Dairy Grazing Alliance Expands Leadership to Accelerate U.S. Dairy Grazing Growth
The Dairy Grazing Alliance (DGA) has announced the addition of three senior leaders as part of a strategic effort to accelerate the growth of America’s dairy grazing sector within the broader U.S. dairy industry. The organization welcomed Alex Peterson as Senior Director of Corporate Partnerships & Market Development, Fabian Bernal as Senior Director of Sustainability Impact & Strategic Modeling, and Lissy Matthews as Senior Director of Advancement & Strategic Partnerships.
These newly created roles reflect DGA’s expanding mission and its commitment to strengthening leadership capacity, deepening partnerships, and building the internal infrastructure necessary to support long-term sector growth. By investing in specialized expertise across market development, sustainability analytics, and strategic advancement, DGA aims to position dairy grazing as a strong, complementary pillar of the U.S. dairy industry.
Strengthening Organizational Capacity for Sector-Wide Impact
All three appointments mark new positions within DGA, signaling a deliberate expansion of the organization’s operational scope. As the dairy grazing sector continues to gain momentum, DGA is enhancing its ability to connect producers with markets, generate credible data to support sustainability claims, and secure financial and strategic partnerships that ensure continued progress.
Joe Tomandl III, founder and executive director of DGA and a fourth-generation dairy grazing farmer, expressed enthusiasm about the organization’s growth trajectory. He emphasized that each of the new leaders brings unique expertise that will support partnership development and producer-focused strategies. Their work, he noted, will help drive measurable growth in the dairy grazing sector while expanding DGA’s data, verification, and impact initiatives.
Tomandl underscored that the expansion comes at a pivotal time for dairy grazing, as consumer demand for grass-fed dairy products increases and the broader industry seeks diversified production systems that support environmental stewardship and transparency.
Building on a Strong Foundation: The Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship
DGA is widely recognized for launching the Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship (DGA) program in 2010, a paid apprenticeship registered with the U.S. Department of Labor. Over the past decade and a half, the program has logged more than 750,000 hours of on-farm training across the United States, equipping aspiring dairy farmers with practical skills in managed grazing systems.
In 2024, DGA expanded beyond apprenticeship training to advance the development of the dairy grazing sector as a dynamic and complementary component of the U.S. dairy landscape. Today, the organization collaborates with a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including farming operations, dairy organizations, consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, research institutions, and sustainability-focused partners.
These collaborations aim to expand market opportunities, increase domestic supply of grass-fed dairy products, diversify production approaches, and align with environmental and transparency initiatives already underway across the industry.
Advancing Market Development Through Corporate Partnerships
In his new role, Alex Peterson will focus on strengthening market demand for dairy grazing and attracting investment to support sector growth. His responsibilities include building and managing relationships with corporate partners, investors, and supply chain stakeholders, while aligning emerging market opportunities with producer capacity.
Peterson brings 15 years of hands-on experience as a third-generation managed grazing dairy farmer in Missouri. His professional background spans leadership roles in regional and national dairy promotion organizations, cooperatives, and policy advocacy boards. This combination of on-farm experience and industry governance provides him with a comprehensive understanding of the dairy value chain—from production to consumer engagement.
Peterson emphasized his belief that U.S. dairy must strengthen its domestic portfolio in the expanding pasture-based dairy market. Drawing from his experience across the supply chain, he highlighted the importance of connecting pasture-based producers with clear market channels and strategic investment.
By leveraging his expertise and network, DGA aims to create stronger alignment between producers and market partners, ensuring that growth in dairy grazing is both economically viable and strategically integrated within the broader dairy sector.
Enhancing Sustainability Impact and Analytical Rigor
Fabian Bernal’s appointment reflects DGA’s commitment to strengthening its analytical and data-driven capabilities. As Senior Director of Sustainability Impact & Strategic Modeling, Bernal will expand the organization’s capacity to generate practical insights that support dairy grazing farmers while enhancing market credibility.
Bernal brings experience in dairy production, agricultural economics, sustainability frameworks, life-cycle assessment (LCA), and environmental modeling. His work focuses on translating farm-level performance into credible, science-based metrics that support decision-making throughout the value chain.
He emphasized that the dairy sector has a significant opportunity to demonstrate the value of grazing systems through robust, science-backed evidence. By advancing practical standards, streamlined monitoring, measurement, reporting, and verification (MMRV) systems, and modernized reporting frameworks, DGA aims to strengthen the sector’s transparency and accountability.
Bernal’s work will help translate on-farm management practices into verifiable environmental and economic outcomes. This includes quantifying performance related to soil health, carbon dynamics, biodiversity, animal welfare, and economic resilience. By building credible data infrastructure, DGA seeks to reinforce the resilience and long-term viability of dairy grazing systems while meeting growing expectations from processors, retailers, and consumers.
Expanding Advancement and Strategic Partnerships
Lissy Matthews will lead DGA’s development and advancement efforts, focusing on securing and stewarding the financial, relational, and strategic capital necessary to sustain the organization’s mission. Her role centers on building partnerships across the regenerative agriculture community, engaging philanthropic investors, and strengthening organizational sustainability.
Matthews brings extensive experience advancing regenerative agriculture through cross-sector collaboration. Most recently, she held an executive leadership role at Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA), where she worked closely with farmers, funders, and mission-driven food organizations to support resilient agricultural systems.
She also contributed to the development of the Integrity Grown™ verification program, a crop-specific initiative designed to validate regenerative practices and enhance alignment across agricultural value chains. Her background in verification systems and stakeholder engagement complements DGA’s expanding focus on data credibility and sector-wide standards.
Matthews expressed enthusiasm about joining DGA at a time of growing opportunity for dairy grazing. She emphasized her commitment to strengthening partnerships, engaging regenerative agriculture leaders, and expanding philanthropic investment to enhance the visibility and long-term impact of grazing systems nationwide.
Positioning Dairy Grazing for Long-Term Industry Integration
The addition of these three senior leaders comes as DGA continues to broaden its strategic scope. Beyond staffing expansion, the organization has also welcomed new board members and advisors with expertise spanning dairy production, sustainability, and agricultural leadership. This strengthened governance framework further enhances DGA’s industry engagement and strategic direction.
Dairy grazing is increasingly viewed as a complementary model within the broader U.S. dairy industry. By expanding domestic supply of grass-fed dairy, diversifying production approaches, and supporting environmental goals, the sector contributes to overall industry resilience.
Through enhanced leadership, stronger partnerships, credible sustainability metrics, and expanded development capacity, DGA is positioning itself to play a central role in advancing dairy grazing as a scalable, transparent, and economically viable production system.
Source Link: https://www.businesswire.com/
