Dairy Defined

With initial hearings under way, dairy’s priorities in the 2023 Farm Bill are taking shape, NMPF Senior Vice President for Government Relations Paul Bleiberg said in an NMPF podcast. “A lot of that stakeholder outreach is going on right now, both publicly in hearings and behind the scenes as well, as we all start to figure out what improvements do we need to see in the next Farm Bill,” Bleiberg sa...

A commitment to a rural family life motivates work at Unc Brooke Farm, said Val Levine of Schaghticoke, NY, chairwoman of NMPF’s National Young Cooperators organization of younger dairy farmers, Levine said in a Dairy Defined podcast released today. Levine and her husband, members of the Agri-Mark cooperative, operate the 200-cow dairy near Schaghticoke, NY, along with numerous side businesses rel...

As its competitors move to constrain – if not roll back – their own dairy production, United States dairy producers are well-positioned to become the preferred supplier to growing international dairy markets, two top dairy economists said in an NMPF podcast. New Zealand and the European Union, the main U.S. competitors on global dairy markets, aren’t as focused on sustainably feeding the world as...

With rising energy costs and a war effort riveting attention in Washington, 2022 is turning out to be an unusually busy year on Capitol Hill – one that holds opportunity for dairy, said Paul Bleiberg, Senior Vice President of Government Relations for the National Milk Producers Federation, in a Dairy Defined podcast. “Election years can sometimes be quiet in a lot of ways. But there's still a...

Dairy has long been an agricultural leader in efforts to enhance sustainability and combat climate change, said Robert Bonnie, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm Production and Conservation. Even during times when farmers had questions about how climate policy was evolving, “Dairy stayed engaged, and continued to look for ways to, advance opportunities for...

Bottlenecks at U.S. ports and their impact on agricultural exports took center stage at the National Press Club last week, with a webinar sponsored by the National Milk Producers Federation, the U.S. Dairy Export Council, and Agri-Pulse. This week’s podcast features Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC, moderating a panel from the webinar featuring USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack; John Porcari, th...

Despite policy challenges, family-run dairies continue to grow and succeed through dedication and faith, California dairy farmer Simon Vander Woude, the chairman of California Dairies Inc., first vice-chair of NMPF and a member of its executive committee, says in an NMPF podcast. “We begin every day acknowledging that what we have is not our own, it's a gift from the Lord, and we have to be g...

Dairy prices for 2022 are projected at an eight-year high, with supply adjustments and booming exports across a wide range of products shoring up farmer balance sheets that have struggled with volatility during the pandemic era, NMPF Chief Economist Peter Vitaliano says. Due to tight supplies “not only is the outlook for milk prices the best in eight years, but that's also the case for the in...

Overwhelming support received last week in the U.S. House of Representatives for badly needed shipping-policy reforms is a crucial step, but far from the only one needed, to ensure reliable exports of U.S. dairy products to growing overseas markets, said Tony Rice, trade policy manager for NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, in a Dairy Defined podcast. Since the Ocean Shipping Reform Act passe...

The reconciliation bill being negotiated before Congress would help “climate-smart” agriculture move forward by adapting USDA conservation programs toward approaches that aid dairy in its Net Zero Initiative goal of being carbon neutral or better by 2050, says Paul Bleiberg, NMPF’s Senior Vice President for Government Relations, in a Dairy Defined podcast released today.  “The excitement here for...

With the UN Food Systems Summit this week and World Food Day next month, dairy’s global leadership in building sustainable, robust food chains are in the spotlight. Dairy Nourishes Africa, an initiative from Global Dairy Platform, is developing dairy’s potential in East Africa, where nutrition needs are great and dairy provides an economically promising, sustainable solution. “It's an opportu...

National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program evaluators provide a critical link between a dairy farmer and the consumer, working to ensure best practices. But they’re also a resource for farmers, said Janae Klingler, Manager of Animal Care and Sustainability for the Maryland and Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association, in the latest Dairy Defined podcast. “We are a...

This week’s Dairy Defined is, admittedly, a re-run – but when the runner is an Olympic medal hopeful, additional mileage is appropriate.  Elinor “Elle” Purrier St. Pierre easily made it through her preliminary round of the women’s 1500m race earlier today (last night in the U.S.) in the Tokyo Olympics. She’s running in the semi-finals on Wednesday – with the finals on Friday.  Purrier St. Pierre g...

