Armstrong says that many dairy farmers are modernizing their operations in order to continue to support their families and to provide consumers with high-quality dairy products but “too few farmers get the recognition they deserve for their efforts.”  

“Every year IDFA teams with Dairy Today magazine to honor an outstanding U.S. dairy producer,” Armstrong said, “We look for producers that exemplify creativity and forward thinking to achieve greater on-farm productivity and improved milk marketing,” and she invited DairyLine listeners to nominate a colleague, customer or community member. To be eligible, the nominee must be an active, U.S. dairy farm operation. Complete details and the nomination form are available online at www.idfa.org . There is no fee to enter this nomination, but the deadline for entries is Monday, September 20, 2010.  

Last year’s winner is Haubenschild Dairy of Princeton, Minnesota. Honored last January, Dennis Haubenschild operates on 1,300 acres with 14 full-time employees and eleven hundred cows. The farm was selected for its continued emphasis on innovative solutions and ideas, particularly in the areas of renewable energy and sustainability, Armstrong said.   

He was the first to sell carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange and has teamed with the University of Minnesota to develop the prototype for a hydrogen-fuel cell-technology system. They hope to find ways to fuel the farm’s tractors with hydrogen fuel cells made with biogas from the farm’s digester, she said. 

This year’s winner will receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2011 Dairy Forum, which will be held January 23-26, at the Doral Golf Resort in Miami, Florida.

She also mentioned legislation moving through Congress which will improve the food available to children in schools and First Lady Michelle Obama’s leading a national conversation regarding what she called “the role that food plays in helping us all live healthy lives.” 

“IDFA is very pleased that low-fat and non-fat dairy products are positioned along- side fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, as key to a healthy diet,” Armstrong said. “The report from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee reaffirmed the need for Americans over the age of eight to consume three servings of low-fat or fat free milk and milk products per day and that children, ages eight and younger, should consume two servings of dairy products.” 

In comments to the Department of Agriculture, IDFA offered several ways that the Dietary Guidelines could encourage Americans to reach their recommended intake of dairy products. We know how important this is, because government reports show that more than 90 percent of girls and half of boys do not meet these dietary recommendations. IDFA encouraged USDA to suggest yogurt for breakfast, part-skim mozzarella cheese sticks instead of cookies for snacks and lowfat chocolate milk to replace nutrient-void sweetened beverages. IDFA also recommended including nutrient-dense foods like these in schools and in federal feeding programs because the dollar value per nutrient is “excellent.”

As I mentioned, Congress is working on legislation that would extend the requirement to offer milk in the school lunch program, add a program to promote “a la carte” milk consumption among students who do not participate in school meals and remove ‘junk food’ from vending machines and ala carte lines. IDFA applauds Congress, the White House and the Obama Administration for recognizing the importance of milk and dairy products in the healthy diets of American families and school children.

Under the Energy Star Challenge for Industry, manufacturing sites establish an energy intensity baseline, set a 10 percent reduction goal, implement energy efficiency projects, track energy use and verify their savings, Armstrong reported. Through this program, EPA estimates that Americans could save nearly $10 billion and reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to about 12 million vehicles.

“Through a partnership with EPA, we established the Energy Star Challenge for dairy,” Armstrong said, “Which is different than the broader Challenge.” IDFA, not EPA, will be the point of contact to sign up, she said, and we will track who succeeds and convey that to EPA. IDFA advocates for increased energy efficiency in U.S. dairy processing facilities. EPA provides expertise, training, energy management guidance and management tools, she said.

Working with members, IDFA has already taken the first step and identified energy-intensity metrics that will be used within the dairy processing industry.

Facilities that join the dairy program and achieve a 10 percent reduction in energy intensity within 5 years are recognized by the EPA and earn a certificate from EPA’s ENERGY STAR program, a profile on the ENERGY STAR web site, letters from EPA to the company’s CEO and to the plant’s US Senators and Congressional Representatives highlighting their accomplishments, and materials for communicating the site’s ENERGY STAR Challenge achievement to employees, stakeholders, customers, and others.

