Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO, joined other dairy and agriculture leaders this week in a panel presentation, providing updates on administration and congressional actions that affect dairy during a meeting of board members from Land O’Lakes, an IDFA member company. In the meeting, held in Washington, D.C., Dykes joined Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, and Chuck Conner, president and CEO of The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, to offer his insights on the latest dairy trade and farm bill issues.

Trade Policy

The panelists first gave the board members an update on the administration’s efforts to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“I would have told you a week ago that agriculture would be left out of NAFTA, and especially dairy would be left out of NAFTA,” Dykes said.

He said that in the past week, the administration pushed for a preliminary NAFTA agreement to be announced at the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru, but none was announced. He also shared that dairy issues were a topic of discussion at a Thursday meeting hosted by the president on agriculture and trade.

“We’ve got a renewed interest in taking another look at dairy and getting dairy included in NAFTA. I think that we may see something in early May and I’m optimistic that we have a fighting chance today of being included,” Dykes said.

With the November midterm elections in the United States and a presidential election this summer in Mexico, the panelists agreed that the pressure is on for negotiators to come to a swift conclusion.

The panelists also discussed the president’s renewed interest in joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TTP).

“I’m optimistic that the United States will get back in TPP,” Dykes said, adding that if the administration again pursues the agreement, they would be “pushing against an open door.”

Farm Bill

Dykes and Mulhern discussed the collaborative efforts of IDFA and NMPF to present a united request to the House and Senate agriculture committees for improved policies in the 2018 farm bill. They touched on these shared priorities, which includes ensuring that there is an adequate safety net for dairy producers, increasing risk management opportunities for Class I market participants and establishing a purchase incentive program for dairy products in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Panelists all noted that the midterm elections are weighing on Congress’ current efforts to propose and pass a successful bill, which could cause partisan obstacles as the House and Senate agriculture committees try to garner necessary congressional support.

(L-R): Randy Russell, president of the Russel Group and panel moderator; Chuck Conner, president and CEO of The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives; Michael Dykes, D.V.M., IDFA president and CEO; and Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation.

For more information on these key issues, contact Dave Carlin, IDFA senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy, at dcarlin@idfa.org.