Upcoming Events

BY OZZIE ORSILLO Executive Vice President

T

his is just my second article from the executive vice president’s seat, and, although the newness of the role is melting away, the pride and joy are just beginning!

A few weeks ago, we held our Northeast Dairy Foods Association annual meeting for the primary purpose of electing a new slate of executive officers and new directors to our board. Driven by term limits set forth in our association’s bylaws, our nomination committee completed the process of identifying new officers and directors for the board’s consideration.

The executive officers and directors on our board voluntarily and objectively provide our association with their time, effort, experience and wisdom. This unselfish act from each of them is a clear display of their deep respect for the entire dairy industry. Exiting the position of president is Mike Suever of HP Hood. Officers and Directors exiting our board are Treasurer Mike Young of Dairy Farmers of America/Guida Milk, Secretary Rick Sedotto of Midland Farms and Director Jim Norton of Stewart’s Processing. To each of our exiting officers and directors, please know you are leaving our association in a stronger position than when you accepted these roles, and we are sincerely grateful for all you have done.

Our nomination committee was tasked with identifying and vetting each new nominee for the open executive officer seats.

The recommendations of our nomination committee were presented to and voted on by the full board at our annual meeting.

Obtaining unanimous votes as executive officers are the following: President Daniel Lausch of Lactalis American Group, Vice President Kevin Ellis of Cayuga Milk Ingredients, Treasurer Melissa Altif of Readington Farms and Secretary Ryan Elliott

of Byrne Dairy. Please join me in welcoming this new slate of executive officers to our Northeast Dairy Foods Association.

The Nomination Committee also recommended new directors to our board. Unanimously voted in as new directors were: Matt Hendricks of Dairy Farmers of America, Nathan Pistner of Great Lakes Cheese, Jennifer Turgeon of HP Hood, Brian Perry of Perry’s Ice Cream, Brian Froebel of Saputo USA, Ray Gerwitz of Steuben Foods and Adam Seybolt of Stewarts Processing. Please join me in welcoming these new directors to our Northeast Dairy Foods Association.

To all members of the Northeast Dairy Foods Association: If you would like to participate in your association without making the commitment that comes with an executive or director’s position, please call me directly. We are working on ways that could provide opportunities for members that focus on specific issues at state, regional and national levels.

Your Northeast Dairy Foods Association is a member guided association, and your participation, even on a temporary-assignment basis, would be welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Now, on to the subject of this issue — anniversaries and milestones. Please enjoy this quarter’s issue of Northeast Dairy magazine. Our congratulations go out to all those with anniversaries and milestones to celebrate this year. It is quite amazing to see the longevity of some of our members who have been in existence not only for decades but for more than 100 years! It is a privilege to share these stories with our readers and so interesting to hear the history of these amazing operations. If you have an anniversary of 20, 25, 50 or more years coming up in 2021, please let our editor know (creff@nedairymedia.com), so we can plan to include you next year. It’s just around the corner.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ►

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 5

Front Desk As far as recognizing more milestones of our own, we ask you to mark your calendars for the following dates: • January 2021: Watch for our emails announcing that we are accepting applications for the Bruce W. Krupke Memorial Scholarship Fund.

• July 14, 2021: The Bruce W. Krupke Annual Golf Tournament at Rouges Roost Golf Course in Bridgeport, New York. Here we have two championship golf courses that can host 220 golfers, and we are looking forward to filling the field!

• July 14, 2021: The Northeast Dairy Annual Clambake at Spinning Wheel Event Center in North Syracuse, New York. Historically, this event attracts anywhere from 950 to 1,000 friends and associates. After canceling these events in 2020, we ask you to talk-up this iconic industry event with your friends and colleagues. At a recent board meeting with the Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association, President Bill Elliott said, “Let’s try for 2,000 attendees next year!” A goal we can reach if we all do our part.

• August 18 to 20, 2021: The Annual Northeast Dairy Annual Convention. In 2021, our convention continues to grow with attendees from four associations — Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association, Pennsylvania Association of Milk Dealers and now the New York State Cheese Manufacturers’ Association. This event will be held in Southwest New York at the Harbor Hotel in Celeron, which is at the southern tip of Lake Chautauqua. The venue is purely magnificent, a place to take your whole family or maybe a special way to reward those in your business who made a significant contribution during the year. We look forward to delighting everyone with a new and exciting program. We hope to see all of you at our events next year. Until then, stay safe and healthy.

On behalf of our staff, we sincerely thank you for your support and the trust you have in your Northeast Dairy Foods Association and Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association.

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Front Desk

NDFA Welcomes New Officers, Directors to Board

T

he Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc., elected new executive officers and appointed new directors to seats on the board at the association’s annual meeting, held virtually on Sept. 23, 2020.

The executive officers were proposed and unanimously approved by the board of directors. Daniel Lausch, Lactalis American Group, Inc., will serve as president, and Kevin Ellis, CEO of Cayuga Milk Ingredients and Cayuga Marketing, will serve as vice president. In addition, Ryan Elliott of Byrne Dairy will serve as secretary, and Melissa Altif, vice president of finance and HR at Readington Farms, will service as treasurer. Elliott and Altif have previously served as NDFA board members.

“I am truly honored and humbled to serve as the president of the board of directors for Northeast Dairy Foods Association, said Lausch, who had previously served as the board’s vice president. “I look forward to continuing the work the association does on behalf of our members and in representing the dairy industry in the Northeast.”

The nomination committee also proposed the following individuals for the positions on the board of directions: • Brian Froebel, milk regulatory manager, Saputo USA • Ray Gerwitz, dairy plant manager, Steuben Foods • Matt Hendricks, Northeast Group vice president, Dairy Farmers of America • Brian Perry, executive vice president and chairman, Perry’s Ice Cream • Nathan Pistner, plant manager, Great Lakes Cheese • Adam Seybolt, general manager of dairy operations, Stewart’s Processing Corp.

• Jennifer Turgeon, milk procurement and logistics manager, HP Hood LLC All of the above were unanimously approved by the board.

The term for the new directors took effect in early December at the quarterly board meeting.

Stepping down from the board at the end of their terms were Mike Suever, HP Hood LLC, who had served as board president; as well as Jim Norton, vice president, Stewart’s Processing Corp., Rick Sedotto, managing partner of Intendit Dairy Solutions; and Mike Young, president of Guida’s Milk, a division of Dairy Farmers of America.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 7

Legislative+RegulationsReport

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

2020 Comes to a Close…Finally

BY ALEX WALSH, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS

A

s 2020 comes to a close, finally, everyone should be looking forward to a fresh start in January.

To say, “What a year it’s been!” would be an understatement.

A year ago, no one would have thought we would endure a global pandemic that infected millions, took the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and shut down economies around the world. While some may have heard of an infectious disease going around China, it seemed as if the mentality was that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal — or it wouldn’t make it to the United States. And, who would have thought it would become such a hot-button political issue?

COVID-19 has dominated almost every aspect of life. Quarantines, masks, social distancing, schools closed, people losing their jobs and virtual interactions have all become turbulent issues and continue to remain uncertain. The Northeast United States was one of the first areas in the country to be impacted, and how each state responded was slightly different. One of the major economic sectors impacted was the food industry. As people were forced to stay home, the food industry saw a spike in demand, as was seen in economic reports throughout the year. Food processors and manufacturers experienced some difficulties adjusting

8 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

for a few weeks in March and into April.

A major issue in the dairy industry specifically was the need for more raw milk. However, processors couldn’t keep up with the influx, which sadly resulted in the dumping of tremendous amounts of milk, while dairy cases in stores remained empty. The industry, being as resilient as it is, was able to stabilize fairly quickly. This was, in part, due to the Northeast Dairy Foods Association and other partners advocating for relief and assistance, as the USDA at the federal level and agencies at the state level were able to purchase milk, find a place for it to go to be processed and be turned into products.

As the pandemic continued, the Northeast Dairy Foods Association operated remotely. The association remained vigilant at monitoring legislation and governmental activities in each of the eight states and at the federal level.

With state legislatures, in particular, being inconsistent with convening and altering their schedules, the emphasis of representatives the last several months has focused on health, human service issues, and getting people back to work safely and the economy running again.

The nation also witnessed social unrest, which was a simultaneous focus of state legislatures and in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

NORTHEAST IMPACT Several issues did arise throughout the Northeast that impacted the dairy industry.

In New Jersey, a bill was introduced in June that caught the attention of many organizations, including the Northeast Dairy Foods Association, that would have a major impact on dairy food processors and manufacturers. The New Jersey Legislature proposed a bill, S2515/ A4676, an act establishing recycled content requirements for certain containers and packaging, including rigid plastic containers, plastic beverage containers, or glass containers of products sold within the state of New Jersey.

In recent years, dairy companies have placed a higher emphasis on issues improving economic, social and environmental aspects of sustainability throughout their operations, especially regarding their commitment to recycling. The dairy industry as a whole has been collaborating on developing new technologies, reviewing sourcing options, reducing energy consumption and developing creative solutions to increase efficiencies. One example of this is how many largescale packaging companies that supply to the dairy industry are moving away from plastics and into other materials, including glass and paperboard. The dairy industry has

Legislative+RegulationsReport made tremendous progress and become a leader in ensuring the recyclability of dairy products, such as the use of widely recyclable high-density polyethylene for milk cartons and plastic jugs.

The Northeast Dairy Foods Association has been working with members to encourage companies to develop programs or participate in industry programs, such as the International Dairy Foods Association, and government-led initiatives in key areas, including animal care, ethical sourcing, environmental stewardship, workplace and workforce wellbeing, and packaging solutions.

Increasing the sustainability of packaging materials, whether through the use of post-consumer content or novel materials with lower environmental impact, is a key driver for many companies as part

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Legislative+RegulationsReport of their corporate sustainability efforts.

Many dairy processors and manufacturers are already committed to sustainable carton recycling and are working to promote and encourage more effective, widespread recycling programs.

A concern the Northeast Dairy Foods Association had is that our members, including those in New Jersey, provide milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and other dairy products beyond state borders into neighboring states in the region and throughout the U.S. By enacting this legislation, it would become complicated and cumbersome for members to comply with other current state and federal regulations, including guidelines set by the Federal Drug Administration’s Food Contact Surface Notification process.

Through the FCN process, the FDA

considers each proposed use of recycled plastic on a case-by-case basis and issues advice to packaging fabricators on whether the recycling process is expected to produce plastic suitable for specific food-contact applications. The FDA has prepared language intended to assist manufacturers of food packaging in evaluating processes for recycling plastic into food packaging. For most foods, excluding Grade A milk products, the review process is voluntary, allowing food companies to utilize recycled plastic without undergoing review as long as the companies and packaging comply with FDA requirements.

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to obtain acceptance by the FDA before recycled packaging can be used for a particular Grade A milk or milk product.

This is unique to dairy food manufacturers, as no other industry faces the same type of regulatory requirement.

Beyond New Jersey, the Northeast Dairy Foods Association is seeing other states considering varied recycled content mandates. With this, municipalities and states have widely varying degrees of recycling infrastructure and capacity, which limits the extent to which resin and packaging companies can access reliable and consistent supplies of recycled material. This lack of infrastructure has put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage on using recycled material. Dairy companies that make Grade A milk and milk products and non-Grade A and other food manufacturers are faced with these same hurdles in trying to lead on recycling while abiding by mandates that are not supported by state or municipal infrastructure. While recycling capabilities are moving forward and packaging manufacturers are expanding the availability of recyclable resins and post-consumer content, our members report that the supply is limited, and, as noted above, more costly.

Members of the Northeast Dairy Foods Association and the dairy industry have made significant commitments to sustainable packaging, ranging from increasing the recyclability and post-consumer content of dairy foods packaging to making substantial commitments to building the necessary infrastructure.

Our industry is a leader in this space and has the desire to increase the use of recycled content to help improve environmental sustainability and reduce waste. However, as expressed in the association’s testimony, dairy companies believe that significant improvements

Legislative+RegulationsReport in recycling infrastructure across the U.S. and greater reliability in resin/ packaging manufacturer supply chains are a necessary prerequisite prior to recycled content mandates being sought and enforced. Once this is in place, the market will drive down the relative cost of recycled resins, making compliance with mandates more feasible.

Because of the Northeast Dairy Foods Association’s involvement and advocacy, along with the assistance of other organizations and New Jersey-based processing plants applying pressure, the sponsors of the bill and members of the Environment and Energy Committee have listened to the concerns and issues presented and have been working to resolve them and exempt the dairy industry from these regulations.

In New York, while the state legislature has not been in Albany for session since March other than a couple of times and held a few hearings regarding the coronavirus, a few items were proposed or are still in play. As mentioned in the previous issue of Northeast Dairy magazine, New York has been looking to establish a food supply working group to address and examine the issues related to the pandemic and the food supply chain to ensure safe and effective food supply in the state.

This bill passed both the Assembly and Senate and has been waiting for the governor to sign. The Northeast Dairy Foods Association has been in contact with the Department of Agriculture and Markets and has expressed interest in being an active participant of the working group to provide a unified voice and perspective of the dairy industry.

FARM WORKER FAIR LABOR PRACTICES ACT In 2019, New York passed the Farm Worker Fair Labor Practices Act, and, as part of this law, the overtime threshold for farm laborers was capped at 60 hours

per week. The Farm Labor Wage Board hosted hearings in the fall regarding the reduction of overtime from 60 hours to 40 hours per week. The Northeast Dairy Foods Association lobbied in opposition to this reduction, as we have continued to navigate through the pandemic, and state-wide we still face health concerns, economic and financial hardships, a high unemployment rate and other uncertainties. As we witnessed at the beginning of the pandemic, our food supply chain must remain strong and efficient. By reducing the farm laborers’ overtime threshold below 60 hours per week, we jeopardize the stability of our food supply chain. Farm laborers are essential employees, and this global health crisis proves we need them now more than ever.

An additional point, if farm laborers’ overtime hours are reduced, it certainly would increase costs for farmers, processors, manufacturers and distributors, and ultimately be passed on to the consumer.

As we face many challenges, this is not a time to increase the cost of food.

If the cost of milk increases due to labor costs at the producer levels, processors and manufacturers may adjust operations to out-of-state milk suppliers to reduce expenses. Our association urged the Farm Laborers Wage Board to not lower the overtime threshold for farm laborers below 60 hours per week and also not seek any reductions phased in through a series of lower thresholds. The Wage Board will be reviewing all testimony and comments that were submitted and could make a decision by the start of 2021.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ►

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Legislative+RegulationsReport PAID FAMILY LEAVE/PAID SICK LEAVE A couple of other issues that came up in New York include hazard pay for essential workers and difficulties with the state’s Paid Family Leave Act and Paid Sick Leave Act. In regards to hazard pay for essential workers, the bill would mandate employers provide compensation to employees during a time of emergency.

It would exclude manufacturing and food processing employees, however. As some members of the Northeast Dairy Foods Association have convenience store operations, it would impact those businesses. The NDFA is fighting to oppose this legislation, as the employer would be responsible for providing hazard pay, and we are recommending the state look to similar legislation proposed at the federal level that would provide tax relief for these specific employees, rather than being a financial cost to the company or state.

The Northeast Dairy Foods Association has also been working to establish a coalition with other organizations to present to the state issues resulting from the Paid Family Leave Act and Paid Sick Leave Act. While these laws were written with good intention to provide employees with adequate time off for bereavement, paternity leave, care for a sick family member, etc., there have already been issues as employees may take a reduction in hours or alter their work schedules. This is not the intent of the law and has resulted in a human resources headache. The NDFA will continue to work with state legislators and regulatory agencies to rectify these issues.

OTHER ISSUES TO WATCH An issue seen in Maine was an attempt to restrict Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (more commonly known as PFAs) and other 12 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

We, as a nation and in the Northeast, will see some familiar faces returning to Washington and our respective state capitals with the expectation of new faces that won their elections. chemicals of concern in consumer products. In addition to Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and many others around the country are also considering similar proposals to place a ban on fast-food packaging using PFA grease inhibitors and place their own “safe” limits on products. The Northeast Dairy Foods Association has been actively engaged with boards of directors, members and other organizations to address concerns with these measures being proposed.

The Northeast Dairy Foods Association is also monitoring federal level initiatives and issues including the status of the United States–Mexico– Canada trade agreement. As trade and border crossing has been significantly impacted during the pandemic, there have also been concerns about Canada upholding its end of the trade agreement, specifically in regards to Class VI and VII dairy product classifications. The NDFA has been working with United States Trade Representatives and members of Congress to enforce the measures outlined in the agreement and protect U.S. dairy industry and exports.

THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION In case you haven’t turned on the television, read the newspaper, gone to the mailbox or opened any social media platform the last few months, 2020 was also an election year for all congressional,

state house/assembly and senate seats — and for president, and attention of those up for election has been divided on getting re-elected. Coronavirus, of course, has played a starring role in this year’s campaigns, as well, in addition to other issues, such as replacing a Supreme Court justice, and social and racial upheaval. This year’s campaigns were very different, with very few candidates going door-to-door, holding pancake breakfasts or fundraisers, and no handshaking or kissing babies. Voters could also request their ballots by mail, vote absentee, vote early, or utilize their usual voting place on Election Day. Certainly, the main act of this year’s campaign was President Donald J. Trump versus former Vice President Joe Biden.

We as a nation and in the Northeast will see some familiar faces returning to Washington and our respective state capitals with the expectation of new faces that won their elections. Hopefully, we will work to repair a divided nation moving forward. The Northeast Dairy Foods Association will be active leading up to January’s new legislative sessions, introducing ourselves to new representatives and outlining priorities and the concerns of the members, as well as working with veteran politicians to improve the dairy industry and business climates. The association remains your advocate, your watchdog and your ally to keep the Northeast dairy industry a strong economic sector providing safe and healthy products to us all.

Alex Walsh is the associate vice president of regulatory affairs for the Northeast Dairy Foods Association.

EconomicOutlook

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Despite Rollercoaster Year, Dairy Industry Has Proven Itself Resilient

BY GARY LATTA

B

y the time you read this, hopefully we will know who our next president is and which political party controls Congress. Political turmoil, COVID-19 and agricultural challenges will not be easily or swiftly forgotten.

As challenging as this year has been for the dairy industry, it could have been a lot worse. President Donald Trump and his U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue worked hard to develop programs to get agriculture through the COVID-19 pandemic. The dairy industry has proven itself resilient. Government officials, dairy cooperatives, business leaders, regional associations, academia and regional food banks contributed a myriad of support. The U.S. Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan are two programs that served as a lifeline to farms and food businesses.

The Farmers to Families Food Box Program has helped feed American families during the pandemic and absorbed a good amount of domestic milk supply. The program, announced on April 17 as part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, directed that special combination food boxes of fresh produce, meat, eggs and dairy products be assembled by distributors for transport to food banks, regional organizations and nonprofits.

Individual boxes are designed to have a specific number of

dairy products that include a variety of cheese, butter, ultra-heat treatment products and fresh fluid milk.

This program has now gone through three rounds and has been so successful that a fourth round has been announced that will be in effect through the end of December. It is estimated that over $1 billion in dairy products have been moved through this box program since it began in May. About one-fourth of the box content is dairy products, and estimates are that 8% of U.S. cheese in 2020 has moved to the consumer via this program.

Along with the Food Box Program, the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program provided $16 billion of funding in direct support to farmers that have experienced losses and financial issues associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The USDA’s September 2020 Milk Production report, released October 20, had the top 24 states up 2.4% versus September of last year. This was the direct result of 46,000 more head and an increase of 36 pounds in output per cow from September last year. Despite the pandemic, monthly U.S. milk production has been impressive, with healthy increases reported every month this year except May. Despite 37,000 more head in May, this one small dip was a direct result of a 32 pound drop in output per cow from that month last year.

For September, top 24 state milk production in the Northeast has New York up 1.4% with 1,000 fewer cows but with an NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 13

EconomicOutlook U.S. $ PER POUND 3.00 2.90 2.80 2.70 2.60 2.50 2.40 2.30 2.20 2.10 2.00 1.90 1.80 1.70 1.60 1.50 1.40 1.30 1.20 1.10 1.00 0.90 0.80 0.70

CME Weekly Average Cash Cheddar Block Prices

11/13/2020 GRAPH USDA, DMN; SOURCE CME GROUP USDA/AMS/Dairy Market News, Madison, Wisconsin, (608) 422-8587 Dairy Market News website: www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy

increase of 32 pounds in output per cow versus the same month last year. Pennsylvania milk production was up 1.9% with 3,000 fewer cows but with an increase of 40 pounds in output per cow. Ohio production was up 4.6% with 2,000 more cows and an increase of 65 pounds in output per cow. Vermont, however. was down 5.5% because of 5,000 fewer cows and a drop of 25 pounds in output per cow from September of last year.

CME block cheese prices have been steadily climbing for the last 12 weeks and are near $2.80 a pound at the time of this writing. Cheese prices began the year very steady, hovering at $1.90 a pound for the first few months before crashing at the end of March to $1, then skyrocketing from May to July to $3.00, then dropping again to $1.58 in August, to, once again, skyrocketing to near $2.80, where it sets now. To describe this ride as a roller coaster is an understatement. This 2020 cheese price whipsawing is the primary reason for the Federal Milk Order negative producer price differentials, and depooling that has taken place this year. With cheese prices climbing high again in October, the possibility again exists for at least one more round of negative PPDs and depooling.

Class I fluid milk base prices began the year at $19.01 per hundredweight (cwt) and fell to $11.42 per cwt for June, before climbing again to $19.78 for August, then falling to $15.20 for October, and back up again to $18.04 for November. Monthly pricing of wholesale and retail fluid milk products had to be challenging in this time of dizzying volatility. The same can 14 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

be said for cheese as Class III prices hit a low of $12.14 per cwt in May before bouncing up to $24.54 in July.

Currently, with the November Class I mover factor at $18.04, fluid prices in the Northeast Federal Order range from $21.29 in Boston to $20.14 in Jamestown, New York. These prices could even go higher in December if cheese maintains its current strength and upward trajectory. With restaurants slowly reopening across the country, the holidays approaching and the USDA authorizing a fourth round of the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, cheese availability could remain tight and keep upward pressure on Class III prices.

Export demand has been quite strong in 2020 for skim milk products and dry whey. Presently, U.S. butter and cheese prices are less competitive on the world stage to see much export currently. The USDA’s latest figures show August dairy exports up 13 million pounds in 2020 versus August of last year on a milkfat equivalent basis, and up 649 million pounds on a skim solids equivalent basis. Dairy imports into the U.S. have been down on both a milkfat and skim solids basis. U.S. dairy exports to Mexico have been down so far this year, but exports to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Philippines and other countries have more than made up the difference.

Perdue claims that China has lived up to approximately 71% of its target under the Phase One Trade Agreement, but, as of yet, not a lot of dairy.

U.S. trade officials are crafting export deals with several

EconomicOutlook African nations and India, which could open even more overseas markets for our dairy products. According to Tom Vilsack of the U.S. Dairy Export Council, U.S. skim milk powder exports to Southeast Asia grew 72% during the first seven months of 2020 versus last year. In the past 25 years, U.S. dairy exports grew 511% from $982 million to $6 billion.

Today, it is estimated that 1 in 7 farm tankers ends up in an export market somewhere across the globe. Trade officials and members of Congress continue to pressure Canada to meet its obligations for U.S. dairy product imports under the terms of the USMCA agreement.

Based on recent price strength, the USDA raised its most recent forecast for cheese, nonfat dry milk and whey. Butter prices were lowered based on recent weakness and continuing high stock inventory levels. The higher 2020 cheese price and whey estimates pushed the Class III milk price up 75 cents to $18.00 per cwt. The higher expected nonfat dry milk price more than offset lower butter prices and pushed the 2020 Class IV estimate up another 10 cents to $13.50 per cwt. As a result, the all-milk price forecast was raised 25 cents to $18.00 for 2020. The 2020 all-milk price has moved to $18.83 in the first quarter, to $15.37 in the second quarter, to $19.00 in the third quarter and $18.90 in the final quarter.

For 2021, the USDA has raised its milk production estimate based on recent output gains and higher milk prices. The logic is that higher milk prices, good exports and recovering domestic demand will stimulate production in 2021. Exports for 2021 are expected to remain quite good for dry skim milk products and whey. The latest 2021 forecast raises all dairy product prices. Cheddar cheese is raised to $1.80 per pound, dry whey to $0.36 per pound, butter to $1.705 per pound and nonfat dry milk to $1.05 per pound. These increased estimates generate higher Class III and Class IV prices. For 2021, Class III is now expected to be $17.00 per cwt, up $1 from the previous USDA estimate. Class IV is expected to be $14.10 per cwt, up 50 cents from the previous estimate. The 2021 all-milk price was raised $0.60 to $17.60 per cwt.

Gary Latta is a dairy product specialist consultant for the Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc. He has more than 30 years of experience in providing economic analysis, statistics and information to the dairy processing industry.

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NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 15

CELEBRATING

MEMBER MILESTONES

A

s 2020 comes to a close, the Northeast Dairy Foods Association and the Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association would like to take the opportunity to congratulate our members celebrating milestone anniversaries over the past 12 months. Despite a year of uncertainty due to a global pandemic, these companies have continued to support the dairy industry and keep delicious dairy products moving every step of the way from farm to table. We are particularly amazed at the longevity of some of these members — going back as far as 165 years — and the stories they’ve shared of their challenges and successes along the way. Whether it’s 20 years or 165 years, each of these companies has contributed to the success of the dairy industry, particularly in the Northeast. All of our members celebrating 20, 25, 50, or 50+ years were asked by our editorial team to participate in this article. The information on the following pages was provided by members who chose to participate. Nonetheless, we wish every one of our members celebrating a milestone a great big celebratory “Happy Anniversary” in 2020. Here’s to many more!

Editor’s note: These profiles were taken from information provided by the respective companies prior to publication. If you celebrated an anniversary in 2020 but missed the deadline, contact creff@nedairymedia.com to be featured in our online Buyers Guide.

16 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

AFCO: 165 YEARS AFCO, a Zep Company, was founded in 1855 in Philadelphia by a Scottish immigrant named Alex C. Fergusson.

At the time, the company mainly sold commodity cleaning chemicals and lubricants. AFCO had the privilege of shipping its first product to J.L. Kraft in Chicago in 1921, laying the foundation of a relationship between the companies that still exists today.

In the 1940s, the business transitioned to Fergusson’s grandson, Carter, who continued to focus on cleaners for the food processing industry. Later, the company branched out into the water treatment industry with the purchase of Tennessee Research. Diethelm Holdings, a Swiss private equity firm, bought AFCO in 1989. In 2009, the company was sold to the Pennsylvania-based private equity firm Larsen MacColl Partners, which expanded it with acquisitions in North America and Europe. IN 2017, AFCO was acquired by Zep, Inc., uniting two successful companies focused on continuous improvement in the quality and safety of food processing.

The company is very proud to have

defined a new mindset in terms of technical service and support of food and beverage processors with its “Service with a Purpose” approach. It has also created tools that customers can rely on to benchmark its performance with the company. Through AFCO’s strategic acquisitions since 2009 in the food & beverage and water treatment industries in North America and Europe, AFCO has been able to expand its breadth and depth of solutions, establishing the company as the No. 2 supplier to the food & beverage industry in North America.

According to AFCO, the food & beverage industry has had to deal with many changes, including reduction in the size of the available workforce and a high rate of employee turnover. To assist customers in managing these demands,

AFCO continues to work with them to compress and improve the efficiency of its cleaning processes, while protecting its brand. As the industry progresses toward sustainability, AFCO provides solutions to food & beverage processors that help increase product output while reducing the carbon footprint, environmental impact and water and energy usage. These goals led the company to its recent acquisition of EcoClear, a three-step solution of deep cleaning, disinfecting and maintaining processing facilities that helps enable its customers to keep their busines operations running efficiently and safely.

Today, AFCO has 300 employees across five U.S. locations and three locations internationally. It is headquartered in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

PENN STATE BERKEY CREAMERY: 155 YEARS Not every college campus is lucky enough to have its own creamery, but Penn State University at University Park, Pennsylvania, does. Its store started out as a simple way to get an ice cream cone but has grown into a destination stop, as students, alumni and the general public stop in for a delicious treat of some of

its famous flavors like Peachy Paterno, Mint Nittany or Scholar’s Chip. Today, it is the largest university creamery in the nation.

The primary purpose of the creamery, however, is education. The operation supports the teaching, research and outreach programs of the food science department at Penn NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 17

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

State’s College of Agricultural Science.

It also provides continuing education and training, serving as a working lab for students who want to learn more about food science and safety. The creamery offers ice cream courses, dessert courses and manufacturing courses, and is also known for its Penn State Ice Cream Short Course, a six-day event that has been drawing ice cream professionals since 1892 — from mom and pop shops to the likes of Baskin-Robbins, HP Hood, Friendly’s and Haagen-Dazs — to learn about processes from “cow to cone.”

Dairy research began at Penn State in 1865, but ice cream wasn’t actually offered until 1920. It was originally located in a barn with a hayloft and a blacksmith shop, where it accepted raw milk and made fresh milk and cheese to distribute through Central Pennsylvania.

In 1920, ice cream research began in earnest under the direction of Andrew Borland, Chester Dahle and Francis Doan. By 1932, production had increased to a point where milk and cream were purchased from 300 area farmers to keep the creamery making milk, cheese and ice cream. In 1975, the department of food science opened, developing into 18 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

one of the nation’s most notable college programs of its kind. By the 1980s, the Creamery was using 3 million pounds of milk a year to produce its variety of products and, at the same time, became a research facility for the Department of Food Science. In 2006, the Creamery moved into a new $46 million dollar food science building that included a salesroom, processing plant, classrooms and laboratories. Today, Penn State University has its own herd of 200 Holsteins that are milked twice a day to produce its delicious ice cream.

Typically, 10 to 15 students who are studying various areas of food science work as interns at the facility to get a hands-on view of how the production works from the manufacturing to the retail side, according to Jim Brown, assistant manager of creamery operations and manager of sales and marketing. An additional 100 students are employed in various aspects of the operation, along with 28 full-time workers. Profits from the creamery also go to support the department.

The Creamery’s manufacturing facility partners with the university’s housing and food units, the alumni association,

the athletic departments and 95% of the commonwealth campuses of the university to provide ice cream. And, it’s not only a scoop shop. The Creamery is a retail space that sells a variety of items like its new signature line of Nittany cheddar cheese, coffee, gifts and PSU summer sausage in partnership with the university’s meat lab. It also has extended into e-commerce, shipping ice cream and other products all over the continental U.S. It also has 3 gallon tubs of its delicious ice cream flavors for sale to approximately 45 privately owned businesses across the state.

Besides celebrating its 155th anniversary, the Creamery is also partnering with the Alumni Association to help celebrate its 150th anniversary by creating an Alumni Swirl Mini Cup. “Since it’s early years, the Creamery has seen generation after generation of Penn Staters come here — and then bring their children back to do the same,” said Brown. “It has gone from a place to get a scoop of ice cream to a destination that is a lot of fun. It’s a meeting place. It’s a big tradition at Penn State that continues to grow over the years. You have to stop at the Creamery!”

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES EVERGREEN PACKAGING EQUIPMENT: 140 YEARS With a dairy heritage dating back to 1880, Evergreen Packaging Equipment is celebrating 140 years in business.

John Cherry developed the first insulated ice cream can, and, around the same time, David Burrell introduced the first American centrifugal cream separator.

The two would merge their businesses and form the Cherry-Burrell Corporation.

Many years later, that name would change to Evergreen Packaging Equipment.

Since the beginning, the company has maintained its dairy focus — through many owners, name changes and even the manufacturing of military parts during World War II. Entry into the manufacture of gable top packaging equipment began in 1966.

As the needs of processors evolved, Evergreen continued to provide fresh packaging solutions with state-of-theart gable top filling equipment for refrigerated dairy, juice, liquid eggs and other liquid food products. Available for standard pasteurization, extended shelf life and extended long life applications, a broad portfolio fills cartons from 4 ounces up to a half gallon at speeds from

50 to 340 cartons per minute in various cross sections. Highly skilled technical staff and genuine OEM parts support all Evergreen filling machines worldwide.

Evergreen Packaging is committed to sustainability, as a “great place to start in building compelling consumer brands, creating viable business growth and supporting a bright future for the communities” in which it does business.

Its products include refrigerated gable top packaging, as well as paper and paperboard, that ultimately becomes a cup, food tray, envelope, specialty

packaging, magazine and more.

