05/29/08 Farm bill, dairy

When it comes to the Farm Bill Bob Nearebout says the dairy provisions aren't something that the Idaho Dairymen's Association supported, not in this bill, not in the previous farm bill. NEAREBOUT "The farm bill has developed not into a bill that is good for agriculture nearly as much as it is a bill that's good to try to bring some assurance of a cheap food policy and to keep some of those policies in place. Only 25 percent of the total farm bill goes back into agriculture anyway. 75 percent is in food programs already and people have to recognize that the farm bill is pretty much a safety net for a cheap food policy." Nearebout says the support price in the Farm Bill isn't much support when the floor pricing system of 9.90 per hundredweight is about half what it costs to produce milk. Nearebout says programs like MILC, the Milk Income Loss Contract were studied by USDA three to four years ago and while MILC showed a short income boost in the long run it lowered the Class III milk price. NEAREBOUT "So you have a program here by the studies of our own government that puts the program in place saying this program holds down the price of milk in the long run. So how is that beneficial to the dairy industry?" If there are any positives IDA sees in the farm bill is the fact that it now allow Idaho dairy producers to forward contract. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott