Creeping across the pasture land. Got dirt on
the boots and a working hand. From the milk house
home to the auction call. These are the folks
standing strong and tall. Yeah, this is... Welcome
to the Bullvine Podcast, where real dairy voices
bring you the stories behind the industry's headlines.
Today, we're diving deep into a legacy that's
shaped modern U .S. dairy policy and kept countless
producers afloat through thick and thin. In this
special episode, we sit down with Jim Mulhern,
outgoing president and CEO of the National Milk
Producers Federation, to talk about his decades
of leadership, the big wins, the tough calls,
and the unfinished business that matters most
to dairy farm families. Grab your coffee, pull
up a seat, and join us for an honest conversation
about the challenges, lessons, and future of
our industry, straight from a man whose story
is measured one season at a time. So I always
find it's best to start at the beginning. So
you've talked about in the past, growing up in
a small town in Wisconsin, How did your roots
or how did that growing up on a farm shape your
wanting to get into farming and your career from
there on? Well, the journey for me started in
small town Wisconsin. My father had grown up
on a dairy farm prior to World War II. After
the war, he left the farm. It was a small dairy.
He moved to Milwaukee after the war to work and
then came back to the home area in south central
Wisconsin, just north of Madison. And so I grew
up with family members. My grandfather had a
farm. My friends growing up had farms. I spent
a lot of time in and around farms. And that's
what I knew. I also knew. When I got into high
school and headed to college, having not grown
up on a farm, I wasn't going to be a farmer.
If nothing else, the cost of starting up when
you didn't have a family background or a family
farm to go to back in those days wasn't going
to happen. But I had that interest in agriculture,
so that's why I majored in ag journalism at the
University of Wisconsin and figured that I was
going to find my path. into agriculture that
way. I had a parallel interest in policy and
politics that was kind of instilled in me at
a young age. You know, some great teachers in
junior high school, high school, and I grew up
in the 70s, late 60s, early 70s, so it was a
lot of political upheaval in the country during
that. that period, I was just always interested
in how politics could have an influence on society
and on people. I had a chance to come to Washington,
D .C. to do an internship when I was in college,
work for my local member of Congress, and the
issue portfolio that I worked on at that summer
was largely agriculture, which kind of fit my
college background. And through that, I kind
of put the two together. And when I finished
college and I got my degree in ag journalism,
I went to work for a milk marketing cooperative
based in Wisconsin, but representing producers.
And it was marketing, so it wasn't a processing
or manufacturing co -op. It was a marketing and
testing service co -op. It represented producers
in the five -state area, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Illinois, Iowa, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
And we did a lot of work on policy issues for
our members. So that's really where I got deeply
engaged in the policy side of it. But, you know,
going back to the beginning of the question,
it really was growing up in a small town, in
and around farms, loving the lifestyle, loving,
you know, the people. both family members and
friends. So that lifestyle really appealed to
me. And was there someone who really helped shape
all that? I think I read somewhere or mentioned
that you had a seventh grade teacher that really
helped influence you or had an impact on this
trajectory for you. Yeah, it's really interesting
when you get to this point in your life and you
reflect back on how your journey played out.
I've often thought of those. Those teachers,
and they have been at a young age, teachers who,
you know, they see something in a student and
they sparked an interest. And for me, it was
Mr. Houghton, my seventh grade social studies
teacher. And he kind of just brought issues and
politics to life. This is a guy who had been
a Korean War veteran. I remember him talking
about what it was like to be in a farming school
during the Vietnam War in junior high school.
And it was, you know, he brought to life what
it was like, you know, in the army, where you're
not, when you're fighting the enemy, especially
in infantry back in those days, you're not shooting
at somebody. You're just, you're kind of shooting.
And you know somebody's over there, but you don't
see your target. That may sound like a very small
example, but it kind of opened my eyes to things
that I had no comprehension, no understanding
of. And he had that ability just through making
issues personal and real. And that stood out
for me. And I had several teachers in high school,
my journalism teachers, who helped me. They saw
something in me. I wasn't a good writer, I didn't
think. But I had an interest in issues and could
ask good questions. So it was along the way having
teachers who took a deep interest in me. And
I recognize now that's so important. in forming
a person's life. And so I give so much credit
to people like that. And I will say that I had
those kind of people all along my way in my career.
