FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Marti Hogan
(202) 220-3535
mhogan@idfa.org

  By Michael Dykes, D.V.M., President and CEO of IDFA

(Washington, D.C. – April 25, 2017) The International Dairy Foods Association released the following statement by Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO, regarding yesterday’s confirmation of former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as the Secretary of Agriculture.

“IDFA and our dairy foods company members look forward to working closely with Governor Sonny Perdue in his new role as Secretary of Agriculture. While leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Secretary Perdue will oversee many areas that are extremely important to the dairy industry, including the school breakfast and lunch programs, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the upcoming farm bill and the national disclosure standard for foods made with genetically modified ingredients.

“We also hope he’ll play an active role in developing the administration’s strategy to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and to initiate other trade agreements, as exports are extremely important to our U.S. dairy industry.

“IDFA looks forward to meeting with the Secretary and continuing our conversations with USDA on these and other topics.

“Having Secretary Perdue advocating for dairy in the Cabinet meetings with President Trump will be very important to our industry.

“As a fellow veterinarian, I’m confident that Secretary Perdue will bring the necessary knowledge and insight to keep American agriculture, food production and nutrition programs strong and vibrant.”

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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of nearly 525 companies within a $125-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's nearly 200 dairy processing members run more than 600 manufacturing facilities, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.