A new organization in the dairy industry is the National Dairy Producers Organization. Headquartered in Fresno, California, the NDPO was organized last September. The primary organizer is Tom Van Nortwick, editor of Agribusiness Dairyman magazine.
The NDPO seeks to represent dairy producers regardless of size or region. The mission of the NDPO is to influence dairy policy discussions—with the goal of improving profitability for producers. The organization has formed a board of directors, and is in the process of forming state delegations.
The board chair is Bill Rowell. Readers of this blog will recognize Mr. Rowell. Together with his brother Brian Rowell, Bill is involved in Green Mountain Dairy in Sheldon, VT, which was Vermont Farm of the Year in 2008. The Yankee board and staff toured Green Mountain Dairy last summer. Bill Rowell has been active in recent dairy policy discussions through Dairy Farmers Working Together.
Click here for more information (1 MB PDF file) about the National Dairy Producers Organization including a membership application.
News articles about the formation of the National Dairy Producers Organization:
The Evening Sun 10/11/10
The Country Today 11/10/10
Capital Press 11/19/10
UPDATE 1/04/11: Additional information about the National Dairy Producers Organization and more links can be found in the first comment.
UPDATE 1/13/11: The NDPO has approved a Contract with Producers which states its positions.
UPDATE 1/27/11: The NDPO will hold a conference call specifically for Vermont dairy producers on Thursday, Feb. 3 at 8:00 PM. The call in number is 424-203-8000, the participant code is 327974 #. For more information contact Bill Rowell.
UPDATE 1/27/11: The NDPO will hold its first annual meeting at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California, on Feb. 8-10. All dairy producers are invited to attend. For more information contact Bill Rowell.
