The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Assn. (IDFA) have collaborated to produce a new cross-industry campaign called "Got Jobs? Dairy Creates Jobs, Exports Create More." The new campaign stresses the need for continued growth in U.S. dairy exports by bringing to life the story of Americans who benefit from a thriving dairy industry. The target audience is policy-makers, consumers and state and local media.

“Got Jobs?” packages economic impact data from IDFA’s Dairy Delivers economic impact tool with compelling narratives and export data at the state level to demonstrate the dairy industry’s impact on the U.S. economy.

Dairy Delivers

The U.S. dairy product industry supports nearly 3 million workers, generates more than $39 billion in direct wages and has an overall economic impact of more than $628 billion, according to Dairy Delivers. The tool also examines the dairy industry’s economic ripple effect on other sectors of the national economy and shows that dairy is responsible for $24.9 billion in state and local business tax revenues and another $39.5 billion in federal business tax revenues.

“With the Trump Administration’s current focus on global trade, it’s important for consumers and policy-makers to understand how dairy drives the American economy,” IDFA president and chief executive officer Dr. Michael Dykes said. “The United States needs sound trade policy that will place the U.S. dairy industry on a level playing field with global competitors. Backed by fair and proactive trade policies, the U.S. dairy industry will continue to keep and create jobs in states across the country.”

Easy-to-access information

The new campaign provides a clearinghouse of information at GotDairyJobs.org. The site will offer monthly features, videos and plenty of hard facts that demonstrate industry’s continued impact on jobs, tax revenue and communities around the country. Using #GotDairyJobs, the dairy industry will amplify the campaign and create the dairy jobs conversation on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

“Dairy has a positive story to tell, affecting a wide swath of America, creating jobs and tax revenue in rural, suburban and urban communities,” said USDEC president and CEO Tom Vilsack, who saw the dairy industry’s impact first-hand as U.S. agriculture secretary. “I’m delighted we now have a go-to place where people can find state-by-state data and compelling human stories that reinforce the same message: `Dairy creates jobs, and exports create more.’”

Over the next year, the campaign will share in-depth data and narratives featuring hardworking dairy farmers, innovative dairy company employees, resourceful retailers and many others throughout the food supply chain at GotDairyJobs.org.

From farm to table

“As milk continues its journey from farm to table, it becomes a job creation machine, employing farm workers, truck drivers, construction workers, factory workers, retailers and even cargo ship captains navigating the ocean to ports in fast-growing countries (that are) demanding more dairy than their own countries can produce,” NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern said. “The United States is uniquely positioned to meet this growing global need, which allows U.S. dairy to provide opportunities for job creation and growth in the United States.”

How Dairy Creates Nearly 3 Million U.S. Jobs from USDEC on Vimeo.