“We’re excited about the potential for real, measurable energy efficiencies this program offers,” Armstrong concluded. “Participation is open to all dairy processing facilities.” For more information; log on to www.idfa.org.

A study presented the last week of April at the Experimental Biology conference in Anaheim, California showed that cow’s milk and milk products are America’s top source of Vitamin D. 

“They found that milk supplies half of all the Vitamin D in the American diet,” Armstrong said. Using the latest national data on what more than 16,000 Americans over the age of 2 eat, researchers looked at the contribution of each food group to total Vitamin D intake. “No other food item came close to supplying the Vitamin D punch that milk and milk products provide,” she said, “In fact, for kids ages 2-18, milk provided nearly two-thirds of all vitamin D in their diet.” 

The findings are important, Armstrong said, because some estimates suggest that as many a 55 percent of adolescents may be deficient in Vitamin D. This deficiency can put children and adolescents at a higher risk for broken bones now and osteoporosis later, according to Armstrong, but Vitamin D may well play a much bigger role in our health than strong bones. Emerging science suggests that Vitamin D may also help protect against diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and some cancers, and supports a healthy immune system. 

“This study reinforces that it’s important to get the recommended three 8 ounce glasses of milk each day,” Armstrong said, and “provides 75 percent of the dairy value of vitamin D.” Milk also provides eight other essential nutrients including calcium, potassium and Vitamin A, she said. “So, this morning, let’s raise a nice cold glass of milk to continued good health,” Armstrong concluded.This is good news at a time that milk’s nutritional value is still challenged so choir; it’s up to you to sing of milk’s goodness to the world. 

In response to the threat of increased federal regulation, National Milk coordinated dairy industry efforts four years ago to work with agricultural researchers to obtain the best possible data quantifying actual on-farm emissions of ammonia, particulates, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic compounds.  

Using one-time funding provided by the National Dairy Board, air researchers set up sophisticated monitoring equipment at five dairies across the country to conduct the national air emissions study.

She added that a lot of strong relationships were built there which is key to working effectively in a crisis. She said the drill was important because the industry needs to effectively respond in any food safety crisis and to have a plan in place so all the players across the industry understand the importance of a plan. Many organizations already have plans in place, she said, so those people who attended the drill were able to practice their skills. “The more you plan and think through what is unthinkable, the better prepared you are,” Armstrong said. Research shows that the organization that plans for crisis, recovers two to three times faster than one that doesn’t so our goal is to really be ready for anything. She admitted that the drill forced people to work with people they never met before. That doesn’t happen in the real world but questions and changes come to you very very quickly during a real crisis so we want to make sure people understand that and are prepared.

Two words remain in my thinking process from my short stint in the Boy Scouts as a kid; “Be Prepared,” a bit of wisdom that has served me well over the years. I thought of that and was reminded of the old fashioned “fire drills” we used to have in grade school as I participated in a “dairy crisis drill” in Seattle the last day of March, hosted by Dairy Management Incorporated and the International Dairy Foods Association. I literally saw farmer and processor check off dollars at work!

There were about 90 participants from several states, made up of dairy processors, state and regional check off staff, state Ag department people, a Food and Drug Administration official, and three real live FBI agents, one of which even handed me a Haggen daz bar, another topic for another day.

Attendees were divided into small groups and assigned to fictitious dairy companies where various titles, job descriptions, and roles were given. I was an “imbedded reporter.”

So far so good until a news bulletin reports a large outbreak of Staphylococcus Enterotoxin B (or SEB if you’re a TV or radio announcer). Board members are summoned together to discuss the news accounts that soon start pointing to dairy as a possible suspect until the “you-know-what really hits the fan.” Those familiar with the story of Job know that bad news often comes in waves and such was the case in our “drill,” or should I say “grilling.”

Just as the board members are trying to decide how their company will respond to calls from consumers and the media regarding their company brand and any implication it may have in the ongoing crisis which is escalating. board member blackberries and e-mails are coming fast and furious and the public wants to know if it’s safe to eat your dairy products. There’s no passing the buck in a crisis when you’re up to your, you-know-what in alligators.

