What are some of those key differences between President Trump’s first and second term that dairy producers should take note of? We’re hearing it today from someone who was inside the administration. Greg Doud is the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) president and CEO. Before arriving at NMPF, he was working trade negotiations for President Trump, serving as chief agricultural negotiator in the Office of the United States Trade Representative from 2018 to 2021.

He says this time around; Make America Great Again came with Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). But how does dairy fit into that conversation?

“We’re having a time here. What they are talking about is really an important change in how we feed ourselves as human beings, and the fact that, you know, we’ve got to get away from all this ultra-processed stuff that we’re in. I think everybody kind of agrees with that. It’s just a matter of how you define it, and I don’t know what that is and what that looks like.”

“And we need to get back to more protein in our diet. We need to get back to more whole foods in our diet. What is that definition? I don’t know what it means, but I think for us in dairy, there is this huge recognition that fat in dairy isn’t bad for you. It’s good for you. It’s brain food. It’s a critical thing that helps your body function. And we’re not saying that you need to drink a gallon of milk a day or anything like that. You know, it’s all in moderation.”

“But I think there is overwhelming realization of the nutrition and the importance of protein and the products that we make in dairy — from cheese to butter to yogurt to cottage cheese — you know, the combination of protein and the right kinds of saturated fat. We see this now as human beings, and this time the best term that I saw is, you know, all this old dietary guidelines stuff, it isn’t science anymore. It’s become dogma, and we need to get past it and get back to what we know about the science and nutrition today.”

Even though we’re still waiting on nutrition guidelines, right? Nothing’s really set in stone. We’re seeing the industry kind of move forward with this MAHA thing — Walmart making an announcement, Starbucks releasing high-protein drinks, and the only cottage cheese plant in Wisconsin has to expand because the demand is so high.

“Well, and if you look at the grocery store, whole milk and 2% in terms of fluid milk capture the vast majority of the shelf space. What does that mean? That means the consumers know that that’s what they buy because they know it’s good for you. They know that’s what is good for their kids, etc. We’ve got to get the dietary guidelines to be more of a reflection of what’s really going on in the real world. And I, frankly, think we’re going to see that, and I’m going to be really interested to see what it looks like.”

Does this mean that dairy has the president’s ear?

“Yes, he absolutely does — any and all of agriculture, for that matter. And I think, you know, there’s a recognition that it isn’t just one thing. It isn’t just the tax code, or the reduction in the regulatory burden, or it isn’t just the trade side of the equation. They’re working on all of these things.”

“And I think, from my perspective, from being in there working on the trade things, we just have to be patient. We have to keep in mind that it was only just a couple of weeks that we’ve had undersecretaries at the Department of Agriculture. All we had was the secretary and a deputy. So we still are getting people in place. They’re still getting their staffs in place to do what they want to do here.”

“And so it’s hard to believe that we’ve only been nine months now — or not even nine months — in this administration and everything that’s happened. I know the uncertainty has been crazy, but what I would say is just be a little patient and let this kind of stuff unfold a little bit. For those of us in the dairy industry, it’s coming our direction, and I think we’re really going to like it.”

The NMPF has been working on bringing whole milk into schools, with this goal closer to becoming a reality.

“Oh my goodness, we’re close. We’re so close. We’re down to one senator here. Great conversations about it. I wish I had a better feel for a timeline and when we get this sorted out, but an unbelievable amount of effort has gone into this, and we’re going to get this done. And it’s long overdue, and I think everybody understands it’s long overdue to get this done.”

Optimism from Greg Doud that despite uncertainty in the political sphere, dairy has a role to play in the administration’s vision for a healthy America. Greg calls MAHA a movement, as consumers are already putting their dollars toward clean labels or natural colors, sugars, and fats — or higher-protein foods at the grocery store, for example. It just so happens dairy checks all those boxes.