From record price volatility to tragic weather events to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis that’s shaping every aspect of lives and economies, milk producers are facing many unprecedented situations. For most dairy farmers, however, at least some of the burden is lessened by their membership in a cooperative, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said. Co-op membership, which provides services, support and representation on important issues, gives producers more time and energy to focus on operating their farms, the organization said.

“They range from nationwide powerhouses to local groups with small customer bases, from Fortune 500 companies to regional treasures, but all of them are much more than just the truck that stops to pick up a farmer’s milk,” NMPF said, adding that a U.S. Department of Agriculture survey showed that cooperatives handled 85% of U.S. milk in 2017 -- a number that has held steady for 25 years.

According to NMPF, cooperatives today serve as:

All of these initiatives, NMPF explained, are directed by the farmers – the cooperatives' owners – through democratic voting structures that give everyone in a cooperative a voice within the body -- one that previous generations of farmers have set up to fight for them.

“That’s the truest, most basic form of representative government, one in keeping with the most cherished American political traditions,” the organization said. “Cooperatives give farmers a vehicle to help themselves by effectively performing tasks on behalf of their members that would be more difficult – or impossible – to manage alone. That frees up farmers to face the challenges that inevitably fall on their own shoulders: the tasks of caring for their cows, building their businesses, leading their own communities and serving the world through the essential products they provide.”

Cooperatives have especially proved their value this year in large and dramatic ways – by helping to better align supply and demand that contributed to a record price rally and turned some very dark days into days that, while still difficult, have improved farmers’ financial standing, NMPF said.

Michael Dykes, president of International Dairy Foods Assn., recently noted that following a loss of 50% of the foodservice market after COVID-19 emerged, producers, through their cooperatives, were able to encourage a reduction in the quantity of milk produced in just one month's time. This was done not by increasing the number of cows culled but instead by drying off cows early or changing rations -- and it was executed during the time frame when the spring flushes of excess milk normally occur.

Dykes said cooperatives worked with producers to decrease production by offering to pay only for an amount of milk based on historical averages; anything over that amount was drastically discounted.

However, June and July saw higher milk production, which was unusual since higher temperatures traditionally soften production during this time.

“I think if we saw anything during this, we saw that the market worked from the standpoint of supply,” Dykes said. “Of any of the conversations about the need for supply management, this industry proved it has the capability to manage its supply anytime it wants to.”

NMPF said cooperatives also prove their value in “thousands of small, individual ways” -- from timely market insights to the day-to-day basic task of ensuring that milk producers have a guaranteed market.