Several of these “officials” had to face me and media colleague Kate Sander of Cheese Market News in mock news conferences where Kate and I role played as aggressive reporters trying to get the story for our readers and listeners.

I refrain from further details so as not to give too much away for upcoming future drills like this around the country but I’m confident the drill drove home the point that, while this was a fake exercise, it was a realistic one and one that could one day, God forbid, really happen. What would your dairy cooperative do in such a case? Does it have a plan in place, ready to go?

These CEOs and board members will be the ones to defend your cooperative and its dairy farmer members in such a situation and I couldn’t help but think that I’d sure want a competent, qualified, trained person to answer the press’ tough questions, instead of the janitor or a milk truck driver.

The training was tough, intensive, and probably cost a few bucks to put on. But, in the spirit of “Boy Scout preparedness,” is vital in the world we live in today. Thankfully, the dairy industry has been pro active for some time in this area and has a Dairy Communication Management Team in place made up of Dairy Management Incorporated, the International Dairy Foods Association, U.S. Dairy Export Council, National Milk, and MILKPEP so the industry can, as was pointed out; speak with one voice, respond only when dairy is called into question, and follow the government’s lead in such events.

The Tylenol Company laid the right response ground work in the nightmare it went through years ago, a nightmare that the CEO and board members of Toyota have surely learned of late. Airlines have done these drills for years. Is your cooperative prepared?

She reported that this event is held every January and brings together leaders and innovators from across the dairy industry to learn from each other, discuss policies and politics, and chart a course for the year ahead.

The three days will focus on the key issues for producers and processors, according to Armstrong, milk pricing, the economy, food safety, nutrition, sustainability, and consumer demands.

Groundbreaking research recently conducted by Bain & Company on global demand for dairy products will be reviewed, she said. A panel of dairy leaders will address what it means for dairy farmers and dairy food companies as to what role the U.S. dairy industry will play as demand for dairy products grows in places India and China over the next 10 years. Dairy CEOs from places like Russia and China will give a better understanding global market opportunities, she said.

“Dairy Forum is the place to take on the tough issues, Armstrong said. “We’ll take a good look at the recent low milk pricing and talk with farmers and economists about dealing with dairy price volatility,” and some of the industry’s leading dairy producers will share their point of view on the future of dairy farming and the Forum will recognize the Innovative Farmer of the Year at the annual awards luncheon.

Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, will address what impact proposed food safety legislation will have on producers and processors, according to Armstrong, Ron Brownstein, of Atlantic magazine, will have an update on where things stand in Washington, DC, and Martin Regalia, of the US Chamber of Commerce, will discuss what the current economic indicators mean for dairy.

Dairy farmers are welcome to attend, Armstrong concluded. For more information and to register, log on to www.idfa.org.

“When you take a look at how this funding could be used by one program, USDA’s Women, Infant and Children’s program, or WIC, it’s clear that this approach has long-term benefits for consumers, dairy producers and processors.”

The WIC program provides nutrition education and retail food vouchers to almost 10 million low-income mothers, infants, and children, according to Armstrong, and dairy products are a critical part of its nutritional food packages because they provide nine essential nutrients and the protein and calcium that are especially important for women who are pregnant and young children.

IDFA estimates that approximately $2 billion will be used by WIC participants to buy dairy products, Armstrong reported, however due to changes in the program, WIC does not allow yogurt to be included, despite a recommendation to do so from the Institute of Medicine. In 2008 USDA said it would cost an additional $88 million a year to allow for the yogurt purchases, which was not part in the budget.

“Today, we have the opportunity to use some of the emergency appropriation to add yogurt to the WIC program,” Armstrong said. “Offering yogurt as a dairy option for mothers that use WIC would introduce a whole new generation to its nutritional health benefits, increase demand for milk in many states, and help bolster long-term demand for dairy products among a segment of the population that so critically needs it.” “It is time to ask USDA to include yogurt as an allowable dairy product under the WIC program,” she concluded.

