History was made this week as the American Dairy Products Institute(ADPI) and the American Butter Institute (ABI) again joined forces to host their Joint Annual Conference, but unlike years past where over 1,000 registered attendees physically gather in Chicago to “Listen, Learn and Liaise” ^TM, at the event that has become known as “Where The Dairy Industry Does Business”^TM, this year registered attendees did so virtually through the use of technology.

Dairy ingredients and related products industry stakeholders from some 38 states in the US, and some 16 countries worldwide logged-in and logged-on to interactively participate in various informational sessions covering a myriad of topics across both challenges to and opportunities for the dairy industry now and into the future.
 

The American Dairy Products Institute is pleased to announce that they have selected two recipients for the 2020 Jim Page Memorial Scholarship. Hollie Maccabee of Twin Falls, Idaho and Claire Sipple of Denmark, Wisconsin where presented with $2,000 scholarships at the 2020 ADPI/ABI Joint Virtual Conference on Thursday, July 30th.

The American Dairy Products Institute would like to congratulate Milk Specialties Global as the recipient of the 2020 Breakthrough Award for Dairy Ingredient Innovation, a competition sponsored by ADPI and Dairy Foods, that honors achievements by members of the American Dairy Products Institute.  

The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) is pleased to announce Dave Thomas as the 2020 Recipient of the Award of Merit.  The Award of Merit was established in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made a significant difference in the processed dairy products industry.

“Never let a good crisis (pandemic) go to waste.”

Winston Churchill was quoted in 1940 as saying “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” He was obviously referring to the current state of affairs surrounding the British Empire related to World War II.

Rahm Emanuel, the retired mayor of Chicago and former Chief of Staff in the Obama Administration, was quoted in 2008 as saying “You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” He was referring at that time to the looming financial crisis that gripped America, and the fact that government can learn from its mistakes when dealing with crises. More recently during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” he brought back his quote from 2008 and made it applicable to the current crisis we face - COVID-19. “Never allow a crisis to go to waste,” Emanuel said. “Start planning for the future. This has to be the last pandemic that creates an economic depression. We're going to have more pandemics, but this has to be the last economic depression.”

The American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) is proud to welcome Dr. Dustin Dean to the ADPI Center of Excellence. Dr. Dean is an animal nutrition expert, whose experience and skills complement the existing panel of experts comprising its Center of Excellence resources.

Ingredient……what an interesting word, but what is it?

Merriam-Webster defines it as:
in·gre·di·ent | \ in-ˈgrē-dē-ənt 

Definition of ingredient: something that enters into a compound or is a component part of any combination or mixture 

Synonyms for an ingredient are: building block, component, constituent, element, factor, and member

In our dairy industry, we have finished products that are comprised of a combination of ingredients, but an ingredient can also be, and often is, a finished product in and of itself. 

Our dairy products segment has some of the hardest working, diligent, and smartest people engaged in all of the broader food and beverage industry.  No question our expertise in supply chain logistics, research, science, food safety, quality assurance, finance, risk management, sales, manufacturing and farming are enviable to the rest of the world.  Milk is one of the most highly regulated products on the planet, more so than alcohol as alcohol is not produced in all countries of the world.  The regulatory rigor surrounding dairy products i.e. milk and ingredients derived from it is quite astonishing to those in other segments of the food and beverage industry. Some of the largest food and beverage companies in the world are heavily engaged and invested in the dairy space, yet when it comes to marketing and messaging to consumers… our collective dairy industry appears in many cases, to be awkward and clumsy.  

For the first time in 22 years, ADPI and its conference partner ABI will be hosting their traditional Chicago-based Joint Annual Conference via a unique and exciting virtual format.   Don’t worry about travel restrictions, face mask needs, hand sanitizers and groups over 20! ADPI and ABI will be delivering this premier conference and excellent content right to you regardless of your physical location.

The American Dairy Products Institute in conjunction with the American Butter Institute is excited to announce that the 2020 Joint Annual Conference scheduled for July is now going virtual! 

For the first time in 22 years, ADPI and its conference partner ABI will be hosting their traditional Chicago-based Joint Annual Conference via a unique and exciting virtual format via a computer of your choosing.

