Contact:
Peggy Armstrong, (202) 220-3508, parmstrong@idfa.org
Marti Pupillo, (202) 220-3535, mpupillo@idfa.org

(Washington, D.C. – June 5, 2012) Jerry Slominski, senior vice president for legislative and economic affairs at the International Dairy Foods Association, issued the following statement on the Senate moving the Farm Bill to the floor for debate.

“IDFA remains opposed to the dairy title that is included in the Farm Bill as passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee. The new dairy supply management program in the bill will hurt exports, encourage imports and limit job growth in the dairy processing industry. Consumers will pay more for dairy products, and nutrition programs, such as SNAP, will be forced to pay more for basic food items like milk. Instead of imposing even more regulations on dairy manufacturers, we urge the Senate to support a compromise plan that provides a safety net for dairy farmers without also having our government intervene in dairy markets by limiting milk supplies."

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The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), headquartered in Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies representing a $110-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States.