Message to the Membership of NAJ
Message from National All-Jersey Inc. (NAJ) President Corey Lutz, Lincolnton, N.C., to the membership.
Excerpts from his speech at the 2026 membership meeting on June 18, 2026 in Springfield, Missouri.
This is a special year because we are celebrating 50 years of Equity.
Equity has been a major driver for the expansion of the Jersey breed over the past 50 years. It highlighted the superior quality of our Jersey milk and the increased yields for cheese and other manufactured products made from Jersey milk.
Our milk price this spring has been stronger in the southeast than anticipated last fall. This was due to much higher Class IV prices this spring, which drove Class I federal order prices higher. Nonfat dry milk has positively impacted milk prices for the last few months. It cannot be overstated that nonfat prices have pushed the federal order class IV price to a level where class IV prices are over $5.00 per cwt higher than Class III Prices.
Going to the higher level of Class III or Class IV, which was changed in the federal milk marketing order hearings that NAJ was very involved in and pushing for, has resulted in pay prices in our markets that no one anticipated just a few months ago.
Your NAJ Board still has work to do with many goals in mind to accomplish. We have several federal orders that do not get paid on MCP from April of 2025 to April of 2026. Butterfat production increased by 3.2% and production of protein was up 3.6% as these solids increase. Southeast Federal orders are not being compensated for this extra protein.
As Jersey milk producers, we produce the highest-quality milk available. As a processor, we have customers comment that, compared to store-brand milk, our Jersey milk has a better flavor profile, greater digestibility, and overall richness. As an organization, we need to stay focused on promoting our high-quality component Jersey milk and how to improve access to it.
To view the full meeting of the National All-Jersey Inc., membership, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/live/j8J0gdOxYAg?si=1c-EVWhYMOf0vJWX
