Dairy Management Inc.

Dairy Management Inc. is an American trade association funded primarily by the U.S. Dairy Promotion Program, itself funded by government-mandated checkoff fees on dairy products and federal tax dollars and dedicated to promoting the sale of American-made dairy products. It also operates under the names Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, American Dairy Association, National Dairy Council and U.S. Dairy Export Council.

History
Dairy Management Inc. was incorporated in 1995 as a nonprofit corporation by members of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board and the United Dairy Industry Association. It is a marketing creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is mainly funded by Dairy Promotion Program government-mandated fees on dairy products; the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides federal tax-dollar funding specifically for overseas promotion. The corporation has 162 employees and a budget of about $140 million, 5 of which comes from the USDA. It is headed by CEO Barbara O'Brian after long time leader Tom Gallagher retired from the post in 2021.

Activities
Dairy Management is associated with the "Got Milk?" and "Real Seal" campaigns and works with industry to develop products that increase consumption of milk and cheese. It also funds research into the benefits of dairy consumption. Dairy Management has successfully promoted increased use of cheese in prepared food products such as pizza.

The National Dairy Council website offers a collection of educational materials such as dietary guidelines, protein, maintaining a healthy weight, lactose intolerance, and the connection between dairy and sports. They also provide information kits to health care professionals.

The National Dairy Association has funded academic research into the impacts of dairy, such as food safety and human health, many of which show the positive impacts of dairy. It also funds new product competitions, such as the 10th Annual National Dairy Council (NDC) New Product Competition which in 2022 holds the theme of "Innovative Dairy-Based Products for Gamers".

Criticism
The milk-promotion initiative has been criticized by Dr. Walter C. Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health and a former member of the federal government's nutrition advisory committee, as being contradictory to the nutrition goal of reducing consumption of saturated fat also promoted by the United States Department of Agriculture. However, the USDA does not directly fund DMI's promotion of milk in the domestic market, but merely regulates it.