Category: News

NOVI, Mich.— Carl Rasch of Morrice, Michigan, was recently selected as this year’s recipient of the Michigan Dairy Industry Service Award at the 69^th Annual Michigan Dairy Industry Conference (MDIC) held June 1 in Lansing, Michigan. As Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) Director of Milk Sales, Rasch was nominated by his coworkers for his dedication to the industry and strong leadership over the last four decades.

“Carl’s passion and commitment to the dairy industry is well known by all of us. I can’t think of a more deserving honoree of the Michigan Dairy Industry Service Award,” said Joe Diglio, general manager of MMPA and long-time colleague of Rasch. “His willingness to educate, train and mentor many of us in the industry has been instrumental and beneficial to the past, current and future leaders of dairy.”

Leading the milk sales team for the last 40 years, Rasch has seen the co-op go from local customer base to an international scale. By being “direct and bold,” according to past and present MMPA leaders, Rasch has been able to build relationships with customers in and outside of Michigan, capitalizing on opportunities to move milk to a variety of outlets.  While working on business development and strategic planning for MMPA, Rasch is responsible for negotiating contracts with processing plant customers and milk supplying members.

Rasch currently serves on the Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation Board. In the past, he has also served on the board of directors for the United Dairy Industry of Michigan, as the secretary of the Great Lakes Southern Milk Marketing Agency, and has worked on taskforces with the National Milk Producers Federation concerning Federal Order reform. At the MMPA’s annual meeting in March, the cooperative recognized Rasch as an honoree of the Michigan Dairy Memorial and Scholarship Foundation with a $1,000 contribution to the scholarship foundation in his name.

Rasch graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Science degree. His career began by working as a field auditor at USDA before being hired by MMPA in 1977.

“Having been born and raised on a dairy farm, I am fortunate to work on behalf of members who are family, neighbors and friends,” Rasch said. “It’s been a privilege to work for an organization like MMPA who is recognized as a leader in the industry.”

Rasch resides in Morrice, Michigan, with his wife, Roxanne. They have five children: Jessica, Anthony, Michael, Carol Ann, and Katie.

The Michigan Dairy Industry Conference focusses on discussing current issues, technology, economic outlook, techniques and legislation affecting dairy farmers, shippers, processors and consumers.

MMPA is a member-owned and operated milk marketing cooperative and dairy processor serving approximately 2,000 dairy farmers throughout Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana.

FRANKENMUTH, MI – Dairy farmers in Michigan and across the nation need federal lawmakers to revise the safety net created in the 2014 Farm Bill to provide them adequate risk management protection, according to a dairy farmer from eastern Michigan who testified in Frankenmuth on Saturday at a Senate hearing.

Darrin Siemen of Harbor Beach, Mich., told a Senate Agriculture Committee field hearing held at the Saginaw Valley Research Center that the Margin Protection Program (MPP), created in the 2014 Farm Bill, “has failed to deliver the protection farmers need and expect. While MPP remains the right model for the future of our industry, changes are needed if Congress wants to prevent dairy farmers like me from going out of business,” he said.

Siemen is a fourth‐generation family farmer and owner of Prime Land Farm in Harbor Beach, in Michigan’s Thumb region. He testified on behalf of his cooperative, Michigan Milk Producers Association, as well as the National Milk Producers Federation, of which MMPA is a member. His full testimony can be found here.

Siemen said that the MPP is designed to help farmers insure against either low milk prices or high feed costs, but the way the program calculates the relative value of feeds such as corn, soybean meal and hay was “significantly changed” as it was written into law. This change “fundamentally altered the safety net designed by NMPF and other dairy leaders around the country. Unfortunately, as a direct result of these changes, the MPP safety net has failed to deliver the protection farmers need and expect,” he said.

He explained that in the first two years of the program, 2015 and 2016, farmers have paid $90 million in fees and premiums to USDA while receiving only $14 million in insurance payouts, even though margins have been tight during much of that period. This has led to a drastic reduction in the number of farmers paying premiums to selecting higher levels of margin protection. Most are now only paying the minimum annual $100 administrative fee, for which they receive only a low level of insurance coverage.

“I am not asking for a program that guarantees a profit, nor do I want a program that will incentivize excess production,” Siemen said. “However, when Congress made changes to the program, rendering it ineffective, dairy farmers like me lost faith in the idea that MPP could serve as a viable risk management tool under its current formulation. If Congress makes changes to ensure that MPP more accurately reflects the actual costs of production for businesses like mine, participation in the program will increase.”

Siemen said that in addition to adjusting the feed cost formula and the data sources for the prices of feed and milk, Congress should reassess the MPP’s premium rate structure, and consider expanding access to the Livestock Gross Margin program, a separate risk management tool offered by USDA.

The combination of suggested changes to the MPP “will require this committee to make significant and necessary improvements to the program,” Siemen said, so that “it functions as intended and that producers participate in the program. A safety net is not a safety net if no one participates.”

