Midwest Dairy Partnership

Posted on July 14, 2016 at 11:09 AM by Iowa Corn

Celebrate blog post July: Midwest dairy

This month we are proud to display Midwest Dairy as our Celebrity Blog Post. We have been a proud partner of this organization for many years and look forward to promoting value added corn for many more.

When beginning a discussion about the value of partnerships in the agriculture industry, there really is no ending the conversation. Each sector of Iowa agriculture relies on one another in so many different ways. Whether it be production, promotion, or policy, cooperation among agriculture’s different sectors is not simply beneficial, but rather a necessity for agriculture to thrive as a whole. The partnership that has developed between Iowa Corn and the Iowa State Dairy Association, as well as Midwest Dairy Association, serves as a prime example. Iowa Corn serving as a member of the Iowa State Dairy Association, and vice versa, has opened a door to plenty of valuable communication and support that ultimately benefits all of those involved. Iowa agriculture’s presence at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, CA, for instance, has grown in part due to collaboration between ISDA and Iowa Corn. Through the efforts of producers from both sectors, Iowa Corn and ISDA continue to have a face at the expo in order to keep Iowa agriculture thriving and at the pinnacle of national, and even global, agriculture.

Most of the dairy producers in the state of Iowa are also corn producers, which makes our relationship very unique. Being able to be part of livestock agriculture and grow your own crops is something that can be very easily taken for granted when we live on such fertile land. Iowa’s dairy cows utilize 105 bushels of corn every day, adding up to between 24-28 million bushels per year. This figure also includes corn silage. We have discovered that grain farmers in Iowa are benefiting from this immense statistic as more and more grain farmers are tailoring their grain operation toward the needs of their consumer, the dairy industry. Whether it be growing silage for a dairy down the road, or simply the value of keeping their grain local, the partnership between corn and dairy is noticeable all across the board.

The Iowa dairy industry kept a rather fast pace throughout June Dairy Month with a multitude of open houses and events all across the state. Governor Terry Branstad signed the June Dairy Month proclamation, stating that it was the 22^nd time he had declared the month for the Iowa dairy industry. Plenty of opportunities for consumer education and producer conversation were hosted all over the state. Iowa State University hosted an open house in Ames, the Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation held an event at their robotic dairy near Calmar, the Banowetz family hosted an open house at their farm outside of Charlotte, and the Western Iowa Dairy Alliance hosted an open house at Maassen Dairy near Maurice. An estimated total of over 5,000 individuals attended these events! The dairy industry utilizes the help of its many valuable partners, such as Iowa Corn, to reach such a wide consumer base in such a short amount of time.