Celebrate Dairy Month in June!

Both the National Dairy Council and Midwest Dairy Association honor the month of June as Dairy month. Each year, the highlights and benefits of dairy foods are the focus of the season, and various councils, groups, and organizations work together to get the message of supporting the nation’s farmers to the public.

The National Dairy Council promotes its 3-a-day program to encourage Americans to reduce risks of osteoporosis, high blood pressure, obesity, and colon cancer through consumption of dairy foods. It is estimated that most Americans are not getting enough calcium from their diets, and are thus not benefiting from optimal calcium absorption and nutrition. The Midwest Dairy Association raises public awareness on behalf of dairy farmers, dairy producers, and the dairy industry in the media. Its focus is on the “Milk-Making Mission”, and it shows us how businesses and producers affect the American dairy market, and consumer.

June Dairy Month first became part of American culture in 1937. It started as National Milk Month, and many chain stores sponsored events to promote drinking milk. The programs were a success, and likely contributed to American’s habit today of drinking milk. The National Dairy Council first began these promotions with businesses in mind, and stores quickly ran offers and highlighted their dairy sales during this time. In 1939, the campaign increased to promoting all dairy products, not just milk. This slowly increased the promotion and sales of butter, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. However, the war era quickly reduced the publicity efforts.

The post-war era looked more promising; it was during this time that butter became the publicity-generator of choice, with a high emphasis on “Sales, not Surplus”. It wasn’t until 1955 that the American Dairy Association became the leader of campaigns for June Dairy Month, and began to involve communities and businesses nationwide.