Its earth-friendly practices include promoting sustainable forestry practices, and the company is committed to helping landowners obtain the resources needed to implement these practices through its Evergreen Forest Certification Program.

Evergreen uses fiber from forests that are maintained using responsible forest practices to manufacture its products. And, it minimizes its environmental impact by using almost 60% renewable energy from biomass in the manufacturing of its fiber-based products.

STAR KAY WHITE, INC.: 130 YEARS David Katzenstein opened the door of Star Extract Works on Valentine’s Day 1890 in lower Manhattan, New York City.

Katzenstein was an immigrant and trained chemist from Germany. The company originally made flavoring extracts like vanilla and peppermint, which were well accepted by the newly evolving ice cream business. Before World War I, Katzenstein co-founded Kay White Products, which made confectionery products, such as caramels, marshmallow and chocolate syrups for the ice cream industry. It thrived until the stock market crash of NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 19

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression, when the family did everything it could to hold onto the small factory it had moved into only a short time earlier.

Today, the company is under the direction of the fourth and fifth generation of family ownership with Ben Katzenstein and his sons, Alex and Gabe.

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Ben understood that tasting good wasn’t enough and that to grow the company required serious engineering to support the historical arts and sciences of its product lines.

When Alex and Gabe were only children, Ben was at a crossroad for the company — either sell his shares of the company or purchase those shares held by other family members to assure the family business survived. Ben sat the boys down and asked if they wanted to work for Star Kay White. Alex was only 9 and Gabe was 8, but both said, “Yes, Dad. We want to join the company.” Today, Gabe is the sales and R&D coordinator; Alex is plant manager.

The company moved to Rockland County, New York, in 1984 to a custom built 30,000-square-foot facility.

Presently, Star Kay White has four buildings totaling 180,000-square-feet on a 15-acre campus. On Valentine’s Day

2020, before the pandemic shut down much of the country, the company celebrated its historic 130-year anniversary while also celebrating a new chapter: a brand new candy manufacturing facility.

Today, Star Kay White has grown into a supplier of safe and high-quality food products and continues to focus on the manufacturing of flavoring ingredients for the ice cream business. It offers flavors and extracts; bases, variegates, candies and panned inclusions. Many of its products are available in vegan and non-GMO varieties, as well. It prides itself on the ability to create especially unique flavors and custom work, particularly for ice cream manufacturers looking to create limited edition flavors. Some of the company’s most recent offerings include mascarpone and brown butter.

With the stress of a pandemic, Gabe said that consumers tend to turn to indulgences like ice cream when times are tough. “Indulgences bring you a little happiness,” he explained. “People want a unique sensory experience with a lot of color and texture.” He noted that what’s especially popular today is “crunch,” or something that gives ice cream added texture and color, which has lent itself to the company’s candy inclusions and its new candy making facility. “Candy,

including fruit, caramels and chocolate, adds to the craving of the sensory experience, and people are energized by that,” said Gabe. He also acknowledges that plenty of people still want simply a “delicious vanilla.” Still, others are looking for healthy options, and, in answer to that, the company has begun expanding its product range for reduced sugar and reduced calorie ingredients.

Star Kay White is also expanding into plant-based and non-dairy items, as well.

The company has a multinational reach — serving customers not only in the U.S. but in Europe, Japan and Canada. Its ingredients “are probably in almost every national ice cream brand across the country,” according to Gabe, noting that the company’s advantage is its flexibility — the ability to take on small, innovative projects and custom “tweaking” that its competitors can’t.

As the company moves forward with a larger campus and new and enticing flavors, the question remains as to whether or not the sixth generation will take over the business one day. They hope so, according to Gabe, but they’ll have to wait and see, as his brother Alex’s daughters, Ella, age 2, and Amelia, who is not yet even a year old, have yet to make up their minds!

BROWN & BROWN EMPIRE STATE: 115 YEARS

Brown Insurance in 2001. Now part of a larger organization, everyone agreed to keep The Young Agency name through the 100th anniversary in 2005. Once the centennial anniversary was celebrated, the agency transitioned its brand to Brown & Brown Empire State in 2006 to better reflect the size and strength of the overall organization.

The company credits its teammates for its growth and success over the years.

“Our reputation and approach is simple:

1. Find and develop the highest quality teammates, and 2. Collectively bring more expertise and resources to our clients,” said Lisa Bolduc, account executive, commercial lines. “We work

The Young Agency, Inc., was founded on the north side of Syracuse, New York,

by George Young in 1905. The Young family ran the local insurance agency up until the 1960s when George Schunck, grandson of founder George Young, took over as president of the agency. Schunck and a small group of owners then grew and led the organization for the next 40 years until the merger with Brown &

20 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

in a technical business, so we must rely on our ability to communicate complex financial topics in easy-to-understand terms for our clients. We always do what is right for the customer.”

Brown & Brown currently has two locations: its main office located in Franklin Square in Syracuse, New York, and a smaller location in Vestal, New York, to serve the needs of a growing client base in the Southern Tier of the state. The agency currently has 100 teammates (the term it uses for its employees) between the two locations.

According to President Nicholas J. Dereszynski, technology has been the biggest challenge for the industry and its team. Brown & Brown now relies on technology, data and analytics to deliver a better, more efficient product to its clients. The team believes that insurance is a people and relational business based on the bond of trust, but it is now delivered more effectively and efficiently through various technologies and resources.

CLOFINE DAIRY & FOOD PRODUCTS: 110 YEARS Clofine Dairy & Food Products began serving the food industry 110 years ago. In the early 1900s, Charles Clofine began selling milk, cream, butter and eggs from a horse-drawn wagon in the rapidly growing Philadelphia marketplace. His vision was to supply the newly expanding dairy and ice cream business in the eastern U.S. with quality ingredients. Then, the company secured an interest in an Indiana country creamery, making Clofine its representative for manufactured milk products into the marketplace.

Today, Clofine Dairy & Foods Products is headquartered in Linwood, New Jersey, with an additional sales office in the

Midwest. It remains a family-owned business with four generations of managers as part of its history. The company has made the transition into manufacturing over the last 40 years. The first was the inception of its Soy-Fine line of tofu and soy products in the mid-80s, followed by its Fine-Mix line of custom-formulated products in the 1990s. Most recently, Clofine has added risk management programs as part of the portfolio of services it provides to its business partners.

Over the years, it has seen the needs of its customers change from just the standard dairy commodities to more specialized proteins and ingredients.

In response, Clofine has expanded its portfolio to include these items, as well as many other ingredients that are not dairy based. Today, Clofine Dairy & Food Products is a marketer of dairy ingredients with a focus on commoditized powders (nonfat dry milk, buttermilk, whey, whole milk powder, etc.), bulk butter and proprietary blends. It also supplies fluid milk products like cream, skim and condensed items, and can “serve almost any customer need.”

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NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 21

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

MARYLAND & VIRGINIA MILK PRODUCERS COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION, INC.: 100 YEARS Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association, Inc., started in 1920 thanks to an impassioned group of dairy farmers determined to supply consumers in our nation’s capital with farm-fresh milk. They staked their claim on high quality standards and proximity to the market. The first decade was brutal, and the cooperative nearly folded. But, those farmers didn’t quit. They put their heads together and found compromise with the milk dealers, which resulted in much needed market stability.

Maryland & Virginia’s second general manager, John McGill, spearheaded the organization from 1923 to 1934. Along with President Frank Walker, McGill focused on forming the foundation of the cooperative. Since its inception, the cooperative has had 12 presidents and 11 general managers and CEOs. Maryland & Virginia’s founding members sought to serve the Class I fluid marketplace. They knew that to truly do that, they needed to have more control of their own destiny all the way from the farm to the plant to the customer. They invested in plant operations within the first year of existence — and while those plants did not turn into long-term investments — their resolve to have ownership and control of the plants did not diminish.

22 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

In 1954, Maryland & Virginia purchased Embassy Dairy, a fluid processing plant in Washington, D.C. The outlet provided the membership with vital market access and a better price than selling milk into the surplus markets. In 1955, the cooperative purchased Onley Acres Manufacturing in Laurel, Maryland, a converted dairy farm operation that served as a surplus milk plant. The facility is still valued today as an outlet for surplus milk and is the cornerstone of the company’s ingredients division.

The co-op sold Embassy Dairy and used the proceeds from the sale to purchase five acres in an industrial park in Newport News, Virginia, where it built a new plant. The board of directors and management at the time viewed the Tidewater region of Virginia and military presence as an ideal location for a milk plant. In 1961, Marva Maid Dairy opened its doors and quickly became one of the largest milk distributors in Virginia over a short period of time.

In 1999, Maryland & Virginia merged with Caroline Virginia Milk Producers Association, expanding the cooperative’s membership to North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Around the same time, Maryland & Virginia formed a joint venture called Valley

Milk, LLC, adding a second ingredient facility to the cooperative’s stable.

The pressure for market access drove the cooperative to invest in two additional fluid processing facilities. In 2003, it acquired Maola Milk and Ice Cream Company in New Bern, North Carolina.

In addition to the plant, the purchase included the iconic Maola brand and a sizeable distribution network across southern Virginia and the Carolinas. In 2006, Maryland & Virginia purchased its Landover, Maryland, fluid processing facility. While this is the most recent addition, the co-op has been the primary supplier to the plant since its opening in late 1969.

A steady decline in Class I fluid sales in the late 2000s/2010s caused significant consolidation in the marketplace.

Maryland & Virginia closed its New Bern facility in 2014 and consolidated its fluid processing to Newport News, Virginia, and Landover, Maryland.

Recently, the cooperative has made significant investments into its existing four plant operations to modernize and expand capabilities. It refreshed the coops two brands, Marva Maid and Maola, to a single Maola Local Dairies brand and created a line of ultra-pasteurized fresh milks to serve the changing needs of the consumer. The revitalization process over the last six years has been essential in determining the long-term sustainability and viability of Maryland & Virginia.

Over 100 years later, this vibrant farmer-led cooperative is a growing business, delivering more than 5 billion glasses of milk a year to consumers and food manufacturers worldwide. True to its roots, it is still owned by the farmers — 1,000 of them, in fact. They’re as dedicated to supplying fresh, wholesome and nourishing dairy products today as they were in 1920, ratcheting up its standards, diversifying its product offerings and expanding to serve customers around the

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES world. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, today the co-op has 563 employees along with two fluid processing facilities, two ingredient facilities and 10 distribution facilities.

According to the co-op, “Maryland & Virginia owes its existence to a determined group of dairy farmers who banded together 100 years ago to form a milk marketing cooperative. Their tenacious spirit and fierce independence set the trajectory of our cooperative and today fuels our membership and leadership to strive for excellence Our future is created by what we do today. It’s our duty to build the future we believe in, just as our founding members did for us in 1920.”

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MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

FRIENDLY’S: 85 YEARS Friendly’s ice cream was founded by brothers Curtis and S. Presley Blake.

The brothers opened their first ice cream shop in July 1935 in Springfield, Massachusetts, selling double dip cones for 5 cents each. The shop was originally named “Friendly” with the intent that it would be “a warm, caring and neighborly place” for families to visit and enjoy a meal together.

In 1940, the brothers opened another shop in West Springfield, Massachusetts, and added an extended food menu.

24 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

World War II came along, and the brothers closed the business until the war ended. By 1951, however, they were operating 10 locations in Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. Then, in 1960, as the restaurant business continued to grow and expand into other locations, Friendly’s headquarters and manufacturing facility moved to Wilbraham, Massachusetts, where it employs 280 people today In the late ‘80s, Friendly’s began selling half gallon cartons into grocery stores in New England. Friendly’s was

the first to introduce a single serve 6-ounce sundae cup, and, by 2005, it had introduced a full line of ice cream cakes into New England. In 2014, as demand for Friendly’s ice cream treats grew, the company introduced ice cream bars, sundae cones and its Friendwich ice cream sandwich.

From its beginning as a local ice cream shop, the Friendly’s brand has always been about being a catalyst of positivity and friendliness through fun, shareable moments. This heritage continues to resonate with customers today and is reflected in its broad assortment of ice cream offerings. Today, the company offers 60 different flavors of ice cream and an array of ice cream cakes and rolls, as well as novelty items like sandwiches, bars and cones and a single-serve cup. Some of its latest items include Cake Singles, single-serve versions of its top selling ice cream cakes, as well as dessert cups made with real ice cream and layers of cake, pie or candy pieces that are targeted at adults looking for a truly indulgent treat. It’s most recent Nutty Buddy ice cream cones, Big Chipper cookie sandwiches and Super Stuffed cookie sandwiches were created in response to an overall consumer trend of indulgence with portion control.

Friendly’s is now part of Dairy Farmers of America and is proud to have its products help support DFA’s 13,000 dairy farmers and their families.

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

STEWART’S SHOPS: 75 YEARS Stewart’s Shops has been evolving over the years to “make your life easier.”

The 75 year evolution has taken the iconic convenience store chain from a simple ice cream shop to the neighborhood store on every corner with something for everyone.

In 1945, the first Stewart’s Shop was purchased by Charles V. and Percy Dake on Church Avenue in Ballston Spa, New York, from Donald Stewart. Since that purchase, Stewart’s has brought both innovation and disruption with products, service and its vertical integration to better serve customers and to make their customers’ lives easier.

In the 1950s, the company focused on ice cream, introducing the “Make Your Own” sundae and expanded to a few dozen shops. It also introduced the paper folding half gallon ice cream carton that is still used to this day. In the 1960s, the company offered milk and bread, offering a lower cost option from home delivery. The ability to buy half gallons of milk in a store completely disrupted and hindered the delivery industry. Stewart’s locations started selling gasoline in the 1970s, as it began buying numerous small gas stations at a time when major

oil companies were looking to unload them. In the 1980s, Stewart’s introduced its make-your-own coffee stations with self-serve glass coffee pots and pastries.

Beverage packaging was reinvented in the 1990s with plastic blow mold containers that Stewart’s manufactured itself using its vertical integration. At the same time, Stewart’s introduced its Stewart’s Refreshers, a line of primarily single-serve dairy, juice, coffee, tea and lemonade beverages.

By the 2000s, at a time when many companies were cutting their staff and automating, Stewart’s invested in its partners (the name they use for their employees) with an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Today, employees own over one-third of the company through ESOP. The long-term approach to family and employee ownership has created partner loyalty and an ownership mentality. The company has 90 millionaire partners, and that number continues to climb with double digit contributions since the program began and double digit growth for the past seven years.

In the 2010s, Stewart’s became a restaurant, expanding its kitchen to prepare foods for both in-shop dining and take home food options to again make their customers’ lives easier.

Stewart’s credits this series of innovations to its success as a company; it is now in a unique position of profitability and stability to make investments and grow the business. The chain has invested $150 million in shop construction over the past three years. With no signs of slowing down, it will have opened 19 new shops in 2020 and a 60,000-squarefoot addition to its warehouse/distribution plant will be completed in 2021.

The warehouse expansion will further enhance the vertical integration that has made Stewart’s the company it is today.

The company also believes in giving back to the communities it serves, and, together with the Dake Family, it provides over $7.5 million to nonprofits each year, with an additional $1 million in COVID relief given to nonprofits in 2020.

President of Stewart’s Shops Gary Dake says, “Thanks to our evolution, we’re fortunate to be in a position to continue investing in new shops and systems, maintain and grow our ESOP program and continue our generous contributions program to make our communities even stronger.”

Today, Stewart’s employs over 5,000 partners with 340 locations in 31 counties across upstate New York and Southern Vermont.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 25

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES DOPKINS & COMPANY, LLP: 65 YEARS Based in Buffalo, New York, Dopkins & Company, LLP, is a public accounting and consulting firm. From its inception in 1955 by Leonard Dopkins as a one person CPA firm to today, Dopkins’ team of professionals are dedicated to helping clients solve complex business problems.

Today, the firm is under the leadership of Tom Emmerling, who has been with the firm since 1974 and managing partner since 1986. Under Emmerling’s strategic leadership, the firm has grown from a team of 15 to a firm of 129 professionals and is one of the largest independent firms in the region.

When Emmerling joined the firm, it was primarily focused on audit services for large local companies. Fast forward to today, Dopkins has evolved to meet a broad spectrum of business, technology and financial needs of its clients. The firm now provides Lean Six Sigma process improvement services to help clients improve their manufacturing and business processes. Additional solutions the firm offers include risk advisory services, technology deployment and transactional advisory guidance, including full scope merger and acquisition consulting and support. As he puts it, the firm evolved “because we listened to clients as to what challenges they had and we tried to address them.”