When I went to Washington, the congressman that
I interned for became my political mentor because
after a few years, he was the one I came back
to Washington to work for on his staff full time.
And I learned so much in all those. So I've always
taken that, that learning and try to apply it
with people who work for me, understanding the
impact you can have on people and on their careers
and on their lives by taking an interest in them,
seeing what spark they have and trying to fuel
it, trying to boost it. And I think when you
look at your career, I think that who you serve
or the interest in people comes through quite
clear. in the career you have had. Was there
a time maybe during your career or early on that
it really clicked for you that the policies and
the work you were doing would have a real impact
or could have a real impact on people? I think
I first realized that in my initial stint on
Capitol Hill, working for a member of Congress
from Wisconsin with my portfolio of issues that
I handled was agriculture, some environmental
issues. but also federal budget and tax policy
issues. In the office that I worked in, you not
only covered the issues, but you drafted the
correspondence. When constituents write letters
or call in concerned about an issue, you do the
research and draft a letter for the congressman
to review and to sign and send back to the constituent.
And we would do casework. Constituents would
call in if they had a problem with, you know,
back in those days, the USDA's Agriculture Farm,
what is today the Farm Service Agency, back in
those days was the old ASCS, Agricultural Stabilization
and Conservation Service. It actually came out
of the 1930s and 1940s. So I did casework and
worked on a number of issues. that had a direct
impact on farmers so when you're you're talking
directly to them and you're working on issues
that impact them you really could see how the
work you're doing does make a difference in people's
lives and on just issue after issue that occurred
that that would happen and when you know for
me it was looking for more of that more opportunities
to how can i keep increasing the impact that
I can have on policy that matters to people that
I know or that I can picture their lives. And
it was easy to do in agriculture. And it was
in Washington, D .C., where every issue under
the sun is addressed at the federal policy level.
You get into your area, get into that lane, and
work the issues. You get to know the people who
are who are engaged in the issues and are impacted
by it, and you get that dialogue going. So it
really was a way to practice what I would call
kind of retail politics and retail policy. You're
impacting people, and you can talk to them and
find out what their needs are and then try to
figure out ways to address those. And viewing
in the dairy industry that, you know, there's
a lot of people with strong opinions. You've
become known for that kind of collaborative leadership
style. Is there a moment when that really clicked
for you or someone who helped to really focus
you on that, or is it just something you had
to develop over time? Well, I think part of that
collaborative style started early for me. I was
the middle child in a family of nine. And, you
know, working class family. If I didn't collaborate,
I had two older brothers and two younger brothers.
I was stuck right in the middle. And then I had
four sisters. If I didn't collaborate, I wasn't
going to get enough to eat. And you just learn
to work things out. So, you know, I joke that
it really did start early in life for me. who
I saw how they operated. It was people who put
people first. I was fortunate to work for a member
of Congress who was actually, I don't think he
would, he certainly wouldn't thrive and perhaps
not even survive in politics today. He was very
self -effacing. It was never about him. It was
about policy and what he could get done. He had
very strong views on issues. you know, he knew
his constituency, and he really wanted to represent
them. So I just found in agriculture, I think
there's something about the people in agriculture
that are largely collaborative. Yeah, there's
a lot of strong opinions, and I've dealt with,
you know, people's strong will, but I've been
able to deal with them, and I think the biggest
thing I've always found is to listen. If you
listen to people carefully and can, understand
what it is they want and need. You can't deliver
it 100%, but you get a sense of what can and
will work. And politics, as we all know, is a
compromise. You've got strong views on both sides.
You're trying to work them out. And we're kind
of missing that, I think, in our politics today.
It's one of the challenges we have as a... as
a country, and I think it's not just the U .S.
It's, you know, Canada's just had its elections,
and, you know, there's divisions there. Europe
has the same situation. It's kind of around the
world where we're separating into our camps rather
than trying to come together and work that middle
ground where I think everything that's important
really happens. So for me, collaboration was
just a natural. And, you know, I think in every
aspect of life, you think of a relationship you're
in. To be successful in a relationship, you've
got to collaborate. You've got to work things
out. And it's the same in business. In any organization,
you've got to try to work things out to move
things forward. So for me, it's always been kind
of a, duh, this is what you have to do to get
things done. And looking back. Are there certain
incidences, projects, or initiatives that really
stand out that you're the most proud of that
you were able to accomplish that over your career?