Siemen pointed out that dairy farmers are also facing other policy challenges, including immigration and labor shortages, tax reform, child nutrition and environmental sustainability. He thanked Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow for arranging the hearing in Michigan, and for her engagement on behalf of the U.S. dairy sector in its recent struggle against Canada’s new pricing policy, which will have long-term negative consequences for Michigan farmers’ export opportunities.

He also recognized the efforts of Stabenow and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts for their recent efforts to bring more milk options and flexibility to the School Lunch and School Breakfast programs.

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About the Michigan Milk Producers Association

The Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) is a dairy farmer owned cooperative founded in 1916. MMPA serves approximately 2,000 dairy farmers in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin, handling approximately 5 billion pounds of milk annually. MMPA operates two SQF Level 3 certified dairy ingredient plants in Michigan and a cheese plant in Indiana.

About NMPF

The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the wellbeing of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. Visit www.nmpf.org for more information.

NOVI, Mich.—Delegates attending the 101^st annual meeting of the Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) on March 23 elected Mark Iciek of Gladwin and Kris Wardin of St. Johns to at-large, three-year terms on the board of directors.

During the board’s reorganizational meeting, held after the delegate meeting, the following officers were elected: President: Ken Nobis, St. Johns; Vice President: Mark Halbert, Battle Creek; Treasurer: Eric Frahm, Frankenmuth.

Board members reelected at the district level were: Timothy Hood in District 2, David Pyle in District 3 and Anthony Jandernoa in District 6.

Delegates at the district level also elected representatives to the MMPA Advisory Committee. Members of this committee—five in each of the eight districts—serve as a liaison between the membership and the board of directors and management.

Each leader on the Advisory Committee and Board of Directors is dairy farmer member-owner of the MMPA cooperative.

Advisory Committee members elected this year to a two-year term are:

District 1             Brad Hart of Clayton, Josh Lott of Mason and Art Riske of Hanover
District 2             Danny Ransler of Gobles, Dan Ritter of Potterville and Richard Thomas of Middlebury, Indiana
District 3             William Stakenas of Freesoil, Burke Larson of Scottville and Gary Nelson of Grant
District 4             David Folkersma of Rudyard, Russell Tolan of Ossineke and Ronald Lucas of Posen
District 5             Tom Jeppesen of Stanton, Bruce Benthem of McBain and Amy Martin of Leroy
District 6             Aaron Gasper of Lowell, Steve Thelen of Fowler and Brad Ritter of Byron
District 7             Scott Kleinhardt of Clare, Jason Elenbaum of Mayville and Philip Gross of Weldman
District 8             Michael Noll of Croswell, Michael Bender of Croswell and Nick Leipprandt of Pigeon

MMPA—established in 1916—is a member owned and operated dairy cooperative serving approximately 2,000 dairy farmers in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.

More about the Annual Meeting

NOVI, Mich.—Michigan Milk Producers Association recently paid $1.6 million in cash patronage refunds to its dairy farmer member-owners. This cash allocation represents 100 percent of the farm supply earnings and 25 percent of the milk marketing earnings. All members who marketed milk through MMPA for fiscal year 2016 received a portion of the allocation.

MMPA members received other cash payments in April 2016 of $4 million through retirement of half of the cooperative’s 2007 equities. With the current payment of $1.6 million, cash payments in the last 10 months total over $5.6 million.

“The nearly $6 million in patronage refunds and equity retirements we’ve recently returned to our member-owners speak to the financial viability of MMPA,” Joe Diglio, MMPA general manager said. “The earnings generated by the cooperative demonstrates our commitment to returning value back to its dairy farmer member-owners.”

Cash patronage funds and equity allocations are based on the amount of milk each individual member farm marketed and on the supplies purchased through the cooperative during the year in which the earnings were achieved. Under the current board policy, the non-cash balance of the equity allocation will be revolved back to the members in future years.

Michigan Milk Producers Association is a member owned and operated dairy cooperative serving approximately 2,000 dairy farmers in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin.

NOVI, Mich.–Twelve MMPA members were awarded National Dairy Quality Awards, including 50 percent of all gold awards. These MMPA members were among 44 nationally recognized farms in the annual award program. One platinum award, nine gold awards and two silver awards were earned by MMPA members.

“Our member-owners do their best each day to produce the highest quality milk possible,” Joe Diglio, MMPA General Manager said. “The 12 farms presented with a National Dairy Quality Award demonstrates the superior quality of our members’ milk and each farm’s dedication and commitment to excellence. We are proud to see their accomplishments recognized on a national level.”

MMPA offers a portfolio of member services to help members produce the highest quality milk possible, with field representatives working closely with each member to achieve quality goals. MMPA also offers a quality premium incentive for its members producing higher quality milk. Over the last five years, quality premium payments rose 37 percent.

MMPA’s large representation in the National Dairy Quality Awards underscores the hard work of the cooperative’s farms while competing against other well-preforming farmers across the country.

“The vast majority of dairy farmers produce high-quality milk. But, as with most endeavors, there’s ‘good’ and then there’s ‘great,’” wrote Corey Geiger, managing editor of Hoard’s Dairyman in an article about the award program. “It’s those ‘great’ herds that recently were recognized by the National Mastitis Council (NMC) through its National Dairy Quality Awards program.”

