Making headlines as the calendar moved from April to May 2025:
- U.S., Indonesia sign landmark dairy agreement
- USTR calls out misuse of common food names
- May FSA interest rates slightly lower
- California Dairies Inc. celebrates grand opening of manufacturing facility
- Dairy One Cooperative Inc. names COO and CFO
- ‘Plant a Seed’ campaign raises funds to support dairy programs
U.S., Indonesia sign landmark dairy agreement
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and KADIN, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in a milestone step to deepen cooperation between U.S. and Indonesian dairy industries.
The MOU outlines a framework for collaboration to support enhanced dairy trade, strengthen commercial cooperation and bolster public nutrition through promoting greater consumption of dairy products, particularly in public programs.
Key areas of collaboration include the greater integration of dairy into Indonesia’s Free Nutritious Meals program, regulatory procedures including on dairy facility registration, data sharing on market trends, information exchange on best practices and technical expertise areas regarding dairy production, and joint public communication efforts to raise awareness of the benefits of dairy nutrition.
“This agreement marks an exciting next chapter in U.S.-Indonesia cooperation on trade and dairy,” said Krysta Harden, USDEC president and CEO. “It builds on strong momentum from the U.S.-Indonesia Dairy Partnership Program that USDEC launched in January with U.S. and Indonesian partners in the agriculture and university sectors. It also charts a pathway for U.S. dairy suppliers to more fully complement local Indonesian milk supplies in meeting the country’s evolving nutritional needs during a critical time for U.S.-Indonesia trade relations.”
With its focus on areas of mutual collaboration and support for U.S. dairy exports to Indonesia, this agreement complements ongoing trade negotiations between Indonesia and the U.S. regarding fostering more reciprocal trade flows.
“The United States and Indonesia share a mission of promoting dairy as a valuable source of nutrition,” said Gregg Doud, NMPF president and CEO. “The agreement signed today commits our industries to join efforts to grow the Indonesian market and support producers in both countries.”
Indonesia is the seventh-largest export market for U.S. dairy products, purchasing $245 million in 2024. With Indonesian President Prabowo’s launch of a new national school meals program that includes school milk, dairy demand in Indonesia is poised to expand significantly.
Over the past year, USDEC has led the creation of the U.S.-Indonesia Dairy Partnership Program, which held its first farmer education and training session in January in Indonesia. In collaboration with the New Mexico and Wisconsin agriculture departments, New Mexico State University, and Indonesian university and dairy company partners, the project is focused on the dissemination of technical educational materials designed to empower small-scale dairy producers in Indonesia to improve the quality and quantity of milk they produce. As those practices are adopted, U.S. dairy supplies play a vital complementary role to meet Indonesia’s growing dairy needs.
USTR calls out misuse of common food names
USDEC, NMPF and Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) said they appreciated the U.S. trade representative’s (USTR) decision to spotlight protection of common food names in the agency’s 2025 Special 301 Report released recently.
The annual report outlines major global intellectual property concerns. It highlighted the European Union’s (EU) persistent campaign to monopolize common names – such as Parmesan and feta – through protectionist geographical indication (GI) policies. These efforts restrict the use of widely recognized food and beverage terms to only specific European producers and effectively cut U.S. producers out of certain key markets.
“The European Union’s approach to geographical indications is entirely unacceptable. It intentionally crowds out fair competition by restricting market access for U.S. and international producers,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN. “Too many trading partners have been coerced into imposing trade barriers for products using common food and beverage names. We appreciate USTR’s ongoing recognition of this issue but urge the U.S. government to stop trading partners to succumbing to European pressures and imposing trade barriers on U.S. products.”
CCFN submitted comments to the agency in January, which broke down the many markets where U.S. dairy producers’ common name rights are being threatened. NMPF and USDEC filed supporting comments noting the urgency for action to address this pressing trade barrier. CCFN Senior Director Shawna Morris built on those comments at a Feb. 19 USTR hearing, where she underlined how the EU misuses geographical indications and why it’s imperative for the U.S. government to match the EU’s efforts on common names.
