To continue to compete and win overseas, we need a level playing field through free-trade agreements. — Trade winds are growing more turbulent, adding uncertainty to the business plans of dairy farmers as they weather a wave of consolidation that’s closing more than four U.S. dairies every day, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data. At the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), where I am president and…

Tariffs create harmful financial impacts. Eliminating tariffs is critical to realizing long-term farmer income and marketing opportunities. — This was adapted from the October 2018 edition of the NMPF CEO’s Corner. If a quick scan of the business news headlines of 2018 tells us anything, it’s that the economic livelihood of America’s dairy farmers has a great deal riding on foreign exports — even as domestic markets continue…

Strategy should add workers to the more than 59,000 jobs already supported by the Washington state dairy industry. — There’s plenty of uncertainty surrounding the state of America’s trade situation. But Seattle-based Darigold and its CEO Stan Ryan remain undeterred and optimistic about exports. With 100 years under its belt, one of the largest cooperatives in the Pacific Northwest is heading into its next century with an ambitious plan…

This story originally appeared as a monthly column on the NMPF website. The newspaper headlines in 2018 have painted a grim portrait of the difficult financial conditions facing many of America’s dairy farmers. The prolonged slump in milk prices we’ve been going through has taken a painful toll on farmers…