In News and Trends this month you will find a story about four substantial dairy companies from different parts of the world coming together as the Global Dairy Platform. In cooperation with the International Dairy Federation, the new alliance was formed to promote dairy globally, and to form a defense against milk’s critics. This new organization, which includes Dairy Farmers of America, provides further evidence that U.S. and Canadian dairy processors are more connected than ever to their counterparts in the rest of the world.
With that premise in mind,Dairy Foodsbegan publishing an International Issue in 2003. We will produce our fifth this October. As we begin the year, we welcome a new group of colleagues to our editorial advisory board, including Kaarle Leporanta, of the International Division of Valio, Ltd., Finland. Having established an international aspect of our editorial coverage, we now have international representation on our advisory board to go with it.
Also among the new members is George Siemon, CEO of Organic Valley Family of Farms, one of North America’s top marketers of organic dairy products. Those of you who attend IDFA’s Dairy Forum this month will notice the attention given to the topics of organic and natural dairy.Dairy Foodshas for many years covered the growing organic dairy market, and in 2007 we will put even more emphasis on this important segment through our features and departments and a special feature in the June issue. We are happy to have the grassroots knowledge of someone like George to help guide our coverage.
Also joining the board this year are Jim McMullen, of Tillamook Cheese, and James Robson of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board. Both organizations have a strong relationship with the American Cheese Society, the Louisville, Ky.-based association of specialty and farmstead cheesemakers.Dairy Foodshas for the past few years reported on the Society’s annual competition, and in 2006 we established a more formal relationship with ACS and its approximately 400 cheesemaker members.
Our recent reader interest & satisfaction study tells us that 49% of our subscribers spend over 30 minutes reading each issue and 42% of you have receivedDairy Foodsfor more than five years. A few months before the new year rolled around,Dairy Foodsintroduced our first major redesign in several years. We hope that the new look and graphics of the magazine make it all the more appealing for you the reader. We’ll continue to always strive to improve our product to help maintain your loyal readership.
Throughout the yearDairy Foodswill sponsor the Dairy Distribution & Fleet Management Conference, IDFA’s Ice Cream Tech Conference, ADPI’s Annual Meeting, Practical Membrane Technology Short Course, Process Expo Tasting Pavilion and WWFE’s Dairy Tech Sessions among others, we look forward to seeing many of you at these events.
All of us atDairy Foodswould like to wish you a safe, healthy and prosperous new year. As always, we invite your comments and suggestions.