You know, Andrew, when you have a long career
of, for me, 45 plus years, I was fortunate to
be engaged in a lot of different issues and battles.
And there are a number of them that come to mind.
I think on the dairy policy side, our industry
has, throughout my life, had to deal with those
issues of supply and demand balance. Dairy farmers,
dairy cows are so incredibly productive. You
give us a market and we can produce. All the
milk for that had been some. And trying to achieve
that balance between supply and demand so that
you can have good market prices is something
that this industry has struggled with forever.
Policies have had an impact on that. I was involved
in some of the fights. The 1980s was a period
of, early 80s was a period of huge milk surpluses
in the U .S. And the federal government was buying
product, cheese, butter, nonfat dry milk, and
putting those into storage. And it would sell
them back to the trade when prices improved.
But it was a gerbil on a wheel. You were always
kind of stuck in as soon as prices got better,
USDA would by law have to start selling product
back to the trade. And that would depress prices.
So we knew we needed to try to deal with that.
Canada has dealt with it through supply management.
And, you know, there's a lot of success that
that's had for the Canadian dairy industry. In
the U .S., there's been less interest in supply
management. We're long past that period in most
of our commodities where supply management is
used. It's not a viable. And producers really
don't want that. But we have to try to develop
policies that provide some safety net to producers.
And I will say that that evolution from the,
say, the dairy diversion program in the early
80s to the dairy termination program in the mid
-80s, when we actually, the USDA, the federal
government, paid producers to sell their entire
herds. and exit the business and got a payment
for doing that. That was a way of trying to achieve
supply and demand balance. We moved away from
those. Moving ahead through the years, we've
moved toward a risk management approach. And
I've been very pleased to be part of that evolution
in policy to get to the point today where we
have, I think, a very effective safety net program.
in the dairy margin coverage program here in
the U .S. that works very well for small and
medium -sized producers and provides catastrophic
protection to large producers. So there's something
for everybody in that program, and it does so
with producer engagements. They pay a premium
for the coverage. and it's done a great deal
to provide an effective safety net and balances
the program by not putting excess burden on taxpayers.
It's not an expensive, costly program, and it
doesn't interfere with the marketplace. So I
think that the movement toward risk management
during the course of my career is a major thing
that I'm pleased with. Lots of other issues as
well that we could talk about, but that's a big
one. You have mentioned in the past that working
with the board, with Randy Mooney, and the board
has had a very positive influence in bringing
about these changes. Can you comment on how that
has affected your ability to move policy forward?
Well, I will say that the 10, 11 years that I
was head of National Milk, I was blessed by having
incredible leadership. both in the chair, my
officers and executive committee, and the full
board. When I came in, I did so with a lot of
experience in the dairy industry. I worked on
dairy policy. When I took the job as president
and CEO, I was 30 -plus years into my career
in dairy policy. So I had a really good perspective.
on the history, what works, what doesn't work.
And I think a maturity at that point that I did
not want to spend my time tilting at windmills,
just taking on issues that we weren't going to
be able to resolve or that we could not get agreement
on. I've been through some of those issues earlier
in my career. where the industry was divided.
And I knew that there's just no point banging
your head against the wall to push something
when you've got a 50 -50 or even a 60 -40 and
almost a 70 -30 split in your membership. If
you don't have a solid group behind you pushing
an issue, you're going to lose at the end of
the day in the halls of Congress. And that's
something I talked to the board about, talked
to leadership about when I started. But what
I was most pleased about was the response of
the leadership. I was blessed to work for an
incredible chairman in Randy Mone. Randy was
chair when I came in. He was also chair of and
is chair of Dairy Farmers of America. critically
important hats for the U .S. dairy industry.
And in my work with him at National Milk, the
leadership he provided was just outstanding.
He is a tremendous farm leader. There are so
many issues where I would have an idea, and Randy
was very, I will say, very patient with me and
understood the membership. what we could get
done as well or better than I did. And the ability
to, the trust that he had in me and that I had
in him that we developed early on, it just helped
so much. And then Randy was surrounded by a group
of officers and executive committee all working
together. You know, these are people that are
elected from their cooperatives across the country.
