California Ag Network

Tag: Consortium for Common Food Names

  • U.S. Dairy Welcomes Argentina Trade Agreement

    The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) celebrated the signing of a U.S.–Argentina Agreement on Reciprocal Trade and Investment that includes tariff and nontariff barrier concessions for U.S. dairy exports.

    Argentina commits in the trade deal to eliminate tariffs that currently range up to 28 percent on select dairy products, including milk powders, dairy proteins, lactose, and other dairy ingredients. The agreement also establishes a 1,000 metric ton quota for certain U.S. cheeses. In addition to tariff reductions, Argentina agrees to prevent several nontariff barriers, including refraining from imposing processing facility registration requirements on U.S. dairy exports and providing explicit protections for 39 common cheese names like “parmesan”.

    “The commitments secured in the U.S.-Argentina reciprocal trade deal bring new, real opportunities for our dairy exports to South America,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “USDEC appreciates USTR’s hard work in securing agreements that lower tariffs and meaningfully address nontariff barriers, particularly those to protect common cheese names. We look forward to building our market presence in Argentina as the agreement is implemented.”

    “Trade deals like this one bring dairy farmers promise for the future,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “Dairy farms operate 365 days a year, and the U.S. negotiating team is keeping pace to secure new market access. NMPF will continue to work with the Administration as all the reciprocal trade agreements are translated into real results on the ground for our farmers.”

    “Argentina’s commitment to protect 39 common cheese names and 10 generic meat terms could not have come at a more important time,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN. “As the European Union is advancing toward implementation of its trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc of countries, our ability to use common names is increasingly at risk. We cannot thank Ambassador Greer and the USTR negotiating team enough for the foresight and leadership in protecting U.S. exporters’ rights.”

    The trade deal follows reciprocal trade agreements that the United States signedr ecently with El Salvador and Guatemala last week that included commitments to prevent barriers to U.S. dairy exports. USDEC and NMPF will continue to work with the U.S. government as the reciprocal trade negotiations progress to identify and address impediments to dairy trade and grow U.S. export opportunities.

    —By the National Milk Producers Federation

  • Trade Agreements Strengthen Protections for U.S. Dairy Exports

    The National Milk Producers Federation, U.S. Dairy Export Council and Consortium for Common Food Names welcomed the United States’ signing of reciprocal trade agreements with El Salvador and Guatemala, underscoring the importance of reinforcing long-standing market access gains for U.S. dairy exporters and preventing the emergence of new trade barriers.

    As outlined in the agreements, El Salvador and Guatemala have both committed to address and prevent barriers to U.S. agricultural products, including dairy. These obligations include recognition of U.S. regulatory oversight and acceptance of currently agreed certificates issued by U.S. regulatory authorities, a prohibition on introducing a facility registration requirement for U.S. dairy products and streamlining of product registration requirements, which are critical elements for ensuring predictable and fair market access for all U.S. dairy exports.

    The two countries have also committed to ensuring that market access for U.S. agricultural exporters will not be restricted due to the use of certain cheese and meat terms. These include 38 widely used dairy terms such as parmesan, gruyere, feta and asiago, as well as 10 meat terms. This commitment provides important certainty for common name producers and exporters.

    “Securing durable market access and setting clear expectations with trading partners is essential for U.S. agriculture,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “This agreement builds on the success of CAFTA-DR and we thank the administration for fighting for the right of U.S. dairy exporters to compete fairly in the Salvadoran and Guatemalan market.”

    U.S. dairy exports already benefit from duty-free treatment in El Salvador and Guatemala as a result of the Central America–Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). Tariffs on U.S. dairy products phased out entirely this past year, following direct advocacy from USDEC and NMPF over a decade ago to secure full market access under the agreement.

    “For dairy farmers, these agreements help to keep doors open to U.S. products,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “By protecting hard-won access and preventing new barriers from taking hold, the agreements support demand for U.S. milk and dairy products and strengthen the economic outlook for farm families across the country.”

    “As European authorities increasingly seek to confiscate common food names across Latin America, the agreements unequivocally protect 38 common cheese names and 10 generic meat terms and send a clear signal by preserving our producers’ right to label their products with terms that have been used for generations in El Salvador and Guatemala,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN.

    NMPF, USDEC and CCFN will continue working closely with USTR and U.S. government partners to monitor implementation of the agreement and to ensure that El Salvador and Guatemala fully meet their commitments to maintaining open and predictable access for U.S. dairy products and common name foods and beverages.

    The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce more than two-thirds of U.S. milk, making NMPF dairy’s voice on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

    The U.S. Dairy Export Council is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. For more, visit www.usdec.org.

    The Consortium for Common Food Names is an independent, international alliance whose goal is to work with leaders in agriculture, trade, and intellectual property rights to foster the adoption of high standards and model geographical indication guidelines throughout the world. Learn more at www.commonfoodnames.com.

  • Annual Meeting Highlights Cow Comfort and Health

    NMC members from 15 countries, 32 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces gathered in Birmingham, Ala., USA, to focus on “What’s Best for Her. Keeping the cow’s well-being at the heart of milk quality.”

    The Jan. 26-29 event culminated with the group’s 65th annual meeting. NMC: The Global Milk Quality Organization attracts milk quality, mastitis and udder health researchers and graduate students, dairy producers and dairy industry partners. Meeting topics ranged from artificial intelligence to facility designs to cow comfort to milk harvest to small ruminant milk production.

