National Milk Producers Federation

House-price-reporting-passes-091510.pdf

ARLINGTON, VA – A decade-long effort to improve the transparency of dairy pricing culminated Wednesday with the final passage of legislation in the House of Representatives establishing the weekly, electronic reporting of dairy prices, according to the National Milk Producers Federation, which has long sought the pricing measure.

The Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010 includes mandatory weekly electronic reporting for dairy products. It also reauthorizes for five years other price reporting programs run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including mandatory reporting for wholesale pork cuts. The House action today follows similar final approval in the Senate earlier in the summer, meaning that the bill will become law once President Obama signs it.

NMPF President and CEO, Jerry Kozak, applauded the passage of the legislation, noting that “NMPF believes a key element of improved dairy marketing is accurate, timely price information. After years of half-measures, the Mandatory Price Reporting Act will ensure that the USDA implements to the fullest mandatory dairy price reporting.”

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said today that "The transparent, timely and accurate market information provided by mandatory price reporting programs is a vital and necessary tool for agriculture producers. I appreciate the support of the farmers, processors and packers to help us reauthorize mandatory price reporting requirements and improve the availability of market data.”

NMPF helped include mandatory price reporting language in the 2008 Farm Bill. But that measure was contingent on available funding at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the USDA has never had adequate funding to implement dairy price reporting.

The price reporting bill contains the follow specifications:

• Amending section 273 of the Agriculture Marketing Act of 1946 to require the Secretary to establish an electronic reporting system for dairy.
  
• Directing the Secretary to publish the information reported through the electronic reporting system by 3:00 PM ET, each Wednesday.
  
• Requiring the Secretary to implement the electronic reporting system for dairy not later than one year following enactment of this Act.

The National Milk Producers Federation, based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance the well being of dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. The members of NMPF’s 31 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 40,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.