So they're heavily engaged in running their own
cooperatives, come together on the national stage
to lead the producer community on so many issues
that we deal with at the federal level. It's
not just economic issues that I've talked about
some, but the trade issues, labor issues, environmental
issues, nutrition policy, tax policy, on and
on and on. I mean, there's just no shortage of
challenges and opportunities for... the dairy
producer community. And to have the, we had the
cream of the crop from across the country, the
leaders in their own organizations and their
own communities come together into the national
organization, roll up their sleeves, and work
together on issues that affect, you know, many
of them, affect them differently in different
parts of the country and, you know, different
size cooperatives. But the success we had by
those folks pulling together and agreeing, with
my approach, that if we didn't have a strong
consensus, a substantial majority, it really
didn't make sense to try to push an issue on
Capitol Hill where we're 60 -40. And I think
that was one of the keys of our success, the
trust that they put in me and the trust that
I had in them when I saw how they responded to...
to the perspective that I provided and the staff
provided, we had a great relationship, and it
made the job not just possible, but it made it
a real joy. Now, I heard you mention the term
herding cats, and I think about that in regards
to the federal milk marketing order and one of
the major initiatives that you had to work through.
How did you go about building the consensus amongst
the co -ops to maybe adjust the goals or maybe
goals that are completely different from before?
How were you guys able to make that work? I think
there's several secrets to the success in that
effort. One was the timing in which we took it
on. I knew, having been through federal order,
process at the local level, you know, working
on issues at the, you know, the federal order,
the geographic local level. And I started my
career, you know, how they operated. And then
I had been involved in some of the major reform
in federal orders in the late 90s and the early
aughts when, you know, Congress did an overhaul
or set up an overhaul in the federal order program
in the 1996 Farm Bill. And then we had hearings
and came through the 2000. Since no major changes
have been made since 2000, the program was up.
It needed some updating. It needed some changes.
But I knew that we had to wait to get through
some other issues first, Farm Bill. And sometimes
it's when you take an issue on that is critically
important. Pressure had to build. And by the
time that we moved forward with federal order,
because it really wasn't reformed. We reformed
it back in 2000. What we needed to do was modernize
the system because no major changes had been
made, and it wasn't working as well as it could
have. Industry moved forward. Things change.
Just simple things like the content of the milk
fat and protein, the solids not fat in milk,
naturally occurring because of the improvements
in animal genetics. They changed over 25 years,
but we had pricing formulas that were tied to
the protein and solids, not fat content, and
even the average butterfat content of herds in
2000. That's just one example. So as we moved
forward, it was clear that the time was right
to try to take on some of these issues. and put
together a comprehensive update to the federal
orders. One of the things that was key was to
understand and make sure our producers understood
that the federal order program, since it's a
national program, but it has regional impacts
because you have 12 different federal orders
in different parts of the U .S., and they have
a... Most of the provisions of them are the same,
but in terms of the pricing structure on Class
I fluid milk, it differs around the country.
So different orders had different issues. And
part of this process was putting together a package
that balanced all of that. We laid out up front,
and Randy was a key part of this. Randy Mooney
was a key part of this. We laid out up front
that nobody was going to get everything they
wanted. got together in a room, rolled up our
sleeves and worked on it, we could improve this
system and modernize it like it needed to be
done. And that was the start of a process that
lasted over at least 18 months. We had hundreds
of meetings, and we had the experts at the co
-op level. They came together and sat down in
rooms, meeting after meeting, in Zoom calls,
talking through these issues to come up with
a package. went with the processors and tried
to deal with some of the issues there. It was
a comprehensive, incredibly complex process,
but it started with the understanding that we
could get things done if we worked together.
And nobody was going to get everything they wanted,
but if we rolled up our sleeves and worked together,
we could get this done. And that was key to the
process. Another could have been important. part
of this process was having the right leadership
to manage it. And I knew from my experience working
on these issues that it was going to take somebody
who had the expertise of using the federal order
system at the cooperative level on how milk moves,
what plants it goes to, how it's priced. And
I was incredibly fortunate to convince Jim Sleeper,
who had extensive experience in the industry.
He had worked for co -ops. He worked on the proprietary
side. He had recently retired. I was able to
convince Jim to take this effort on and lead
it. And he's the guy that herded cats. He spent
an incredible amount of time over that 18 months
leading our effort, pulling people together.
