FAQ 2: What does the U.S. Dairy Export Council do?

Jun 14, 2021

By Mark O'Keefe

FAQ 2: What does the U.S. Dairy Export Council do?

Let us first make it clear what USDEC doesn't do.

USDEC does not and cannot export dairy products. As a nonprofit, independent membership organization we can and do represent the global trade interests of the entire U.S. dairy industry. We are dairy's experts on exports. Our main website is usdec.org.

Primarily funded by farmers through the dairy checkoff, USDEC’s mission is to promote dairy exports, enriching the well-being of people, communities and the planet. Dairy Management Inc., based in Rosemont, Illinois, founded USDEC, which has its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

With extensive expertise in trade policy, market access, regulatory affairs, dairy ingredients and cheese, the USDEC staff works to help farmers and USDEC members increase dairy exports.

In a clip below from a video interview with DMI's Scott Wallin, USDEC President and CEO Krysta Harden explains her passion. If USDEC succeeds, millions of people around the world will consume more U.S. dairy products and ingredients made with U.S. milk from U.S. dairy farms. This economic expansion will benefit American farm families and the rural communities where they live.

Watch the entire six-minute DMI video of Harden explaining USDEC's vision here.

To increase demand in markets you have to be in those markets.

That's why USDEC has eight global offices with "boots on the ground” providing eyes, ears, relationships and insights that benefit U.S. dairy farmers and the entire industry.

What else does USDEC do? Among other things:

Engage with food and beverage manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and food and dairy organizations worldwide.
Tell the story of U.S. dairy, about nutritious, high-quality products, cutting-edge technology, innovation, commitment to serving world markets, supply consistency and world-leading sustainability.
Connect our members with buyers and help them navigate the rules and regulations required to access high-potential markets.
Work with the U.S. government to advance trade policy that facilitates dairy trade.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.