“In the ‘80s, we were converting clients from pen and paper to a PC,” explained Emmerling. “Now, we’re helping clients move to the Cloud. That wasn’t even in our vernacular five to 10 years ago.”

Emmerling said cybersecurity has become a big area of client concern, and the firm puts significant emphasis on providing clients with risk assessment guidance to prevent business interruption incidents before they occur. Additionally, the 26 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

firm offers investment advisory services through Dopkins Wealth Management, LLC, a registered investment advisor owned by the partners of Dopkins & Company, and currently manages $650 million for its clients.

The firm’s team has developed extensive experience serving dairy, agricultural and cooperative industry clients since its inception. In fact, one of Dopkins’ first clients was Buffalo-based Sorrento Cheese, and the firm continued to grow its dairy practice after recruiting a partner from a national firm with food and cooperative expertise. Today, the firm’s success in serving the dairy industry is a direct result of integrating a team of professionals with those containing specialized dairy industry knowledge.

The team is experienced with all aspects of dairy sold in private-label or branded form (i.e. fluid, butter, cheese, powder, yogurt, by-products and specialty contract manufacturing). Clients include single and multi-site companies that sell into

wholesale, foodservice and retail markets.

Partner Andrew Reading currently leads Dopkins dairy industry team in services to help clients with core audit and tax compliance services, as well as specialty services and assistance, including cost accounting, profitability and shrink analysis, research and development tax credits, cost segregation, transaction advisory, cybersecurity and capitalization/financing strategies. Dopkins & Company also helps with estate and gifting strategies critical for family-owned companies in the dairy business.

While the firm remains firmly rooted in Buffalo, it also has employees based in remote offices across the continental United States who focus on serving business needs for lenders and banks in the asset-based lending industry. With the advent of remote technology, the firm has also been fortunate to retain internationally-based employees located in Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom.

The flexibility of access is a part of

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES Dopkins & Company’s commitment to retaining leading experts in their field, as well as drawing from a bigger talent pool by allowing employees to be flexible as to where they are located. Emmerling acknowledges that young people today have more career choices than ever, and there is great competition in order to hire the best accounting and financial services talent. He said that the firm has a business goal of creating a workplace culture that

makes people want to choose Dopkins, and, when they do, to stay there. To that end, Dopkins has adopted policies like self-managed paid time off and unlimited vacation time — something that partners had for a long time but has recently been extended to employees. “It’s not abused because we’re hiring high quality people.

They want the flexibility, but they also want to be responsible for their clients,” Emmerling explained.

In recent news, the firm took great pride in the fact that accounting firms were considered an essential business to assist clients during the pandemic.

Whether working remotely or in the office, the firm’s professionals were available without interruption to help dairy industry clients solve challenging business problems during the current unprecedented economic climate.

ADVANCED PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES: 20 YEARS Advanced Process Technologies, Inc., serves the dairy and food industry with plant concept, design, process, mechanical and electrical/ automation engineering, as well as equipment manufacturing and complete installation. Employing 110 people in five locations, APT is headquartered in Cokato, Minnesota. The company operates under the direction of current President Craig Campbell. Since 2000, the company has not only continuously grown the business, it has helped customers grow their businesses and profits, too. Perfecting performance, reducing downtime and increasing efficiencies are a part of the standard goal of APT’s products and services.

In 2010, APT announced a merger with Advanced Automation, whose core business was electrical engineering, providing automation controls, programming, hardware and software services.

APT has always strived to be the best at what it does, and this merger was a natural development to continue to provide it’s customers with the best support. Now with an electrical controls/automation staff of over 20 with a combined 200-plus years in the automation field, the company’s capabilities not only include the automation of its own equipment, but it also offers the talent, size and experience NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 27

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

to automate and integrate the customer’s entire process. Continuously working as the main automation integrator with the responsibility of integrating all other components into an overall cohesive plant automation system, APT also understands the importance of being nimble, as every second a system is offline is money lost.

As the company continues to strive for complete customer satisfaction, it offers a 24-hour support method within the controls department, so APT can be available anytime a customer has a problem.

To better serve the growing number of customers in the Western market, APT started a facility in Jerome, Idaho.

This location is staffed with process mechanical and electrical/automation engineers, as well as field installers.

APT’s commitment to complete customer satisfaction was enhanced in 2014 with the expansion of a second Minnesota location that increased its production area by 30% and included a brand new sandblasting area that allows APT to sandblast large pieces of equipment.

The addition of the sandblast booth lets APT keep all aspects of its stainless steel fabrication process in-house, which, in 28 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

turn, creates savings for the company and its customers.

2015 was a milestone for the company, as it celebrated 15 years in business with the addition of a fourth facility in Vasalia, California. This ensured that customers would continue to receive quality products with on-time delivery. A fifth facility was added in 2017, when the company opened a manufacturing facility in the Cokato, Minnesota, corporate office complex. Between Minnesota, Idaho and California, APT has over 100,000-squarefeet of state-of-the-art facilities to partner with customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. as it engineers, designs, fabricates and integrates dairy plants from milk receiving to packaging for new or existing facilities.

2017 also brought another exciting change, as APT began transitioning to an employee-owned company. This move solidified APT’s willingness to take the time, resources and efforts to make sure each employee is fully trained on multiple fronts to contribute to the overall success of the company. This effort of ensuring that each employee is personally invested in doing the best

job possible further demonstrates how APT cares about its customers.

APT expanded its staff in 2018 with the hiring of Wisconsin Master Cheesemaker Mark Gustafson as a cheese technologist. In his role, Gustafson helps train cheese makers to use APT equipment, as well as assists in cheese plant startups.

“Adding another cheesemaker to our team is invaluable,” said Craig Campbell, president of APT. “He allows us to provide a broad background of knowledge and the mutual understanding on so many other aspects of cheesemaking.”

APT’s line of cheesemaking equipment includes its signature Advanced Cheese Vat, an advanced dosing system designed for accurate metering of ingredients. This system is sold as a companion to the ACV or as a standalone system integrated into existing VAT systems already in use. The company also offers a custom designed advanced cheese packaging and a complete bulk packaging conveyor system — from a 640 pound hoop process to 500 pound barrels. From conceptual design through commissioning, APT has also been involved in developing specialized systems for complex protein extraction, milk fat processing and cultured dairy products.

Capabilities include automated conveyor systems, pallet handling equipment, precision filling system, customized probe systems and automated vacuum press chambers all tailored to customers’ specific needs for complete process integration. Its scope of customized equipment also include crystallizers, PMO balance tanks, CIP tanks, skidded “plug and play” HTSTs and more. These offerings fit well into APT’s operating mantra: “Complete Systems. Complete Satisfaction.”

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES

DAIRY.COM: 20 YEARS Eight dairy companies combined in May 2000 to start Dairy.com: Dean Foods, Kraft Heinz, Dairy Farmers of America, Land O’Lakes, Danone, Schreiber Foods, Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and Leprino Foods. The mission was clear — develop dairy-specific supply chain technologies to improve day-to-day operations of the founders and the industry at-large.

Its first product was the cream scheduling platform, developed to streamline the ordering and change-management process of an extremely important perishable commodity that moved from coast to coast. From those beginnings, the company now provides software, services, data and insights for every stop along the dairy supply chain: farm, route, plant and finished-goods distribution, addressing every step of milk’s complicated journey to the consumer.

Growth has occurred both organically — from its own investment in new products and modules — and through acquisitions. Core internally developed products include software to manage milk routing and scheduling, a mobile app to streamline manifest data collection, and My Dairy Dashboard, a producer focused tool that assimilates and visualizes key farm data. Finding complementary products and companies to acquire bolstered growth especially in the last decade, including Blimling and Associates, Inc., (2013), Data Specialists, Inc. (2018), and Orbis MES in Dublin, Ireland, just this year.

Dairy.com is headquartered in Frisco, Texas, with primary offices in Elkhorn, Wisconsin; Madison, Wisconsin; Chicago, and Dublin. It serves clients on five continents around the globe, and its products and services touch more than 110 billion pounds of milk annually. The company is under the direction of founder and CEO Scott Sexton.

Dairy.com believes that “when talented people come together and share similar values, amazing things happen.” It says that while the company has certainly changed over the last 20 years, it is still thrilled to be able to attract talent who share a common passion and purpose of supporting the dairy industry. Dairy.com continually uses its customer base as a sounding board to learn about opportunities where technology can solve problems and make lives better. While its start-up NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 29

MILESTONE ANNIVERSARIES days are long past, Dairy.com continues to look to broaden platforms to find ways to connect the supply chain from end-to-end.

One of the biggest changes over its 20-year history has been a desire from industry participants for more visibility and insights across all the various steps along the value chain, falling under the theme of traceability and transparency.

Where many critical pieces of data had long been recorded in spreadsheets or disparate systems, companies now — often reacting to their customers or consumer demand — need to have more information at their fingertips about the origin and lifecycle of that finished product. This is where demand for Dairy.com solutions are increasing,

making all the critical data available to various stakeholder, often in real time.

Another recent change is customer appetite for data and actionable insights.

Dairy.com’s Blimling team and transportation consulting units have long been embedded with customers to help solve strategic questions often around operations, strategy and risk. Today, there’s a desire to marry these long-standing offerings with robust data and analytics. The company says it is just getting started with a Data and Analytics Center of Excellence but is “looking forward to what is ahead.”

Dairy.com remains focused on the dairy and food supply chains, with the goal of helping clients deliver nutritious products across the globe. As consumer

expectations evolve, regulatory burdens increase and dairy companies strive to capture efficiencies in daily operations, the likelihood that technology is part of the solution only increases with time. If that is the case, Dairy.com is well positioned for another 20 years.

Planning to celebrate an anniversary in 2021?

Contact our editor at creff@nedairymedia.com.

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We hope to see you in person in 2021!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOW:

2021 NORTHEAST DAIRY ANNUAL CONVENTION August 18 - 20, 2021 HELD AT THE BEAUTIFUL The Chautauqua Harbor Hotel is 9 acres with a beautiful 1,100 feet of lake frontage where you can relax and enjoy the perfect get away. Bring the family and enjoy the outdoor recreation and water sports, as well as the proximity to wineries and venues like the National Comedy Center.

The convention will once again offer a variety of speakers, vendors, networking and social events. It’s not to be missed.

Chautauqua Harbor Hotel Celoron, New York www.thechautauquaharborhotel.com

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Watch for more information coming in early 2021.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 31

Major Milestones in the U.S. Dairy Industry Date Back to 1611

The dairy industry in the U.S. has milestones that date back to the 1600s. Every step of the way has been a contribution to an industry that is at the heart of putting milk and other dairy products on the tables of the American consumer. From the first cows that landed on our soil to the invention of the first machine for pasteurization and the introduction of the first plastic milk container, it’s been an amazing journey with no end in sight. Take a quick look at some of the important dates throughout our dairy industry's history.

1856

1624

Pasteur experiments started.

Gail Borden received first patent on condensed milk from both U.S. and England.

Cows reach Plymouth Colony.

1611 1841 First cows arrive for Jamestown Colony

1950

1964

Continuous centrifugal cream separator invented by Dr. Gustav De Laval.

Ultra-high temperature pasteurization is introduced.

1942

Every-other-day milk delivery started initially as a war conservation measure.

Milk vending machines win place in distribution.

Plastic milk container introduced commercially.

1878

First regular shipment of milk by rail from Orange County, New York, to New York City.

1948 1946

1955 1968

Flavor control equipment for milk is introduced commercially.

National School Lunch Act signed

by President Truman.

1949

Vacuum pasteurization method perfected.

Agricultural Adjustment Act establishes dairy support price at $3.14/cwt.

Electronic testing for milk is introduced commercially marking the official acceptance of process.

1988

Lower fat dairy products gain widespread acceptance. Low-fat and skim milk sales combined exceed whole milk sales for the first time.

1981

UHT (ultra high temperature) milks gain national recognition.

1974

Nutrition labeling of fluid milk products begins.

1983 1980

American Dairy Association launches the national introduction of the “REAL”® Seal dairy symbol.

32 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

Creation of National Dairy Promotion and Research Board.

1890

Tuberculin testing of dairy herds introduced.

Test for fat content of milk and cream perfected

by Dr. S.M. Babcock.

1884

Milk bottle invented by Dr. Hervey D. Thatcher, Potsdam, New York.

1886

First compulsory pasteurization law (Chicago) applying to all milk except that from tuberculin tested cows.

Commercial pasteurizing machines introduced.

Thistle milking machine introduces intermittent pulsation.

Sherman Anti-Trust Act establishes federal anti-monopoly policy.

Automatic bottle filler and capper patented.

1908

1895

1892

Certified milk originated

by Dr. Henry L. Coit in Essex County, New Jersey.

1911

Automatic rotary bottle filler and capper perfected.

1937

Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act establishes federal milk marketing orders.

1922

1914

Capper-Volsted Act codifies agricultural cooperatives.

1938

Tank trucks first used for transporting milk.

1932

First farm bulk tanks for milk began to replace milk cans.

Ways of increasing Vitamin D in milk made practicable. First plastic coated paper milk cartons introduced commercially.

1919

Homogenized milk sold successfully in Torrington, Connecticut.

2008

1993

Mandatory animal drug residue testing program established.

1995

Order amending manufacturing cost allowances and butterfat yield factor used in Class III and Class IV product-price formulas applicable to all FMMOs.

Launch of processor-funded milk mustache advertising campaign.

2000 1994

Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST) approved for commercial use in U.S. Nutrition Labeling and Education Act requires mandatory nutrition labeling.

Federal milk marketing orders reformed; component pricing introduced.

2019

Milk Donation Reimbursement Program established.

(Source: IDFA) NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 33

Landmark Supreme Court Ruling: West Lynn Creamery vs. Healy

BY GARY LATTA

A

s we talk about milestones in this issue of Northeast Dairy magazine, it got me thinking about some of the many legal milestones that have made a real difference in the direction of the dairy industry over the years. So many came to mind, but one that I believe had arguably the greatest impact was the case of West Lynn Creamery, Inc. vs. Healy, Commission of Massachusetts Department of Food and Agriculture. So in the spirit of milestones, let’s take a look back to the mid-1990s and the decisions surrounding this important case.

The case of West Lynn Creamery, Inc. vs. Healy was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court on March 2, 1994, and decided on June 17, 1994. The heart of the issue was whether a state could impose economic barriers that benefit in-state dairy interests at the expense of out-of-state dairy interests. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Massachusetts commissioner and the state program. This article will delve into some of the logic argued on both sides. Since I am not an attorney, I will rely heavily on the opinions of the justices and present exactly what they were thinking when they ruled on this case.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the state of Massachusetts recognized it was losing dairy farms and market share from what it concluded were lower milk prices of competitor farms in surrounding states. In response, Massachusetts formed a 34 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

special commission to explore solutions to this problem. In January of 1992, Massachusetts Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Healy issued a new pricing order that required all licensed dealers who sold milk in that state to pay a monthly premium that would be distributed to in-state dairy farms.

Premiums collected were based on a dealers Class I sales, and disbursements were made to producers based on their share of state volume.

At issue was the fact that most of the milk supply that was consumed in Massachusetts came from surrounding states like New York, Vermont and Maine. It was estimated at that time that West Lynn purchased over 90% of its milk supply outside of Massachusetts. However, all the premium money collected under the new pricing order was dispensed to just Massachusetts dairy farms. West Lynn Creamery, a Massachusetts buyer, processor and licensed dealer of milk, and LeComte’s Dairy, a West Lynn dealer, sued in state court on the grounds that it violated the Federal Commerce Clause.

The state court denied relief.

West Lynn Creamery and LeComte’s paid the additional money to the state for two months, contributing nearly $200,000 into the equalization fund. In July 1992, both refused to pay any more into the fund. The state then commenced with license revocation proceedings.

Government Affairs West Lynn Creamery and LeComte’s then appealed for relief in the State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. However, the higher state court affirmed the lower court’s decision. The higher state court concluded that “...the pricing order was not facially discriminatory, applied evenhandedly, and only incidentally burdened interstate commerce and that such burden was outweighed by the local benefits to the dairy industry.”

West Lynn Creamery then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. The nation’s highest court ultimately ruled the Massachusetts pricing order unconstitutionally discriminated against commerce by 7-2.

