FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 28, 2009

Rod Hissong Nominated for USDA Dairy Advisory CommitteeBy Professional Dairy Managers Of Pennsylvania

Bellefonte, PA – The Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania has responded to the USDA’s nationwide call for worthy candidates to be appointed to the new Dairy Industry Advisory Committee.  Citing him as a young dairyman who represents the future of the industry, PDMP nominated Rod Hissong of Mercer Vu Farms in Mercersburg, PA in a letter that said he would offer insightful, well-grounded and intelligent input from the producer’s viewpoint to the Committee’s discussions.

According to the information released by the USDA, the committee will review the issues of farm milk price volatility and dairy farmer profitability, and will be asked to offer suggestions and ideas on how the USDA can best address these issues to meet the dairy industry’s needs.  Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will appoint up to 15 representatives from various sectors of the industry to serve.

PDMP is also submitting a letter of support for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s nomination of Russell Redding, the Acting Secretary. Redding was acknowledged by PDMP as a leader who is respected both for his personal background as a dairy farmer and for the experience he has gained in a 20-year career in government service to the industry.

PDMP’s nomination for Hissong noted that his family’s farm (www.mercervufarms.com)  now encompasses three generations and grew from a start in 1949 with just seven cows to its present size through a commitment to a mission:  “to produce high quality milk, efficiently, safely and profitably as to benefit management, employees, cows, the environment and the community in which they live.”  Mercer Vu Farms was the recipient of the 2003 PA Dairy Stakeholder Pacesetter Award and in 2004 was Keystone Farmer of the Year. 

As a member of PDMP leadership for five years and President since January, Hissong represents dairy producers and industry suppliers who are in the business for the long-haul.  He recently testified before the Appropriations Committee of the PA House of Representatives that the PDMP membership has a “can-do attitude that focuses on what we change and improve rather than complaining about the things we can’t.”  It is that reputation for having a progressive, positive stance on the future of the dairy industry that PDMP noted in their nomination of Hissong.

PDMP is a professional dairy producer organization of over 100 dairy businesses representing over 50,000 cows and nearly 20% of the milk produced in Pennsylvania.  It is producer run and led and is supported by allied industry.  Its mission is to advance the dairy industry in Pennsylvania through improved productivity and profitability. For more information on PDMP, visit their website at www.pdmp.org or email info@pdmp.org.