U.S. dairy is strong and growing, and it is the envy of the world,” exclaimed Michael Dykes to the large audience at the International Dairy Foods Association’s (IDFA) 2025 Dairy Forum carrying the theme of “Limitless.” “With an $8 billion investment in processing in 2024, I am often asked, ‘Will there be enough milk?’” Dykes continued. “Fat and protein levels for today’s Holsteins are absolutely amazing. Dairy farmers read market signals. I am a strong believer in the American farmer — never underestimate them. There will be enough milk. I believe our potential is truly limitless.”
Dykes, the president and CEO of IDFA, shared his vision on how the state of the U.S. dairy industry is strong and growing. “Our consumption is setting records: 661 pounds a person,” he said. “Our exports are looking good, our processors are investing, and amazing work is happening on our farms.”
He highlighted several areas that he specifically believes highlight the strength of the industry today, which included growing dairy consumption, bold investments in the industry, optimistic leaders, the dairy health halo, and political support.
Winning in Washington
Diving in first on the political landscape, Dykes pointed out that with a change in leadership comes new work to be done in advocating for dairy. He compared a new U.S. president to a new CEO and a whole new leadership team in an organization. “Seventy-five members of Congress are brand new. Our state associations and our state affiliates will all need to work together,” he noted. “If you have a relationship with any of these new members, we are going to need your voice because your voice matters. We are going to create opportunities to connect with a new member of Congress through fly-ins and fly-outs. We will invite the dairy industry for round table discussions with them so they’re crystal clear on what our priorities are. It’s also going to take your leadership.”
He pointed to examples of support, including during the confirmation hearing for the new Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins. During her hearing, Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas opened a carton of whole milk, poured it into a glass, and drank, encouraging her to think about supporting whole milk in our schools. Dykes reminded attendees that we need people to say unexpectedly positive things about dairy in unexpected places.
Additionally, he covered how dairy needs to work in a bipartisan fashion and be united as an industry. With one-party control over the House, Senate, and White House and 38 states with one-party control, Dykes stressed that working together is vital. He explained that IDFA has taken strategic priorities collected across boards and submitted them to the Trump administration and Capitol Hill.
Dykes touched on the optimism of dairy’s future by industry’s leadership. Not only did the annual IDFA event have record attendance, in a McKinsey survey of IDFA’s member leaders, 70% expressed they are optimistic about the future.
This could be further supported by looking at the investments made in dairy. Dykes shared that over the next three years, more than $8 billion will be invested in the dairy processing industry. Dykes later predicted that this number is likely much larger. During a media briefing, he noted that several processing companies spoke to him after his keynote and discussed investment plans not previously shared, therefore driving up the total of the original $8 billion figure.
Technology opportunities
Dykes shared his list of opportunities for the industry as he shifted his gaze to the future. The first opportunity he identified is continuing to create value and opportunities through market disruption.
“We know something about creating value from disruption. This March will be five years since the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s hard to believe. You guys not only did it, but cows kept getting milked, milk kept getting processed, products kept getting to the shelves, and consumers kept having products to buy. That was all because of the great work of this industry, from those on the farm to those in the processing plants,” Dykes shared.
The industry has responded through these disruptive times and answered the consumer demands for more nutrition. He cited examples of dairy processors offering products with higher protein levels and less sugar. He praised the audience for doing this while maintaining affordability and pushing the system to deliver more.
He added that the industry continues to look ahead for the next opportunities, such as investing in sustainability with digesters on dairies and embracing sustainable product packaging. Dykes concluded his thoughts on creating opportunities through disruption by stating, “We know how critical efficiency is to us, but most importantly, we know we need to be agile. We need to be adaptive. We need to continue to move with the changes. We need to persevere.”
The second opportunity he identified was continuing to leverage technology, citing examples such as new approaches to UV light to improve food safety. Additionally, Dykes looked at other technology applications and innovations for food safety including detecting product irregularities and block chain tracing.
“We’re using artificial intelligence to monitor product placement, product movement, and all the aspects of marketing we’re using to predict demand patterns. Think about cottage cheese and TikTok and what a change that has made. We’re using it to help us with inventories,” he added.
Dairy’s health halo
“We have a great story to tell, and we need to tell it. We need to take these nutrition stories to various audiences,” Dykes encouraged. “Young parents are looking for growth and development for their own children. Active adults are looking for more protein functional benefits. Seniors are looking for stability and mobility. GLP-1 users are looking for more protein-dense meals. Protein is our superhero in the dairy profile.”
He spoke to the fact that while dairy maintains a spot in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, there is more work to do in ensuring all fat levels are recognized as healthy. There is also a need for dairy to maintain a strong place in government programs.
“We’ve got the 13 essential nutrients, including three of the four nutrients that are of public health concern. We need to expand the dairy incentive with the dairy nutrition incentive program. We’re working on that. The last administration cut Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) moms down to three gallons of milk a month. We need to restore Whole Milk for Healthy Kids, getting whole milk back into schools. I’m extremely optimistic that’s going to happen,” Dykes added. “When we elevate dairy nutrition and wellness, the possibilities are truly limitless.”
