The dairy industry has had a turbulent couple of years, and we all know about the trials and tribulations with trade, supply chain issues, the pandemic, and all of that. Dairy producers have proven their resiliency time and time again.
Right now, the industry is facing a new challenge. With the HPAI bird flu being seen crossing the species barrier into dairy cows, there has been a lot of concern over the safety of the products we are seeing on the store shelves. The message has become amplified after a Yahoo! News story talking about strains of the virus being found in pasteurized milk. However, this story was headlined in a manner that made it seem to the casual observer that their products were not safe.
The article did verify that the FDA and the USDA have said that these are dead remnants of the virus. The products are safe, and the pasteurization process continues to be effective. However, the article did seem to call into question, or cast doubt on, the process of pasteurization and the job that producers are doing to make sure that infected cows are isolated in the supply of milk. Many in the ag industry are questioning the source of the message behind the article. Some have already mentioned the names of several groups who are known to be against animal agriculture.
All that aside, the milk supply is safe to drink and the USDA once again stood up in support of that statement yesterday. American Farm Bureau’s Bernt Nelson reiterated this to the consuming public.
During this time, Midwest Dairy has welcomed Corey Scott as the new CEO of the organization. She brings years in the food and beverage industry and has worked with such companies as Lans O’ Lakes, and others.
Scott talks about the priorities she has for the dairy industry in her new role.
Research, innovation, and telling producer stories are also a large part of Scott’s mission for the future of the organization.
Midwest Dairy represents 4,000 dairy farmers and works to keep building dairy demand.
