From Mexico grocery stores to international sporting events, dairy checkoff partnerships are helping create more opportunities for U.S. dairy.
When a family in Mexico adds U.S. cheese to its grocery cart for a game-day gathering, that purchase may happen hundreds of miles from your dairy. But it represents something that matters to farmers here at home: another consumer choosing a product made from U.S. milk.
Building more of those connections is why Dairy MAX invests in export promotion. As U.S. milk production continues to grow, finding new consumers and expanding international demand becomes increasingly important.
Dairy MAX works alongside the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and other state and regional dairy checkoff organizations to amplify industry efforts, particularly in Mexico. Together, these partnerships help introduce more consumers to U.S. dairy, create opportunities for purchases and strengthen demand for the milk farmers produce.
Why Are Dairy Exports Important to U.S. Farmers?
The United States produces more dairy than domestic consumers use, making international markets an essential part of the industry’s future.
In 2025, more than 17% of U.S. milk production was exported, generating $9.63 billion in sales, a 15% increase from 2024, according to USDEC.
And production is expected to keep growing.
According to USDA’s long-term agricultural projections, U.S. milk production is expected to reach 259.2 billion pounds by 2035, growing approximately 1.2% annually from 2027 to 2035. Improvements in technology, genetics and milk components are expected to contribute to that growth.
For farmers in the Dairy MAX region, the connection to exports is especially important. According to a 2023 Euromonitor International analysis for Dairy MAX, approximately 68% of milk produced in our region went into cheese in 2022, compared with 45% nationally. That makes growing demand for cheese, both domestically and internationally, particularly important to our region’s dairy industry.
International markets expand the customer base for products made from U.S. milk, providing additional outlets for cheese, whey, milk powder and other dairy products. They also become increasingly important as new processing capacity comes online.
Why Is Mexico a Key Market for U.S. Cheese?
Mexico is the largest international buyer of U.S. cheese, accounting for 34% of U.S. cheese exports from January through August 2026. During that period, cheese shipments to Mexico increased 30% compared with the same period in 2025, according to Dairy MAX’s analysis of U.S. cheese export data.
For Dairy MAX, Mexico is a natural focus for export promotion. Its proximity to our region creates opportunities to connect U.S. dairy products with international consumers through strategic partnerships and promotions.
As dairy production grows in the Dairy MAX region, building demand in markets like Mexico helps create more opportunities for the milk our farmers produce.
How Do Dairy MAX and Industry Partners Build Export Demand?
Growing international demand takes collaboration.
USDEC leads efforts to expand international markets for U.S. dairy, bringing market expertise, international relationships and consumer insights to that work. Dairy MAX collaborates with USDEC and other state and regional dairy checkoff organizations to support and amplify those efforts.
By working together, checkoff organizations can share resources, build on national strategies and extend the reach of campaigns beyond what any one organization could accomplish alone.
For Dairy MAX, that includes investments and partnerships that connect U.S. cheese with consumers through familiar foods, popular sporting events and retail shopping experiences. The approach is about more than introducing consumers to a product. It’s about giving them a reason and an opportunity to purchase it.
Connecting Sports Fans and Shoppers With U.S. Cheese
From soccer matches to football games, sports bring people together, often around food. For Dairy MAX, those occasions create opportunities to introduce U.S. cheese to consumers and encourage purchases.
The international soccer tournament over the summer provided an opportunity to put that approach into action in Mexico. Through the Queso Lovers platform, content creators shared ways to incorporate U.S. cheese into familiar dishes, snacks and game-day gatherings. Consumer advertising and digital content helped generate interest, while the campaign also helped advance retail relationships with H-E-B México, Chedraui, Soriana and Rappi.
Together, these efforts reached nearly 32.8 million consumers across both markets and generated more than 8.3 million pounds of milk, from marketing targeting U.S. consumers. With milk pound results from Mexico still being finalized, the total impact is expected to grow, demonstrating how strategic partnerships can connect consumer interest with opportunities to build dairy demand.
Dairy MAX is building on that success through its partnership with the Dallas Cowboys, using the team’s popularity in Mexico to connect football fans with U.S. cheese. The Queso Lovers campaign, El Delicioso Tailgate, brings together cheese-centered recipes, digital advertising, retail promotions and fan experiences.
At H-E-B México, the campaign includes in-store cheese sampling, digital promotions and opportunities for shoppers to interact with Cowboys personalities. A Queso Lovers recipe contest also encourages fans to prepare and share dishes featuring cheese for a chance to participate in a special football-themed experience.
Together, these efforts demonstrate how consumer marketing and retail partnerships work hand in hand. Sports and entertainment help capture attention, recipes inspire consumers to try U.S. cheese, and retail promotions connect that interest with opportunities to purchase.
For dairy farmers, these investments are part of a broader effort to build familiarity with U.S. dairy, encourage repeat purchases and strengthen long-term demand in an important export market.
What’s Next for Dairy Export Promotion?
Building demand in international markets is a long-term investment, and Dairy MAX is looking beyond individual campaigns to create more opportunities for U.S. dairy.
Building on its work in Mexico, Dairy MAX is developing plans to expand consumer demand for U.S. cheese and butter through coordinated marketing, retail partnerships and digital engagement. The longer-term strategy also identifies opportunities in additional Latin American markets.
The approach will also explore ways to strengthen dairy’s visibility in online and AI-powered search results and build relationships with health professionals who influence consumer choices.
What Does Growing Export Demand Mean for Dairy Farmers?
Export promotion may take place thousands of miles from a dairy farm, but the purpose connects directly to the work farmers do every day.
As milk production grows and processing investments expand, strong domestic and international markets become increasingly important.
Through collaboration with USDEC and other industry partners, Dairy MAX is helping introduce U.S. dairy to new consumers, encourage purchases and build long-term demand.
For farmers, that means their checkoff dollars are supporting efforts to create more opportunities for the milk they produce, both at home and beyond U.S. borders.
And while the next purchase might happen in a grocery store hundreds of miles away, the opportunity starts here at home, with the dairy farmers who make it possible.
