7-12 IAN Milk Rules

 RULEMAKING TO ESTABLISH RULES GOVERNING MILK AND CREAM PROCUREMENT AND TESTING

 The Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) is seeking public input to identify specific parameters and protocols for milk component testing pursuant to the requirements of House Bill 152 approved by the 2011 Idaho Legislature. The Idaho State Department of Agriculture’s Marv Patten explains: “It was legislation that was sponsored by the Idaho Dairyman’s Association  because of the federal milk market going away in 2000  where they had an auditing process in place under that federal milk market that would test processors’ testing results on fact, I don’t think it included protein at the time, to make sure that the processors were testing appropriately so that the producers were paid appropriately. Producers are paid for the volume of milk and then the milk constituents, because they both have value, primarily fat and protein. So that is the basis of payment. If there is not a good process in place to get a fair and objective pay for what you have produced, then one or the other is going to be either shortchanged or long. There was a general consensus if you asked most  dairymen them that processors like to budge that figure to their advantage.