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New Dairy Bills Introduced as Congress Continues Farm Bill Deliberations Several dairy bills were introduced before the Memorial Day recess in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The various pieces of legislation demonstrate a broad spectrum of views on dairy in this Congress and indicate that the status quo in dairy policy will likely change. The bills cover a range of dairy issues, from creating a permanent dairy forward contracting program and promoting additional risk management tools for dairy farmers to revising the Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO), the Dairy Price Support Program and the Milk Income Loss Contract program (MILC).Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA), vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee, sponsored a bill (H.R. 2462) that would improve federal dairy policies by offering better risk protection for dairy producers. The bill, modeled on the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Farm Bill recommendations, proposes a permanent dairy forward contracting program, revenue insurance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a phase-out of the Dairy Price Support Program. "IDFA commends Rep. Holden and the efforts of the Pennsylvania dairy industry and supports the progressive ideas in H.R. 2462," said Chip Kunde, IDFA senior vice president. In the Senate, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) introduced S. 1422, or "FARM 21". This bill also calls for the elimination of the Dairy Price Support Program and would transition away from MILC program payments to direct payments that contribute to farmer savings accounts. IDFA supports Sen. Lugar's efforts to eliminate the Dairy Price Support Program and to provide dairy farmers with risk management tools. Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) recently introduced a bill requiring USDA to render FMMO decisions within 90 days of a hearing. The bill, S. 1447, appears to reflect the frustration expressed by Wisconsin processors and producers over the recent lack of timely decisions on marketing order issues. "IDFA is encouraged by Sen. Kohl's willingness to begin a discussion on how to improve the entire Federal Milk Marketing Order system," Kunde said. On the downside, Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Larry Craig (R-ID), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Kent Conrad (D-ND), Patty Murray (D-WA), Russ Feingold (D-WI) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) reintroduced legislation (S. 1485) to impose tariffs on milk protein concentrates, casein and caseinates. IDFA will continue to work in conjunction with the Coalition for Nutritional Ingredients to oppose the proposed legislation. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) introduced S. 1424, a bill calling for the continuation of the MILC program and a minimum price for Class I milk. "IDFA believes both bills introduced from the New York senators take federal dairy policy in the wrong direction," Kunde said. For more information on IDFA's vision for the 2007 Farm Bill, members may also visit www.healthydairyindustry.org.
Posted June 4, 2007
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