Hundreds of dairy industry professionals from around the world will gather in Chicago this fall for the International Dairy Foundation (IDF) annual conference. Shawna Morris, senior vice president of trade policy for the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council, (USDEC) says the time is right to bring the summit to the U.S.
“We had a record year in exports last year, we’re very well-poised to continue to grow in the years to come, and we’re leading on so many of the sustainability fronts that are such an increasing focus for international markets and a lot of the other policymaking developments that our sector globally is working to contend with,” she said. “Those attending are a pretty broad mix across the dairy industry. Normally we see farmers, farmer organizations like cooperatives or farmer groups like those I represent on the National Milk Producers and U.S. Dairy Export Council side, a number of processing company representatives, and then others throughout the supply chain. Take advantage while it’s here in our backyard.”
She says the summit will feature sessions on a number of topics.
“Things like looking at what the situation is in global dairy markets, views on some of the trade issues that are becoming contentious and how to deal with those better looking forward, and taking a look at how we promote sustainability more effectively to today’s global consumers. Also, a number of things at the farm level side, such as how to provide farmers with more support and advance sustainability practices, how to make that more commercially effective for them, and how to deal with heat-stress issues,” she said. “A lot of those attending are from both developed and developing countries, so, it’s a bit of a mix of topics to span that full spectrum.” Previous locations for the summit include India and Turkey. The IDF World Dairy Summit is October 16th through the 19th.
Sabrina Halvorson
National Correspondent / AgNet Media, Inc.
Sabrina Halvorson is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster, and public speaker who specializes in agriculture. She primarily reports on legislative issues and hosts The AgNet News Hour and The AgNet Weekly podcast. Sabrina is a native of California’s agriculture-rich Central Valley.