Arizona dairyman Paul Rovey was elected chairman of the checkoff-funded U.S. Dairy Export Council at its membership meeting in October.

Rovey had been serving as interim chairman, filling the seat made vacant by previous chairman Les Hardesty's retirement from the industry.

Rovey, a long-time dairy leader, milks approximately 2,100 cows on his dairy farm in Glendale, Ariz. He also serves as chairman of the board of Dairy Management Inc., a post to which he was elected in January 2003.

He also has served as vice chairman of DMI, chairman of the board of the United Dairy Industry Association and the National Dairy Board, and chairman of the board for United Dairymen of Arizona. He studied animal science at the University of Arizona.

He will preside over the 116-member organization, which is made up of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers, export traders and industry affiliates.

The group is focused on market development, market access and trade policy and is supported primarily by the dairy checkoff and complemented with additional funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and membership dues.

Also at the meeting, dairyman Kenton Holle of Mandan, N.D., was elected to serve as USDEC's vice chairman. Holle currently is the vice chairman of the National Dairy Board and a member of DMI's board of directors.

In addition, Tom Gallagher was re-elected USDEC's secretary-treasurer. Since 1995, Gallagher has served as the chief executive officer for DMI, which manages the national dairy producer checkoff program.

-- Carl Ryan Dumas