Federal Orders

Federal Dairy Policies Need Fundamental Reform

Federal dairy policy should not distort or disrupt the marketplace. The combination of the multi-billion dollar direct payment program, the Milk Income Loss Contract program (MILC), which encourages overproduction of milk, and the Dairy Product Price Support Program (DPPSP), which buys the resulting surplus, is a classic example of dairy programs working at cross purposes and distorting markets. The two programs have created expensive government outlays and self-perpetuating price slumps that have taken money out of the pockets of taxpayers, processors and even dairy farmers themselves.

Government interference in the dairy marketplace must be minimized. If the dairy industry is to evolve and compete in an increasingly international marketplace, the Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO), the government's complicated regional milk pricing system, must be streamlined. These Depression-era policies handcuff the industry so that it cannot keep pace with today's more competitive and diverse marketplace.

IDFA encourages Congress to create federal dairy policies that are fair for producers and processors across all regions of the country. The policies also should be fiscally responsible and designed to help the industry grow here and abroad.

IDFA Position Papers on Dairy Policy Reform


 



© 2012 International Dairy Foods Association. All Rights Reserved.