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NMPF chair says dairy needs a new direction

The chairman of the National Milk Producers Federation says farmers need to be committed to protecting the dairy industry.

“I’m getting tired of people telling me I don’t take care of my land, I don’t take care of my cows, and I’m getting tired of being used as a pawn in a global trade scheme.  Dairy farmers play an important role in society, we help preserve communities.”

Missouri dairy farmer Randy Mooney says he fears some communities will soon be in a situation similar to those in the southwest part of his state that were impacted by dairy exits.

“The dairies went out, and I worry about Wisconsin.  Ten years ago, that was Missouri, and you hear what’s happening in Wisconsin and other places, 20 years from now they’re going to say, ‘What happened?’”

He says consolidation in dairy manufacturing can be positive for the industry.

“We’ve got plants on top of plants, on top of plants and on top of plants, and none of us can afford to do what we need to do in any of the plants.  Let’s figure out a way to consolidate some of those plants and change them to what consumers want.”

During the recent joint meeting of NMPA, the United Dairy Industry Association and the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, Mooney called for a strategy that unites farmers, resolves major issues and changes the current direction of the dairy industry.