Part 1: Dairy Industry Check-in; Federal Milk Marketing Order Hearing Set

The US Department of Agriculture has set a federal milk marketing order hearing for August 23 in Carmel, Indiana. In part one of this two-part dairy check-in series, Senior Vice President of Membership Services and Strategic Initiatives with the National Milk Producers Federation, Chris Galan says that national milk is pleased that their proposal will be a focal point at the hearing as dairy farmers and processors have been calling for a hearing to modernize a system that sets minimum milk prices and marketing orders. The last major update was in 2000.

“They will take testimony from witnesses about ways to change and hopefully improve the federal Milk Marketing Order system. The good news is that basically the full scope of national milk's proposal to direct the dairy industry in a positive way that is going to be the focal point of a lot of it. Today, the USDA is looking at other proposals as well. They rejected a number of proposals that don't really fall into the scope of what USDA is trying to do. But at least we're confident here that the key things that we're trying to do on class three prices on class one pricing on some of the other technical issues, those will get a good vetting and good consideration.”

Galen points out that continued milk marketing order reform work is at the mercy of a threat of a government shutdown over the spending bill with a divided Republican-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate. It is unclear whether lawmakers can avert a government shutdown when they come back from recess in September. The deadline to pass the spending bill is October 1.