Originally funded by a grant from USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA), the National Program for Integrated Dairy Risk Management Education & Research (I-DRMER) project has proved to be a dream of a dairy risk management program, taking on extended life with Kraft.

The Ohio State University/University of Wisconsin dairy risk management program (I-DRMER), led by Cameron Thraen and Bob Cropp, has not only been eagerly accepted by dairy producers. Now the Philip Morris family of companies through Kraft Foods is assuming funding of the project as it moves on to the marketing/distribution phase.

Kraft, the largest U.S.-based packaged food company headquartered in Northfield, Ill., has good reason to be interested in the risk management skills and stability of U.S. dairy farmers–one of every ten cows in America supplies Kraft with raw materials for the company's dairy products.

Philip Morris announced its leadership funding of $225,000 at a February dairy industry meeting in Chicago and is encouraging participation by other industry lenders, trade associations, and cooperatives. The money comes as a direct result of the public/private partnering concept fostered by Kraft's participation in a new Philip Morris 'shared Solutions" agricultural initiative.

RMA has advocated the benefits of partnering in all its Risk Management Education programs. "This is the way resource leveraging is supposed to work," said Craig Witt, Director of RMA's Risk Management Education program. "Ohio State University and the University of Wisconsin used USDA seed money to develop curriculum and software and conducted workshops to get the word out to the dairy community. Kraft recognized the merit of the program and the stabilizing influence it will have for dairy producers and commodity prices."

Kraft spokesperson Mike Reinke stresses the importance of risk management programs like the I-DRMER project. "What's good for dairy producers is good for Kraft. Whole-farm management programs like I-DRMER and USDA's Dairy Options Pilot Program and Forward Pricing Pilot Program will allow farmers to stabilize their prices in a volatile market. We rely on supplies of high quality commodities to sustain our product standards. It follows that producers who manage their farms well will provide us with good product."

Price stability in the commodity market is also a consideration. Reinke added, "Knowing that there will be a steady supply of milk at a given price helps us plan our production and marketing efforts. Price stability also benefits farmers who will know in advance what their milk receipts will be."

The I-DRMER study was designed to make results-oriented risk management curricula and tools available to all sectors of the dairy industry.