Although he recently retired as IDFA’s chief economist, Bob Yonkers, Ph.D., will be returning to lead IDFA’s Milk Procurement Workshop, Dec. 12-13 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The workshop provides a hands-on overview of milk price regulations for dairy industry professionals.

Yonkers’ background, knowledge and experience enable him to teach his dairy industry colleagues about how dairy policies and market regulations impact businesses. He will offer his insight and experience on essential topics such as dairy industry trends, federal dairy policies, pricing under Federal Milk Marketing Orders and basics of dairy risk management.

Bob Yonkers, Ph.D.

Bob Yonkers has devoted his entire career to analyzing and improving the dairy industry. Building on a bachelor’s degree in Dairy Production from Kansas State and a Masters of Agriculture degree in Dairy Science and Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M, Yonkers went on to become a tenured faculty member at Penn State, in the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology, where he conducted research and developed educational programs on the profitability and economic sustainability of the state's milk producing, marketing and processing sectors.

Yonkers joined IDFA in 1998, where he conducted the research and analysis of the economic impact of marketing conditions, government regulations and alternative policies on U.S. and international dairy industries.

Yonkers continues to stay current on the ever-evolving dairy industry and has served on many national and international committees including:

  • Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Animals and Animal Products (advising U.S. cabinet officials)
  • International Dairy Federation's Standing Committee on Dairy Policies and Economics (elected chairman in 2009)
  • Agricultural Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission
  • Board of Directors for the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics
  • Board of Directors of the Northeastern Agricultural and Resource Economics Association

Registration is now open for the Milk Procurement Workshop, Dec. 12-13 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

For more information, contact Melissa Lembke, IDFA manager of meetings and educational services, at mlembke@idfa.org.