Even as regulatory and legislative challenges persist at all levels of state government, pro-dairy advocacy is making progress nationwide, two leaders in state dairy policies said in the latest Dairy Defined podcast.

“Some farms are struggling. I don't want to diminish what those farms are going through,” Allyson Jones-Brimmer, executive director of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, said.

“But overall, we have elected officials at every level that want to see dairy and agriculture as a whole succeed. Those leaders are making changes and investments in dairy, both at the state and federal level to help farms help set the industry up for success.”

Jones-Brimmer is in Washington this week with other state dairy organizations in NMPF’s annual State Dairy Association Summit. She was joined on the podcast Jim Boyle, owner-manager of his family's dairy in Casa Grande, AZ and the leader of the Western States Dairy Producers Association.