Member Joanna Shipp has been appointed to serve on the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board.
Joanna farms with her father Laird Bowman in Boones Mill, Virginia, where they milk 225 cows and farm 600 acres of owned and 400 acres of rented ground. She is the seventh generation to be involved in her family’s dairy farm. Joanna is a former Outstanding Young Cooperator and has served on the NMPF YC Advisory Council.
According to Joanna, it was through her Outstanding YC experience that she first saw how the co-op operates. She attended board meetings and came to know those board members as more than just a name in a newsletter. She attended a media training held at Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) and that experience prepared her to fill a vacancy on the American Dairy Association of Virginia board.
“The last five years I’ve spent working with the Dairy Alliance learning more about dairy promotion. As a new member of the National Dairy Board, it is my hope that I can become a voice for our Maryland & Virginia membership to ensure that our 15 cents are being spent in a way that will benefit dairy and promote the dairy community to its fullest,” said Joanna. “I want to bring back information to the membership so that members feel informed about the issues concerning dairy promotion. More importantly I hope to be a voice for Maryland & Virginia at the national level. It is my pleasure to represent Maryland & Virginia on the National Dairy Board and I am thankful to the cooperative for investing in me at the YC level so many years ago.”
Congratulations, Joanna, and thank you for representing our co-op on the national stage.