The winners were selected from a pool of applicants nationwide. The winning operations stood out for having produced high-quality milk consistently. Applications were evaluated for measures of quality, systems of monitoring udder health, milking routine, protocols for detection and treatment of clinical and subclinical cases of mastitis and strategies for overall herd health and welfare. MMPA winners were nominated by their member representatives.

The Platinum Quality Award winners were honored today during the National Mastitis Council annual meeting in St. Pete Beach, Florida.

The following MMPA members received awards.

Platinum Award

• Larry, Therese, Brent and Emily Simon, Westphalia, Michigan

Gold Awards

• Don Beattie, Holton, Michigan
• Harold and Ruth Ann Dodd, Falmouth, Michigan
• Randy and Cindy Dragt, Howard City, Michigan
• Brad and Debbie Kartes, West Branch, Michigan
• Ryan Litwiller, Middleton, Michigan
• William and Kimberly Pirman, Skandia, Michigan
• Robert and Mark Rau, West Branch, Michigan
• Ken and Duane VanPolen, Marion, Michigan
• Doug, Jake and Andrew Wirth, Evart, Michigan

Silver Awards

• Michael Bosscher, McBain, Michigan
• Rod, Lynn, Chris Daniels, Luke and Audrey Bischoff, Whittemore, Michigan

Michigan Milk Producers Association, established in 1916, is a member-owned and controlled milk-marketing cooperative serving approximately 2,000 dairy farmers in Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio.

EAST LANSING, Mich.—MMPA announced the launch a new logo yesterday as the cooperative brings its centennial year to a close. The logo—which now only includes the co-op’s initials—features a modernized look, deeper blue and the addition of a cow silhouette.

“As we prepare to bring our centennial year to a close, we are looking forward to the next century and the opportunity to enhance the MMPA brand,” Joe Diglio, MMPA general manager said. “This transition reflects our strong foundation while demonstrating our five core values: quality, integrity, progress, community and leadership.”

The logo was unveiled to members at MMPA’s annual Leaders’ Conference in East Lansing, Michigan yesterday. Throughout 2016, MMPA has utilized a commemorative centennial logo in place of the traditional logo used by MMPA since the 1950s. The new logo marks a transition in MMPA’s brand identity.

Also at the Leaders’ Conference, MMPA launched a new website for public audiences. The new site is mobile friendly with improved design aesthetic and site usability. Information on MMPA products and member services has increased. Postings with MMPA news and articles from the Michigan Milk Messenger also have an improved presence on the site.

Michigan Milk Producers Association, established in 1916, is a member-owned and controlled milk-marketing cooperative serving approximately 2,000 dairy farmers in Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio.

Dairy Cooperative to Assume Ownership of Deutsch Käse Haus on Nov. 1

Novi, MICH.—The Michigan Milk Producers Association (MMPA) today announced the purchase of the Guggisberg Deutsch Käse Haus in Middlebury, Indiana. The cheese plant acquisition diversifies MMPA’s dairy product portfolio which currently includes award-winning butter, powder and other fluid milk products.

“We are eager to continue to grow our footprint in the Great Lakes region and utilize the expertise at Deutsch Käse Haus to gain greater diversity of our product portfolio,” MMPA General Manager Joe Diglio said. “MMPA members have a proven track record of producing high quality milk and to be able to align with an award winning cheese plant located in close proximity to our Constantine plant provides great synergies in our milk marketing strategy.”

The Deutsch Käse Haus—translated from German as German Cheese House—was founded in 1979 to serve the needs of local Amish dairy farmers. Today, the plant processes around 400,000 pounds of milk per day and employs 55 people. MMPA plans to retain the current employee team following the ownership transition. The plant is currently owned by Guggisberg Cheese Company of Millersburg, Ohio.

“The Deutsch Käse Haus has established a valued and trusted legacy in Indiana. I am confident MMPA’s progressive leadership will carry on this legacy as we move forward, bringing mutual benefit to both Guggisberg Cheese Company and MMPA,” Richard Guggisberg, owner of Guggisberg Cheese Company. “MMPA has a strong membership base in northern Indiana which will allow Deutsch Käse Haus to continue providing high quality products under new ownership.”

The Deutsch Käse Haus produces award-winning cheese, internationally recognized at the World Dairy Expo, U.S. Cheese Makers Competition and World Cheese Makers Competition. The plant mainly produces Colby cheese, a softer, milder flavored cheddar cheese, in addition to Colby-jack, Monterey-jack, Cheddar, pepper-jack cheese and other flavors.

Following the acquisition, MMPA intends to continue manufacturing the current types of cheeses made at the plant. The investment positions MMPA to further explore expansion opportunities at the Middlebury plant location in the future.

Michigan Milk Producers Association, established in 1916, is a member-owned and controlled milk-marketing cooperative serving approximately 2,000 dairy farmers in Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Ohio. MMPA owns milk processing plants in Ovid and Constantine, Michigan, and the cooperative handles over 5 billion pounds of milk annually.