My name is Blaine Imes and I have been a Juniata County Dairy Ambassador for nine years. As part of the Pennsylvania Dairy Promotion Program, dairy ambassadors are responsible for promoting the nutritional value and benefits of dairy foods. We also share the importance of dairy farms and dairy farmers throughout our state.

According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania is ranked eighth in milk production nationally. Pennsylvania’s dairy industry provides more than 47,000 jobs and supports the state’s economy by contributing $11.8 billion annually. The Department of Agriculture launched PA Preferred in 2004 to help identify and promote food and agricultural products grown, produced and processed in Pennsylvania and it was signed into law in 2011. Products with the PA Preferred designation must contain 75% or more of Pennsylvania-grown agricultural commodities in their end product. You can visit the PA Preferred website to find local farms that are selling PA Preferred dairy products, or you can look for the PA Preferred logo on the products in your local stores. When you purchase products with the PA Preferred logo, you know you are directly supporting Pennsylvania farmers.

When buying milk, you can also check the plant code to find Pennsylvania milk. Milk with a plant code beginning with “42” means the milk is processed in Pennsylvania and sourced primarily from Pennsylvania dairy farms. Plant codes are usually printed near the top of the container, on the lid, or sometimes they are printed on the label. You can visit whereismymilkfrom.com to look up plant codes and find out where your milk is from.