In our business, it seems we’ve arrived at a critical point or crossroads, in our journey, and we are being challenged by obstacles here-to-fore never experienced. When we began our journey, you could argue that the challenges faced were more about consumer education of all the positive benefits of dairy products and dairy ingredients relative to availability, application, usage, and diversity.  No one questioned that the nutritional value and health and wellness impacts were positive.  There were some “speed bumps” along the way but mostly due to financial concerns i.e.  development of oleo margarine to compete with butter, or processed cheese to compete with natural cheese.  In these speed bumps, innovation played a role, and you could argue that it resulted from necessity, and was mandated by consumers at the time.

Back in the early 1800’s, and ever since in the agricultural southeastern and southwestern regions of the US, the phrase “a hard row to hoe” was and is often heard.  For those who grew up on farms or spent quality time in a garden, you already know what it means.  For those who are less fortunate as to never having worked on a farm or prepared and tended a proper garden, the phrase means that one is in a difficult spot, and/or has a difficult task ahead.  

Everybody Loves Butter!      Go Bold with Butter!          FAT is Flavor!

What a difference 30 years and science makes relative to our perceptions as to what is good for us, and not so good for us……related to butter!
 

The health and safety of ADPI members and attendees during our ADPI hosted events is a critically important goal. We are closely monitoring the potential impact on travel related to COVID-19, and will provide updates as available and deemed necessary. As of now, the CDC, US federal, state, and local public health officials have advised individuals to avoid large gatherings. In addition, several U.S. states have declared states of emergency to be able to access federal assistance, that as a side effect is disrupting travel and events across the country. Many of these events have been cancelled altogether or postponed / rescheduled to future dates in time.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been able to spend quality time, albeit under “social distancing” guidelines, with friends, neighbors and family, and most not directly connected to the dairy industry.  Never the less, all of whom are consumers of food and beverage products and from many different genres. In many of these interactions, conversations eventually turned to dairy and dairy products whether planned or not.  Stimuli for same ranged from comments about the beverages being served at a party, the puddings, pies and cakes serves as dinner deserts, and the widespread diet rationale laments of most everyone, etc.  I also found it interesting that questions often posed in these informal conversations were related to what’s up with this “real vs. fake milk” controversy to “proteins” i.e. and aren’t all proteins the same in the end points of view.

 

Our dairy ingredients industry, from processing through to end user, has many practices in place to deal with the hazards of the present COVID-19 crisis. In the crisis we face, we have to account for unknown circumstances, and then take what actions we can to control them. The changes will need to stay in place for several years as hotspots erupt and/or seasonal patterns are discovered.

We need to gain time to find the most effective therapeutic treatments, develop a preventative vaccine, and determine the length of immunity for recovered individuals.

As we all try and figure out the new normal, we’d like to share some things to consider regarding Telecommunications, Telecommuting and Teleconferencing.

Note to ADPI members from President and CEO, Blake Anderson

Our dairy industry is critical to our food security, and ADPI along with other industry groups including IDFA, NMPF, DMI/USDEC and others, stand ready to do our part to continue to collaborate to ensure food security. We are all appreciative of your work to safeguard dairy from significant supply chain disruptions, to the best of your ability, in the foreseeable future. 

Often, we use the word “ingredient” in our daily dairy lexicon, and depending on the context, it means different things to different people.                              

Did you know that there are some 600+ different products/ingredients that can be derived from a pail of milk, and more evolving through innovation all the time? They range from complete fractions to different specifications for efficacy in use, but never the less…..a whole lot of really good stuff originates with and from “milk.”  Some “ingredients” are easily identifiable as you would not consume them individually i.e. Whey Protein Concentrates (WPC) or Isolates (WPI), or Non-Fat Dry Milk (NFDM) or Anhydrous Milk Fat (AMF).  Others, are ambidextrous so to speak and can be consumed directly as well as perform as ingredients.  Some of these dual-purpose dairy derived products are Cream, Butter, Cheese, Concentrated Milks in the “evaporated or condensed” format, and even regular liquid whole and skim milks.  So how do we as an industry determine what is a finished product as opposed to what is an ingredient?

After careful consideration, ADPI/ABI has made the decision to postpone and reschedule the ADPI/ABI Joint Annual Conference originally slated for April 26-28, 2020.  The new dates are: July 26 - 28, 2020.  The venue and location will remain the same, at the Hyatt Regency Downtown, in Chicago, IL, USA.
 

Our decision to postpone and reschedule this annual industry key event was not taken lightly. ADPI and ABI have been closely monitoring updates an