The National Milk Producers Federation said it was pleased that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s final report reaffirms dairy’s crucial role in a nutritious diet but expressed concern that the committee failed to recognize newer, broader science that shows the benefits of dairy foods at all fat levels.

“The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee today restated what consumers already know – that regular dairy consumption offers essential nutrition that nourishes people throughout their lives,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, the largest organization of U.S. dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own. “Across different types of diets and throughout all stages of life, dairy products provide the nutrients people need to be healthy.”

But Mulhern said it was disappointing that the committee largely reflected long-held assumptions on saturated fat, despite numerous studies that have called traditional anti-fat guidance into question.

“We repeatedly called on the committee to take a fresh look at multiple studies that show beneficial or neutral effects of dairy on chronic disease risk at all fat levels,” Mulhern said. “Unfortunately, the DGAC report does not reflect this newer science.”

The DGAC’s final scientific advisory report, submitted to the secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and released today, notes that Americans overall need more dairy in their diets, with 88 percent of them falling short of recommendations. That figure includes 79 percent of 9-13-year-olds, who rely heavily on the school-lunch program to meet nutritional needs. The report also highlights dairy’s unique place as a provider of key nutrients that otherwise would be under-consumed in American diets.

• Dairy is recommended for consumption within all three healthy eating patterns featured in the report, with three servings per day recommended in the Healthy U.S. style eating pattern and Healthy Vegetarian Style patterns and two servings per day in the Healthy-Mediterranean pattern;
• The committee recognized milk as a nutrient-rich beverage that contributes positively to under-consumed nutrients, including potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins A and D, and others;
• Low-fat and nonfat dairy foods are recommended as nutrient-dense building blocks of a healthy diet; and
• In the committee’s first-ever recommendations for birth through 24 months, yogurt and cheese are recognized as complementary feeding options for infants ages 6-12 months, and dairy foods (milk, cheese and yogurt) are included in healthy eating patterns for toddlers 12-24 months.

In a world of “lies, damned lies, and statistics,” plant-based marketing combines all three.

A pro tip: When reading about the alleged competition between dairy products and plant-based beverages, carefully note whether the statistics being used are based on value – the amount of money people spend on something — or volume, the amount of a product people actually drink. Both have their use — but they are often used by vegan advocates to paint an inaccurate picture of what consumers prefer.

Plant-based activists  like to measure by value, with its built-in bias toward more expensive products. But slick marketing campaigns cost a lot of money. Thus, plant-based beverages cost more than dairy: $6.95 per gallon on average this year, versus $4.12 per gallon for milk. So far this year (through June 14), milk sales are $6.96 billion, while consumers spent $1.16 billion on overpriced plant-based beverages – that’s 86 percent of the pie compared to 14 percent. Put this way, milk outsells plant-based by a 6 to 1 margin when calculated by value.

But that’s not a measure of what people are drinking. Milk isn’t consumed by dollars, it’s consumed by people. To understand consumer preferences, volume is the clear determinator. Through mid-June, consumers have bought 1.7 billion gallons of milk, a figure that’s outpacing last year because of rising retail demand. Plant based alternatives? 0.17 billion gallons year-to-date. Measuring by volume, the percentages are 91 percent and 9 percent — more than 10 to 1 in favor of milk.

Inappropriate use of value-versus-volume measurements is one trick plant-based marketers use to make their products appear more popular than they are. It would seem harmless, except that  it is designed to confuse perceptions of what’s actually happening in the marketplace. Of course, when the entire plant-based sector is based on confusing consumers, using dairy terms used for non-dairy products, then exploiting dairy’s “health halo” by using those terms, we in dairy are not surprised.

But we still need to confront it, because a fair marketplace is a transparent marketplace.  And p.r. hype using disingenuous numbers isn’t transparent – until you explain it for what it is, and show how the statistics are used to support all the damned lies.

The National Milk Producers Federation praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture for taking a critical step in modernizing Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) preparedness for U.S. dairy farmers through its initial purchase of $27.1 million in foot-and-mouth disease vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank.

The initial purchase culminates a multi-year effort by NMPF and other livestock organizations working with USDA to update U.S. preparedness for a Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak.

“NMPF appreciates the leadership shown by Congress in including FMD preparedness in the 2018 Farm Bill and USDA in moving forward with implementation,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “A modernized vaccine bank signals appropriate vigilance against a threat that, while not a present danger, is always a potential risk.”

The U.S. has not had an FMD outbreak since 1929. Still, recent foreign animal disease outbreaks in the U.S. of avian influenza and porcine epidemic diarrhea has focused attention on the importance of preparedness for other diseases, including FMD, for which outbreaks would have profound effects on international trade and animal health.

