Rach Touts Dairy Growth, Excellent Staff At Convene

By Brad Rach

Thanks to all of you who participated in this year’s Dairy Workshop at national convention. I was once again reminded of why I love working for National Farmers Organization—you, our wonderful farmers and staff.

There was a lot of good news to report. We continue to grow our program in both membership and volume. We were also able to display new products carrying the Always Family Farm label. The label allows consumers to tell which products they buy come from genuine family farms where farmers own the land, perform the day-to-day chores, and grow feed for their cattle.

Not all the dairy industry news is good, of course. Our staff presentations on Federal Order reforms and bird flu spotlighted potential potholes in the road ahead. During the question-and-answer section of the workshop, one of our members expressed concern over something that is on everyone’s mind, that is smaller farmers being squeezed out of markets by investor-owned mega dairies.

Federal policy is, to put it mildly, hard to predict these days. No wonder the number of dairy farmers in the United States continues to fall to ever more shocking levels.
Please don’t think you are facing these tough times alone. Your staff and your fellow dairy farmers are with you every step of the way. They are as dedicated as ever to the idea that farms like yours are best for rural economies, best for the environment, and best for food security.

As always, I thank you for the blessing of leading your dairy program. Here’s hoping that Spring 2025 is off to a good start for each of you and your families.