How Dairy Management Spends Revenue (2024)

Dairy Management Inc (DMI) is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501 (c) (6) whose purpose is to promote dairy products in order to increase consumption of dairy products.  What many people don’t consider is that in order for a cow to produce milk, she has to be pregnant or recently had a calf, who is taken from her so her milk can go to make dairy products for humans.  If the calf is a female, she is raised as a dairy cow or for beef (and reproduction primarily through artificial insemination) while males are either confined to a veal crate (and slaughtered at 18-26 weeks for veal), raised for semen (via an artificial vagina or electro ejaculator) that is packaged into straws, flash frozen in liquid nitrogen and distributed to farmers, or raised for beef.

Funded by a mandate by Congress, DMI is what is referred to as a “check off program” where all producers have to contribute funds for the good of the industry. Dairy producers are required to contribute 15 cents per 100 pounds (foreign dairy producers are required to contribute 7.5 cents per 100 pounds) which equates to about 1.5 cents per gallon of milk, all of which adds up to about $150-$180 million annually (which is then spent on marketing (about 52%), administrative organization expenses (about 33%) and export expenses (about 15%). Read more