The dairy company Land O' Lakes doesn't just sell butter. The brand is also a cooperative with over 3,600 members through its Farmer to Fork approach and is aware of the unique struggles American farmers face, specifically with the recent trade tensions.
The Trump administration has been involved with trade disputes for nearly two years, but Land O' Lakes CEO Beth Ford says the recent USMCA agreement was a major win. "The passage of USMCA is a big victory. Overall economy-wise it's about $1.4 trillion in sales," Ford told Cheddar.
However, some of those sales might not be coming from milk products. As consumers switch to more non-dairy products, milk consumption has seen a drop in sales with the market growth of almond and oat milk. But Ford said that dairy consumption hasn't been stronger. "Dairy prices have come down, but there is still growth in the sector. Cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, all of those areas are growing."
During this time of year there is a peak in demand for butter, and to keep up with it Land O' Lakes has teamed up with the Silicon Valley startup Plus.ai to meet consumers' needs.
With the help of Plus.ai Land O'Lakes was able to complete the first-ever 2,800-mile coast-to-coast delivery with an autonomous truck in less than three days. There was a driver aboard at all times, but the truck drove itself the entire way. Still, "capacity is tight because driver shortages continue to be a pressure on sectors," Ford said.
The company plans to continue to work with innovative partners and digital suppliers to improve customer experience. "So, with this autonomous vehicle, we can see the pathway to the future," Ford said.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
