PHILADELPHIA – The Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program (PDPP) board of directors elected Jeff Raney chairman and Bruce Bartley first vice chairman during a regularly scheduled meeting on Aug. 17 in State College.
Jeff Raney of Adamsville has been a member of the PDPP board of directors for six years and previously served as first vice chairman. He replaces Harold Shaulis of Somerset, who resigned from the board following 27 years of service. During the meeting, Shaulis was presented with a silver milk pitcher and was thanked for his leadership and contributions to dairy promotion.
As board chairman, Raney said his main goal is to ensure that the promotion programs PDPP funds and supports are administered well. “We want to make sure that our dairy farmers’ investment in promotion is used in the best possible way to drive milk and dairy product sales,” he said.
A first generation dairy farmer, Raney and his wife, Brenda, farm in partnership with their son, Adam. Their daughter, Erin, and Adam’s wife, Michelle, help with the evening milking when not working at their full-time jobs off the farm. The Raneys milk 60 cows and farm 250 acres of corn, soybeans and alfalfa.
Raney, who has been farming for 32 years, said he enjoys the various aspects of operating a dairy farm. “It’s a great place to raise a family,” he said, noting that he is excited to see his young grandchildren taking an interest in farming activities, like showing cattle. “It’s gratifying and enjoyable to be doing what we have always wanted to do,” he added.
Bruce Bartley of Cogan Station has been a member of the PDPP board for more than 10 years. He previously served as a delegate to the United Dairy Industry Association’s annual meeting. Elected as first vice chairman, Bartley said that partnerships with foodservice companies like McDonald’s, Dominos and Taco Bell are helping to move more milk and dairy products.
“It’s important to make sure dairy farmers are aware of such partnerships and how they are helping to increase dairy sales,” he said.
Bartley has been farming for 37 years on the dairy farm that has been in his family since 1849. He and his wife, Teresa, and son, Brandon, milk 50 cows and farm 350 acres of corn, alfalfa and soybeans. Bartley said what he enjoys most about farming is working with his family every day.
The two new officers, joined by other PDPP board members, greeted dairy farmers and industry representatives attending the annual dairy checkoff luncheon held Aug. 18 at Ag Progress Days. During his report, Raney talked about the recent consolidation of PDPP, Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and American Dairy Association and Dairy Council Inc., into American Dairy Association North East. The new organization represents more than 13,500 dairy farm families across six states.
Additionally, the PDPP board appointed the following to serve as representatives on the United Dairy Industry Association: Vernon Horst of Chambersburg; Jerrel Heatwole of Greenwood, Del.; and Bruce Bartley. The three will represent PDPP at the joint annual meeting of the National Milk Producers Federation, United Dairy Industry Association and National Dairy Promotion and Research Board in October.
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About American Dairy Association North East
The American Dairy Association North East (ADANE) is the local affiliate of the National Dairy Council® and the regional consolidation of three promotion organizations including the American Dairy Association and Dairy Council, Inc., Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association and Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program. Committed to nutrition education and research-based communications, ADANE provides science-based nutrition information to, and in collaboration with, a variety of stakeholders committed to fostering a healthier nation, including health professionals, educators, school nutrition directors, academia, industry, consumers and media. Funded by dairy checkoff dollars from more than 13,500 dairy farm families in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and northern Virginia, ADANE works closely with Dairy Management Inc.™ to bring a fully integrated promotion program to the North East region. For more information, visit www.dairyspot.com.
Photo caption: Jeff Raney – Jeff Raney, newly elected chairman of the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program board of directors, provides a dairy checkoff update during the PDPP annual luncheon at Ag Progress Days.
Source: American Dairy Association North East