The court’s finding of fact stated that to protect local dairy producers, Massachusetts imposed a levy on all dairy products sold in that state. Then, the state redistributed the proceeds of this levy to only in-state producers. West Lynn Creamery, a dealer that purchased most of its milk supplies from surrounding states, prevailed in the argument that the state assessment and redistribution program violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Commerce Clause doctrine forbids a state from burdening non-residents to benefit residents. The justices repeatedly stressed that protectionism of in-state industries from national competition has a negative effect and is not permitted.

The Supreme Court majority rule came from Justices John Paul Stevens, Sandra Day O’Connor, Anthony Kennedy, David H. Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Antonin Scalia. Justices William H. Rehnquist and Harry Blackmun were the only dissents. Key comments and conclusions within their ruling include the following……

“The cases are filled with state laws that aspire to reap some of the benefits of tariffs by other means. In Baldwin v. G. A. F. Seelig, Inc., 294 U.S. 511 (1935), the State of New York attempted to protect its dairy farmers from the adverse effects of Vermont competition by establishing a single minimum price for all milk, whether produced in New York or elsewhere. This Court did not hesitate, however, to strike it down. Writing for a unanimous Court, Justice Cardozo at that time reasoned: ‘Neither the power to tax nor the police power may be used by the state of destination with the aim and effect of establishing an economic barrier against competition with the products of another state or the labor of its residents.

Restrictions so contrived are an unreasonable clog upon the mobility of commerce. They set up what is equivalent to a rampart of customs duties designed to neutralize advantages belonging to the place of origin.’”

In West Lynn vs. Healy, Stevens pointed out: “More fundamentally, respondent ignores the fact that Massachusetts dairy farmers are part of an integrated interstate market.

The purpose and effect of the pricing order are to divert market share to Massachusetts dairy farmers. This diversion necessarily injures the dairy farmers in neighboring states. Furthermore, the Massachusetts order regulates a portion of the same interstate market in milk that is more broadly regulated by a federal milk marketing order which covers most of New England. 7 CFR § 1001.2 (1993). The Massachusetts producers who deliver milk to dealers in that regulated market are participants in the same interstate milk market as the out-of-state producers who sell in the same market and are guaranteed the same minimum blend price by the federal order. The fact that the Massachusetts order imposes assessments only on Massachusetts sales and distributes them only to Massachusetts producers does not exclude either the assessments or the payments from the interstate market. To the extent that those assessments affect the relative volume of Class I milk products sold in the marketing area as compared to other classes of milk products, they necessarily affect the blend price payable even to out of state producers who sell only in non-Massachusetts markets. The obvious impact of the order on out of state production demonstrates that it is simply wrong to assume that the pricing order burdens only Massachusetts consumers and dealers.”

In conclusion, Stevens mentions a 1949 Massachusetts case and the words of then Justice Jackson: “In an earlier case, also involving the welfare of Massachusetts dairy farmers, Justice Jackson described the same overriding interest in the free flow of commerce across state lines: ‘Our system, fostered by the Commerce Clause, is that every farmer and every craftsman shall be encouraged to produce by the certainty that he will have free access to every market in the Nation, that no home embargoes will withhold his exports, and no foreign state will by customs duties or regulations exclude them. Likewise, every consumer may look to the free competition from every producing area in the Nation to protect him from exploitation by any. Such was the vision of the Founders; such has been the doctrine of this Court which has given it reality. The judgment of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts is reversed.

It is so ordered.’”

Gary Latta is a dairy product specialist consultant for the Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc. He has more than 30 years of experience in providing economic analysis, statistics and information to the dairy processing industry.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 35

FarmReport

Victory Gardens Are Back...

But Have You Heard About Victory Cheese?

BY MELISSA GILMAN

M

odern victory gardens are cropping up around the country in response t o C OV I D - 1 9 .

When these makeshift home gardens first gained popularity during World Wars I and II, they served more as a symbol of resilience rather than survival. For America’s craft cheesemakers, the Victory Cheese movement could mean both.

COVID-19 closed fine dining establishments and a number of other venues normally serving up craft cheese, such as food festivals, farmers markets and more. Like so many other foods and products, supply for cheese was safe, but distribution was extremely limited, and small, local businesses were hit the hardest. NDFA member Vermont Creamery is part of an initiative to support the cheesemaking community.

THE CALL TO ACTION Vermont Creamery’s President Adeline Druart echoes the sentiment so many business leaders shared when the pandemic started forcing shutdowns: “In the first two weeks as we saw trucks coming back to us with 90% of their inventory, we were just asking, ‘Are we going to make it?’”

“We’ve been fortunate to not only have a diverse portfolio that was able to bounce back with strength but also to be part of the Land O’Lakes family (also an NDFA member), which immediately pivoted the entire business with best 36 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

practices to respond,” said Druart. “Not all of our smaller peers in cheese have been that fortunate.”

Founded in 1984 by two young entrepreneurs working at the intersection of independent cheesemaking and local agriculture, Vermont Creamery grew over time. It became a certified B Corp in 2014, a designation for forprofit businesses that focus on solving social and environmental issues. In 2017, Land O’Lakes, Inc., acquired the business. With national presence and the support of the Land O’Lakes enterprise, Vermont Creamery wasn’t subject to all the same struggles as very small, independent producers. But the company recognized the need to stay true to its roots in that community.

Druart said, “We were first focused on keeping our employees safe. Then, (we) had to raise our heads up and think about our cheesemaking community. As we’ve always said, we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the entire cheesemaking community.”

FOUNDING VICTORY CHEESE “We were dreaming up ways to help our own business and thinking about the impact of the pandemic on the cheesemaking community, when [Victory Cheese co-founder] Steph Skinner reached out about forming the Victory Cheese movement,” said Kate Paine, Vermont Creamery marketing director.

The Victory Cheese movement consists of a task force of industry leaders,

food writers, cheese shop owners and cheesemakers — all contributing their time and skills to champion America’s cheese during the pandemic. Vermont Creamery supported the effort from early on by gathering industry stakeholders to understand risks and needs.

Once the broader Victory Cheese group was formed, Vermont Creamery collaborated with group members to support its marketing efforts. For instance, Vermont Creamery played a leading role in drawing consumer attention to the collaborative’s first tangible product: Victory Cheese boxes.

The boxes feature products from craft cheese producers that might normally sell to restaurants, now available for consumers at home to order online.

Vermont Creamery’s products have been added to some Victory Cheese boxes, as well. Plus, a portion of the profits go to a philanthropic cause of the cheesemaker’s choice.

Vermont Creamery has been successful in promoting the Victory Cheese movement. So far, the group has landed coverage in prominent media like The New York Times and The Boston Globe, and in industry trade publications including The Cheese Professor and Deli Market News. Celebrity chefs have gotten involved too, further promoting the message and advocating on behalf of local agri-business.

Soon, the collective will launch Your Maker Direct, an e-commerce platform for consumers to order directly from specialty cheese makers.

FarmReport

Paine said the mission of Victory Cheese fell squarely in line with what Vermont Creamery stands for. “We’ve always prided ourselves in the quality of our products and our place in a diverse cheesemaking community.

We hope the impact we make is equal to what we make,” she explained. “Across Land O’Lakes, Inc., we are focused on providing food at a critical time for America. A healthy food ecosystem is a critical part of our nation’s security. Thanks to the hard work of our farmer-owners, our country has and will continue to share in a safe and reliable food supply.”

The Agri-Mark dairy co-operative has proudly adopted the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment, affirming to our customers, our consumers and the global marketplace our pledge to responsible dairy production as we nourish the communities we serve.

For more information about the U.S. Dairy Stewardship Commitment, go to:

commitment.usdairy.com

Melissa Gilman is the senior manager of communications at Land O’Lakes, Inc. This article originally appeared as a blog post on landolakesinc.com and was used with permission from the company.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 37

Milestones

How Byrne’s Past Paved the Way for Its Future

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hile Northeast Dairy Supplier Member member Byrne Dairy isn’t celebrating a milestone anniversary this year, it is currently undergoing a major expansion at its Dewitt, New York, facility focusing on aseptic production. This is yet another step in the growth of the company that dates back to the 1930s. The following outlines the road to how it all began and how, today, it is on track to have the ability to distribute its products not only around the nation but eventually around the world.

THE 1930s: THE FOUNDING OF A DAIRY OPERATION In 1917, at the age of 32, Matthew V. Byrne started his first business as a tire distributor for the Miller Rubber Company. Three short years later, the United States experienced a period of unbridled economic prosperity, which 38 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

allowed Matthew to build the Byrne Square Building in Downtown Syracuse, New York, which he used to conduct the business of the Miller Rubber Company.

During the roaring ‘20s, Matthew’s business thrived and became one of the finest automobile service operations in the nation. However, in October of 1929, it was all over. That month, the stock market crashed, which was the first sign of the Great Depression.

The Miller Rubber Company folded shortly thereafter, leaving Matthew unemployed and without work. Banks began mortgage foreclosures on his home and office buildings. Fortunately, the New York State Legislature stepped in and placed a moratorium on those foreclosures, which saved Matthew’s home and office buildings.

To provide for his family, Matthew tried selling traffic control devices to various town and village governments in and around Onondaga County, New

York. On more than one occasion, he also tried to promote professional boxing matches to make money.

Considering his future, Matthew said he wanted to become involved in a business that had several basic elements.

First, it must be a food product. Second, it must be a food product that is consumed on a regular, consistent basis, and, finally, payments must be made on a cash basis, rather than by accounts receivable or over a period of time.

In 1932, at the age of 47 and amid a major economic downturn, Matthew borrowed money from family and friends to start a dairy bottling operation out of the Byrne Square Building. At that time, there was no shortage of dairy bottling operations. In fact, by some accounts, there were as many as 36 dairy bottling operations in the county alone, most of which were distinguished from one another either by the name of the farm or the surname of the processor.

Milestones

Matthew’s company, of course, was no different. On Feb. 2, 1933, Matthew filed articles of incorporation for Byrne Dairy, Inc., a day which is now recognized and celebrated by the company and its employees as Founders Day.

THE 1940s: WHEN BYRNE BECAME A FAMILY-OWNED AND OPERATED DAIRY BUSINESS It wasn’t until 1946 that Byrne truly became a family-owned and operated business. That year, Matthew handed the keys of the operation over to his three sons: Jack, Bill and Vincent.

While Matthew remained the president, Jack became general manager, Bill was responsible for plant operations and Vincent handled sales and distribution.

By the end of the 1940s, the family business was thriving, and the decision was made in November 1948 to leave behind the Byrne Square Building in favor of a larger, more suitable location at 240 Oneida St. in downtown Syracuse.

THE 1950s & 1960s: BYRNE’S SUCCESSFUL FORAY INTO THE RETAIL INDUSTRY In 1954, Byrne acquired the McMahon Dairy, which made Byrne the third-largest dairy business in Central New York at the time.

That year marked a watershed moment for the family business for a different reason, however. As the company began to understand the consequences of the movement of families from the city to the suburbs, it decided to build its first dairy store located in Central Square, New York, and the decision was made to move in the direction of marketing its dairy products through the ownership of those stores.

The early store locations were primarily known as “dairy stores” rather than “convenience stores” because they offered customers the opportunity to purchase a small number of Byrne branded dairy products rather than a large array of goods.

As the stores grew in number and popularity, Byrne began offering customers a greater variety of goods and services.

Today, many of Byrne’s retail locations may be described as “expanded” or even “hyper” convenience stores in that they

offer consumers the widest possible array of goods and services among convenience stores in the industry.

THE 1960s & 1970s: THE END OF HOME MILK DELIVERIES AND EXPANSION OF RETAIL OPERATION Throughout the 1960s, Byrne operated four dairy stores, as management remained attentive to its manufacturing operation and home milk delivery services. But that all changed in the 1970s when many dairy processors discontinued home milk delivery services for a variety of reasons, including the increasingly mobile lifestyle of Americans, home refrigeration, extended shelf-life of dairy products and better merchandising at grocery stores.

The first survey from the Department of Agriculture on home milk delivery services was conducted in 1963, when nearly 30% of Americans were still

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 39

Milestones

receiving such services. By 1975, the percentage of Americans receiving home milk deliveries dropped to just 6.9% of total sales.

It wasn’t until 1977 that Byrne discontinued its home milk delivery services, and it prided itself on being the last local dairy to do so. While Byrne was one of the last remaining holdouts, it was also well positioned to meet the challenges ahead because it had allocated significant resources to its retail division in the years prior.

By the end of the 1970s, Byrne had opened 13 new store locations, more than tripling the size of its retail division. To remain competitive in its core business, 40 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

the company began offering milk in diverse flavors such as strawberry, banana, and (the now famous) Irish Mint Milk. Finally, rather than selling off surplus cream generated at its Oneida Street plant, the company decided to use excess cream to manufacture its own line of ice cream and butter products, which were sold at its growing number of dairy stores.

THE 1980s: REPEAL OF RESTRICTIVE TRADE BARRIERS AND PROMOTION OF COMPETITION Throughout the 1980s, Byrne fought aggressively to increase its milk sales through the expansion of its dairy store

locations, but this was no easy task for the historical reasons below.

For much of its history, New York State has had a public policy of assuring an abundant supply of milk to its residents. Acting under its policy purview, and, for more than 50 years, New York State was permitted to regulate the sale of milk on a county-by-county basis pursuant to a licensing scheme set forth in New York’s Agriculture and Markets Law. Under this licensing scheme, any business seeking to sell milk in the state had to apply to the Department of Agriculture and Markets for a license to sell milk in a different county. The commissioner of agriculture and markets had the ability to deny any license if he or she found that its issuance would be a source of destructive competition in a market already adequately served, or, if it was deemed to not be in the interest of the public.

For the better part of 50 years, the “destructive competition” clause had the effect of preventing many milk dealers, such as Byrne, who sold milk in one county from selling milk in another county. The rationale for denying Byrne and others a license to sell milk in a different county was typically that a particular market was already adequately served.

The federal ruling in Farmland Dairies v. Com’r of N.Y. Dept. of Ag., 650 F.Supp. 939 (1987), found that the “destructive competition” clause violated the commerce clause of the United States Constitution. After this ruling, out-of-state companies were permitted to enter the New York market. However, the federal ruling did not address existing barriers faced by in-state companies that were still required to obtain licenses to operate across county lines.

Simply put, the in-state problem required a state solution. And it wasn’t until the passage of state legislation, which largely took effect on April 1, 1988, that the “destructive competition”

Milestones

clause would be repealed altogether, followed a year later by the repeal of a number of restrictive provisions found in the Dairy Trade Practices Act. The repeal of this legislation bolstered Byrne’s growth strategy. In 1988, Byrne enlarged and updated its Oneida Street plant, which increased throughput by 25% in order to accommodate the expanding number of dairy stores, which totaled 46 by the end of the 1980s.

THE 1990s: LARGE RETAILERS DOMINATE THE GROCERY LANDSCAPE By the time 1990 rolled around, the American landscape had, once again, changed, which presented a whole new series of challenges for the Byrne family business.

In the early 1990s, it became clear that Walmart and other large retailers had redefined convenience and one-stop shopping. For instance, in the early 1990s, Walmart had become the number one retailer in the nation. By the end of the 1990s, Walmart had grown to not only be the largest private employer in the nation, but the entire world.

Throughout much of the 1990s, Byrne remained preoccupied with

manufacturing its own brand of dairy products, the vast majority (80%) of which were still sold at its dairy stores.

But, by the end of the 1990s, the Byrne family could not avoid certain realities: fewer Americans than ever were consuming milk on a regular basis, and a growing number of Americans were no longer frequenting mom-and-pop establishments for food staples such as milk.

Accordingly, the Byrne family decided the only way to boost its sales was to expand its territory and get into the larger retail locations, such as Walmart, that were beginning to dot the American landscape. But, there was one glaring problem: Byrne’s Oneida Street plant lacked the technological capability to ship finished good inventory outside a 50 to 100 mile radius because its dairy products only remained fresh for an 18 to 20 day period.

THE 2000s: BYRNE’S FORAY INTO EXTENDED SHELF LIFE MILK PRODUCTION In 2003, after years of careful planning and consideration, the Byrne family invested $13 million to build a 40,000-square-foot Ultra High Temperature pasteurization facility in

DeWitt, New York, which the company aptly named “Ultra Dairy.”

