HOW LOCAL DAIRY COMMUNITIES CAN COMPETE IN THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE

For several years, the US government has been lowering its price suppo rts on dairy products. The result has been a relatively good balance n ationally between supply and demand. However, some seasonal shortages of local and regional supplies of milk are beginning to emerge. As der egulation continues, communities will be forced to take actions to ens ure an adequate local supply of milk and to rationalize the systems of production, processing, and marketing. To address issues of competiti veness and capacity, it is useful to view the dairy community as a soc io-economic unit composed of several systems and sub-systems that toge ther compete with other communities for segments of the global market. These systems involve complex interrelationships and multiple discipl ines. The community has both place and virtual characteristics. Some o f the tools used to construct a world class dairy community from its c omponent sub-systems include community economic development, total qua lity management, strategic planning, and strategic alliances. The glob al information systems used to transfer technology to dairy communitie s are often urban based and come with urban values and points of view that can be inappropriate in a rural culture. If local dairy communiti es are going to be world class competitors, then the members of the lo cal, virtual, and global communities involved must have an appreciatio n of the cultural differences. Successful dairy communities of the fut ure will use production and information technologies and management sy stems to compete in the global marketplace.