Importance of U.S. Dairy Exports Takes Center Stage at Virtual AgTalks Town Hall
CONTACTS:
Luke Waring, USDEC |
Theresa Sweeney-Murphy, NMPF |
Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC, moderated the event, which featured panelists from across all aspects of Wisconsin's dairy supply chain. The clear consensus of the panelists was that expanding dairy trade opportunities will bring tangible benefits to America's dairy farmers, processors, exporters and rural communities.
"America's dairy farmers help produce high-quality dairy products that are renowned around the world. These exports drive economic growth here at home and create new jobs in rural communities that have borne the brunt of years of recession. We cannot accept unjust trade barriers that limit our export dairy market access. The dairy industry in Wisconsin, and across the country, is counting on the U.S. government to help open new doors and strengthen our international supply chains through a robust and forward-leaning trade policy," said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF.
"We are proud to be a family-owned business with a long legacy of sharing Wisconsin dairy with the world. We would like to continue serving customers around the world, but unfair rules and unbalanced trade relationships have at times made expanding exports difficult. This harms our dedicated workers and our supplying farmers. Preserving and growing dairy exports is not just an economic issue, it's a people issue," said Jeff Schwager, president of Sartori Cheese.
"The current health care crisis has highlighted the resiliency of America's dairy farmers and the importance of ensuring that U.S. dairy products can continue to move smoothly to overseas markets. It is critical that our lawmakers support our hardworking dairy farmers by continuing to fight for fair trade and the smooth export of American-made dairy products," said Jeff Lyon, CEO, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.
"Wisconsin is proud to be known as America's Dairyland. Our dairy farmers, cooperatives and processers are an integral part of our state's culture and a cornerstone of our economy. Trade is key to the health of Wisconsin's dairy industry and its critical that we all work together to keep Wisconsin dairy exports moving," said Randy Romanski, Secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).
####
The U.S. Dairy Export Council is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe. The U.S. Dairy Export Council prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, national origin, race, color, religion, creed, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, marital status, military status, and arrest or conviction record. www.usdec.org.
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, Va., develops and carries out policies that advance the well-being of U.S. dairy producers and the cooperatives they collectively own. The members of NMPF's cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S, milk supply, making NMPF the voice of nearly 32,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more on NMPF's activities, visit www.nmpf.org.
The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) is an independent, international non-profit alliance whose goal is to work with leaders in agriculture, trade and intellectual property rights to foster the adoption of high standards and model geographical indication guidelines throughout the world. Those interested in joining can find information at www.CommonFoodNames.com.