Promotion, Checkoff & Dairy Councils Category Guide

What Is the Dairy Checkoff?

The dairy checkoff is a mandatory assessment on all milk sold in the United States—currently 15 cents per hundredweight. These funds support generic dairy promotion, nutrition education, and research programs administered by Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) and regional dairy councils. The goal is to increase consumer demand for dairy products.

How Checkoff Funds Are Used

Consumer Marketing

National advertising campaigns, social media marketing, and promotional programs that encourage dairy consumption. This includes partnerships with foodservice chains and retailers to feature dairy products.

Nutrition Education

Programs that communicate dairy's nutritional benefits to health professionals, schools, and consumers. Dairy councils work with dietitians and educators to promote dairy in healthy diets.

Product Innovation

Research and development to create new dairy products and applications. This includes work on new cheese varieties, dairy ingredients for food manufacturing, and export product development.

Industry Partnerships

Collaborations with restaurant chains (like pizza companies), schools, and food manufacturers to increase dairy usage in their products and menus.

Regional Dairy Councils

State and regional dairy councils implement programs at the local level:

• School nutrition programs promoting milk and dairy
• Local advertising and promotional campaigns
• Farmer spokesperson programs
• Community events and industry education

Checkoff Governance

The dairy checkoff is overseen by the USDA, with producer-elected boards setting priorities and budgets. Farmers can serve on local and national checkoff boards to help direct program priorities.

Measuring Checkoff Impact

Economic studies estimate that checkoff-funded programs return $4-5 in dairy demand for every $1 invested. However, measuring promotion effectiveness is inherently complex, and some farmers question the value of generic versus branded marketing.

Understanding Your Contribution

At 15 cents per hundredweight, a farm shipping 1 million pounds of milk annually contributes approximately $1,500 to checkoff programs. This mandatory assessment is deducted by milk handlers before farmer payment.