Recently, three different dairy producers each voiced frustration with how their collective 15-cent contribution to dairy promotion was being spent. In making these comments as panelists at a recent industry gathering, they focused their thoughts specifically to advertising. While it's true that fluid milk continues its tailspin, overall demand for dairy continues to rise as there are far more bright spots on dairy marketing and promotional projects that not only involve "classic" advertising but investment in our industry's long-term viability. DMI changed its marketing strategy more than a decade ago to build strategic partnerships with leading dairy companies that sell dairy-friendly products such as Domino's, McDonald's, Taco Bell and Quaker. In addition to this shift, let's take a few minutes to discuss how our promotion funds are building future dairy sales.
Dairy exports - U.S. dairy exports are making headlines on a routine basis setting new records nine of the past 10 years. The seeds of our newfound export prowess began in 1995 when the national dairy checkoff first funded the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) to support international development for U.S. dairy products. That funding continues to this very day. Without it, our industry would be nowhere close to exporting one in seven tanker loads of milk. That directly impacts everyone's milk check.
Better dairy products - By funding research at dairy product research facilities around the country, dairy farmer checkoff dollars are helping fund ways to reduce sodium content in cheese and extract more value from whey . . . just to name a few. Bottom line: When our top dairy farm crop - milk - becomes more valuable to processors, that creates additional sales to consumers. We all win at the end of the day.
Building a better future - There are two ways to approach business. Let events dictate the course of your operation, or set the agenda and build your own road. Through the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, our checkoff contributions are facilitating and funding research to help dairy farmers build their own road by documenting current farming practices and develop additional strategies to keep our food products among the most valued on the table - from a nutrition standpoint, efficiency viewpoint and environmental impact. Without funding this effort, our potentially fragmented industry would have an agenda dictated to us by outside forces. Since 2008, when the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy was founded, the Center has trained nearly 1,300 industry staffers in food safety to minimize the risk and protect dairy sales.
These are just three important examples that came to mind that day after listening to comments from those fellow dairy producers on the panel. It's easy to understand why traditional advertising and marketing come to mind when we judge the effectiveness of our promotion investment. However, programs like USDEC, the Wisconsin Center for Dairy Research and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy also help grow our industry in ways we only dreamed just a few decades ago.
