It has been an honor to serve as chairwoman of a very passionate and dedicated group of dairy farmers that make up our Board of Directors.
We ended 2019 with some decent milk prices, finally, and began 2020 with such a positive outlook for the year, but as I write this, we find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic. Where we end up at the end of this remains to be seen. My hope is by the time you read this we will be on the other side of the pandemic, and I hope and pray that you and those that you love were able to stay healthy. As with everything we do, I can only believe we will be stronger when we worked together.
Your checkoff dollars have been hard at work at all levels of engagement: local, regional and national. I know that it is hard to look past all then negative headlines, but the one point I want to remind you of is that dairy is not dead! We are a powerhouse beverage category with 94 percent of households purchasing fluid milk. Cheese and butter have been growth categories for dairy. We need to continue to tell our story, be united, and work together!
As you read through this report you will see how your dollars make a difference. Please reach out to us if you have any questions about our programming.