Grant Kohler is a dairy farmer from Utah where he milks 300 cows with a family operation. He was attending World Dairy Expo to talk about the Childhood Nutrition Fitness Initiative that’s a joint project of the National Dairy Council and the National Football League.

He says, “It brings a package not just to the cafeteria of the school but a package that can engage the principals and teachers.” The NFL teams are on board to provide their players as spokespersons when and where needed. He says the program includes a full nutritional plan that of course includes dairy. He’s proud to say that over 40,000 schools have already signed on. Here’s some excerpts from a recent release on the project.

To poise the multi-year program for success, the NDC will spend $100 million over five years to support this initiative, including school grants. The NDC will spend an additional $150 million on other efforts aimed at improving child health and wellness.

“We are taking a leadership role to help kids win the battle for good health,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Our players know the importance of staying healthy, and it’s important that we help young fans understand the value of exercise.”

You can listen to my interview with Grant as part of our Milking Parlor Podcast: [audio:http://zimmcomm.biz/wdd/milking-parlor-39.mp3]

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World Dairy Expo 2008 Photo Album

Sponsors of World Dairy Diary coverage of this year’s World Dairy Expo include GEA Farm Technologies and BASF Plant Science.