Utah Dairy Commission and Dairy West outline farmer programs, school and retail partnerships

Utah Dairy Commission leaders and Dairy West representatives told the Legislature’s Retirement and Independent Entities Committee about programs that promote Utah milk, support farmers and work in school nutrition and retail partnerships. The presentation included the commission’s funding structure and recent regional partnerships.

The report matters because the commission is a state-recognized independent entity that uses industry check‑off funds to market dairy products, run farmer-support programs and collaborate with schools and retailers that serve Utah families.

David Roberts, chair of the Utah Dairy Commission and a Beaver, Utah dairyman, said the commission was formed in 1953 and became an independent entity in 2016. “We are funded by the 15¢ check off. 10¢ of that check off stays here locally and 5¢ is used nationally,” Roberts said. He described a nine-member board composed primarily of dairymen, with two nonvoting advisory members including a state university dean and a commissioner representative.

Anne Lacuta, who works from Dairy West’s Draper office and oversees innovation and insights, described Dairy West’s mission to “inspire trust, build demand and foster innovation for a thriving dairy industry.” She said Dairy West supports school nutrition programs, sports nutrition partnerships with teams and institutions, and growing retail efforts including promotions with retail partners and e-commerce collaborations.

Lacey Papageorge, farmer relations manager at Dairy West and a fourth-generation dairy farmer, said Utah has about 100 dairy farms, 98% family owned, roughly 90,000 dairy cows producing about 2,100,000,000 pounds of milk annually, and that farms support rural jobs. She described farmer-facing programs: 23 scholarships awarded annually across Utah and Idaho, a farmer ambassador program that connects producers with board members and partners, bilingual safety training for managers, and an annual ice cream festival at the Utah State Fair that raised funds for the food bank.

Committee members asked whether federal funding changes to school nutrition had affected Dairy West’s work. Lacuta said the organization’s school nutrition specialist works directly with school directors and that school budgets are strained; she said the cutbacks committee members referenced were not directly reducing Dairy West’s funding but are creating budget challenges for school partners.

On check‑off accounting and voluntary producer contributions, the commission explained the flow of funds: the 15¢ check‑off per hundredweight includes a 5¢ national portion and a 10¢ state portion; a $0.25 diversion from the national portion to a state dairy producer organization was described as layered inside that 5¢; separate voluntary assessments for producer organizations were described as independent of the mandatory 15¢ check‑off. Michael (legislative representative for dairy producers, name as spoken) clarified that the mandatory 5¢ funds national advertising and education (policy work is prohibited with mandatory funds), while voluntary producer organizations fund policy and advocacy.

Committee members thanked the presenters and noted the commission’s periodic reports are part of the committee’s oversight of independent entities that receive state recognition or support. The commission representatives said they perform annual audits, contract annually with Dairy West for regional marketing, and meet four to six times a year in open meetings.

The presentation concluded with staff noting Dairy West’s ongoing measurement of program impact through consumer perception tracking, sales-lift analysis and partner and farmer feedback.

The committee moved on after the presentation to the next agenda items.