History

Small in the country…large in the marketplace.

Dramatic change within the dairy industry helped shape the creation of DFA. A dramatic strategy was required to reposition dairy producers if they were going to survive and prosper in the environment. To this end, the farmer presidents of four of the nation’s leading cooperatives met in late 1996 to determine a strategy for improving members’ competitiveness. All the co-ops were successful in their own right, but a thorough evaluation revealed the enormous potential of working together. The boards realized that by combining resources and assets under one name and one vision, they could build better, more efficient and dynamic opportunities for members and their customers.

DFA was created by milk producers who had a vision. Their vision was one of unity—of dairy farmers working together. Their common goal was to create a dairy marketing cooperative that would give dairy farmers control over their destiny in a rapidly changing global business environment. In 1998, the vision became a reality.

On January 1, 1998, Dairy Farmers of America, Inc., a new milk marketing cooperative organization was put into action. DFA combined the resources, talents, leadership, markets, technology and vision of four leading dairy cooperatives— Associated Milk Producers, Inc. (AMPI/Charles Beckendorf), Mid-America Dairymen, Inc. (Mid-Am/Carl Baumann), Milk Marketing, Inc. (MMI/Herman Brubaker) and Western Dairymen Cooperative, Inc. (WDCI/Tom Camerlo). Three more cooperative organizations have become part of DFA — Independent Cooperative Milk Producers Association (ICMPA)/Bob Naerebout, President; Valley of Virginia Milk producers Association/Nelson Gardner, President and Chairman; and California Cooperative Creamery (Cal-Gold)/Steve Hoffman, Chairman.

DFA provides the financial and operational resources necessary to participate in an industry increasingly dominated by a handful of large multi-national food companies. At the same time, DFA provides a grassroots organizational structure to ensure dairy producer input and control.

This vision binds our nation’s milk producers to the cause that is DFA, reflecting a spirit of independence that burns deep in the soul. To be independent, to own land and cattle, to risk capital in the search of financial reward and to have (when the time comes) a viable dairy operation to pass on to the next generation—expresses the DFA vision.