Capping a 40-year-plus career in U.S. agricultural and dairy policy, Jim Mulhern, National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) president and CEO, will retire at the end of this calendar year.
After coming to Washington to work on Capitol Hill in 1982, Mulhern began his first stint with NMPF in 1985, directing the organization’s government affairs activities and shaping NMPF’s strategy in the face of earlier farm crises. He was asked to lead the organization in 2013 and guided NMPF through two completed farm bills, the COVID-19 crisis, and an ever-quickening pace of change in an industry that in some ways is unrecognizable from that in which he entered in 1979 when he began his career working for a Midwest dairy cooperative.
“Directing the policy efforts of the nation’s dairy farmers and their cooperatives has been the highlight of my professional career,” Mulhern says.
Future Consolidations
Mulhern points out that throughout his entire career, farm numbers have shrunk. And while he sees fewer farms in the future, he doesn’t think dairy farms will continue to consolidate as quickly as they have.
“At some point, we’re going to level off. Even as farm numbers have shrunk, we get more milk, better genetics and more productivity. This is a very strong industry. I think the numbers are probably going to continue to decline a little bit over time. But it’s still a family farm-based enterprise and it always will be. And that’s really the strength of this industry,” he says.
Dairy Margin Coverage
Mulhern points out that Dairy Margin Coverage is a very effective safety net that protects producer’s margin. He highlights the fact that producers can protect their margin up to $9.50 per cwt. of their income over feed costs is a benefit to them.
“That is about $1 per cwt. more than the average margin over the last 5-15 years. DMC has been very helpful this year. It’s hard to call it a bright light because we’re talking about a depressing price situation. But it’s clear that without DMC payments that producers are receiving, there are a lot of small and medium-sized farmers who would in a much worse situation,” he says. “It is filling that gap in a very important way, and we need that policy to continue for the future.”
Big Hurdle Ahead
Addressing the elephant in the room with the chaos going on in Congress, Mulhern is skeptical about the timeline of the next Farm Bill and shares that likely we won’t see a Farm Bill this calendar year, but hopefully in the first half of 2024.
It’s going to be 2024 at the earliest,” Mulhern says. “We can get that bill done in the first half of 2024. But a lot has to happen.”
Immigration Reform
Mulhern points out that ag labor is undoubtedly the most vexing issue that he has dealt with and shares that after 25 years, he has tried to help get a workable ag policy in this country on labor reform.
“We’re not there yet. It’s a problem in this country. And it’s a problem with both political parties. We’re kind of in the ditch on both sides. And the middle. There’s a lot of support in the middle to try to get reasonable ag labor policy and immigration reform to give us access to the workforce that we need. I’m hoping that in the next couple of years, we can get rational policy and get this issue addressed,” he says.
Mulhern shares that a high percentage of workers are tenured employees in U.S. dairies and that policy needs to change course to help farms out regarding labor challenges.
“Many of those workers have been on these farms for several years. What’s making the challenge worse is that some of those workers are now aging out now. And without access to a legal workforce, this is a huge challenge to the future productivity of this industry,” he says. “We can meet that increased world demand that’s out there only if we have workers on our farms to produce that milk. So, we’ve got to get this issue right.”
Passing the Baton
Mulhern pauses and says his decision to retire is bittersweet and one he didn’t make lightly.
“What I realized is the issues that we’re working on in dairy is that once we’ve resolved one, others pop up. This is an industry that has plenty of challenges and is always going to be there. I’m really pleased with the issues that I’ve been able to deal with over the last 40 years,” he says.
Mulhern points out he is bullish on the future of the dairy industry and is proud to pass the baton off to Greg Doud, former chief agricultural negotiator for the U.S. Office of the Trade Representative. His efforts helped lead the U.S.-China “Phase One” agreement and the USMCA negotiations.
“Greg is no stranger to agriculture. He’s got an incredible pedigree. He knows policy from the inside and knows how Washington works. And he’s going to be a great leader for the future of this industry. I couldn’t be more excited about him taking over,” he says.