    “NMC continues to expand its reach beyond mastitis prevention, treatment and control – realizing the importance of cow comfort, health monitoring, balanced nutrition and proper milk harvest preparation,” stated NMC First Vice President Roger Thomson, MQ-IQ Consulting and Michigan State University. That’s why we focused on ‘What’s Best for Her’ care during this year’s NMC Annual Meeting.”

    Additionally, NMC continues to add training programs throughout the year that foster higher milk quality and animal care standards.

    During this event, NMC honored Pamela Ruegg, Michigan State University (MSU), with the NMC Award of Excellence for Contribution to Mastitis Prevention and Control, which is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. Besides MSU, Ruegg has worked for Kiel Veterinary Clinic, Kiel Wis.; Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada; Monsanto Company; and University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. With more than 40 years of experience working on mastitis and milk quality, Ruegg has dedicated herself to answering the toughest questions the dairy industry has faced. The 2010 NMC president, Ruegg is synonymous with milk quality worldwide.

    In the National Dairy Quality Awards program, NMC honored six dairy operations as Platinum winners. These top-quality milk producers included Gettyvue Farm LLC, Brian, Kevin and Terry Getty, Granville, N.Y.; Green Hill Dairy, Donald Janssen, Scipio Center, N.Y.; Larson Acres, Mike, Sandy, Ed and Barb Larson, and Jim, Luke, Dane and Brooke Trustem, Evansville, Wis.; Schultz Dairy, Dave Schultz, Sandusky, Mich.; Tollgate Holsteins, Jim and Karen Davenport, Ancramdale, N.Y.; and Walnut Ridge Dairy, Jacob and Steve Palladino, and Keith Chapin, Lansing, N.Y. Judges selected outstanding dairies to receive this honor based on quality milk production indicators, such as somatic cell count and bacteria count, along with milking routine, systems of monitoring udder health, treatment protocols and strategies for overall herd health and welfare. These herds ranged in size from 84 to 2,902 cows. Annual milk production (per cow) averaged from 24,190 pounds to 30,801 pounds. For average somatic cell count (June 1, 2024-May 31, 2025), these dairies varied from 31,000 to 85,000 cells/ml.

    NMC awarded scholarships to eight remarkable graduate students to attend the NMC Annual Meeting. This year’s NMC Scholars were Anna Acosta, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.; Elizabeth Plunkett, Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio; Emily Leonard, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis; Lara Juliano, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich.; Maria Marin, University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.; Delower Hossain, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy; Joanne Hanifin, Munster Technological University, Castlemaine, Ireland; and Karise Nogara, Federal University of Paraná, Paraná, Brazil. The NMC Scholars program fosters the development of mastitis research and milk quality professionals from around the world.

    NMC held a research poster competition for graduate students and selected Maria Marin, University of Florida, as the winner. She presented “Characterizing Milk Flow Patterns in Dairy Cows Using Machine Learning: Implications for Milk Yield.” Marin won a one-year NMC membership and free registration to attend next year’s NMC Annual Meeting.

    During the NMC Annual Business meeting, members elected Daniela Bruno, University of California Cooperative Extension, Fresno, Calif., to the NMC board of directors. Executive committee members are Roger Thomson, Michigan State University and MQ-IQ Consulting LLC, Battle Creek, Mich., president; Alfonso Lago, DairyExperts, Inc., Tulare, Calif., first vice president; Christy Dinsmoore, Michigan Milk Producers Association, Novi, Mich., second vice president; Pamela Adkins, University of Missouri, Columbia, Mo., secretary-treasurer; and Justine Britten, Udder Health Systems, Meridian, Idaho, past president. Other board members include John Penry, Dairy Australia, Southbank, Victoria Cross, Australia; Rick Watters, AgroChem, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; Amy Vasquez, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.; Stephen Jones, DeLaval, Trinity, Fla.; Ian Ohnstad, The Dairy Group, Dorchester, Somerset, England; Justin Graham, BrooksCo Dairy, Quitman, Ga.; Jessica Belsito, IBA Inc., Sutton, Mass.; Jeffrey Bewley, Holstein Association, USA, Elizabethtown, Ky.; and Carolina Pinzón-Sánchez, University of Wisconsin-Division of Extension, Madison, Wis. Keith Engel, GEA Farm Technologies, Hampshire, Ill., retired from the board.

    NMC thanks its annual meeting sponsors who contributed to the program’s success. The Diamond sponsors were Boehringer Ingelheim, DeLaval International and Zoetis. Platinum sponsors included AHV International, GEA Farm Technologies, Inc. and Merck Animal Health. The Gold sponsor was IBA Inc. Silver sponsors were AgroChem, Axiota and McLanahan Corporation. Bronze sponsors included ABS Global, Acepsis, Ecolab, Michigan Milk Producers Association, milc Group and Udder Health Systems. Dairy Partner sponsors included Christian Hill Dairy, Jones Family Farm, Luck-E Holsteins and Tollgate Holsteins.   

    The 66th NMC Annual Meeting is set for Jan. 25-28, 2027, in Jacksonville, Fla. For additional information, go to: www.nmconline.org.

    ABOUT THE NMC

    The Global Milk Quality Organization is a non-profit professional organization devoted to reducing mastitis and enhancing milk quality. NMC promotes research and provides science-based information to the dairy industry on udder health, milking management, milk quality, animal welfare and food safety. Founded in 1961, NMC has about 1,000 members in more than 40 countries throughout the world.