And working out the fine minutiae and details
of this, the guy does. So huge, huge credit for
quarterbacking this whole effort goes to Jim
and all the people at our co -ops who were engaged
in the guys who rolled up their sleeves, the
people who rolled up their sleeves and worked
together to come up with that package. And when
you talk about... major changes, especially major
changes that haven't happened in quite some time
that directly affect the producers' bottom lines,
their sustainability. You get a lot of reaction.
You get a lot of emotion. What message or what
comments, now that we've gone through that, would
you say to producers that they should understand
or also take away from all this? Well, one of
the key aspects of all of this was we at the
end of the day we wanted to have a package of
modernization that that had that was balanced
um that you know when you adjust these formulas
they have an impact and at the end of the day
what the federal milk marketing order system
is is about is assuring the orderly marketing
of milk to protect producers and consumers. It
came out of a period, if you go back to the start
of the federal order system in the 1930s, you
know, producers would ship their milk off to
a handler, and they would be told what was the,
you know, even what was the butterfat content.
Back in those days, most of the milk was priced
just on butterfat. We didn't price it on protein
and other solids. You had no way of knowing.
if the test you were told was the artifact content
of your milk was actually what was in that milk.
And producers were at a disadvantage to their
processors. The federal order system was designed
to protect producers, and that's fundamentally
important. It is a producer program overall,
and it's producers who vote on that program.
Any changes you make to a federal order, whether
it's your own individual federal order or...
in this case the national program, those are
voted on at the local level by producers. And
it's also designed to protect consumers because
you're trying to make sure that you have an adequate
supply of milk so you don't have, you know, the
roller coaster pricing on milk. Stability is
important to producers. It's important to consumers.
So that's really the heart and soul of the program.
It needed to be updated. It needed to be modernized,
as I said, to bring it up to date with the pricing
formulas. And one of the factors of the federal
order program is, again, the pricing of Class
I fluid milk. And so that is a regulated price.
It really is the only regulated price in the
system because the price of milk that goes into
cheese and whey, and butter and nonfat dry milk,
you know, the four major components, those will
determine the marketplace. And then there's a
formula that's used to calculate, it's called,
you know, the end product pricing. What is the,
you've got to, you take the value of milk going
into cheese, there's a cost of baking that cheese,
and that has to be calculated to get the, you
know, the right, the right end product price
on a 100 -way basis. It's known as the make allowance
or the manufacturing allowance. It's the cost
of manufacturing a product. Those factors in
the formula have not been increased for a long
time. They need to be updated. But when you adjust
them, that has a, you know, that's a deduct.
That is a, it reduces. You take the price of
cheese, reduce it by the wholesale price of cheese,
and reduce it by the cost of making it and some
other factors. That's a deduct. That is going
to reduce the price to producers. But you've
got to reflect what is that cost. And that was
key to this whole process. We didn't want to
program at the end of the day that we modernized
the system, but it cost producers money. The
class one differentials had not been adjusted
for some time. We needed to adjust those to reflect
today's market conditions. So it was trying to
get that balance. that was important in the process,
and I think we did a great job. And I think the
vote of producers endorsing the modernization
proposal from USDA is a reflection of that. It's
not a program that's going to ensure, doesn't
ensure profitability to anybody, but you do want
to make sure that that system is providing orderly
marketing and is providing transparent pricing
to producers. And that really is what it does.
And now that we've updated it, modernized it,
it does it better than it did prior to the changes
that were made. Now, another program that you've
championed quite heavily, and rightfully so,
was the Farm Program, not just for its animal
care, but also about how it connects us with
consumers and helps build trust with consumers.
What do you wish more producers knew about the
Farm Program, and how do you see it shaping the
industry's future? I think the farm program is
one of the best programs that the industry has
developed. I go back to a time when we didn't
have a farm program. We weren't able to tell
consumers with, you know, with facts and figures,
we weren't able to tell consumers the great story
of quality, high -level quality animal care in
this industry. We could talk about it, and people
could see the old, you know, the red barn and
the silo. And they would hope that, you know,
Farmer Jones was doing a great job taking care
of their animals. But we didn't have a way to
quantify that and to tell that story to consumers.