At the time of construction, it was one of the first family-owned and operated UHT facilities in the country. The bricks and mortar construction was fairly routine, but outfitting the plant with new equipment was an entirely new venture.

It required highly technical equipment, including UHT sterilizers, aseptically design tanks and process piping, Extended shelf life filling equipment designed to commercially sterilize and fill containers, specially designed production environments to satisfy “clean room” requirements, and — to top it all off — a highly sophisticated staff of exempt and non-exempt employees to make the whole thing work.

In the most simple of terms, the UHT process involves exposing raw product, such as milk, to powerful heat treatment (>280 F) so that all microorganisms and heat-resistant enzymes are inactivated. As a result of the raw product undergoing such heat treatment, and the processed product being filled into commercially sterile containers, the finished product may be stored for longer periods of time (70 to 180 days) when compared to more antiquated heat treatment and

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 41

Milestones

packaging technologies, such as those used at Byrne’s Oneida Street plant (18 to 20 days).

The investment in UHT technology opened up the entire country to Byrne, as it now had the ability to ship and distribute its products over longer distances and wider geographic areas.

This allowed Byrne to enter new markets and engage with new customers.

Indeed, within the first few years of operation, Byrne transitioned from a small regional dairy that largely made products for its own dairy stores, to stocking hundreds of major retailers throughout the nation.

Over the following years, Byrne continued to make substantial investments in its DeWitt facility. For instance, in 2008, Byrne invested $9.5 million to more than double the size of its DeWitt facility from 40,000-square-feet to 86,000-square-feet.

And, from 2009 to 2013, Byrne invested another $20 million to outfit the newly acquired space with state-of-the-art processing and packaging equipment, which allowed the facility to nearly triple its productivity and output.

In 2018, the company began its third major expansion of the DeWitt facility, 42 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

which included a $28 million investment to build a 38,400-square-foot expansion of the building, allowing the extension of existing production lines for enhanced efficiencies, the addition of new processing and packaging equipment and a larger cooler space to store and move finished good inventory.

In December of 2019, the company sold its Oneida Street plant, which had a proud history spanning 71 years of successful operation. The proceeds from this sale, however, allowed the Byrne family to further invest in its future as a manufacturer of long-life beverages.

PRESENT DAY EXPANSION INTO ASEPTIC PRODUCTION In 2020, as the Byrne family business once again enters a new decade, as the world is facing unprecedented challenges in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, which by most accounts has caused the largest social disruption and economic downturn since the Great Depression.

During this period, Byrne is undergoing its fourth expansion of its DeWitt facility, with the aim of entering an entirely new market within the dairy

industry: aseptic production.

The aseptic project, as it is referred to internally, involves a $28.5 million investment to construct a 22,000- squarefoot expansion of the DeWitt facility to accommodate new, state-of-the-art aseptic processing and packaging equipment; a 3,600-square-foot expansion for additional office space; 1,165-square-foot expansion for bulk chemical storage; and the addition of three new 60,000 gallon silos for storage of raw milk and cream.

The project will provide Byrne with the ability to make a variety of beverages that can be stored up to 13 months without refrigeration, and it will increase the footprint of the DeWitt facility to nearly 160,000-square-feet, which is quadruple the size of the original 2004 layout.

Carl Byrne, who is a third-generation family member and has served as the company’s president and CEO for the past 14 years, anticipates that the ongoing project will allow the company to not only ship and distribute its products throughout the United States, as it already does, but around the world. “We’re getting into aseptic production because that market is growing, not only in the United States but globally,” he noted.

Milestones

Not Your Daddy’s Dairy Business:

Today’s Dairy Manufacturers Need Employees With Multi-Dimensional Skills

BY EILEEN DONOVAN

A

griculture pours more than $53 billion each year into the Central New York economy’s coffers, making it a pillar of the regional business infrastructure. Milk is by far the state’s largest agricultural commodity; New York State ranks third nationally for milk sales. In 2017, A Profile of Agriculture in New York State, published by the New York State Comptroller’s Office, noted that the state’s farms housed 624,000 milk cows and led the nation in the production of a variety of dairy items, such as cottage cheese, sour cream and yogurt. Dairy farms and related manufacturing activities provide thousands of New York jobs.

The Manufacturers Association of Central New York has advocated for agribusinesses, several in the dairy sector, since its inception in 1913. Over the past century, New York State dairy has evolved and diversified in response to consumer preferences and market demands.

“What people may not appreciate about New York State dairy operations is the level of specialization from processor to processor, even within the same company,” said Laury Ferguson, associate director of apprenticeship at MACNY.

“These businesses stand out for the multi-dimensional skillsets that employees must display to work in these settings.”

To be successful at a dairy plant, a worker must be adept in several areas: manufacturing, food standards, HVAC, electrical, mechanical, schematics, pumps and piping and/or welding.

“It’s not uncommon for the dairy industry to seek individuals with farm and auto mechanic experience for their trouble-shooting abilities,” said Ferguson. “These workers must be able to shepherd dairy inventory from raw material to finished product.”

Consider, for example, NDFA member Great Lakes Cheese.

With plants across the U.S., Great Lakes Cheese is a $3.2 billion producer headquartered in Hiram, Ohio, with two plants located in New York State. The Adams, New York, plant is the source of award-winning cheddar, relying on old-world processes, aged at this facility. In Cuba, New York, Great Lakes Cheese produces and packages provolone, mozzarella, string cheeses and shreds that compete internationally. In addition, the company has found markets for specialty whey ingredients that result from cheese manufacturing.

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE ► NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 43

Milestones What Great Lakes Cheese does to make these products is completely different from the processes of Kraft Foods, located just down the road in Lowville, New York, and those of MACNY and NSDA member Byrne Dairy, which was launched in 1933 as Byrne Hollow Dairy and delivered bottled milk by horse-drawn wagons. Today, NDSA member Byrne Dairy is a fourth-generation, family-owned processor of milk supplied by local farms, most of them located within 35 miles from one of three Byrne Dairy facilities.

This specialization results in challenges and opportunities for plant managers and workers. In recent years, MACNY, acting on its mission to provide solutions for its members’ challenges, has intensified its support, specifically as it relates to workforce development. Currently, MACNY’s membership stands at 332 New York State-located businesses and organizations that employ over 50,000 workers across 26 counties.

Not one of them would suggest that it’s easy to hire and retain qualified workers. Dairy operations on the MACNY roster are no different, except that employee turnover is remarkably stable. Locals who stay in the area and go to work for one of the regional farms can expect career longevity.

This consistency leads to anxiety shared by other manufacturers — the need to replace their highly skilled, aging and retiring workforces. These employers must also find a way to “upskill” entry-level workers to perform technical tasks that may not have been required a generation ago. Manufacturers feel the urgency of this challenge, describing the “skills desert” and the thing that keeps them up at night as to who will replace these workers?

Byrne Dairy employs nearly 1,000 people in its three New York facilities (another location is currently in the works). The 50 million pounds of milk delivered to Byrne Dairy each month are processed and distributed as conventional yogurt, Greek yogurt, sour cream, milk, cream, ice cream and more. Each plant focuses on different milk commodities: ice cream in Syracuse, ultra-high temperature pasteurization in DeWitt, and a cultured plant in Cortlandville; each utilizes different processes.

With expansion underway, Byrne Dairy has partnered with MACNY to launch an apprenticeship program, starting with its Cortlandville plant. As a New York State-approved sponsor (the first manufacturers trade organization to attain this approval in the state) of apprenticeships, MACNY will oversee Byrne Dairy’s program to ensure that training progresses according to the New York State Department of Labor guidelines.

Investing in an apprenticeship program indicates several truths that manufacturers have grasped: • They must innovate to address the worker shortage.

44 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

• Yesterday’s strategies, which once led to success, will not produce the same results in today’s environment.

• Skilled workers are best developed from their own employee rosters.

Workers who have benefitted from their company’s investment in them become more valuable as they hone their skills and advance into their roles as trainers for their employers.

Byrne Dairy takes the long view; the time, effort and resources that they deploy now will result in continued sustainability down the road.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 We can’t discuss sustainability without mentioning the challenge of COVID-19 and the disruption it precipitated in the dairy supply chain. In the last week of March 2020 alone, farmers in New York dumped up to 35 million pounds of raw milk, according to one estimate, as demand for some dairy products evaporated and prices collapsed. And, similar situations happened all over the Northeast. Dairy producers faced the bottom falling out of bulk sales (restaurants, schools, corporate cafeterias — 50% of dairy sales), while at the same time, consumer demand soared. It was a confusing, heartbreaking moment for everyone.

This experience informs the dairy industry’s need for resilience. We know how difficult it was to switch on a dime from making products for institutional customers to retail consumers. Operations like Byrne Dairy will consider this threat to the supply chain as they bring on new workers and train them for tomorrow’s markets.

It is MACNY’s job to help its members, including those in the dairy industry, to anticipate the unexpected. For this, New York State dairy, as well as other states throughout the U.S., will need a fully trained, specialized workforce. Launching apprenticeship programs, such as the electro-mechanical technician curriculum at Byrne Dairy, is an expression of faith in the future. Through collaboration and cooperation exemplified by the relationship between MACNY and Byrne Dairy, we utilize our collective creativity to survive, prosper, and innovate for generations to follow.

Eileen Donovan is the workforce development coordinator for The Manufacturers Association of Central New York.

DAIRY CON 2020

First NDFA Virtual Dairy Conference a Success Despite Pandemic

BY ALEX WALSH, ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF REGULATORY AFFAIRS

T

he annual Northeast Dairy Convention, a joint conference with the Northeast Dairy Foods Association, the Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Milk Dealers was supposed to be held from Aug. 12 to 14, 2020, at Mount Airy Lodge in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, this year’s convention was cancelled and went virtual with Dairy Con 2020. This half-day webinar offered presentations aimed at educating dairy processors, manufacturers, distributors and suppliers on timely topics.

Seventy-five members attended Dairy Con 2020 virtually, and each association was well represented. Presenters included Christopher Wolf, Ph.D., from Cornell University, who spoke on “Dairy Markets, Policy and Economics;” Jeff Knauss, CEO and co-founder, from Digital Hyve, who presented “Digital Marketing, Enhancing Return on Investment and Branding;” and Michael Durant from the Food Industry Alliance of New York, who spoke on “Challenges, Changes and

the Future of Retail.”

Wolf gave dairy processors, manufacturers, distributors and suppliers a greater understanding of how pricing, economics and the current state of the dairy market is critical to operations throughout the industry. Knauss presented key points on how, in this day and age — and especially in the midst of a pandemic — society and the way we do business has rapidly and drastically changed. He added that incorporating more digital tactics into business models and operations was vital. Closing the program, Durant gave the virtual audience his perspective on important issues facing the retail industry. He said that the dairy industry must watch and react to what is happening in the retail sector, noting that the Food Industry Alliance of New York has been a strong partner to our industry in the face of various challenges.

Additionally, there were two supplier presentations: one from Farm Credit East, which presented on the current and forecasted interest rate environment; and the second from Robertet Flavors, Inc., which talked about marketing cottage

cheese to new consumers.

The Northeast Dairy Foods Association, the Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association and Pennsylvania Association of Milk Dealers would like to thank their speakers; Wolf, Knauss and Durant, for sharing their time and valuable information. The associations would also like to thank the supplier presenters; Farm Credit East and Robertet Flavors, and our Dairy Con 2020 sponsors; Equitable, Chr. Hansen and Robertet Flavors. Dairy Con 2020 was hosted

by Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Zoom.

The associations have received tremendously positive feedback on the event and will be looking to host more virtual presentations and education programs in the future (although, at this time, plans are moving forward to hold next year’s convention in person).

If you missed Dairy Con 2020, you can watch the conference in its entirely by going to www.dairyfoods.org or www. neastda.org. Sign in under the “Members Only” section to view the full recording, including the speaker presentations.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 45

Member News

Newly Named Bruce W. Krupke Memorial Scholarship Fund Awards $20,000 to College Students

T

he Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association, Inc., announced in August the winners of the Bruce W. Krupke Memorial Scholarship Fund for the 2020-2021 academic year. While NDSA has been giving out scholarships for years, the amount of the 2020 awards was increased by a total of $5,000. In addition, the NDSA board of directors unanimously voted to name these awards after Bruce W. Krupke, the former executive vice president for NDSA and the Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc., who died earlier this year after 27 years with the organization.

Scholarships in the amount of $2,500 were awarded to students whose majors are related to the dairy/food industry or are in an agriculture program related to the dairy/food industry.

Scholarships in the amount of $1,500 were awarded to college students studying any major. Overall, $20,000 in scholarships were given to 12 students, all of whom had a connection to the NDSA or NDFA membership.

“We received over 70 applications this year, and it was a long and challenging process for the scholarship committee to narrow it down based on the quality of this year’s applicants,” said Bill Elliott, president of the NDSA board of directors. “The Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association is honored to be able to provide this scholarship to students who are pursuing their

46 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

goals and dreams. Congratulations to all of the recipients!”

“As an out-of-state student, finances are always very tight, and this scholarship means I can worry less about how I can afford my dream education and focus more on making every minute count,” said John Michael Carter, one of the scholarship winners. “The Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association has been instrumental in my educational experience, and this money helps me focus more on how I can get the most out of what I have.”

Another recipient, Tiffany Heishman, added, “This scholarship puts me one step closer to graduating debt-free. By graduating debt-free, I will have the opportunity to continue my passion for agriculture and pursue a career in the agriculture industry.”

To be considered, applicants must be an immediate family member of a current NDSA or NDFA member or a student member of NDSA, must be enrolled for the 2020-2021 academic year as a full-time student with a minimum of 12 credits and a GPA of 2.5 or greater. Scholarship information is available each year after Feb. 1 with applications due by June 1 and can be found on the association’s website.

Funding for the scholarships comes directly from the NDSA’s annual dairy industry clambake, members’ dues supporting the association and sponsorship of annual dairy industry events.

Member News THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENTS WERE: Melania Birjukow of Buffalo, New York, who attends Niagara County Community College and is studying human services and substance abuse counseling. She is the daughter of Joel Birjukow, an employee of NDSA member Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers.

Grayson Myers of Hamburg, New York, who attends John Carroll University and is studying business. He is the son of Donald Myers, an employee of NDSA member Ecolab.

John Michael Carter of The Colony, Texas, who attends Purdue University and is studying mechanical engineering.

He is the son of Teri Carter, an employee of NDSA member Dairy.com.

Stephanie Pieper of Davis, Illinois, who attends the University of Alabama and is studying marketing. She is the daughter of Gary Pieper, who is an employee of NDSA member Chr. Hansen.

Ella DeStephano of Newburyport, Massachusetts, who attends Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is studying cognitive science and computer science.

She is the daughter of Joseph DeStephano, an employee of NDFA member HP Hood, LLC.

Emily Roloson of Castleton, New York, who attends the University of Virginia and is studying biomedical engineering.

She is the daughter of Ed Roloson, who is an employee of NDFA member Byrne Dairy.

Ian Fox of Crystal Lake, Illinois, who attends the University of Tampa and is studying pre-law. He is the son of Daniel Fox, who is an employee of NDSA member Nielsen Massey Vanillas.

Efraim Shachter of Cobleskill, New York, who attends Cornell University and is studying food science. He is a student member of the NDSA.

Andres Haendel Gonzalez of Hockessin, Delaware, who attends the University of Delaware and is studying biological sciences. He is the son of Frank Haendel Wulf, an employee of NDFA member HP Hood, LLC.

Heidi Williams of Sinclairville, New York, who attends the State University of New York at Alfred and studies surveying and geomatics. She is the daughter of Vicki Williams, who is an employee of Dean Foods/Dairy Farmers of America.

Tiffany Heishman of Strasburg, Virginia, who attends Eastern Mennonite University and is studying accounting and business administration. She is the daughter of Tracey Heishman, an employee of NDSA member Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers.