NMPF’s Board of Directors in 2014 endorsed a set of FMD priorities for the U.S. dairy industry, including modernizing the FMD vaccine bank, which enabled NMPF to advocate for dedicated funding in the 2018 Farm Bill. This first purchase agreement for FMD vaccine is part of a multi-year USDA commitment to modernize the FMD vaccine bank.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is in effect, boosting opportunities for dairy producers. But enforcement vigilance will be necessary to make sure the deal meets its potential, said Shawna Morris, vice president for trade at the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

“Our work’s not done. This is not a victory party and on-to-the-next-thing,” Morris said in an NMPF podcast released today. “We have a lot of work cut out for us in enforcing those provisions the U.S. negotiated, especially with the Canadians.” To listen to the full discussion, click here. You can also find this and other NMPF podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

The USMCA Agreement is in effect, boosting opportunities for dairy producers. But enforcement vigilance will be necessary to make sure the deal meets its potential.

CWT assisted member cooperatives in securing 17 contracts to sell 1.014 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 1.543 million pounds of whole milk powder, and 672,410 pounds of cream cheese. The products will go to customers in Asia, and South America. The product will be shipped during the months of June through November 2020

These contracts bring the 2020 total of the CWT-assisted product sales contracts to 21.859 million pounds of cheese, 6.246 million pounds of butter, 18.450 million pounds of whole milk powder, 3.606 million pounds of cream cheese and 1.960 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat. These transactions will move the equivalent of 558.444 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis overseas.

Exporting dairy products is critical during these challenging times to the viability of dairy farmers and their cooperatives across the country.  Whether or not a cooperative is actively engaged in exporting cheese, butter, anhydrous milkfat, cream cheese, pasteurized process cheese, or whole milk powder, the moving products into world markets is essential. CWT provides a means to move domestic dairy products to overseas markets by helping to overcome U.S. dairy’s trade disadvantages.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

All cooperatives and dairy farmers are encouraged to add their support to this important program. Membership forms are available at http://www.cwt.coop/membership.

The new Waters of the United States rule, now known as the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, on June 22 took effect in 49 states. But even before the rule had taken effect, there were already several organizations and states bringing court cases against it.

One lawsuit was brought by 17 states in the Northern District of California requesting an injunction to block the rule from taking effect. In a win for the rule and for dairy farmers, this request was denied June 19. However, just hours later, a district court judge issued a preliminary injunction for only the state of Colorado, which the Department of Justice will now appeal. NMPF was pleased with the ruling in California; still, more lawsuits are expected, making it likely that a patchwork of different rules may develop, as has long been the case with navigable-waters rules.

NMPF has long battled to prevent and Water of the U.S. rule from overreaching and is pleased with the new Navigable Waters rule. The new rule establishes the scope of federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act, narrowing Federal jurisdiction. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule includes four simple categories of jurisdictional waters and provides specific exclusions for many water features that traditionally have not been regulated.

The management and development of the FARM Program database and evaluation app was transferred to NewInsights on June 1, one of several changes in the past month that will enhance FARM’s ability to serve the dairy community.

NewInsights is a customer-focused technology company with extensive dairy industry and IT experience that has the capacity to drive continuous improvement of the FARM technology suite. Having worked with organizations such as Land O’Lakes and John Deere for IT solutions, NewInsights was hired to improve the user experience and develop new features tailored to the unique needs of program participants and producers.

In addition to the NewInsights contract, FARM has hired ACER Consulting to jointly develop programming for 2020 virtual and slated in-person FARM-hosted evaluator training sessions. ACER Consulting brings a background in animal health and animal care quality assurance programs across the globe; it also has extensive experience developing animal science-based educational and training resources.

FARM continues to adapt evaluator training opportunities and expectations to remain precautious amid the current COVID-19 outbreak. Evaluators and program participants with questions regarding evaluator trainings should contact dairyfarm@nmpf.org.

New Guides, Stakeholder Summit

The FARM Program continues to produce relevant and timely resources and materials related to all its program areas for producers.

The 2020 Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Reference Manual and accompanying pocket guide is now available in Spanish and English. Interested stakeholders can view and download the manual of the FARM website or purchase the manual or pocket guide in the FARM Store. Updated each year, the manual and accompanying pocket guide are convenient resources detailing which antibiotics and other drugs are approved for treatment of dairy animals.

The FARM Program and the Beef Quality Assurance Program  has also revised the previously named Top 10 Considerations when Culling Dairy Animals poster. The refined poster clarifies and adds additional context to what observations to conduct before loading and transporting dairy cattle. Available in Spanish and English, this resource can be downloaded or purchased on the FARM website.

