Representatives from 44 countries were on hand at November's International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit, in Melbourne, Australia.

Jim Begg of the United Kingdom was elected to a four-year term as the new IDF president. Begg, 54, is currently the director-general of Dairy UK, the recently created organization that represents and promotes the interests of the entire UK dairy industry.

"We're impressed with Jim's leadership record in the UK and are looking forward to working with him as he expands the influence of the global dairy industry through IDF," said Allen Sayler, senior director of regulatory affairs at the International Dairy Foods Assn. In addition, two U.S. representatives - Joseph O'Donnell from the California Dairy Research Foundation and Tom Balmer from the National Milk Producers Federation - were elected to the Program Coordination Committee.