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USDA Proposes Changes to the Southeast and Appalachian Federal Orders

On May 20, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a "partial recommended decision" resulting from a February 2004 hearing in Atlanta regarding a variety of proposed changes to the Southeast and Appalachian Milk Marketing Orders. In its announcement, the department outlined the following decisions:
  • USDA did not adopt the proposal to merge the Southeast and Appalachian order areas. USDA also decided not to create a new marketing area, which would have consisted of the westernmost areas currently regulated under the Southeast marketing area.

  • USDA is recommending that all counties and cities in Virginia that are not currently regulated by a federal order now be included in the Appalachian marketing area. During the hearing, there was no opposition to this proposal.

  • USDA is recommending that the current maximum rate of assessment permitted under the transportation credit provisions in both the Appalachian and Southeast marketing areas be increased by 3 cents per hundredweight of milk.

  • USDA is recommending eliminating the ability to simultaneously pool the same milk in the Appalachian or Southeast federal order and a state-operated order that has market-wide pooling. (USDA stated that this will not affect milk currently regulated under state orders in Pennsylvania and Virginia, since neither uses market-wide pooling.)
This is a "partial recommended decision" only, since USDA indicated that a related recommendation — regarding the producer-handler provisions of the Appalachian and Southeast marketing areas — will be addressed in a separate decision.

Interested parties have 60 days to file comments regarding USDA's recommendations. After considering those comments, the department will publish a final decision, which will then be voted on by affected producers in the Southeast and Appalachian Milk Marketing Orders. For more information, click here to visit USDA's website. Members can also contact the IDFA economic policy group at 202/737-4332.

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Posted May 23, 2005