Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO, embarked on a media tour last week, meeting with reporters at top Washington, D.C., and food industry media outlets who cover issues that are important to IDFA members and the dairy industry. During these deskside briefings, Dykes outlined IDFA’s views and priorities with key reporters at The Washington Post, as well as POLITICO, CQ Roll Call and Inside U.S. Trade, which are policy-focused publications. He also met with a reporter from Food DIVE, a new digital outlet.

The media tour, which will continue with other publications in the weeks ahead, aims to position Dykes and IDFA as sources of up-to-date, insightful information on the dairy industry.

“If last week’s meetings are any indication, we are making great progress toward raising IDFA’s visibility,” said Peggy Armstrong, IDFA vice president of communications, who accompanied Dykes on the tour. “With these introductory meetings, we are laying the groundwork for IDFA to become a go-to source for journalists when covering an issue that affects dairy.”

While conversations with each reporter and outlet varied, Dykes briefed the journalists on the importance to the dairy industry of international trade and the negotiation of trade agreements, outlined dairy’s agenda for the 2018 farm bill and discussed the nutritional benefits of bringing 1% flavored milk back to school lunchrooms.

“Discussions on Canada were particularly prominent, as many reporters knew the broad strokes of the current issues, but they were interested in diving deeper into its impact on negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement,” said Armstrong. “Michael walked them through the intricacies of Canada’s protectionist dairy policies and their impact on U.S. and international dairy markets.”

During the meetings, Dykes outlined the diversity of IDFA’s member companies and the economic impact members have on the U.S. and local economies. He demonstrated that the dairy foods industry and IDFA have significant interest in and impact on dairy policy issues, as well as regulations affecting the industry.

“These journalists were very generous with their time,” said Dykes. “I now have a much better understanding of their perspective on specific issues and look forward to working with them as they write about the topics that matter most to our industry.”

IDFA aims to maintain and build working relationships with these journalists, as well as additional media outlets that have been identified for deskside meetings later this month and in September.

For more information, contact Armstrong at parmstrong@idfa.org. View photos from Dykes's tour on Twitter at @michaeldykesdc.