As he approaches retirement, Tom Suber reflects on 21 years as president of USDEC and looks ahead to megatrends, challenges and opportunities for U.S. dairy exports.

The United States takes aim at a Canadian pattern of evading trade commitments vital to the U.S. dairy industry. 

Historic vote is just the beginning of an unclear and unprecedented process that will reshape global trade links for U.S. dairy exports.

We’ve slogged through more than 18 months of global oversupply, yet market conditions suggest a recovery is still some ways off.

The U.S. dairy industry must compete harder and smarter to take advantage of continued gains in emerging-market dairy demand.

If we had to give the Trans-Pacific Partnership a grade, it would not get an “A” nor would it get an “F”.  

Whey’s role as a nutritious ingredient plays well for U.S. dairy exports throughout the global income spectrum.

Despite a tough year and major market challenges, USDEC's long-range forecast is unchanged: sustainable growth.

It's the toughest market in six years, but shippers aren't hitting the panic button.

If Congress passes Trade Promotion Authority it opens a meaningful debate on the merits of a Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.

Investments underscore Dairy Farmers of America's long-term commitment to U.S. dairy exports. 

Over the last decade, the value of U.S. dairy exports has increased 21 percent per year.

A growing middle class and expanding demand for nutritious food products are among the reasons. 

Increased demand in Southeast Asia and China certainly helped, as did a host of other reasons. 

Mexico remains the biggest customer for U.S. dairy products, purchasing a record $1.43 billion in 2013.

China’s appetite for imported UHT milk could grow four-fold to more than 1.3 billion lbs. by 2020.

When the history of the U.S. dairy industry is written, the highlights of the chapter on globalization circa 1995 to 2015 will include milestones like the cap on EU export subsidies, the opening of Mexico under NAFTA, the increase in dairy consumption as the middle class has grown in emerging markets, and the China melamine crisis. Now you can add the birth of the U.S. whole milk powder (WMP) industry to the mix of most significant, game-changing developments of the last 20 years.

If someone asks you to name the current cheese price, you would probably quote the latest CME block cheddar close. And if you want to hedge your milk costs, your cheese sales or your inventory values, you can do so relatively simply using CME Class III or cheese futures. But if you’re in the milk powder business—either a seller or a buyer—how do you know what a load is worth? And how can you hedge against price movements when prices are all over the board, each series has different rules on which transactions are included and each actor may price off a different series?

In the ongoing maturation of the U.S. dairy industry as a global player, we took another step forward in 2012.