As one of the largest cooperatives in America, Land O’Lakes is committed to using our leadership position, industry expertise and strength as a convener across the food and ag industry to drive meaningful change.
 
The latest example of our thought leadership in action was at World Dairy Expo, the premier forum for the global dairy community to learn, share, create commerce and showcase competition. Considered the “must-attend event for everyone in the global dairy industry,” the expo attracts more than 60,000 people from nearly 100 countries each year. 

With two senior executives participating in key events, Land O’Lakes had a strong presence at this year’s expo, which was held Oct. 1-4 in Madison, Wisconsin.  

Heather Anfang, President of Dairy Foods, presented the latest consumer trends and insights as part of the Global Dairy Summit panel of dairy leaders. Heather, a 25-year veteran of Land O’ Lakes, highlighted the recent growth in the dairy sector. Consumers spent more than $87 billion on dairy over the last year, driven by sales of cheese. In fact, per-capita cheese consumption is currently at an all-time high in the U.S., to 42 pounds per year.  

“The demand for dairy has been very resilient, indicating that it’s a household staple for consumers across the country,” said Heather. She reinforced the important role that farmers and local ag communities play in meeting product demand, recognizing our 1,000+ farmer-members who produce more than 12 billion pounds of milk per year.  

Heather also highlighted Land O’Lakes’ industry expertise and commitment to innovation to meet shifting consumer trends. She featured several recent product innovations – including Land O Lakes dairy case cheese (shredded cheese, chunk cheese and snack cheese), Land O Lakes® Butter Balls and seasoned butter spreads.  

“The success of Land O’Lakes’ recent innovations in dairy is a testament to the passion of the whole ecosystem,” Heather said. “From our member-owner farms to the facilities where the product is made, there's a lot of pride that goes into our products.” 

Pete Kappelman, Senior Vice President of Member and Government Relations, spoke on a panel sponsored by the National Milk Producer’s Federation (NMPF) about recent efforts to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) program. The discussion focused on what dairy farmers can expect as the industry adapts to USDA’s proposed policy updates. 

The FMMO program, which is managed by USDA and applies to about 75% of total U.S. milk production, sets minimum milk prices paid to farmers and ensures that these payments are accurate and timely. “It’s the structure by which milk revenues are pooled in a given area and paid out to farmers at the average price,” Pete explained.

There are five main areas in the FMMOs with proposed changes including: updating for current milk component levels, removing barrel cheese from protein pricing to reflect current cheese pricing practices, updating Class I base pricing and regional differentials, and also adjusting the make allowance factors to reflect changes in the cost of manufacturing. This process has been three years in the making. 

“NMPF proposed a set of updates based on hundreds of meetings with member cooperatives’ experts, many of whom have served dairy farmers with their individual co-ops for decades,” he noted. A final rule on FMMO modernization is due in November. 

Pete, a longtime advocate for the dairy industry has been a leader in working with legislators on important ag policy issues including the Farm Bill, sustainability, trade and immigration.  

Pete with his wife, Shellie are partners on the home farm with their adult children. In addition to his speaking role at this year’s World Dairy Expo, their farm took home top honors as the Grand Champion Forage Producer at the World Forage Analysis Superbowl. Their farm beat out more than 200 entries to win the award with their BMR corn silage entry.