Heather Young of Dannemora, New York, who attends the University of Florida, has a master’s degree in agriculture education and communication and is now pursuing her Ph.D. She is currently employed by NDSA member Dairy Farmers of America.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 47

Member News

Member News and Industry Announcements Thanks to a partnership between fairlife and Boardwalk

flow monitoring of conductive clean liquids in water and

Frozen Treats, fairlife has introduced seven flavors of light ice

wastewater applications. The OPTIPROBE can be used in

cream. All are made with ultra-filtered milk with 8 or 9 grams

water applications or effluent discharge, water distribution,

of protein (depending on the flavor), half the fat, less sugar and

water well flow measurement, indicative measurements in

fewer calories than traditional ice cream. This light ice cream

water and wastewater transportation lines, water network

also is lactose-free and made with natural flavors and sweeteners

management, district metering areas for leak detection, mon-

but no artificial preservatives, colors or growth hormones. The

itoring of distribution networks and ballast water indication.

launch of fairlife’s ice cream is aimed at meeting the demands of consumers who want a healthier dairy dessert option.

Farm Credit East is hosting GenerationNext seminars vir-

While the country continues to face uncertainty, Land

O’Lakes farmer-owners work tirelessly to ensure the food supply chain remains strong, whether at home, at school or

tually this winter and currently seeks interested young leaders

at the restaurants that have faced challenges in 2020. That’s

to attend. There will be eight, 90-minute sessions held online

why the cooperative has launched Where Goodness Grows,

once per week starting in December. GenerationNext is optimal

a six-part digital video series designed to connect everyday

for those producers who will be the next generation operators

people with the farmers who are so critical to delivering the

of a farm business or for entrepreneurs starting their own busi-

food they enjoy. The series focuses on the full-on delight

ness. The web sessions will cover a range of topics, including

that’s often overlooked, yet very much present, in the lives of

leadership and management, human resource development,

dairy farmers and the communities that surround them. Where

financial management, production economics, marketing,

Goodness Grows is hosted by (and produced remotely from the

risk management, and farm transfer and estate planning. For

kitchen of) Amy Brown, co-host of iHeartMedia’s award-win-

more information and to sign up, visit FarmCreditEast.com/

ning country music radio show “The Bobby Bones Show.”

GenerationNext. It is not necessary to have an existing relationship with Farm Credit East to attend. Contact your local Farm

Perry’s Ice Cream Company launched a new fall lim-

Credit East office, or call 800-562-2235 for more information.

ited edition flavor, Friendsgiving, in October, along with

KROHNE, Inc., recently introduced its OPTIPROBE

its classic seasonal favorite, Pumpkin Pie. Friendsgiving is an almond ice cream with blackberry swirls and sugar cookie dough pieces. “Perry’s newest limited edition flavor

electromagnetic insertion-type flowmeter, which provides 48 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

Member News is inspired by a tradition consumers have established with their chosen families, Friendsgiving,” said Nichole Buryta, brand manager. “The flavor is reminiscent of thumbprint cookies, a nod to celebrating the treats that bring us comfort, especially as gatherings may look a little different this year. Friendsgiving is the perfect complement to returning favorite, Pumpkin Pie. We have something for everyone to usher in the season.”

Schenck Process Group has reached an agreement to acquire Baker Perkins, a leading global supplier of food processing equipment and aftermarket services for the bakery, confectionery, biscuit, cookie and cracker, breakfast cereal and pet food end-markets. Headquartered in Peterborough, United Kingdom, Baker Perkins serves a diverse and growing mix of customers across the food industry globally. This acquisition is a continuation of Schenck’s strategic focus to further extend its global offering for the food end-markets. It will significantly strengthen European capabilities in the food processing and equipment sector, broaden the company’s product offering in the Americas and provide opportunities for growth across the Asia Pacific region.

And they’re off… Stewart’s Shops celebrated its hometown hero, Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law, a horse that also won the Traver’s Stakes in Saratoga, New York. To celebrate

this hometown favorite, Stewart’s Shops gave the horse its highest honor — a dedicated ice cream flavor appropriately named Tiz the Law. The winner’s owner, Jack Knowlton, made a special request for a chocolate flavor, which prompted the flavor choice. “It is truly a thrill for us to have a second ice cream flavor dedicated to one of our horses,” said Knowlton, explaining that 17 years ago, Stewart’s commemorated Funny Cide’s Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins with an ice cream flavor named Funny Cide Pride.

This year, Vermont Creamery launched its Homemade Holiday Season, encouraging people everywhere to embrace the meaningful moments that can be created during this time of year. Through a series of recipes, crafts and gifting ideas, the company is hoping to bring back the joy that the holidays can inspire. “Vermont Creamery has long been at the heart of holiday meals and celebrations, and while this year will look a little different, it can remain just as magical,” said Adeline Druart, president. “This is a year when we all need a little more cheer. Let’s embrace the holiday spirit that begins at home with recipes made together, gifts crafted by hand and delicious food that’s prepared with love and shared with community, family and friends.” For more information, visit www.vermontcreamery.com.

NEW AGE RENEWABLE ENERGY, LLC

NEW MEMBERS The following new members recently joined Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc., or the The Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association, Inc. For more information about the benefits and services available in both the Northeast Dairy Suppliers Association, Inc., and the Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc., contact Alex Walsh, associate vice president of regulatory affairs, at 315-452-MILK (6455) or aw@nedairyfoods.org.

KLOCKNER PENTAPLAST OF AMERICA, INC. Ethan Crist Market Development Manager, Food Packaging 8309 E. River Rd. Rush, NY 14543 585-490-2462 Ethan.Crist@KPFilms.com www.KPFilms.com Joan Fowler Joan.Fowler@kpfilms.com

Eduard Zaydman President 2185 Town Line Rd. King Ferry, NY 13081 (315) 314-8077 (917) 754-6052 eduard@narenewableenergy.com

PAYLOCITY Andrea Card HCM Major Account Executive 1400 American Lane Schaumburg, IL 60173 607-365-2942 acard@paylocity.com www.paylocity.com

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 49

Member News

Cornell Ranks No. 1 for Agricultural Science Programs

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DFA member Cornell University is No. 1 on the list for the Best Colleges for Agricultural Sciences, according to a recent ranking released by Niche, a leading school search platform. The top position for the Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York, is out of 140 agricultural colleges in the United States. The university is home to the College of Agriculture and Life Science, which is Cornell’s second largest college and offers more than 20 majors, including community and rural development, environment and natural resources, food and nutrition, communication, applied economics, agriculture, international programs and life sciences.

According to Niche, the Best Colleges for Agricultural Sciences ranking is based on “key statistics and student reviews using data from the U.S. Department of Education.”

The ranking compares the top agricultural science degree programs, including animal science, horticulture, aquaculture, agronomy, crop science and turf management. Factors include

student ACT/SAT test scores, percent of undergraduate students at the school who major in agriculture science, survey results from students and alumni who majored in agricultural sciences, total expenditures for agricultural science research per student majoring in the field, percentage of agricultural science graduates nationally who come from the program and total expenditures dedicated to research in agricultural science. According to Niche, a school must confer at least five bachelor’s degrees in the field each year or 20% of all bachelor’s degrees conferred by the school. The information taken into consideration comes from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation and is self-reported by the colleges.

Stewart’s Shops Recognized by Cornell for “Best Milk” and “Best Chocolate Milk” in NYS

I

n August, NDFA member Stewart’s Shops was recognized for as having the best milk and best chocolate milk in New York State by Cornell University’s Department of Food Science. The recognition, which happened virtually this year, is part of Cornell’s New York State Milk Quality Improvement Program In October and May, Cornell collected samples of whole, 1%, 2% and fat-free milk from New York State plants, which were then scored on various criteria, including best flavor.

Chocolate milk and flavored milk were new categories this year.

Stewart’s sells both 1% and Super Rich whole chocolate milk.

Stewart’s works with 23 local dairy farms to source raw milk, which is picked-up daily, processed and bottled at the company’s manufacturing plant in Greenfield, New York.

“With roots in dairy, we pride ourselves on our longstanding history of providing fresh and local milk to our customers,” said Gary Dake, Stewart’s Shops president. “This Best Milk award is a testament to our hard-working dairy farmers and our 50 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

experience in the dairy industry. Our customers can feel good about buying their milk and ice cream from Stewart’s Shops knowing that they are supporting local dairy farmers. We are so proud to take top honors in both the milk and chocolate milk categories.”

Chris Koval of Koval Brothers is a third-generation dairy farmer who has been working with Stewart’s for his entire life.

“As a local farm family, we are proud to work with Stewart’s.

Our partnership is a true team effort. We work together to put the best product from our cows out to store shelves,” he said.

“It’s gratifying to be able to supply high quality, fresh product to our friends and neighbors. Stewart’s makes it easy to be proud of what we do,” he said.

According to Stewart’s, the shops have seen an increase in milk and chocolate milk sales, as more people stay closer to home during the pandemic. Chocolate milk has become very popular among its customers, as research shows it to be a good post-workout drink and help in muscle recovery.

Member News

SUNY Morrisville Helps Meet New Demands of Farm Business with Agricultural Human Resources Management Minor

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new minor in agricultural human resources management is preparing SUNY Morrisville graduates to meet the growing demands of the modern farm business.

“The diverse nature of the agricultural industry, increased agricultural labor laws and rapid consolidation of the agricultural industry are all factors influencing and creating the demand for this academic minor,” said Sheila Marshman, associate professor of agricultural business at SUNY Morrisville.

While farm business owners and managers continuously seek new labor sources with human resources management skills to manage the different challenges with agricultural labor, the new 15-credit minor will feed the industry with graduates skilled to address those needs.

“Modern farm business owners attracting a steady supply of reliable and productive employees is one of the greatest challenges facing U.S. agriculture,” Marshman said.

New challenges were created when The Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act went into effect in New York State Jan. 1, 2020. Under the law, farm employers, owners and operators must comply with changes in labor requirements, including those regarding workers compensation, disability benefits and Paid Family Leave coverage, and other labor protections.

Ryan Haines ’01, owner of Junto Beef, LLC, and Keystone BouMatic, LLC, a BouMatic and BouMatic Robotics dealer, applauds the new minor. “Although agriculture is a highly technologically advanced industry, managers cannot automate themselves out of working with people,” Haines said. “Success in the agricultural industrial industry is, in part, based on one’s ability to connect with and motivate people.”

The college’s agricultural human resources management minor covers a variety of topics including labor laws, human resources management, hiring, developing, training and retaining employees, workplace psychology, policy development and leadership, with specific emphasis on H2A (agricultural work visas), seasonal and migrant employees, housing, OSHA, labor and workers’ compensation audits.

“It is unlike traditional production agricultural degrees, as the focus of this curriculum is on the human side of agriculture,” Marshman said.

When they complete the program, students have the ability to conduct job analysis and develop position descriptions for the agricultural industry, develop strategies to improve productive human relations on farms and correctly hire, train, retain, motivate and dismiss employees within production agriculture.

Graduates also will have the knowledge to implement practices in compliance with federal labor laws, housing and OSHA laws, and regulations on farms.

The minor widens the college’s scope of agricultural business offerings, which include a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business development and an associate degree in agricultural business. A new master’s degree in food and agribusiness also is in the works.

SUNY Morrisville’s curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich, New York, campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.

The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North in the “U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2021” issue and was among the top 10 performers for social mobility. It was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2021 Best Colleges rankings.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 51

MemberProfile

Upstate Niagara Cooperative Has Made Milk Its Life’s Work

BY COURTNEY KLESS

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pstate Niagara Cooperative’s trucks feature the words “Milk Is Our Life’s Work.” Larry Webster, the company’s CEO, said that phrase is more than just a slogan.

“We are truly passionate about dairy and proud to be major contributors to agribusiness — the number one industry in New York State,” he said. “It is wellknown that milk and dairy products play an important role in nourishing communities across the globe, and we hope that people will continue to recognize that dairy provides the best value for nutrition per dollar spent.”

The Upstate Niagara Cooperative’s roots can be traced back to 1971 when Upstate Milk was formed. Twelve years later, in 1983, it acquired Bison Foods,

52 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

a manufacturer of dip, sour cream and cottage cheese. Two more brands would be introduced in the following years — Upstate Farms in 1996 and Intense Milk in 1998. The Upstate Farms Cooperative expanded one more time in 2006, merging with the Niagara Milk Cooperative to form the Upstate Niagara Cooperative. In that time, the farmer-owned cooperative has expanded to include nine plants (with plans for a cultured products plant in Batavia, New York) and more than 300 farms.

“From the first $40 invested to incorporate one of the first small cooperatives

to the millions of dollars today, our cooperative’s rich history has been spurred by two things — investment and growth,” Webster said. “Each forward-looking investment has been followed by the hard work needed to grow the business and utilize the facilities to provide the best possible returns for our members.

These returns help to sustain our member farms and support the 300 farm families that work hard every day to provide the most nutritious and high-quality milk for our plants to transform into dairy products loved throughout western New York and beyond.”

Those products include yogurt, cheese, butter, frozen desserts, juice and milk — in regular, lactose-free and flavored varieties.

Most of the Upstate Niagara Cooperative’s milk is processed and either bottled or used in the manufacturing of other dairy products and packaged within 36 hours of leaving the farm.

“The best dairy products start with the best milk,” said Webster. “Manufacturing and/or bottling our products within 36 hours of the milk leaving the farm is part of the reason why our dairy products have such consistent high quality. We strive to capture the fresh, wholesome dairy goodness in every container that we pack. Our cooperative’s rigorous quality standards exceed those required by state and federal regulatory bodies.”

In addition to its commitment to quality, the Upstate Niagara Cooperative strives to offer innovative products and packaging options for its customers.

MemberProfile

The cooperative’s marketing department works with its research & development department to create customized products — for instance, it released a Milk for life reduced fat chocolate milk that is low in sugar and high in protein.

“We have a passion for developing innovative new product concepts for our customers,” Webster said. “Our team is actively monitoring industry and consumer trends to ensure that the products offered by our cooperative are meeting the needs of our customers and delight the consumers. What most people don’t realize is that we also manufacture shelf-stable, ready-to-drink coffee and tea beverages, protein products, pet milk replacers, nutritional beverages — and even alcohol-infused beverages in aluminum bottles, cans and glass bottles.”

The cooperative has been meeting customer needs in a different way during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to Webster, the Upstate Niagara Cooperative

has donated more than 500,000 servings and 120 trailer loads of dairy products (including milk, yogurt and cheese) through local programs.

“In what seemed like just an instant, over 30 million people lost their jobs,” he said. “Restaurants were forced to close and demand from the cooperative’s customers changed in a flash. To say the supply chain was interrupted may well be an understatement. However, every challenge can create opportunities. The opportunity to help feed the people that were newly hungry or unemployed and help recognize fellow essential workers.

The interruptions to supply chains resulted in product that was made for the travel and hospitality channels, among others, being abandoned or having no buyer. Rather than let that product go to waste, Upstate Niagara was able to repurpose close-coded and otherwise obsolete products into donations to communities in need and essential workers

throughout our entire marketing area.”

That dedication to the community is reflected in the Upstate Niagara Cooperative’s core values: “Integrity, Respect for Others, Safety, Performance Driven, Quality in all We Do, Commitment to Community, Support Sustainable Business Practices.”

“Working hard is a way of life for our farmer-owners,” said Webster. “They put their heart and soul into caring for their animals, their land and their communities. Those same characteristics are the fundamental tenets in how we approach our work every day. In doing so, we strive to honor the dedication of their efforts on the farm throughout our entire business. It’s this care, craft and attention to detail that we refer to as the ‘Upstate difference.’ If this sets us apart from our competition, all the better.”

Courtney Kless is a writer/editor for Northeast Dairy Media.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 53

HumanResources

How Often Should You Update Your Employee Handbook?

New Answers for our Rapidly Changing Times

BY PAUL BANUSKI

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here is probably no more frustrating question that people ask me than “How often should we update our employee handbook?” It’s frustrating because what I always find myself answering is: It depends. And, for years, that’s been true, but, recently, I’ve begun to change my mind on this topic.

Recently, I’ve been feeling more comfortable giving a more straightforward answer because so many of the factors that would typically trigger an employee handbook update are occurring with enough frequency that I believe annual employee handbook updates aren’t just a best practice but a necessary one. An employee handbook is an important communications tool that provides a clear and concise explanation of an organization’s compliance with employment regulations and organizational policies and procedures.

What are the factors that could trigger an organization to want or need to update its employee handbook? Perhaps the largest driver is compliance with state and federal employment regulations. A strong handbook serves as a record of an organization’s efforts to comply with state and federal wage and hour laws, non-discrimination, labor relations and more. For

example, when New York passed a law requiring employers to adopt sexual harassment prevention and reporting policies in 2018 (with updates in 2019 and 2020), employers needed to either add or revise existing policy language in their handbooks to demonstrate compliance with the law, as well as communicate the law to their employees.

