State House Ag Committee to meet in Okanogan; new dairy legislation
Washington Ag Today September 26, 2011 The Washington State House of Representatives will host an Agricultural and Natural Resources Committee work session this Thursday, September 29 in Okanogan. The session will run from six to eight p.m. at the Okanogan County Courthouse. The meeting will include county officials from around the region and several legislators who serve on the committee as well as lawmakers from the surrounding area. Citizens are welcome to attend but there will be no public testimony taken. However, written testimony will be accepted before and after the meeting. The Dairy Security Act of 2011 was introduced in the U.S. House Friday by House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson of Minnesota and member Mike Simpson of Idaho. The bill is modeled on the dairy reform promoted by the National Milk Producers Federation including a change it approved last week. Federation Chairman Randy Mooney explains. Mooney: “This new approach give farmers a clear choice between opting for a government subsidized safety net in the form of margin insurance, or opting out of that net. If you choose to participate in the margin insurance program you will also be asked to reduce your production slightly when conditions are poor. This new approach which makes the Dairy Market Stabilization Program optional will appeal to those who don‘t want government telling them what to produce.” The new legislation also extends the Basic level of margin insurance coverage to 80 percent of a producer’s production history, up from 75 percent. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on Northwest Aginfo Net.
