Dynamic Changes in the Dairy Market
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21423/aabppro19965939Keywords:
dairy industry, product development, Consumers, dairy farmers, milk marketing order, processing, food safety, international market, managing risksAbstract
Leaders from all parts of the dairy industry are finding out that they have to get up every morning and try to put themselves out of business. They do it because if they do not, someone else will. This is not just because of the 1996 FAIR farm bill. They do it because in today's market, if they do not come up with a better dairy product or a better way of marketing that product, they will fall behind.
The dairy industry is becoming more competitive and more consumer oriented. Today, we are competing on a world wide basis and continued innovation in production techniques and product development and marketing are needed to keep the U.S. dairy industry at the forefront of world agriculture.
Consumers of today are accustomed to getting what they want and the industry must provide that or the customer will go somewhere else. One of the main changes we are seeing in the dairy industry is that we are becoming more market oriented and, thanks to the 1996 farm bill, we are assured that this trend will continue in the future.
I want to divide the discussion of the changes in dairy marketing into four areas: dairy farmers and their cooperatives; the Federal milk marketing order system; the processing sector; and a miscellaneous category including international markets, managing risks, and food safety.