Changes also needed to be made to many employer policies to comply with the Affordable Care Act, the National Labor Relations Board rulings about employee communications and more. Our practice generally took major compliance issues into account when advising clients on updating their handbooks. In the past few years, new regulations have been coming from state and federal legislatures, regulatory bodies and courts at such a rate that even allowing just two or three years to pass without updating policies can quickly put an organization out of compliance.

Regulations are external forces that push an organization to make changes, but they are not the only factor. Just last year, I suspect most employers didn’t have work-from-home policies in their employee handbooks. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly meant that employers had to figure out how they would manage the challenges of a remote workforce.

GIVE US SOMETHING TO CHEW ON. Are you introducing an interesting product? Have you instituted cutting-edge processes? Are you welcoming a new hire?

Is your business expanding, moving or changing?

Do you have other news to share?

Northeast Dairy magazine is always looking for Member and Industry News.

Email your information, news releases and/or captioned photographs to us at editor@nedairymedia.com.

54 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

HumanResources

COVID-19 also had the tragic consequence of causing mass layoffs, sometimes without any notice. This left many employers frantically looking through their handbooks to see what was written regarding cancellation of benefits, unused PTO, etc.

Some employers realized their policies were underdeveloped and not helpful when they needed them to be.

Even slower moving external events can impact what should be included in the employee handbook. What about the rise in the use of social media and smartphones? To what degree these are useful business tools versus time-wasting distractions depends significantly on the policy expectations you set in the employee handbook. Work-from-home policies, paying out time off and the ways employees use technology are just some of the areas where employers can craft their policies. Still, that flexibility means the guidelines must be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

When it comes to updating the handbook, the final consideration is to look internally and evaluate what has changed. I’ll often sit down with a client to review an employee handbook, and the client will say something along the lines of “No, we don’t do it that way anymore.” Whenever you make internal changes, especially significant changes to your policies, you should update your handbook. For example, if you decide to switch the accumulation of paid time off from each employee’s anniversary date to a calendar year, you should make sure those changes are reflected in the handbook.

A handbook is also there to set expectations. I recall

once telling a client that that business had one of the most comprehensive performance review policies I had ever come across, only to be told the company didn’t conduct performance reviews. Then why have the policy? It sets the wrong expectations for employees and is not an accurate reflection of how the organization operates. Your policies should be a showcase for your organization, and it’s OK to make changes to it that reflect what makes your organization unique. Do you require employee uniforms or a dress code? What does your policy say? What about hours of operation or building security? If your organization moves, for example, there could be any number of small changes that need to be made to a handbook to reflect building security, parking, etc.

Employee handbooks are not sacred objects carved in stone. They should be a living document that reflects the well-balanced approach your organization takes to compliance, best practices and internal culture. So don’t be afraid to review and update it regularly to make sure it’s all it can and should be.

Paul Banuski is a human resource consultant for HR One, a full-service payroll and human resource consulting firm. For more information, call the company’s helpline at 1-800-457-8829.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 55

Technology

Working from Home?

Cybersecurity Can Be a Risk

BY WILLIAM PROHN

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any employees are now forced to work from home, which may be a new experience for them. Cybersecurity risks are increased when people are faced with unfamiliar circumstances. Here are some tips to help make the working from home experience as secure as possible: • Whenever possible use a companyowned computer, not your personal computer, to work from home. The company computer should have the necessary anti-virus and encryption software to ensure the data is protected.

Also, company I.T. staff will be familiar with company devices and therefore be better able to help answer questions and resolve issues.

• If you have Wi-Fi in your home, make sure that you have encryption turned ON (this will require you to enter a password before you connect) and that the password is long (24 characters) and not easy to guess. This will help prevent neighbors or others from accessing your network and intercepting work-related information.

• Do not let your children or other family members play with or use your company computer for any reason. Restrict your use of the computer to business purposes only. This will reduce the possibility of downloading something malicious onto the computer.

56 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

• If you have limited internet bandwidth in your home, you may experience slow computer response, or some functions may not work correctly. Limit the bandwidth used by other devices during working hours (e.g., TV, audio streaming, etc.), and if you are meeting with others via Skype, Zoom, GoToMeeting, etc., limit the meeting to audio only, as video webcams use more bandwidth.

• Use a Virtual Private Network to connect to the office. This will protect data that is transferred back and forth from being intercepted.

• Do not save files or documents on your local computer. Put them where they belong on the home network (e.g., shared disk, etc.). Otherwise, working remotely could end up meaning files are scattered and inaccessible to others.

William Prohn, CISSP, CISA, CGEIT, CRISC, oversees all aspects of information technology for Dopkins & Co., LLP, and provides consulting services to a wide spectrum of its clients. He has over 30 years of experience in accounting and business information systems with an interest in creating meaningful, practical management information using computer technologies, as well as the security of business information and systems.

Sales+Marketing

4 Steps To A Solid Digital Marketing Plan

BY BRIAN BLUFF

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few years ago, my digital marketing agency audited the internet marketing programs of over 175 distributors and manufacturers and found that only 3.4% had a marketing plan.

That’s not to say the companies without a plan weren’t spending money on marketing. Rather, they were letting marketing happen instead of creating a list of objectives, dedicating the necessary resources (internal labor, vendor support and advertising dollars) and establishing a system of measurement to allow for an assessment of progress toward specific goals.

As you might imagine, that’s not a great situation. For those committed to taking digital marketing seriously, you’ll need a plan. In this article, I’ve laid out four steps to developing a solid digital marketing plan.

STEP 1: DEEP AUDIT AND BASELINE As a first step, get an accurate picture of where you currently stand. This includes analyzing the performance of your website, SEO, social media efforts, email campaigns and local page and reputation on Google My Business.

Without a baseline, you can’t know if future efforts are producing results and, more importantly, if the money you spend is making a difference.

How to do this?

Leverage measurement tools to gain insight and document key findings.

Website: For your website’s performance, use Google Analytics and Google Search Console. If you are running a Google Ads program, you’ll want to integrate Google Ads data into Google Analytics too.

If you don’t have goals set up in Google Analytics, take the time to set them up now. Record goal completions by traffic source (search engines, email, social media, direct traffic and referral source), as well as conversion path (form fills, phone calls, emails, live chat sessions, successful orders).

Social Media: To assess the performance of your social media efforts, you should use the tools associated with those platforms or tools like Sprout Social or Hootsuite that aggregate this data across multiple platforms.

Email Marketing: Just about every email marketing and marketing automation platform has native performance measurement tools. Use these tools plus insights gained through Google Analytics to assess how email recipients engage with your email content and then engage with content on your website.

Google My Business allows users to quickly find information like hours, phone number, driving directions, links to a business’ website, and customer reviews. You can access data related to the performance of your Google My Business page by logging into your account. You’ll be able to see how many times your page was viewed, how viewers found your page (i.e. they searched for your company by name or Google displayed your page based on a search phrase entered by a Google user), how many phone calls were generated by NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 57

Sales+Marketing people clicking on your phone number, and how many people clicked to get driving directions.

STEP 2: COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Once you’re done documenting your program’s performance through an audit and establishing a performance baseline, it’s time to take a look at your competitors. Like the audit process, you should look at their website, digital ad campaigns, social media activity, email campaigns and local search efforts (i.e. are they actively building their number of positive reviews online).

Going through this process will allow you to identify your strengths and weaknesses as compared to your competitors. It will also give you great ideas about what you can be doing better.

How to do this?

The best way to assess the makeup and effectiveness of a competitors’ marketing efforts is to be vigilant about what they are doing. In other words, stalk them.

Website: Visit their website to understand how they are communicating with customers, what tools and services are available (training, customer rewards programs, email subscription options, etc.), how their content is laid out and what conversion paths are set up (i.e. contact forms, live chat, online purchasing, phone, driving directions, etc.).

If you want an easy and free way to document all the pages on a competitor’s website, use Screaming Frog to identify the pages on their website and how they are using title tags, descriptions, h1 tags and links to support search engine optimization efforts.

SEO and Google Ads: You should also use SEMrush to assess how your competitor’s websites are performing in the search engines (what keywords they rank for and how much traffic they generate) and to see if they participate in Google Ads (how much they spend, what keywords they bid on and view their ads).

SEMrush also has a compare function so that you can compare your performance to a competitor. Some of this functionality is free and other information requires a license.

Contact me if you’re interested in the more advanced reports and I’ll run them for you.

Social Media: At a minimum you should visit their Facebook page to see how often they post and assess their content strategy (recruiting, community involvement, or targeting potential customers).

To see if a competitor is advertising on Facebook search for their page, select it, scroll down until you see “page transparency” and click to “see more”. On the bottom of the page, you’ll see a message indicating whether they are running ads or not. If they are, click “Go to ad library” to view their ads.

58 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

Email Marketing: The best way to assess what your competitors are promoting through email is to get on their list. If they have an email subscription option, sign up. Alternatively, fill out a contact form on their website or register to download a technical paper. To avoid being too obvious don’t use a company email address as they might review new contacts and eliminate the Jane Does and competitors.

Google My Business: Search for your competitor by name and town (i.e. “ABC Inc., Syracuse, NY”) and click on their local listing. The key here is to note how many reviews they have, their rating and whether they are actively engaging with people leaving a review.

STEP 3: DEVELOP A MARKETING PLAN The primary reason for developing a marketing plan is to improve your results and increase your return on investment.

Your plan should begin with identifying key strategies and expand to include various tactics. As with any plan, you should develop a timeline, assign responsibilities, allocate a budget and identify success metrics.

How to do this?

We’ve found that in almost every engagement there is low-hanging fruit, which, when picked, generates significant and quick results. Often this is enough to cause your staff to believe in digital marketing and further engage with the process of improvement.

Website: Look to your website for quick SEO wins or ways to improve the conversion rate of visitors - i.e. number of form fills, phone calls (assumes you are tracking calls), emails sent from the website, live chat sessions, or orders placed.

Next, determine what your key objectives are and implement a strategy to meet those objectives. In today’s world this would likely involve making it easier for customers to continue doing business with you. That may mean setting up a customer portal through which orders can be placed, or a way for customers to view their order history or account data.

A public facing ecommerce website will soon be a requirement for all Gas and Welding Suppliers in order to retain customers. The biggest obstacle will be gathering sufficient product data to deliver a satisfactory experience. Suppliers can help by making product data easy to obtain in a web-friendly format. This should include detailed product descriptions, multiple images of an appropriate size, data sheets, manuals, and other data as applicable. All of this information should be easily accessible by distributors.

Amazon, Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot and other major ecommerce sites have set the bar high as far as delivering a

Sales+Marketing great customer experience is concerned. Falling short of that bar will result in customers opting for a better experience elsewhere. The good news is that the cost of this advanced functionality is dropping as more plugins and bundles become available.

Beyond ecommerce, let’s not forget about stressing a distributor’s primary advantage over online sellers - the ability to provide added value and create strong relationships with customers.

Take training for example. Be sure to build out easy-toaccess-and-use paths to content like training calendars and sign up forms, and videos of past training sessions.

Finally, leverage the fact that you’re the expert and make product information and specifications and staff contact information easy to access.

Local Search: Set up or claim your Google My Business page and begin a program to generate positive reviews. Oh, and don’t forget to respond to all reviews - positive and negative.

Search Engine Optimization: SEO is really important.

Today, SEO starts with a clean, well-organized website and great content.

At the highest level, SEO should be included in every website build project as well as continuously after launch. Each page on your website should include basic SEO elements like page titles, descriptions, h1 tags as well as schema markup code that you can add to your HTML to improve the way search engines interpret and display your page on a search engine results page.

Links within and to your website are still very important.

Internal links should be defined during the website build content strategy process and reevaluated as new content is added or as a way to improve results. Internal links - from one page to another - let Google know how content is related and the hierarchy of your content. Links from other websites to your site are seen as votes of confidence for the quality of your content, and collectively reflect the relative authority of your website.

All of this contributes to improved ranking.

Digital Advertising: Digital advertising can range from a Google Ads search and retargeting program to geo fencing your competitors and pushing ads to their customers.

Advanced capabilities included under Google Ads customer audiences allow you to target individuals searching for specific terms like a competitor’s name or website address, or terms likely to only be used by your tech savvy target audience.

If I were putting together a list of digital ad priorities, I might start in this order: 1. Google Ads search and retargeting ads 2. Bing AdCenter

3. Social ads (Start with Facebook) 4. Programmatic ads outside of the Google network.

Email marketing: Leverage your email lists to push educational and promotional content. Start with a two parts educational content to one part promotional content mix and refine over time to maximize results.

Social Media: For a distributor, I’d use social media to stress the fact that you are local, care about your community and are experts in your field.

Social media is a great way to open doors and cement relationships. However, I would focus on my website first.

Then, once it’s a solid performer, I’d invest in social media.

STEP 4: MEASURE AND ADJUST The most important and exciting part of digital marketing is the ability to measure results, make adjustments and continue improving.

How to do this?

For most business-to-business companies, it makes sense to set up a quarterly reporting initiative. Monthly would be better, but typically in the b2b world there isn’t enough data to draw conclusions about the success or failure or specific initiatives monthly.

You should look at the high level metrics - traffic volume and sources, goal completions and cost per lead - but also dig deeper into results derived through different tactics like efforts to improve conversion rates, promote a new website feature, or improve an ad campaign.

On an annual basis, reaudit your program (Step 1) and complete a competitive analysis (Step 2).

SUMMARY Following these four simple steps will put you on a path toward success and sticking to this process with yield long term benefits.

If you get stuck or have a question, please reach out. I’m happy to help. Best of luck!

Brian Bluff is the president and cofounder of Site-Seeker, Inc., an Internet marketing firm specializing in SEO, SEM, social media and web development, with a strong focus on the B2B manufacturing and distribution arena. Together with his brother, Eddie Bluff, vice president of key accounts, Brian has grown the company into a successful source of search engine and social media marketing solutions.

NED Magazine | Fourth Quarter 2020 • 59

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Ace Sanitary ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 7,29 Afgritech ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 23 Agri-Mark Cooperative ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������37 Agri Service Agency ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������21 Farm Credit East �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������11 Krohne, Inc ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6 Nelson-Jameson, Inc. ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������10 Schenck Process �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9 Spinnaker Custom Products ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ IFC The Probst Group ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 30 Tremcar USA Inc. ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 23 Tri Tank Corp. ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 30 Westrock ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������BC

NORTHEAST DAIRY SUPPLIERS ASSOCIATION BUYERS GUIDE IS NOW LIVE!

buyersguide.neastda.org

Showcasing all NDSA member companies by category, description and SEO-friendly search terms. This guide assists and encourages members doing business with members.

Find new products and services, industry events, deals and more!

Check it out today and share it with specifiers and purchasing agents at your company.

For more information about the NDSA Buyers Guide, contact Northeast Dairy Media 315-445-2347.

60 • Northeast Dairy Foods Association, Inc.

BENEFITS OF ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND INDUSTRY CONSULTANT SUPPORT

NDFA

NDSA

Legislative Representation Through Executive Lobbying and Networking Safety and Environmental Information Economic Analysis and Forecasting Continuing Education and Certification Opportunities Industry Spokesperson Emergency Preparedness

PROFESSIONAL COST-SAVING PROGRAMS Dedicated Industry-Specialized Insurance Programs Employee Benefits, Including 401(k) Retirement Program Energy Supply and Consulting Services

NETWORKING AND MEETING EVENTS Annual Northeast Dairy Convention Contact Booth at the Annual Convention Annual Dairy Industry Clambake Hospitality and Sponsorship Opportunities Industry Plant Tours Annual Charity Golf Outing Fundraiser

COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Quarterly copy of Northeast Dairy Magazine Direct Customer Advertising Opportunities Industry Scholarship Program Membership Directory with Key Contacts in the Dairy Industry Digital Buyers Guide Weekly Diary Newsletter

ADVOCACY An association represents your interests before your government leaders, industry and business community. If your business/industry faces major threats or needs support, our association is right there on the front line fighting for you.

NETWORKING Association events, meetings and member directories make networking a reality for you and your peers. Thisis the one advantage many view as the most important reason to join!

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You + WestRock = Unrivaled Advantage For further information, please contact: john.bucklin@westrock.com | 585-507-7298 © 2016 WestRock Company. All rights reserved worldwide.