Bill Ahlem, Joe Bavido Recognized for Contributions to Dairy Promotion
The National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (NDB) honored Bill Ahlem and Joe Bavido as the 2015 recipients of the Richard. E. Lyng Award for their extensive contributions and distinguished service to dairy promotion. Ahlem, a dairy farmer from Hilmar, Calif., and Bavido, a dairy farmer from Sharon, Tenn., and former national checkoff employee, were recognized at the Joint NDB/ National Milk Producers Federation/United Dairy Industry Association (UDIA) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 28.
The award is named for former U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Richard E. Lyng, who played a critical role in implementing policies that led to the establishment of the NDB more than 30 years ago. The Lyng Award honors dairy industry leaders who have made a significant contribution to dairy promotion that benefits the entire industry.
"Bill and Joe represent the best in dairy farmer leadership," said Zach Myers, North Carolina dairy farmer and chair of the NDB. Ahlem is a past chairman of the NDB who helped guide the checkoff through its evolution from generic advertising to growing sales by working with and through the industry. Bavido has been an advocate for dairy and the farmer checkoff since the early 1970s, joining the board of UDIA in 1987 and serving as that board's vice chair from 1995 to 1998.
"Bill's tireless work while serving on NDB and its chairman helped the checkoff evolve to its current business plan that's making a real difference for dairy farm families," Myers said. He added that Ahlem also helped strengthen ties between the NDB and California dairy farmers.
Bavido's commitment to dairy promotion was instrumental both publicly and behind the scenes in bringing together national and local checkoff organizations, according to Myers.
"Joe's efforts help set the stage for a more comprehensive and coordinated national checkoff program," he said.
After retiring from farming in 2001, Bavido spent the next 12 years sharing the checkoff story directly with farmers, traveling across the country ensuring that the farmers who fund the program knew about checkoff activities and had their voices heard.
As part of the Richard E. Lyng Award, the NDB will contribute $2,500 to the Oregon State University Foundation's Food Science and Technology Department within the College of Agricultural Sciences in Ahlem's name; and $2,500 to the University of Tennessee College of Agriculture to support its dairy science program in Bavido's name.
For information about the dairy checkoff, visit www.dairy.org.
The 38-member National Dairy Board, formed in May 1984 under the authority of the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983, carries out coordinated promotion and research programs to help build demand and expand domestic and international markets for dairy products and ingredients. NDB funds, in part, Dairy Management Inc., which manages the national dairy checkoff program.
10.29.2015