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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association held their joint annual meeting this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. And during the event, NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney and President and CEO Jim Mulhern touted dairy’s gains in 2021 as record exports and per-capita U.S. consumption at a more than 60-year high point for the industry.
“The past 20-plus months have shown us that life can change quickly, and in ways beyond our control,” said Mooney, a dairy farmer from Rogersville, Missouri, in remarks before dairy-farmer leaders from NMPF’s 24 member cooperatives. “It’s also shown that when that happens, people turn to what they know and trust. They turn to dairy.”
Mulhern highlighted NMPF’s work for its members in his remarks, including leading policy efforts that brought more than $6 billion in federal aid to dairy farmers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as regulatory initiatives and advances in trade.
“We are ‘The Voice of Dairy Farmers in Our Nation’s Capital,’ and we take that mission very seriously. And through our experience over the past year and a half, I know we are well-positioned to meet the many challenges that lie ahead,” Mulhern said. “When we are strategic, patient, and act with intelligence, and realistic expectations, we can meet our challenges.”
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh also spoke to the meeting via video, highlighting dairy’s leadership in climate-smart agriculture initiatives and environmental stewardship.
“It is inspiring to see the dairy industry as leaders in advancing solutions to the challenges we face in agriculture through inclusive, accessible innovation technology and approaches,” she said. “You are leading the way as United States dairy embraces a 2050 Net Zero Initiative to help dairy farms of all geographies and sizes continue to implement new technologies and adopt economically viable practices in feed production, animal care, energy efficiency and manure management.”
NMPF also held its annual Young Cooperators gathering in conjunction with the annual meeting.