Celebrating 25 years, the nation’s largest dairy cooperative, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), held its annual meeting on March 21 in Kansas City, Mo.
DFA President and Chief Executive Officer, Dennis Rodenbaugh, stated, “Like so many industries, this has been a challenging year for dairy with labor shortages, global supply chain disruptions, record-level energy costs and inflation. Yet through the challenges, we focused on driving performance and greater efficiencies across the enterprise to bring short- and long-term value to our farmer-owners.”
Rodenbaugh shared that DFA saw $700 million in deferred milk checks, as their producers took advantage of record milk prices in 2022 and knew 2023 would present more financial challenges.
“I’ll say that we’re off to a strong start,” he says. “January and February is well above budget. That will be true again in March. I hesitate to say that trend should continue. There’s a lot of volatility and there’s unknowns everywhere. And we’ll deal with whatever comes our way.”
The DFA Cooperative reported a net income of $107.9 million and their net sales totaled $24.5 billion for 2022. For perspective, DFA showcased $19.3 billion in net sales in 2022, which represents an increase of $5.2 billion or 26.8%. The increase is a result of higher U.S. milk prices and higher overall product prices. The average price paid to DFA farmer-owners was $25.53 per hundredweight in 2022, compared to $18.37 in 2021.
With the annual meeting theme, ‘Forward Together,’ Rodenbaugh said they celebrate the fact that DFA was formed 25 years ago by farmers.
“It is fully owned and governed to its deepest grassroot level by dairy farmers,” he says. “Our purpose has been consistent since our inception. Everything we do is about creating value and benefit for our farm families.”
DFA has more than 11,500 family farm-owners and manufactures a variety of dairy products, including fluid milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, dairy ingredients and more. In 2022, DFA directed 65.4 billion pounds of milk for both its farmer-owners and others through the Cooperative’s consolidated businesses, which represents approximately 29% of the total milk production in the United States.
Members of Distinction
DFA’s Members of Distinction program recognizes members who excel in their operations, in their communities and in the industry. They inspire others through their actions, leadership and involvement, and embody the Cooperative’s core values. The 2023 members of distinction were recognized at this year’s meeting, including:
- Central Area: Lee Holtmeier, Linn Willow Creek Dairy — Linn, Kan.
- Mideast Area: The de Groot family, Sunshine Dairy — Andrews, Ind.
- Mountain Area: The Byl family, Dutch Cowboy Dairy — Paragonah, Utah
- Northeast Area: The Morin and Hermonot families, Fairholm Farm — Woodstock, Conn.
- Southeast Area: The Graft family, Leatherbrook Holsteins — Americus, Ga.
- Southwest Area: The Vieth family, Scott Vieth Dairy — Windthorst, Texas
- Western Area: The Vander Eyk family, Robert Vander Eyk & Sons Dairy — Pixley, Calif.
