The dairy checkoff entered a five-year collaboration with Mayo Clinic to explore research and consumer outreach efforts to improve public health and advance dairy’s benefits. The checkoff’s memorandum of understanding with Mayo Clinic entails Dairy Management Inc. (DMI), National Dairy Council (NDC) and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy (IC), all based in Rosemont, Ill.

“This is a milestone moment for dairy farmers who made this possible through their century-long commitment to research and dairy nutrition,” said DMI CEO Barbara O’Brien. “This doesn’t happen without the strong national reputation farmers have built through National Dairy Council.

“This is a powerful collaboration that shows how the dairy checkoff is expanding our scientific network to bring a modernized complement to our legacy and move us further into the future,” she added.

The collaboration will be incorporated across Mayo Clinic’s campuses in Rochester, Minn.; Scottsdale and Phoenix, Ariz.; and Jacksonville, Fla., DMI said. Teams comprising NDC scientists and registered dietitians, Mayo Clinic physicians and health professionals, and IC experts will lead initiatives focused on three areas:

• Performing research to discover how dairy foods, particularly whole-milk dairy, impact cardiovascular health and metabolic conditions. Other potential research areas include dairy’s role on calm, sleep, digestive health and immunity.
• Communicating dairy’s strong body of evidence, new research and insights with the scientific community, health and wellness professionals and consumers.
• Exploring dairy’s role through digital platforms to propel people into a new way of precisely managing their wellness.

In addition, co-created content will help debunk dairy myths and help consumers maintain confidence in dairy foods, farms and businesses, DMI said.