Jenny Mills
February 2023
As we look forward to spring, this chilly February day is a good time to reflect on the activity within Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance this past month and anticipate several events coming in the next several weeks. As members and partners of NEAFA, I hope to see and connect with you soon!
A little reflection…….
First, you probably noticed that this isn’t Danielle’s face! At the February board meeting, our new executive team was installed. As the incoming President, I have been blessed with mentorship from Danielle Penney-Stroop these past two years, and thankful for the leadership she has demonstrated as we worked our strategic plan to action, including many changes to our core pillars of advocacy, collaboration, and education to ensure our success within an ever-changing agricultural landscape. As Danielle transitions into the role of immediate Past President, I am thankful she is still a phone call or text away! We are also excited to welcome Dr Charlie Elrod as our new Vice President. Charlie’s contributions as a board member and Chair of our Communications Committee, combined with his forward-thinking outlook on all aspects of agriculture will help our Executive Committee as we tackle our next two years together! I am also thankful to Corwin Holtz, our Secretary and Barry Baetz, our Treasurer, who have been huge advocates for our feed industry members, suppliers and dairy producers alike. A huge thank you to John Clark, who retires from the Executive Committee and board. John has put in countless hours this past decade plus to make NEAFA a better organization. Lastly, thank you to three retiring board members, including Mark Anderson (thank you Mark for the many years as Conventions Chair), Michael Howlett, and Greg McCullouch. Thank you for all the time spent volunteering for NEAFA.
I am excited to help welcome four new NEAFA board members: Bonnie Bargstedt, Jen Conard, Jeff Matuszczak, and Jason Zimmerman. These four members represent different segments of our membership and their perspective, experience and leadership will be welcome in the next three plus years!
The theme for our annual meeting this year was “Tackling Today’s Disruptions.” In addition to our meeting, a transportation summit was held the day prior as a collaboration with Northeast Dairy Producers Association (NEDPA) and several other dairy allied groups, with the goal of presenting the challenges and potential solutions of transporting milk and all the inputs up and down the supply chain to our collective members, government officials and allied industry. Many collaborators worked countless hours to bring the transportation summit to life – thank you to Tonya Van Slyke, Alyssa Kealy and the NEDPA board of directors, as well as Danielle Stroop, Kevin Kouri, Blake Lutz, Mike Thresher, Sue VanAmburgh, John Mitchell and Rick Zimmerman. We are looking forward to continuing to collaborate with NEDPA and state government representatives to make real reform in the upcoming months within the halls of various Northeastern states and our federal government. This will be one of our upcoming Lobby Day themes. Stay tuned for a full report from both our Annual Meeting and the Transportation Summit.
Looking forward………
As Danielle recently highlighted, we are excited to work with Hinman Straub and Associates for our legislative and advocacy efforts. They have contributed an article in this newsletter to introduce their team and we are planning the NEAFA Lobby Day in NY for March 15. I hope you can attend this important advocacy event to show support for funding needs for programs critical to our industry. Please register at this link if you are interested in attending Lobby Day: Click Here
Agricultural advocacy goes beyond New York borders. Several board members attended the Vermont Dairy Producers meeting on February 21 and explored options to grow advocacy efforts in Vermont, meeting with several industry groups, including the Vermont Feed Dealers and the Vermont Dairy Producers Association. Stay tuned as we develop plans in Vermont as well as other New England states. Your ideas and voice matters – please reach out with thoughts!
In addition to advocacy, plans are in full swing for our upcoming Herd Health and Nutrition Conference in Syracuse, to be held April 3-4. An action packed agenda with great speakers is being planned – check out cals.cornell.edu/pro-dairy to learn more!
While our agricultural landscape continues to change, and some days we feel the brunt of “Tackling Today’s Disruptions,” I am excited about the future of our industry in the Northeast. I am excited to collaborate with several allied groups and state government representatives around transportation reform. I am excited to see NEAFA’s efforts grow with our Good Works program and assist youth interested in agriculture from all over the Northeast with educational opportunities and scholarships. Most of all, I am excited to visit with our members (You!) and work with our board to collaborate, advocate and educate on behalf of NEAFA. I look forward to connecting with you soon!
Your voice matters!
Jenny