“We often say that preparation is the difference between a crisis and a bad day,” said American Dairy Association North East Director of Consumer Confidence Beth Meyer. “If and when an issue arises, we need to unite our industry to act together and speak with one voice to benefit all farmers.”
To start this preparedness discussion, American Dairy Association North East partnered with three other New York State ag organizations — Northeast Dairy Producers Association Inc., New York Farm Bureau, and New York Animal Agriculture Coalition — to host the New York Dairy Crisis Preparedness Meeting. The program was designed to bring dairy stakeholders together to discuss potential risks and crises in the state’s dairy industry.
More than 30 farmers and industry representatives participated, and the group first identified that a crisis is defined as, “a time of intense difficulty when significant decisions must be made.”
“When a crisis hits, the last thing you want is to pause and waste valuable time thinking about who you can call to help,” said Senior Director, Industry Affairs of fairlife Emily Yeiser Stepp. “This meeting allowed for those within New York’s dairy industry to put names, faces, and organizational roles together so that if a situation does occur, a response can be coordinated, swift, and effective.”
The group hashed out what they believe are some of the issues that most affect the industry. Their list included, in order:
- Labor/immigration policy
- Disease outbreak
- Major environmental disaster (to water and air quality)
- Animal welfare
- Natural disasters and the weather
- Public relations with consumers
- Team member safety on-farm
- Infrastructure failure
- Financial crisis
- Legislation and regulations
These items are likely most important to the dairy industry across the country — not just on the East Coast. The order of the list might change based on geographic regions, but the concerns are the same industry-wide, making it even more important that dairy organizations work together. Each of us has areas of expertise and resources that we can tap into depending on the issue.
The group then focused on the next steps to address each of the areas of concern and to discuss which organization(s) is best suited to lead a response. They’re listed in this graphic:
“Hopefully, the meeting sparked the farmers’ interest to develop a preparedness plan for their own farms and to empower industry representatives to help their customers,” Meyer said. “We’re all in this together and we absolutely have to support each other when times get tough.”
ADA North East created its own crisis plan so our staff is ready to support our farmers. We maintain a state of readiness through media monitoring and regular staff training, and we have a core team tasked with assessing and addressing potential issues to ensure a quick response.
To further discuss issues and crisis planning, contact Beth Meyer at bmeyer@milk4u.org.