From incentives for carbon markets to new conservation initiatives, the policies that will support dairy’s Net Zero Initiative continue to take shape, says Paul Bleiberg, NMPF’s Senior Vice President for Government Relations, in a Dairy Defined podcast released today.   The Growing Climate Solutions Act, which passed the U.S. Senate by a 92-8 vote in June, “is very helpful to our overall efforts b...

A farm background, and the emphasis it places on people working together, brings the type of experience that’s helpful to getting things done in Congress, said Rep. David Valadao, R-CA, in the latest Dairy Defined podcast.  “Every time a salesman shows up on your property, they might be trying to sell you a product you might not like that day, but the following day, they're going to have stuf...

U.S. dairy products are increasingly competitive globally – a fact shown in surging export numbers, according to two top dairy economists in the National Milk Producers Federation’s latest Dairy Defined podcast. “Global demand is fundamentally really strong right now,” said Wiliam Loux, the Director of Global Trade Analysis for the U.S. Dairy Export Council.  “Consumers within China are just wanti...

All of agriculture will benefit from U.S. insistence that trade agreements be enforced, even as dairy seeks export opportunities around the globe, says Shawna Morris, NMPF’s Senior Vice President for Trade.  “Having the willingness to be able to go ahead and enforce what's needed when it becomes clear that, that's what's required, we think sets a good tone,” said Morris in a Dairy D...

Sustainability is shaping the U.S. dairy industry’s future, making it better equipped to make sure the world has the nutrition it needs, says Pete Kappelman, a longtime dairy farmer and Land O'Lakes' Senior Vice President of Member and Government Relations.   “U.S. dairy farmers are deeply involved and concerned about the many communities that they touch. And that starts with producing a...

From building small communities to solving environmental issues, farmers stand at the center of solutions to national problems, says Cornelius Blanding, executive director of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund, a Georgia-based non-profit cooperative association of Black farmers, landowners, and cooperatives.   “Farmers are at the heart of the solutions of our country,” sa...

A career devoted to agricultural sustainability – capped by a stint as the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture – has prepared new U.S. Dairy Export Council President and CEO Krysta Harden well for her new role. Dairy’s stewardship at home is a powerful message to boost sales abroad, she says – and that story is becoming ever-more-important to hear as dairy’s critics try to shape global agricultur...

Earth Day later this month is a natural opportunity to highlight dairy’s commitment to environmental stewardship, Nicole Ayache, NMPF’s senior director for sustainability initiatives and leader of Environmental Stewardship and Workforce Development for the National Dairy FARM (Farmers Assuring Responsible Management) Program, said in an NMPF podcast released today.   “Caring for our natural resour...

Elinor “Elle” Purrier St. Pierre holds the U.S. record for fastest times in the women’s indoor mile and two-mile races. She’s also a dairy farmer, having grown up on a 40-cow operation in Vermont and currently living on one with her husband as she trains for a shot at the Tokyo Olympics. Those Olympics, like everything else, have been disrupted by COVID-19, which last year sent Purrier St. Pierre...

An ebbing COVID-19 pandemic, an appreciation of the labor crisis in agriculture, and a heightened bipartisan desire for immigration reform all make 2021 a unique opportunity for progress in ensuring a secure dairy workforce if the moment is seized, NMPF Senior Director of Government Relations Claudia Larson says in a Dairy Defined podcast.  “This window of opportunity, I think if we don't sei...

Through commitments like the Net Zero Initiative and efforts like the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, dairy farmers are well-positioned to be agricultural leaders in mitigating climate change, said Dr. Jamie Jonker, NMPF’s Vice President for Sustainability and Scientific Affairs.  “We're producing more milk, we're having less greenhouse gas emission...

Milk production is increasing faster than demand is recovering, making 2021 a challenging year for dairy farmers, said Peter Vitaliano, NMPF’s chief economist, in an NMPF podcast.  “On balance, things are improving a little bit” in dairy demand, “but they're still falling short of the milk production rate of increase,” Vitaliano said. Still, bright spots remain for the medium- and longer-term...