I think it’s important for farmers to be part of decision making for the dairy industry. That’s why I’ve served on the board of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board for five years, and I was recently elected vice president. We help promote the Wisconsin dairy brand, including butter, milk, and of course, the cheese that wins Wisconsin cheesemakers more awards than anywhere else.
I particularly enjoy being part of the channel management team, which is a fancy way of saying I get to see where our products go. Whether it’s foodservice or retail, it’s really interesting to learn where Wisconsin dairy foods end up. There are more than 200 cheese plants in the state, and we help them get their products to market. It’s interesting to learn that cheeses from a certain plant are going to certain frozen pizza companies.
It’s amazing how food travels. Even though we provide our dairy products locally, Wisconsin is marketing about 10% of our products overseas. Little cheese companies in small towns across Wisconsin are shipping their foods all over the world! That makes a big economic impact on our state.
It’s not easy taking the days away from the farm that are necessary to be part of leadership boards like WMMB. But it’s worth it, because I’m helping dairy farmers learn more about what consumers want and help sell our product. We need to keep evolving and changing.
