2024 May Board Book

2024 - 2028 CDRF Strategic Plan

Priority research areas include: • Personalized/Precision nutrition • Gut, immune, and brain health • The dairy food matrix • Benefits of whole dairy foods

• Fermented, fortified, and functional dairy foods • Sustainable nutrition, upcycling of co-products • New tools and technologies to identify dairy food composition and health benefits

Approach: The organization will interact with state, national and international nutrition research bodies,

monitor published scientific findings, and communicate key outcomes for use by the California dairy industry. CDRF’s funding capacity limits its ability to lead major research projects nationally or globally, so the organization will prioritize co-funding opportunities when nutrition and health research interests align with its strategic partners at the state, national and international levels. CDRF’s strategic location in Davis, CA, coupled with its historical investment into key nutrition and health research areas has resulted in strong working relationships with prominent dairy and human nutrition experts at the University of California, Davis, and the USDA’s Western Human Nutrition Research Center (WHNRC). CDRF will continue to be a conduit for leading health and nutrition related research information, collaborating with organizations working in this area such as DCC and NDC. Where appropriate, CDRF will seek to bolster research interest and foster collaboration between California-based experts and national and international research bodies. With input from the Nutrition Health Advisory Team (NHAT), CDRF will monitor and assimilate existing science as part of its high-level comprehensive research plan. Through this process it will identify current scientific information available as well as areas of unanswered questions/gaps in knowledge. CDRF funding will be prioritized to projects that fill these recognized scientific knowledge gaps of defined interest and need. It will seek to leverage producer funds with other funding organization dollars wherever nutritional research interests align. Given California’s unique situation regarding environmental management pressures, sustainable nutrition will be a priority focus. In cases where the proposed research offers significant benefits for California, CDRF may decide to be the primary funding source. CDRF will seek to co-fund larger projects led by others that are of specific and aligned interest.

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