The development of the farm program came about
at a time when we were seeing more, you know,
animal rights activist engagement, more attacks
on animal agriculture. We knew, all of us in
dairy knew, the level of care on our farms. We
didn't have an ability to communicate that. What
I wish that producers better understood, and
frankly I think we're over that hump now, I think
producers really do get this, is the farm program
helps us tell a very, very important story to
consumers on the quality of animal care. All
of those issues that are reviewed in an animal
care evaluation that farmers do, the on -farm
evaluation done by their evaluator, all that
information is aggregated at the co -op level,
at the processor level, and then at the national
level. And it tells a great story of the quality
of care. Virtually all of the indices in that
farm program evaluation, and we look at each
one of them and then look at the data that results
when we do all those evaluations, we are north
of 90 % adherence, as high as 98%, 99 % adherence
across the country with those standards. That
is a wonderful story to tell consumers, and it's
helped push back against activists who attack
the industry and suggest that animals are not
treated well. We're the facts and figures to
show the quality of care. But I think equally
important is the continuous improvement that
it helps for individual producers. It benchmarks.
You're able to benchmark how you're doing on
your operation versus others in your co -op or
proprietary processors, how you're doing in your
region. how you compare nationally, how you compare
by farm size. It's an incredible tool for producers
to use to improve their operations. And going
beyond animal care, we've added very important
features to the program in sustainability and
in workforce development, where we're actually
helping people benchmark what are the best. human
resource practices on the farm. And that enables
producers to step up their game to see what others
are doing and improve. So at its heart and soul,
the farm program is about continuous improvement.
And when you think about what we're doing in
this industry, and frankly, any industry, is
trying to improve. And this is a great way to
help us on that journey of continuous improvement.
So beyond pricing and programs, What do you see
as the biggest challenges facing the dairy industry
going forward? What do we need to change on the
farm level, on the policy level, at the government?
What do we need to do to make sure that the industry
stays strong? Well, there's any number of issues
that we could talk about here. Let me focus on
two of them because I think they're critically
important. They've been around with us for a
while, and we've got to get them right, and we're
not there yet. Perhaps the biggest issue that
I dealt with in terms of the industry's future
while I was at National Milk was this issue of
farm labor. And we're not close, unfortunately,
to getting that issue resolved. I can't tell
you the number of producers I've talked to who
this is. This is an existential issue. This is
the issue that keeps them up at night. And in
many ways, today it's getting worse rather than
getting better. Let's start with some facts.
We know that the majority of the milk produced
in the U .S., the vast majority of milk produced
in the U .S., comes from farms with immigrant
labor. And we also know that a large percentage
of that immigrant workforce is undocumented.
And we can't run our farms. without that workforce.
It just can't do it. So without those workers
and without a solution to it, we're in a world
of hurt at the farm level, and we're going to
be in a world of hurt at the consumer level because
we're not going to have the milk and the dairy
products that people want to consume. We've got
to get this right, and it's just taking forever.
We've spent so much time trying to get access
to a legal workforce. In the face of a national
situation where these workers are demonized and
now we're seeing raids on some farms going after
people, there's no question that we need a strong
immigration policy and strong border protection
in this country. There's no question that there
is an issue. But we were, I think in my view,
kind of in the ditches on both sides on this
issue. And it has defied solution, defied people
trying to, you know, work together to get a consensus
because the issue works politically for some
of the politicians on both sides. And, you know,
until we get this right, agriculture, not just
dairy, but agriculture is suffering from this.
I would say DLA is probably suffering more than
any because we don't have access to even a federal
program that provides a legal immigrant workforce.
That H -2A program that does help much of agriculture
only, and producers know this well, I'm not saying
anybody doesn't know, H -2A only works for operations
that need seasonal and temporary workers. Our
workers are anything but that. They're full -time
workers, seven days a week. two milkings or three
milkings a day. And we've turned human workers
because that's the only folks who will work these
jobs. They're tough jobs. They pay well. We have
workers on our farms that have been there for
five, ten, fifteen, in some cases twenty years
or more. They're great workers. We don't want
to lose them. We've got to get this policy right
and unfortunately I don't, you know, as long
as it's as political as it is. and politicians
stand to benefit on it, I fear that it's not
going to get resolved. That number one has to
get fixed. The other major issue that I would
suggest is holding us back is trade policy. We're
an incredibly productive industry. You know,
225, 230 billion pounds of milk a year that we
produce. We don't consume that much in the U
.S. We have a great domestic market here. It
is 85 % of the amount of milk that we produce.
