Takeaway

Corey Scott has taken over as CEO of Dairy Management Incorporated (DMI) following the departure of Barbara O'Brien, marking a leadership transition for the organization driving US dairy check-off programs. The presenter emphasizes that the new leadership will focus on keeping demand ahead of production efficiencies through global export expansion, commercial food partnerships, and milk component innovation.

What the presenter said

• Under Barbara O'Brien's 25-year tenure, DMI transitioned from a direct-to-consumer relationship model into a business-to-business partnership framework [00:18].
• DMI established embedded partnerships with major food service operators—including Domino's, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, and Taco Bell—to bolster commercial dairy demand [00:27].
• DMI’s research strategy operates across three tiers: validating existing dairy benefits, discovering novel milk components, and commercializing research into consumer goods [00:41].
• The organization deployed a 10-year research pipeline designed to ensure scientific discoveries are adopted and brought to market [01:08].
• A four-tier accountability system was implemented to demonstrate return on investment to the dairy farmers funding the check-off [01:24].
• Check-off initiatives supported the industry's "component revolution" and structural export growth [01:31].
• Corey Scott was appointed as DMI's new CEO [01:47].
• Scott plans to keep DMI on the "bleeding edge" of innovation by targeting industry needs before they are widely recognized [02:04].
• The incoming CEO views dairy producers as entrepreneurs and aims for check-off efforts to match that operational pace [02:11].
• DMI's forward mandate is to keep demand running ahead of efficiency gains, expand international markets, and maintain consumer relevance [02:20].

Trade ideas

None stated. No actionable trade was put forward. The discussion focused on structural, long-term industry demand drivers, B2B food service partnerships, and global trade growth rather than near-term futures positioning.

Levels and data cited

• US Dairy Export Share (1995): 2% of production (Source: DMI / US dairy farms)
• US Dairy Export Share (Today): 17% of production (Source: DMI / US dairy farms)