FARM is also participating in two key virtual events being held in July. FARM staff will provide updates on the FARM Animal Care, Environmental Stewardship and Workforce Development program areas and examine other developments in related policy areas as part of NMPF’s upcoming Dairy Stakeholder Summit, July 8-9.

Additionally, the annual FARM evaluator conference will also be held virtually and at no cost to attendees. This event will take place on July 21-22. Session topics include media training, training development and intake discoveries at the beef processing plant. Evaluators, program managers can register here.

In conjunction with National Dairy Month, NMPF in June launched a new “Sharing Our Story” page on its website highlighting its member dairy-farm families and offering a place where the latest and most compelling arguments on behalf of the dairy community can be found.

Leading the page is a revamped “Farmer Focus” feature, spotlighting the work of NMPF cooperative farmers from across the country. NMPF’s “Dairy Defined” thought-leadership series is also featured, dispelling myths about the industry and offering fact-based views on its current challenges through timely essays and a regular podcast. “CEO’s Corner,” a monthly column on the dairy policy environment from NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern, rounds out the page.

“Dairy has a compelling, and crucial, story to tell readers and listeners from farms and grocery aisles to Capitol Hill. It’s only fitting that we launch an effort to get the word out during National Dairy Month,” Mulhern said. “We hope visitors to Sharing Our Story will better understand all that dairy has to offer and be motivated to become an ally to the important work dairy farmers do every day.”

The new page is NMPF’s second significant web addition this year, following the establishment of its special page devoted to dairy’s response to coronavirus in March.

A new economic analysis released June 18 has found that the European Union’s government-financed intervention purchases of skim milk powder (SMP) in 2016-2019 caused serious damage to the U.S. dairy industry – an important concern given the EU’s capacity to revive usage of this program while dairy markets are still recovering from the coronavirus crisis.

The earlier intervention, which the analysis found suppressed an economic recovery in milk prices and allowed the EU to seize market share, cost U.S. dairy farmers $2.2 billion between 2018 and 2019, according to the analysis conducted by Kenneth Bailey, Ph.D. and Megan Mao, B.S., from Darigold, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Northwest Dairy Association based in Seattle.

“This report puts into hard numbers the bitter truth that U.S. dairy farmers already know: the EU’s dump of intervention stocks onto the world market depressed farm-gate milk prices in the U.S. in 2018 and 2019,” NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said.

The report comes as the EU Intervention Program is reopening for purchases in response to sluggish demand. NMPF is working to ensure that the EU does not again use it to undermine the global dairy market.

“Now, as farmers and cooperatives are working tirelessly amid a global pandemic to keep an essential food ingredient moving to those markets that need it most, it’s time to do the advance work necessary to ensure we don’t see a repeat of those harmful impacts from EU Intervention policy in the future,” Mulhern said. “The EU SMP Intervention Program needs serious reforms and the Administration should examine the best tools at its disposal to help drive that needed change.”

NMPF recently worked with USDEC in leading a global coalition of dairy groups in a joint statement warning against the EU’s market-distorting practices.

The leading U.S. dairy groups, including NMPF, also sent a letter to the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to call immediate attention to the need to investigate the EU’s SMP Intervention Program and prevent the dumping of EU-purchased SMP through any means available to the U.S. government.

NMPF made significant strides in June in making the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) work better for dairy, specifically in improving access for sole proprietor, independent contractor, and self-employed producers.

Created by the CARES Act in March, PPP is a loan program administered by the Small Business Administration designed to help small businesses continue to pay their employees as the nation navigates through the COVID-19 pandemic. Individuals who file a Schedule F tax form – sole proprietor, independent contractor, and self-employed farmers and ranchers – currently must use their farm net income as the amount representing owner compensation when applying for a PPP loan. This creates problems for producers who report a zero or negative net farm income on their taxes because PPP loan amounts are based on payroll expenses. NMPF recognized this as a potential problem when the guidance to use the net farm income figure was issued in April.

Progress on this issue included the June 9 introduction of the bipartisan Paycheck Protection for Producers Act, sponsored by Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and a companion House measure sponsored by Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI), Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA), Anthony Brindisi (D-NY) and John Joyce (R-PA) introduced on June 11^th. The legislation would allow sole proprietor, independent contractor, or self-employed farmers and ranchers to use their 2019 gross farm income (capped at $100,000) to determine PPP loan amounts as opposed to the net farm income figure, which by definition is a smaller amount.

NMPF will continue to work with the bill’s sponsors to advance the measure in both chambers. This bill could potentially advance when Congress takes up broader COVID-19 relief legislation, which will likely include additional support for agriculture to build on the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.