But that 15 % 15 to 20 % can be up as much as
that that is in excess of domestic market needs.
If we don't have a home for that, that's depressing
market prices. If we don't have markets for that
product, that means you've got surpluses in the
domestic market and that's forcing prices down.
On the international level, We've suffered from
barriers that many countries have erected to
keep our product out of their markets. Whether
those are tariff barriers or non -tariff trade
barriers, they're very effective at keeping us
from achieving the level of export to markets
that we could. I think long -term, the future
for U .S. dairy is great. because we're going
to get access to those markets. The world needs
protein. Dairy is the best protein you can consume.
So I think long -term, we're going to be in great
shape as an industry. But this next 5, 10 years,
if we don't see trade agreements that address
this problem and provide greater access around
the world, and we're in an era where it's mostly
bilateral agreements. as opposed to multilateral
negotiations at the World Trade Organization.
WTO is basically moribund, if not dead, and it's
mostly bilateral negotiations. That's a challenge,
and we've been working very hard as an industry
to increase market access between National Milk
and the U .S. Dairy Export Council. Tremendous
efforts to get into those markets, but we have
to have trade negotiators and trade agreements
that break down these barriers and get us into
those markets. And here, too, there's a lot of
talk and general statements about expanding market
access, but we haven't seen the kind of detailed
negotiations that's necessary to increase that
market access. Now, I could say a lot more. That's
probably more than people want to hear. But I
would say that farm labor and trade policy are
the two biggest issues that we have to get right
if we're going to achieve the kind of success
that this industry is capable of. Okay. Sorry,
you hear a pause there just because it's me doing
a backup because I noticed my one recording.
Okay. Yep, that's great. It's just me making
a note and then I just like I'm just making a
note and then I paused. So we'll continue on.
So you talk about these challenges that we face
and now you're handing off the reins to Greg
and the team. What's the one lesson or one piece
of advice you would share with them about stepping
into the big dairy policy role and what it actually
takes and why it matters and what they need to
do? Well, the great thing about Greg is he doesn't
need advice from me on these challenges and issues.
He's a veteran ag policy hand. He's got as much
experience as I do in Washington. He's got broader
experience in other commodities. He worked for
the National Calvin Peep Association. He worked
on the commodity markets. So he's got great experience,
and equally important, he has a great team behind
him. I will say that I was blessed when I came
to National Milk to have a great staff. I knew
the folks on staff because I had been working
with the organization prior to becoming president
and CEO. I'd been a consultant to National Milk.
So these are people I knew what I was getting
into, and it's one of the reasons the job was
appealing to me. I knew I had a great team. I
was able to add to that team over time. By the
time I left, the board heard from me many times,
I would say, that without equivocation, I felt
we had the best trade association agriculture
team in Washington, bar none. A team of experts
who not only knew their issues well, but were
dedicated to member service, smart, hardworking
people, passionate about this industry, just
like our members are. And that team continues
to just hit the ball out of the park. So I felt
very good when I stepped down that the organization
was in great shape with the staff, and I think
the board chose a great successor in Greg, and
I've been able to watch over the last year plus
now. watch Greg and the team, and they're doing
an outstanding job. They don't need advice from
me. True. But you're also now being recognized
as the World Dairy Expo Industry Person of the
Year. What does that mean to you? I think it's
kind of a full circle moment. You'll be coming
back to Madison. What does this mean to you looking
back at your career but also looking forward?
Well, you know, this is just an incredible honor.