May FSA interest rates slightly lower
The announced interest rates on loans through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) are slightly lower for the second month in a row. As we begin May 2025, interest rates for operating and ownership loans (compared to April) are as follows:
- Farm operating loans (direct): 5.125%, down from 5.375%
- Farm ownership loans (direct): 5.625%, down from 5.75%
- Farm ownership loans (direct, joint financing): 3.625%, down from 3.75%
- Farm ownership loans (down payment): 1.625%, down from 1.75%
- Emergency loan (amount of actual loss): 3.75%, unchanged
The FSA also offers guaranteed loans through commercial lenders at rates set by those lenders. For more information, producers can contact their local USDA Service Center.
California Dairies Inc. celebrates grand opening of manufacturing facility
California Dairies Inc. (CDI), the largest dairy farmer-owned cooperative in the state, celebrated the grand opening of its new manufacturing plant, Valley Natural Beverages (VNB) in Bakersfield, California, on April 30.
The 200,000 square-foot vertically integrated plant will begin processing an estimated 116,000 gallons of local milk daily.
“We are thrilled to officially open this cutting-edge facility,” said Brad Anderson, president and CEO of CDI. “This investment underscores our commitment to innovation and sustainability. The new plant will allow us to increase production capacity, expand our product offerings, improve efficiency and create next-generation jobs for the local community.”
The shelf-stable milk manufacturing facility features advanced robotics, energy-efficient technologies and a commitment to environmental sustainability incorporating renewal energy sources and waste conservation. The plant will open with three processing lines to produce conventional extended shelf-life (ESL) and ultra-high-temperature (UHT) dairy beverages and products.
VNB’s strategic growth plan includes multiple phases to expand to 10-12 processing and filling production lines in the future, tripling the facility’s current capacity. When all phases are completed, the facility will be 400,000 square feet, processing up to 600,000 gallons per day of fresh local milk.
CDI has hired 90 full-time employees for the facility.
Dairy One Cooperative Inc. names COO and CFO
Dairy One Cooperative Inc. promoted John Gloss to the first-ever chief operations officer (COO) and Ebru Arslan to the inaugural chief financial officer (CFO) position.
Dairy One’s CEO, James Munroe, states of Gloss, “With a remarkable career spanning over 35 years at Dairy One, John has played key roles in a wide breadth of diverse business units here. He has a strong background in information technology and customer service too. John is set to play a pivotal role in executing the company’s strategic vision to be the service provider of choice for all dairy operations, agribusinesses that consult and support farms, and our zoological and equine partners.”
As COO, Gloss’s strategic objectives include driving business growth through innovative approaches, optimizing operational processes and enhancing the overall customer experience. His appointment signifies Dairy One’s commitment to maintaining its status as a pioneer in the agricultural data and service sector, setting new standards for service excellence and operational efficiency.
“Bringing Ebru onboard is a game-changer for Dairy One. As the new CFO, her extensive experience and unique insights into not-for-profit companies, the food industry and finance are invaluable assets that will drive our company’s evolution forward,” Munroe said. “We are excited by what she has accomplished in a short period of time here. She really leans in on enhancing our operational efficiency.”
These positions, while new to the cooperative, will help with serving Dairy One customers. As COO, Gloss will be in charge of groups that service customers, including dairy herd information (DHI) services, integrated farming solutions, agriculture consulting services and the many Dairy One laboratories, including milk, forage and soil. Meanwhile, as CFO, Arslan will be in charge of the accounting and HR teams in the cooperative.
‘Plant a Seed’ campaign raises funds to support dairy programs
A friendly competition between two teams of dairy farmers and dairy industry professionals recently concluded, raising $51,655 to support educational, sustainability and community outreach programs in the industry.
“We appreciate the hard work of the volunteers and all of the donors in the Plant a Seed campaign who are giving back to the industry they love,” said Brian Forrest, chairman of Dairy’s Foundation board of directors and dairy farmer from Stratford, Wisconsin. “The programming supported by Dairy’s Foundation will help strengthen relationships in our communities and build the next generation of leaders for the dairy industry.”
The eighth annual “Plant a Seed, Inspire A Dream” campaign featured the “Moo-lah Makers,” representing Dairy’s Foundation board, and “Udderly Unstoppable,” representing Professional Dairy Producers (PDP) board. They competed to encourage donations online and in-person at the 2025 PDP Business Conference in Madison, Wisconsin.
For the 2025 campaign four industry heroes – Pipping Concrete, Ag Country Farm Credit Services, Mullins Cheese and CP Feeds – stepped up with a generous commitment to match every dollar donated.
