On Board With The Chairman - February 2024

We held our regularly scheduled board meeting this week. We welcomed our newest team member, Mathew Brady, who will be replacing Barb Rohrer as our General Counsel. He brings experience as legal counsel for an oil producer in Kern County and, most recently, as a defense attorney representing employers in employment law. Welcome to the team, Mathew. 

Brad opened the meeting by presenting the usual business insight reports for our butter and powder business. He also laid out the transformation process taking place at CDI over the next 12-18 months, which will have significant upside for our bottom line. He will provide more details on this at our annual meeting scheduled for April 24 in Bakersfield (more details on this meeting to be distributed soon). 

Next, Darrin Monteiro updated the board on his team’s work on sustainability and how we can monetize that on-farm. Most of this will be actual on-farm investments partially or mostly funded by our customers. Some of you are already participating in the Starbucks program, and we are preparing to roll out a few more options in the coming months. Stay tuned for your opportunity to participate. Darrin also talked about his work with CDI’s various sales teams, as staff seeks to utilize this growing collaboration with customers to strengthen our relationships, leading to a stronger business in the future. 

Then Patti Smith gave an update on DairyAmerica. The presentation was a high-level overview of a more detailed presentation and discussion at the committee level the day prior. Now that DairyAmerica is fully merged as a division within CDI, Patti and her team have better real-time transparency and input into our manufacturing and costing information, allowing CDI to be a better producer of what the market wants rather than a marketer of what CDI produces. 

Phil then gave the financial reports. As I stated in the last OBC in January, the year-end numbers for 2023 are still moving a little bit, and the finance committee will review and approve the audited financials at their March board meeting. January was a profitable month, and the board discussed their desired safety net before initiating a distribution of early-year profits to membership. We’ve been stung before and are charged with maintaining caution in these discussions. More details will be provided at our Annual Meeting. 

Dennis gave the operations report, which included progress on our Lactoferrin plant at Turlock North and work at Visalia, Tipton, and Valley Natural Beverages (VNB) in Bakersfield. He reviewed the standard reports on safety, budget targets, and the actual performance of our plants. He also updated the board on some newer initiatives to maximize efficiency in our plants, which is a never-ending process similar to our dairy operations. 

Rob gave updates on USDA reports, milk quality, annual meeting planning, Farm Show tent participation, and upcoming director elections. Several of us will be attending the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) board meeting next week and look forward to seeing how our new CEO, Gregg Doud, is doing. He has hit the ground running and brings plenty of energy to his role. 

As mentioned a few times, our Annual Meeting will take place in Bakersfield this year on April 24. Times and presentations are still being refined, and we will get those to you once we have finished that preparation. We plan to offer an optional site visit of the new VNB plant for any producers who would like to visit that construction site in Bakersfield after the business meeting and lunch; more information on that will be shared in the coming days and weeks. Enjoy the spring weather and keep praying for rain; Our God has provided our needs again!