to be recognized by the World Dairy Expo board
and leadership. I mean, we're talking about the
cream of the industry here. When I look at the
list of people who have received this award,
it's like the Hall of Fame in dairy. And so I'm
just incredibly honored. And, you know, I don't
think I fully deserve this award. I will say
that, you know, for me, What I think about is
all the people that I've worked with, and in
whatever brief remarks I get a chance to make
at Dairy Expo, that's kind of my focus. I view
this as a shared award. It goes back to Mr. Hoden,
my seventh grade social studies teacher, has
a hand in this award, all the way through the
team, my staff that I work with at National Milk,
the board. officers, executive committee, Randy
Mooney. This is a collective award that everybody
helped me on this journey. Everybody's had a
part of it that I've worked with. For me, that's
the biggest honor. When I think of all the experiences
I've had, the people I've worked with, this recognition
for me is Well done by a lot of people, and I
feel very humble. I feel very blessed to have
had the career I've had, and to get this kind
of recognition is just very humbling. It really
is. And what does the next act, what keeps you
busy now, or what are your ambitions or plans
going forward? I will say I'm finding a little
bit more time to enjoy life than I was able to
during my working years. You know, one of the
things that I did find at National Milk, when
you work for people who are working seven days
a week and, you know, from sunup to past sundown,
you end up doing a similar extent to yourself.
And so there are a lot of things that... passed
me by that I didn't get a chance to enjoy as
much. So I'm really trying to spend my time on
that. I am trying to give back. I'm trying to
do some mentoring of people. Again, I've talked
about how important that has been in my life.
I think I owe that to other people to do so.
Do a little bit of that. But I'm also, you know,
taking the time to do some travel, both domestically
and a little bit, you know, nationally. It's
a big world. There's a lot to see and do out
there. I am trying to, you know, spend more time
with my adult children. Now they have less time
than they had when they were younger. But still,
I'm very close to them. And it's nice to be able
to spend time with them and my siblings. So for
me, my professional career took a lot of my focus,
and now I'm trying to spend a little more time
on family, on friends, and on health. I've always
tried to stay in health. I was a runner for many
years. I've moved toward biking more now. My
knees and hips hurt when I run. They don't hurt
when I'm biking, so I'm no dummy. I spend more
time on the bike. But just working out, hiking,
doing a little fishing, bird watching, some of
the things that I just enjoy. I'm really trying
to, you know, you said this act of life. I look
at it as act three in life. And I'm trying to
spend act three vigorous, active, but also to
keep learning and keep enjoying because that's
what this period of life is for, I think. And
if you had one final thought or something that
you would want to leave our listeners thinking
about the dairy industry, about the future of
the dairy industry, and why they should be optimistic
about it, what would you say to them? Well, I
just think this is an incredible industry. I
think the future is very, very bright. You know,
it starts with the quality of the animals and
the people in this industry. And I think that
follows through. virtually every aspect of this
industry. And I will say that one of the things,
I've had a chance over the course of my 45 -year
career to work. I wasn't full -time in dairy
all the time. I've had a couple of stints where
I did consulting for other businesses as well.
I've worked with lots of people, lots of industries,
Fortune 200 companies. But I always kept coming
back to dairy. And, you know, I couldn't put
my finger on it early on, but I have realized,
I did realize over time it's because of the people.
There are incredible people in this industry.
I don't know exactly what it is about this industry
that attracts such high -level people. I think
perhaps part of it is that you're, you know,
you're nurturing an animal. You're not raising
an animal from, you know, from birth to slaughter.
You're raising an animal for its productive life.
And it may sound strange to people who are engaged
in dairy on a full -time basis, but I think that
has something to do with breeding people in a
certain way or instilling something in people
in a certain way. So it's the people that make
this industry great, and I've never lost sight
of that. When I think of the future, And I think
of the quality of the product that we produce,
the nutritional aspects. I just think the future
for this industry is so bright. And as long as
we've got people at National Milk, at U .S. Dairy
Export Council, at the Dairy Checkoff Program,
all working together to move us forward, I think
we've got a very, very bright future. And I think
so as well. And with that, I want to thank you
for taking the time to share your story with
us. It really means a lot to get to know. We
see you winning the award at Expo, but to get
to know the story behind it really was enjoyable
for all of us. We also appreciate your candor
and the fact that you've championed the industry
so much for so many years, truly deserving of
this year's award. So congratulations. Thank
you so much, Andrew. It's been an honor and a
privilege. It really has. That's it for today's
episode of the Bullvine Podcast. Huge thanks
to Jim Mulhern for sharing his story, perspective,
and candor with our audience. If you found these
insights valuable, make sure to subscribe and
share the show with your fellow producers and
friends in the dairy community. For more ground
-level stories, policy updates, and practical
advice, check out thebullvine .com. and follow
us on your favorite podcast platform. Until next
time, keep your boots muddy, your barns full,
and your spirits high. Thanks for listening.