As Jim Mulhern retires, colleagues laud his leadership

After more than four decades in dairy and ag policy, Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), is set to retire at the end of the year. Throughout his career, Mulhern’s work has made lasting impacts on dairy and ag policy, and colleagues say his kindness, hard work and collaborative nature are unmatched.

Mulhern became president and CEO of NMPF in 2014. He previously worked at the organization in the 1980s, when he directed the group’s government affairs activities and played a key role in shaping its strategy. He left NMPF to serve as chief of staff to Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl, directing his Washington, D.C., and state operations and advising him on legislative and political issues. He then worked at Fleishman-Hillard, an international communications fi rm.

Lisa Watson, Mulhern’s partner in a fi rm they would later form together, met him through their dairy industry work when Mulhern was at NMPF and Watson at National Dairy Council. She even recruited him from Fleishman-Hillard to join a smaller fi rm she was working at before the two of them formed Watson/ Mulhern LLC.

“Even at that early stage, it was clear he would be going far. He was smart, well respected and politically savvy. People on the (Capitol) Hill knew and respected him,” Watson says of meeting Mulhern in the 1980s.

Watson says Mulhern was a driving force behind much of the work to include dairy in child nutrition and food assistance programs. He also has advocated for different fat levels and flavors of milk in school meals and long has voiced his opposition to imitation products being able to carry dairy terms on product labels.

“That issue goes across school and government programs as well as consumer marketing,” Watson says. “Jim had his hand in all of those areas, whether serving as a lobbyist on the Hill or as a consultant, and in his role as CEO of NMPF — he’s carried that fl ag with his eye on the prize for U.S. dairy.”

In 2014, Mulhern returned to NMPF as president and CEO. NMPF Board Chair and dairy farmer Randy Mooney says he was on the committee that hired Mulhern and had heard positive things about his work ethic and collaborative approach.

“When we hired him, the U.S. dairy industry was in the midst of navigating some difficult issues, like revamping animal care. I thought Jim’s background in crisis communications and his general communication skills would serve us well, and that turned out to be very true,” Mooney says. “He’s great at communicating and taking on heavy issues and getting groups to work together.”

Mulhern was instrumental in expanding the Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, which works with dairy producers, cooperatives, processors and industry partners to demonstrate the highest standards on U.S. dairy farms when it comes to animal care and sustainability. He also played a key role in establishing and improving the Dairy Margin Coverage Program in the farm bill and recently spearheaded a once-a-generation update of federal milk marketing orders (FMMOs) that NMPF has proposed and is being considered in an ongoing USDA hearing.

“He has been instrumental in guiding that process through. If not for his leadership, we wouldn’t have had a unanimous vote from the board to support our FMMO modernization proposal,” says Paul Bleiberg, executive vice president of government relations at NMPF. “This proposal has broad support and really is the foundation of what USDA is looking at. It doesn’t mean they’ll do everything we propose, but it’s a strong foundation on the issues and is the result of strategic leadership from Jim every step of the way.”

Gregg Doud, current chief operating officer at NMPF, will succeed Mulhern as president and CEO in 2024. Mulhern leaves NMPF in a strong position, in part due to his ability to hire and retain good people who are committed to what they do, Mooney says.

“He truly cares about people — those that work for him and the dairy farmers that he represents in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country. When we hired him, he said, ‘Randy, this is my dream job,’ and it showed in the work he’s done over the last 10 years. You don’t work as hard as he has without it being your dream job. He’s given up family time and a lot of things for the crisis of the week. Whatever the individual concern of the farmer/co-op member, he wants to help solve the problem,” Mooney adds.

“I would say Jim is one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known,” Watson agrees. “The way that he has managed to balance his care and love for his children and family with his very intense work schedule and priorities has been fairly amazing. The one thing that he loves more than his work is his family.”

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