Dairy Industry in a Coronavirus World Pt 2

Dairy Industry in a Coronavirus World Pt 2

Bob Larson
Bob Larson
I’m Bob Larson. Maintaining the supply chain during and after coronavirus closures and slowdowns is critical to agriculture.

So far, International Dairy Foods Association CEO Michael Dykes says he’s pleased dairy has been able to keep the store shelves stocked …

DYKES … “We met the demands on the retail side and many of our members are also able to store cheese, turn milk into powder. We did everything we could to try to keep the supply chain in tact during this whole upheaval.”

Dykes says the dairy industry was experiencing some difficulties even before the coronavirus came along …

DYKES … “We represent the processors, but obviously we know what’s happening at the farm level as well because they’re part of our supply chain, but you know dairy farmers have gone through nearly four years of losses and significant decreases in prices.”

But more recently, Dykes says the dairy outlook had shown signs of improvement …

DYKES … “And about the last six months or so before

COVID-19 dairy prices were increasing, trade was up, dairy farmers were actually beginning to be able to pay bills, pay some back-due bills. Supply-demand was balanced and then all of the sudden COVID-19 hit and we lost half of our market on the food service side.”

That loss, Dykes says has been tough on everyone.

Tune in tomorrow for more on the fight in dairy producers looking forward to a smooth recovery.

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