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IDFA Shares National Farm Bill Perspective at Northeast Dairy Leaders Forum Ruth Saunders, IDFA senior director of policy communications, reinforced the importance of industry collaboration on dairy policy and Farm Bill issues during her presentation at the recent Dairy Policy Forum in Albany, N.Y. The forum was hosted by the Northeast Dairy Leadership Team, in conjunction with the state agriculture departments from New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont."Producers and processors are co-dependent; they each need to consider how federal policies operate to promote an environment where all parts of the industry and all regions can succeed and grow," Saunders said. "IDFA is working with producers, processors and co-ops to forge healthy dairy policies that will move the industry forward in a way that helps everyone." The Northeast Dairy Leadership Team is an alliance that was formed in 2006 to represent dairy industry stakeholders, coordinate activities, and promote industry growth and profitability in the Northeast region. More than 100 individuals representing all facets of the dairy industry in the three states attended the forum. Saunders was invited, along with representatives from the National Milk Producers Federation and the Northeast Dairy Cooperatives Association, to provide a national perspective on the key issues and recommendations being considered in the 2007 Farm Bill. Mike Suever of HP Hood, Chelsea, Mass., a member of the Northeast Dairy Leadership Team's executive committee, and many other processors also attended the forum. The attendees discussed a variety of issues, including dairy support programs, Federal Milk Marketing Orders and forward contracting. In her presentation, Saunders highlighted the success of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forward contracting pilot program, which included key producer safeguard provisions, and stressed the need for this program to become permanent in the new Farm Bill. New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont make up one of the three major milk producing regions in the United States. Collectively, the three states produce over 25 billion pounds of milk annually, nearly 15% of the nation's total milk supply.
Posted June 11, 2007
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