Last week, the International Dairy Foods Association, together with the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), announced the new “Got Jobs? Dairy Creates Jobs, Exports Create More” storytelling campaign.

“This is something that IDFA has been working on for quite some time,” said Bailey Wood, the group’s VP of communications, public relations, and marketing, referring to the data that supports the campaign. “We really wanted to highlight how our industry creates jobs in every state and how exports create more jobs, particularly to policymakers.”

Over then next year, the campaign will feature narratives of everyone from dairy farmers to dairy retailers through its dedicated Got Jobs? website. “We want people in general, not just policymakers, but we want them to have a bigger sense of the dairy industry in their state and in their communities, because we’re not only putting data out there, we’re telling stories of 100-year-old ice cream companies,” Wood said.

In addition, the campaign will showcase data highlighting the economic impact of the industry, compiled by the three groups involved. In creating the campaign, Wood said it was important for multiple organizations to be a part of it. “It’s a huge industry and has a huge impact on our nation’s economy, and aligning ourselves with [NMPF] and [USDEC] was only a logical way to do it,” he said. “We’ve got great resources that we share amongst the entire group.”

For instance, the U.S. dairy products industry supports close to 3 million workers, generates more than $39 billion in direct wages, and has a $628 billion impact, according to a press release.

“With the Trump administration’s current focus on global trade, it’s important for consumers and policymakers to understand how dairy drives the American economy,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA, in a press release. “The United States needs sound trade policy that will place the U.S. dairy industry on a level playing field with global competitors. Backed by fair and proactive trade policies, the U.S. dairy industry will continue to keep and create jobs in states across the country.”

Although the campaign feeds into what the current administration has been talking about, Wood said IDFA has been at work on trying to boost its industry long before –especially since the largest-growing market right now is exports.

“We want people to understand not just at the federal level, but at the state level and the local level, that sound policies lead to a strong dairy industry, and a strong dairy industry leads to a strong America,” Wood said.

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