New Dairy Export Program Goes into Effect July 1

The National Milk Producers Federation has voted to implement a new member-funded export assistance program called NEXT. Chris Galen is National Milk's senior vice president of member services and governance.

“The idea here Lorrie, is that we need to have tool, a farmer funded self help, tool to help us dairy products compete in international markets. We usually have something called cooperatives working together, and that's gone away. And so out of the the ashes of the head, so to speak, the Phoenix Rising is something we're calling NEXT.”

The next program will focus on supporting us dairy exports and key markets around the world, including Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.

“The Point here is simply that as we rely more and more for export markets as a home for our dairy products, and as the export markets become increasingly challenged, look at all the discussion here this spring about the impact of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs, we need to have something in our arsenal that helps us compete better. And so we think that is the next program. That's the answer to that question, or at least one of the answers to that question.”

The NEXT program will be supported with Co-op participants paying two cents per 100 weight for their dairy sales through the year 2028 the next program will go into effect beginning on July, 1 of this year.