PA Farm News
May 9, 2008
Northeast Dairy Leadership Team Discusses Dairy's Role in Sustainability Movement
HARRISBURG -- The Northeast Dairy Leadership Team discussed national efforts to assess the dairy industry’s ‘carbon footprint,’ or its impact on the environment, at a recent meeting in Binghamton, N.Y.
Representatives from the national Dairy Checkoff-funded program, Dairy Management Inc., introduced a new coalition to address emerging issues such as sustainability and animal welfare. The program defined the dairy industry’s role in sustainability as “providing consumers with the nutritional products they want in a way that makes the industry, people and earth environmentally, economically and socially better for future generations.”
“Sustainability and animal welfare issues have moved front and center with our consumers,” said Chuck Cruickshank, executive vice president of Industry Image & Relations for Dairy Management Inc. “Our goal is to take a proactive approach to address and define these issues before they define us.”
DMI is working with national organizations across the supply chain to analyze dairy’s carbon footprint and to use that information to market products based on sustainability. Members of the NEDLT discussed the role the organization can take to support this effort and to educate consumers on dairy’s commitment to contributing to a sustainable world.
Rick Naczi, chief executive officer of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council Inc., a regional dairy promotional organization under the DMI umbrella, spoke about regional efforts to reinvent the dairy case at grocery stores and supermarkets.
“We’re changing the way DMI is doing business so we can influence buy-time and increase traffic to the dairy case,” Naczi said, adding that dairy generates the highest percentage of revenue in a limited space. “We are making cases larger, more modern and easier to navigate.”
During the meeting, Greg Wickham from Dairy Marketing Services, Dairy Farmers of America and Dairylea, provided a northeast dairy industry update and a 2018 dairy outlook. Bob Gray, president of Bob Gray LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in agricultural policy issues, led a conference call with Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Patrick Leahy’s offices regarding ongoing Farm Bill discussions.
The NEDLT formed committees in the afternoon to discuss pertinent issues including animal welfare, sustainability and milk balancing. The consumer influence group voted to provide a formal endorsement of the National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative concept with specific areas of concern within the proposal.
An alliance initiated by a memorandum of understanding signed among the three state departments of agriculture, the leadership team was created in June 2006 to establish a vision and promote profitability for the region’s dairy industry. More than 50 leaders representing all facets of the dairy industry in the three leading northeastern dairy states – New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont – are part of the organization. The three state's agriculture agencies and departments as well as Centers for Dairy Excellence fund the Northeast Dairy Leadership Team's activities.
For more information about the Northeast Dairy Leadership Team, visit www.centerfordairyexcellence.org, click on “Industry” and “Regional Industry,” to the NEDLT section or call your team representative. In New York, contact Mark Kenville at 315-453-3823; in Pennsylvania, contact John Frey at 717-346-0849; and in Vermont, contact Diane Bothfeld at 802-828-3835.
HARRISBURG -- The Northeast Dairy Leadership Team discussed national efforts to assess the dairy industry’s ‘carbon footprint,’ or its impact on the environment, at a recent meeting in Binghamton, N.Y.
Representatives from the national Dairy Checkoff-funded program, Dairy Management Inc., introduced a new coalition to address emerging issues such as sustainability and animal welfare. The program defined the dairy industry’s role in sustainability as “providing consumers with the nutritional products they want in a way that makes the industry, people and earth environmentally, economically and socially better for future generations.”
“Sustainability and animal welfare issues have moved front and center with our consumers,” said Chuck Cruickshank, executive vice president of Industry Image & Relations for Dairy Management Inc. “Our goal is to take a proactive approach to address and define these issues before they define us.”
DMI is working with national organizations across the supply chain to analyze dairy’s carbon footprint and to use that information to market products based on sustainability. Members of the NEDLT discussed the role the organization can take to support this effort and to educate consumers on dairy’s commitment to contributing to a sustainable world.
Rick Naczi, chief executive officer of the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council Inc., a regional dairy promotional organization under the DMI umbrella, spoke about regional efforts to reinvent the dairy case at grocery stores and supermarkets.
“We’re changing the way DMI is doing business so we can influence buy-time and increase traffic to the dairy case,” Naczi said, adding that dairy generates the highest percentage of revenue in a limited space. “We are making cases larger, more modern and easier to navigate.”
During the meeting, Greg Wickham from Dairy Marketing Services, Dairy Farmers of America and Dairylea, provided a northeast dairy industry update and a 2018 dairy outlook. Bob Gray, president of Bob Gray LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in agricultural policy issues, led a conference call with Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand and Senator Patrick Leahy’s offices regarding ongoing Farm Bill discussions.
The NEDLT formed committees in the afternoon to discuss pertinent issues including animal welfare, sustainability and milk balancing. The consumer influence group voted to provide a formal endorsement of the National Dairy Animal Well-Being Initiative concept with specific areas of concern within the proposal.
An alliance initiated by a memorandum of understanding signed among the three state departments of agriculture, the leadership team was created in June 2006 to establish a vision and promote profitability for the region’s dairy industry. More than 50 leaders representing all facets of the dairy industry in the three leading northeastern dairy states – New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont – are part of the organization. The three state's agriculture agencies and departments as well as Centers for Dairy Excellence fund the Northeast Dairy Leadership Team's activities.
For more information about the Northeast Dairy Leadership Team, visit www.centerfordairyexcellence.org, click on “Industry” and “Regional Industry,” to the NEDLT section or call your team representative. In New York, contact Mark Kenville at 315-453-3823; in Pennsylvania, contact John Frey at 717-346-0849; and in Vermont, contact Diane Bothfeld at 802-828-3835.
POSTED 080509_0800 ET
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