The dairy checkoff has taken dramatic steps to increase dairy sales in the short term, while building for the long term, in response to dairy farming’s 2009 economic crisis, according to Tom Gallagher, chief executive officer of Dairy Management Inc.™ (DMI), which manages the national dairy checkoff. Gallagher spoke at the 2009 National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB)/United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA)/National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) Joint Annual Meeting in Grapevine, Texas.
The checkoff responded to the economic challenges by redirecting $35 million of the budgets of DMI and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) to efforts that would affect immediate sales, Gallagher reported. DMI eliminated $9 million of fixed administrative, consulting and other costs and moved that money to programming. It entered into key strategic partnerships to drive short-term sales, while advancing the dairy checkoff’s long-term goals, he said.
To help reignite the pizza category, the dairy checkoff and Domino’s Pizza have a multi-layered partnership focused on more cheese, on more pizzas. To impact the specialty beverage market, the dairy checkoff has a three-year partnership with McDonald’s to support dairy-friendly menu development. And, to capitalize on the enormous potential in the lactose-free milk market, the checkoff is partnering with HP Hood, the marketers of Lactaid®.
In addition, Gallagher also cited the formation of a critically important partnership that affects all of dairy’s future consumers. DMI and the National Dairy Council (NDC) formed a partnership with the National Football League (NFL) to offer a unique program where kids are directly involved in making better food and fitness choices at school.
“We have taken the power of NDC and coupled it with the NFL, resulting in ‘Fuel Up to Play 60’, a full package of nutrition and physical fitness options, with dairy front and center,” Gallagher said. Now, DMI and the NFL are working toward a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because they, too, see the positive impact this program can have on kids.
Source: Dairy Management Inc.