On Board With The Chairman - April 2025
Dear Member-Owners,
The Board of Directors held its monthly meeting last Tuesday at the Visalia office, with a full business agenda to discuss.
Brad started the meeting by providing information on current markets and some insights on where we think the markets could trend. Both butter and powder markets at the time of the meeting saw some dips, moving them down a bit, but current futures look positive towards the end of Q3 and intoQ4. Brad also gave us an update on the modernization of the Federal Order and our hopes that it will be implemented on time in June. For those of you who attended the annual member meeting, we talked about this at length, and the possibility that it could be delayed. Staff and the board watch this daily, as this has a huge fiscal impact on the Co-Op.
Jason Allen was next to present and brought us the March and year-to-date financial report. March was a tough month for CDI. Markets for both NFDM and butter have fallen sharply in the first quarter, but we’re hoping that both of those markets have hit their respective lows, and we can sell into the upside. Jason talked to the board about where we are on our inventories, and fortunately for CDI, the team did an excellent job last year in bringing those levels down, and we are sitting in a more comfortable position with our current inventory. Jason also talked about de-pooling activity, which has been significantly limited, so far, in 2025, with no clear outlook for meaningful opportunities in the coming months – another issue discussed at length in the annual member meeting. This is another area that the board is keeping a close eye on and making the best decisions possible as we go forward.
Peter Ernster was welcomed into the boardroom for the firsttime in his new role as Senior Vice President of Ingredients and FluidProducts. Peter started by giving us his vision in this new role and some ideashe has as he moves forward. Peter talked about some innovative ideas for ourpowder products, which you heard a little bit of at the member meeting, as wellas his ideas for marketing and sales. As a board, we really look forward toworking with Peter and his team and seeing what he can do with his new role.
Michael Burdeny presented next and gave the board updates on our Valley Natural Beverages (VNB) plant and the commitments from customers that are starting to get finalized now that the operation of the initial production lines has begun. We’re excited about the opportunities that have come our way already, and definitely can’t wait to see what God has planned for that plant as we move forward. Michael also updated us on some new retail butter business for this year and what that looks like for our overall butter business going forward.
Rob Vandenheuvel was last to present for this meeting and updated the board on plant operations year-to-date and how the plants are running currently. As you could all feel during March, milk pickups were very tight, and the plants were significantly backed up due to unplanned downtime at both CDI and customer facilities. That led to some milk being spilled on-farm in late February and March, as well as some milk being sold to calf ranches to clear some capacity. Rob updated us on the planned actions going forward and some learnings his team has taken out of this spring flush for better execution in future years. Rob also provided the results of the recent board election, which were announced at last week’s annual member meeting. All three directors eligible for re-election– Aaron Matheron from District 4, Rodney Kamper from District 3, and myself from District 2 – secured the support of the membership to continue serving for another three years.
As I close, I want to thank all the owners who took the time to come to the annual meeting, as well as the VNB ribbon cutting. It is always great to get to see one another at these events and catch up with friends. I would like to give an incredibly special thanks to Stacy Heaton and her team. The amount of effort it takes to put an event like that ribbon cutting together is incredible, and Stacy and her team again did a terrific job. The ceremony was amazing, and we are so excited to get product from this plant into stores and homes and provide families with quality products produced by your milk from California Dairies, Inc.
I pray that as we enter summer and the seasons of High School and College graduations, our Lord keeps us safe in our travels and that He guides us through the next couple of months. I hope all of you with kids graduating enjoy this time together and celebrate this accomplishment. As always, if anyone of you has questions, feel free to reach out to me or any board member.
All the best,
Cory Vanderham
Chairman of the Board
Vanderham West Dairy
Lazy V Farms
559-269-9618
