Today’s dairy leaders are redefining what it means to be sustainable businesses by elevating good business practices, developing and implementing transportation and logistics solutions, ensuring the highest standards for animal welfare, and committing to and achieving environmental stewardship throughout their supply chains.   The International Dairy Foods Association is pleased to introduce Dairy Innovator Dialogues, a new video and multimedia …

The National Milk Producers Federation, the largest organization of U.S. dairy farmers, commended the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its timely responses to the coronavirus crisis while outlining what agency actions could best aid dairy farmers as they brace for further public-health and market impacts of coronavirus.  “Over the last five weeks, the [USDA’s] estimate of 2020 milk prices reflect …

For the past six weeks, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) has worked day and night to ensure the federal government hears and understands the unique challenges facing our dairy industry because of COVID-19. As the impact deepens across our economy, it has become clear that the federal government must go above and beyond traditional programs and solutions to bring …

FSA Services Available by Phone Appointment Only: USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices are open by phone appointment only until further notice, and FSA staff are available to continue helping agricultural producers with program signups, loan servicing and other important actions. Additionally, FSA is relaxing the loan-making process and adding flexibilities for servicing direct and guaranteed loans to provide credit …

President Donald J. Trump today signed the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act” (CARES Act) into law with provisions to provide financially distressed consumers and small businesses greater access to business loans and bankruptcy relief. The legislative package, which quickly passed the House of Representatives on a voice vote earlier today and 96-0 in the Senate on Wednesday, provides …

Beginning March 1, 2020, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will endorse a new version of the “Veterinary Certificate for raw milk and milk products from cloven-hoofed animals to be exported to Japan from the United States for human consumption”. The certificate has been updated to satisfy a new requirement under Japan’s Food Sanitation Law that all imported …

This might be tough to digest if you’re a plant-based fundamentalist, but the numbers don’t lie: In 2019, lactose-free milk sales grew twice as fast as plant-based beverages, with lactose-free poised to surpass almond-beverage sales this year. How could this be, given the hyperbole about dairy’s decline and the rise of plant-based beverages? Well…   Contrary to some portrayals, the …

Clover Sonoma, a third-generation family-owned and operated dairy, today announced its B Corporation recertification and the first fully renewable plant-based milk carton in the United States as part of its continued focus on sustainability. As a result of better employee and community engagement, environmental standards, and corporate governance, the company received an improved score of 100.5 during its B Corporation …

Congress created the Milk Donation Reimbursement Program as part of the 2018 Farm Bill. The goals of this program are to reduce food waste and provide nutrition assistance to low-income families and individuals. Under the program, eligible dairy organizations partner with non-profit organizations in their communities that distribute food to low-income individuals. The program reimburses qualifying partnerships for certain expenses …

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a global health emergency. On March 11, WHO declared the virus a global pandemic.The virus, now known as COVID-19, was first identified in January in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. Confirmed cases are concentrated in China but have spread throughout Asia and more recently into Europe and other regions, …