DairyAmerica is honored for its service to the U.S. dairy industry, its passionate approach to trade and for exporting dairy ingredients to more than 60 countries.

In a year in which a global supply-chain crisis threatened U.S. dairy exports, DairyAmerica stepped up as a forward-looking problem solver, not just for its member cooperatives, but the entire U.S. dairy industry. 

DairyAmerica President and CEO Patti Smith, center, is shown with USDEC Chair Larry Hancock, left, and Douglas Peckenpaugh, group publisher, BNP Media, the parent organization of Dairy Foods magazine, which presents the Exporter of the Year award in collaboration with USDEC.  Photo: USDEC.

“DairyAmerica went anywhere and everywhere on the supply-chain issue, whenever called upon,” said USDEC President and CEO Krysta Harden. “They met with governors. They came to Washington. They tackled the crisis with data and solutions instead of just anecdotes and emotions. That made a difference for all of us.”

For its service to the U.S. dairy industry, its passionate approach to trade opportunities and its growth in exporting dairy ingredients to more than 60 countries, DairyAmerica is the winner of the 2022 Tom Camerlo U.S. Dairy Exporter of the Year award. The award was given Tuesday at the U.S. Dairy Export Council’s Fall Annual Membership Meeting in Chicago.

“We are very excited," said DairyAmerica President and CEO Patti Smith. “It’s one of those things that was many years in the making. The time has finally come."

The company exports more than 200,000 metric tons of dairy ingredients annually, used around the world in a variety of food products, including nutritional products, cheese, yogurt, bakery, UHT, condensed/sweetened condensed milk and infant formula.

In a video interview with Dairy Foods magazine, DairyAmerica President and CEO Patti Smith explains how DairyAmerica has tackled challenging issues, including the global supply-chain crisis.

The award is given by Dairy Foods magazine and sponsored by USDEC in honor of the late Tom Camerlo, a former USDEC chairman with a prescient early vision to dramatically expand exports of U.S. cheese and dairy ingredients.
 

The Exporter of the Year must:

• Exemplify leadership in advancing U.S. dairy exports.
• Demonstrate a commitment to export market development.
• Make exports an integral part of its overall growth strategy. 

Dairy Foods magazine makes the decision, in consultation with USDEC. Applications come from exporting companies asking for consideration or by observers who think the company is worthy of the honor.  

Geographically positioned

DairyAmerica was established in 1995 by Danish Creamery, Dairymen's Cooperative Creamery Association and California Milk Producers to manage the sales and marketing of nonfat and skim milk powders.

Today, DairyAmerica is made up of three member dairy cooperatives in geographically strategic locations. They are Agri-Mark (New England), California Dairies (West Coast) and O-AT-KA Milk (East Coast).

DairyAmerica represents these three member dairy cooperatives.

The locations provide advantageous access to ports in California and New York with a direct line to Mexico. Utilizing multiple powder dryers in its portfolio, DairyAmerica also supplies buttermilk powder and milk protein concentrates.

DairyAmerica has 33 employees, with 27 based in its Fresno, California, headquarters and six working remotely across the U.S. By combining the resources of its members under a common brand, DairyAmerica has become one of the world's most recognized dairy brands and the world's largest NFDM/SMP marketing company.

The Patti Smith era begins

 In 2020, DairyAmerica named Smith its new president and CEO. She brought decades of global dairy experience, including more than 15 years with one of U.S. Dairy's most formidable global competitors, New Zealand's Fonterra, where she worked in quality assurance, production management, customer service management and global account management.

“DairyAmerica sits at the forefront of one of the most exciting opportunities of our lifetime,” said DairyAmerica Board of Directors President Brad Anderson when the announcement was made. “Patricia is the right person to lead DairyAmerica into the future, given her visionary leadership experience and proven ability to drive results.”

From the beginning, Smith made her global intentions clear. “Together, we will capture the next wave of growth for DairyAmerica," she said. 

The year before Smith’s arrival, DairyAmerica exported 35% of its ingredients. In 2020, that percentage soared to 49%. In 2021, exports made up more than half (52%) of sales and as of July of this year, 54% of Dairy America products were exported.

Overlapping global crises

This growth has happened in the face of overlapping global challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic and the supply-chain crisis have affected exporters from a wide variety of industries, with agriculture among the hardest hit.

“First of all, you have to focus on how we get things out today," said Smith. "You have to figure out how to overcome problems with ports, direct shipping lines, trucking companies, equipment, warehousing, labor associated with the warehouses, and your staff."

DairyAmerica's answers have included export warehousing, leasing its own trucks and chassis and making shipments more reliable by securing monthly nonrefundable contracts for vessel allocations.

Looking back at the last year, Smith said she is proudest of how DairyAmerica and its three-member cooperatives were resilient, creative and determined.

“It took all of us,” Smith said. “We proved we are stronger together."

The need for a level playing field

According to Smith, the U.S. dairy industry deserves credit for changing decades-old global perceptions that the U.S. is so focused on its domestic market that it sees exports as an afterthought. 

But changing perceptions is not enough. Smith says policy also must be changed. An active member of USDEC's trade policy committee, Smith said the playing field has been tilted in recent years to competitors from countries with governments aggressively making free-trade agreements. 

“Let’s say we're competing with Oceana for customers in Southeast Asia," said Smith. “Geographically, they have shorter distances to travel, so we have a bit of a freight disadvantage and timing disadvantage. When it comes down to bottom-line price, we need to be competitive. But if we are paying double-digit tariffs of 10%, 11%, or 12%, it makes it very difficult to break into those markets.“

DairyAmerica President and CEO Patti Smith communicates her enthusiasm after DairyAmerica was named Exporter of the Year at the U.S. Dairy Export Council’s Fall Membership Meeting in Chicago this week. Photo: USDEC. 

 Despite trade policy and other challenges, Smith sees dairy exports as a ripe, long-range opportunity. Nationally, U.S. dairy export volume in 2021 was equivalent to more than 17% of U.S. milk produced, an all-time high.

Smith sees that percentage going much higher, making exports more and more essential.

“Exports will continue to grow," said the president and CEO of the 2022 Exporter of the Year. "So, it’s not just a question about what works today. The question is, what will work in the future? That is a question not just for DairyAmerica, but the entire U.S. dairy industry.”

Past winners

To date, there have been 16 U.S. Dairy Exporters of the Year. They are:

• Schreiber (2021)
• Proliant Dairy Ingredients (2020)
• BelGioioso Cheese Inc. (2019)
• Milk Specialties Global (2018)
• Sartori (2017)
• Swiss Valley Farms (2016)
• California Dairies Inc. (2015)
• Dairy Farmers of America (2014)
• Agri-Mark (2013)
• Glanbia (2012)
• Leprino Foods (2011)
• United Dairymen of Arizona (2010)
• Hilmar Cheese (2009)
• Schreiber Foods (2008)
• Darigold (2007)
• Davisco Foods (2006) 

Mark O’Keefe is vice president of editorial services at the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

Subscribe to the U.S. Dairy Exporter Blog    

The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. How to republish this post.