The theme for this year’s Summit was Working Together to Create Solutions, Natzke said, as AFACT seeks to reach beyond dairy into other aspects of agriculture. For example, California egg producer Ryan Armstrong and dairy farmer Ray Prock Jr.  shared their experiences with California’s Proposition 2;  Gary Thome, a Minnesota swine farmer, shared his farm’s experience with PETA; and Len Corzine, Illinois crop farmer, discussed restrictions on technologies used in crop production.

Alex Avery, Director of Research and Education at the Hudson Institute, discussed movements that restrict new technologies in food production, and the implications for future global population growth and food needs; and Washington State University scientist Jude Capper shared her research showing that U.S. dairy cow numbers have dropped from 25 million in 1944 to about 9 million today, indicating dairy’s “carbon footprint” has declined sharply in the past six decades.

The main action items coming out of the conference, according to Natzke, were that farmers must address the emotion of food-buying purchases by directly reaching out to consumers; that farmers must put a “face” back on their product, reminding consumers where food comes from; and farmers must become more active using social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to reach consumers.

Speaking in Wednesday’s DairyLine, Armstrong said that “Research confirms that a commitment to sustainability is growing as a factor in consumers’ perception of dairy products and can influence their purchasing decisions. It has become an important issue to each segment of the fluid milk supply chain and the dairy industry as a whole.”

Recognizing the importance of sustainability to dairy, the Worldwide Food Expo 2009, North America’s largest food and beverage technology event, will launch a Sustainability Pavilion at this year’s show, Armstrong reported.

The Pavilion will feature services and products to help dairy food manufacturers and packagers meet the demand for sustainability and will highlight research, trends and best practices as well as feature the latest innovations in sustainable packaging and technology.

In addition to the pavilion, Armstrong said there is an exceptional line-up of sustainability sessions in Expo’s educational program. Sessions include sustainability as part of a business strategy, case studies of successful initiatives and quantifying sustainable measures.

“The guru of green business practices,” Joel Makower, will speak at the first Super Session, according to Armstrong. She reported that Makower is a well-respected voice on business, environment and the bottom-line, and has helped a wide range of companies align environmental goals with business strategy.

Worldwide Food Expo will be held October 28-31 in Chicago and features the newest technologies in equipment, packaging, ingredients and services. Sponsored by the American Meat Institute and IDFA, Worldwide Food Expo includes more than 900 exhibits and 50 targeted conference sessions and attracts approximately 20,000 attendees from 100 countries, bringing together decision-makers at all levels of the food and beverage industry. For more information, visit the show’s website at www.worldwidefood.com.

USDA has begun a public hearing on National Milk’s proposal to end the regulatory loophole enjoyed by a handful of the nation’s largest producer-handlers. The hearing may run for several weeks, depending on the volume of testimony generated by either those supporting or opposed to the petition.

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Listen to Wednesday’s DairyLine Program:

She reported that 12 projects were announced that alone have the potential to create at least $238 million in business value and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.2 million metric tons, a reduction equal to approximately 4.5 billion kilowatts of electricity.

Extensive research done through the Innovation Center clearly shows that energy and resource efficiency improvements can help producers and processors improve profitability. It also shows that greenhouse gas reduction can accelerate technology innovations that increase dairy productivity.

Several of the projects are aimed specifically at dairy processing. One will increase the adoption of energy-efficiency best practices in milk processing plants. Another will demonstrate the commercial viability of non-thermal ultra-violet processing technology as an alternative method for producing high-quality, safe milk products with significantly less energy. And a third will review clean-in-place processes, an energy-intensive aspect of milk processing, and determine solutions for reducing both costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Why take on this commitment now? Because consumer’s concerns about green house gas emissions are threatening dairy consumption. A growing number of consumers are factoring in “carbon footprint” along with cost, quality and health benefits in the products they buy.

Some advocates are touting “low-carbon” diets and steering customers away from meat and dairy choices, while a number of retailers are considering ways to evaluate suppliers on their greenhouse reduction efforts. And we cannot allow our competitors in the beverage market are positioning themselves as better environmental alternatives to milk.

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