As part of his annual tour of the state, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig paid a visit August 9 to the Associated Milk Producers, Inc. (AMPI) plant in Sanborn.
“This is part of making sure I’m getting around the state and visiting all 99 counties,” said Naig, “and so this was great to be at AMPI today. I have not been to this facility yet. I certainly know about it and the importance of it.”
The Secretary then amplified on that comment, saying, “In Iowa we’ve got a growing dairy industry. And of course we talk a lot about value added ag in Iowa. It’s one thing to grow a commodity corn and soybean but then we feed that to livestock or we feed that to an ethanol plant or biodiesel plant – you add value to it. Here we’re going to even the next level. Which is we’re taking that milk that’s produced on an Iowa dairy farm and processing it here and capturing even more value. I’m impressed with that. This is exactly the type of operation that we need to see. To know that these folks are looking at expansion is exciting.”
The AMPI operation, like any other, faces its challenges, especially in light of those expansion plans. “Work force is one of the top issues,” noted Naig. “Dairy cows are milked every single day. Every single day. So this is a 24-7 operation. Milk has to move every day. Product has to move every day.”
A tour of the Sanborn plant was on the agenda for the Ag Department head, but that had to be postponed. Naig took the opportunity to have an extended conversation with AMPI representatives. Work force needs were a part of that discussion.
“We talked a lot about some of the challenges around that,” said the Secretary. “They’ve got a very strong workforce here, but they always are looking for more folks. Especially, if you’re looking to expand and you’re going to need more. I think truck drivers are one of the biggest challenges that we see and not just in this plant but across agriculture. And again, there’s a timeliness to what we do here. Whether it’s planting the crop, ag production or milk production or getting cattle to market, there’s a timeliness to agriculture. So that’s why logistics are so, so important.”
A hot topic nationally found its way into the Sanborn discussion. “Immigration reform came up too in an ag worker program that’s functional and predictable,” noted Naig. Those are things that we really do need. Labor was the big common topic of conversation.”
The Secretary commented on drawing workers to these employment opportunities. “We have to make sure that our communities are places where people want to live, work and play,” offered Naig. “If you want to attract families and people to this community or this area then it’s all of the things. It’s solid, strong education, it’s access to health care, it’s child care, it’s housing, it’s educational opportunities, it’s employment opportunities for spouses who don’t work at this particular place. Those aren’t easy things but they’re things that we need to be focused on.”
The Ag Department head feels his state provides advantages in that regard. “I think Iowa is moving in the right direction when it comes to our competitiveness from the standpoint of being able to attract people to the state of Iowa,” stated the Secretary. “We’re a lower tax, lower cost of living state. Especially as you’re talking about inflation being at a 40-year high, those things do matter. So I think we can be a very attractive place for people to want to come and live.”
Naig’s 99 county tour has provided the Ag Secretary with plenty of input from the residents of the state. “I love to visit with people who are actually doing the work,” commented Naig. “They’re the ones facing the challenge of trying to get those truckers and find the workforce and manage the costs associated with this business. That is very important for me to hear and I always take away things that are important. We had a dairy farmer in the room as well so talking about the challenges that he sees from an access to capital standpoint and some of the challenges in his operation, those are always important things for me to hear about.”
Secretary Naig returned to the value added theme, saying, “We’re looking at these value added ag opportunities and I think dairy is one of our great opportunities in the state so we are interested. There was some talk in the last legislative session about creating a Dairy Innovation Grant Program that would help with on-farm dairy processing costs or maybe even adding robotic milkers to farms. It did not pass, ultimately, in the last session but there was good discussion about it. We’re interested in seeing that conversation surface again in the next legislative session.”
Naig is upbeat when it comes to the dairy industry. “Cheese consumption is up and exports of dairy are up,” he noted. “There are challenges and there are some headwinds, but, boy, is there opportunity.”