Reflecting on checkoff successes with eye toward promising future

As 2022 concludes, I want to again express my thanks to the Dairy Management Inc. board of directors for their confidence in me as CEO. This past year has given me a tremendous opportunity to build on our successes and to create a new path going forward for the checkoff.

The conclusion of any year is a good time to pause and reflect on accomplishments and to look at the year ahead. There are many from 2022 that dairy farmers and importers can be proud of and here are some that occurred across the checkoff, nationally, locally and globally:

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The Mayo Clinic relationship. I had the opportunity to visit Mayo’s headquarters in November and can reiterate how much they value our collaboration. There is such significance in the key platforms of our five-year collaboration: modernizing how we approach and think about science, how we tap this world-class institution to bring its voice to messaging and how to better leverage data and technology, specifically around dairy nutrition.

· Chicken and cheese partnership. We again are using the power of a foodservice partnership to grow dairy sales and in a new arena. Chicken-and-cheese has long been an overlooked combination in the quick-service category. In fact, about 3 billion chicken sandwiches are produced by the top five U.S. chains every year, but about 2.3 billion do not feature a slice of cheese. We are partnering with Raising Cane’s – a popular destination for young consumers – to hopefully change the game and get more dairy on its menu, as well as through dairy-based beverages, sides and sauces.

· Using social media to reach audiences. We know today’s youth is not tuned into the traditional media outlets the way we were. Instead, social media is their avenue of communication, and the checkoff is showing up there in a big way. First, we assembled a “Dairy Dream Team” consisting of chefs, recipe developers, “foodies,” gamers and lifestyle influencers who have a combined 25 million social media followers. One successful result was the “butter board” craze that became a viral sensation with a TikTok video generating millions of views and coverage from some of the country’s largest news and entertainment outlets.

Second, DMI is continuing its partnership with Jimmy Donaldson – aka “MrBeast” – who is one of the most subscribed-to YouTube personalities. He has more subscribers than Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran combined and a video he produced following his visit to a North Carolina dairy touting farmers’ environmental stewardship and animal care practices became the No. 1 trending video on all of YouTube and had more than 3 million views and thousands of comments within 24 hours. Donaldson also incorporates dairy messages into his popular Minecraft gaming platform.

· Growing U.S. dairy’s presence internationally. The checkoff-founded U.S. Dairy Export Council continues to grow dairy sales internationally with a team of employees embedded across the globe. Their efforts have led to about 18 percent of U.S. milk production – nearly one in every five milk tankers – now heading into a foreign market.

While those moments – and many others – marked tangible proof points of success, I feel there’s more we can do to bring greater focus, buy-in and efficiency to our operations and more results and impact on your behalf.

Leading with ASPIRE

Heading into 2023, we’ll continue following our “ASPIRE” (Action through Sustainability, People, Innovation, Reputation and Exports) approach to guide our strategies. While there is not a single new priority here, what is new is the way checkoff leaders brought the priorities to life and looked over the horizon and raised the bar on outcomes we are striving to achieve. The interaction between local, national and global staff on defining those outcomes has given us a truly more unified plan.

Among the key areas is the need to align the checkoff’s vision, priorities and capabilities with leaders across the value chain. It’s important to ground – or reground – new and existing cooperative CEOs and other key leaders. We need to understand their business plans and discuss our ability to work with and through the industry – both directly and at a category level to drive trust and sales. If nothing else, the global-social environment of the last two-plus years has reinforced that relationships matter and that we can’t take them for granted. We must continue to build new ones as leadership changes and nurture existing ones so they remain strong.

Another priority is what I call “farmer fingerprints” to reflect a deeper understanding and greater interaction with farmers across the country. We’ve signaled change, listened, and approached every conversation with a new level of transparency and that must continue. I am convinced that the only way for checkoff to survive and thrive is for farmers and importers to feel ownership of the program. This means that we must at least demonstrate the farmers have been heard, and their input is reflected in the checkoff’s direction with meaningful and tangible “fingerprints” on the plan.

And while we talk so much about checkoff partnerships, I want to conclude by referencing the most important one we have – the one between the United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA) and National Dairy Board.

The power of what UDIA and our state and regional system has done working hand-in-glove with the national team for the last 38 years continues to strengthen checkoff’s reach and impact as we function as a true federation on behalf of the nation’s farmers and importers who fund us.

I wish you a happy new year and much health and happiness to you and your families in 2023.

To learn more about your national dairy checkoff, visit www.USDairy.com or send a request to join our Facebook group. To reach us directly, send an email to TalkToTheCheckoff@dairy.org.