Dairy farmers Need CWT to Keep Making a Difference

From 2004 through 2006, CWT has returned every dairy farmer an annual average of 40 cents per cwt. That's an eight to one return on the nickel that participating dairy farmers invested in CWT.

But dairy farmers are facing new challenges, including higher feed costs and higher energy prices. In order for CWT to be as effective as possible, the program needs more resources to confront these challenges.

CWT needs every cooperative and every dairy farmer to invest 10 cents per hundredweight in 2007. If your cooperative is not participating at the 10-cent level now is the time for you to join all the other dairy farmers who are investing in this historic self-help program at that level.

The additional revenue CWT is raising by increasing the membership investment is needed to fund additional supply/demand balancing efforts, including both reducing the size of the U.S. dairy herd, and helping to export U.S.-made dairy products. The additional revenue generated will also help fund a pilot program to remove bred heifers from the U.S. dairy cow herd.

PLEASE NOTE: A cooperative must be a full participating member of CWT at the 10-cent level effective January 1, 2007, in order for the cooperative, or its producer-members to participate in future CWT programs.

A copy of the membership application can be found on the CWT website.

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NMPF Sets Goals for the 2006 Lame Duck Session

During the 2006 Congressional lame duck session, NMPF plans to work closely with coop members in support of several legislative priorities. Among its priorities for the upcoming month, there are four in particular that will be of considerable focus. The first is the CERLCA/EPCRA bill (H.R. 4341 / S. 3681), which would clarify that the Superfund law, with its severe environmental liability provisions, does not apply to animal manure. Another important issue is the AgJOBS legislation, which would provide for an expanded legal immigrant workforce for agriculture through a reformed agricultural guest worker program and earned legalization for those with recent work history in agriculture.

Congress will also be working hard on trying to complete several Appropriations bills, including the Agriculture Appropriations bill. The Ag Appropriations bill includes funds for a Johne's program to help control this disease, the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development program which help promote U.S. dairy exports, and potentially provisions to address agricultural disasters throughout the U.S. in the past two years. NMPF strongly supports each of these measures.

Additionally, Congress is expected to approve Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with Vietnam, thereby approving Vietnam's joining of the World Trade Organization. NMPF is supporting this measure because approval of Vietnam PNTR would cut tariffs on U.S. dairy exports to this dairy-importing country, thereby providing benefits by way of more favorable export terms.

House, Senate Committees to Get New Chairmen in 110th Congress

The Democrats have won control of the House and Senate, and as a result, they will now chair the committees in both chambers of Congress.

While most members of the new Dairy Farmer Caucus fared relatively well in this election, a few friends of dairy producers did lose their elections: Rep. Johnson of CT, Rep. Sherwood of PA, and Rep. Sweeney of NY. In addition to some of the Dairy Farmer Caucus members that lost races, two other Representatives of notable importance to the U.S. dairy industry lost their races: Rep. Pombo of CA and Rep. Gutknecht of MN. Rep. Pombo was the Chairman of the House Resources Committee and the Vice-Chair of the House Agriculture Committee. Rep. Gutknecht was the Chairman of the House Dairy Subcommittee.

Below is a roster of the most likely new House Democratic Committee Chairs on some of the key committees. Actual committee chairman won't be chosen till next month:
Agriculture: Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn.
Appropriations: Rep. David Obey, D-Wis.
Armed Services: Rep. Ike Skelton, D-Mo.
Budget: Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C.
Energy and Commerce: Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.
International Relations: Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif
Judiciary: Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
Resources: Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.
Rules: Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y.
Small Business: Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y.
Transportation and Infrastructure: Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn.
Ways and Means: Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

Below is a summary of the most likely new Senate Democratic Committee Chairs on Committees of interest to NMPF:
Agriculture-Senator Tom Harkin, D-IA
Appropriations-Senator Robert Byrd, D-WV
Armed Services-Senator Carl Levin, D-MI
Budget-Senator Kent Conrad, D-ND
Commerce, State, Justice-Senator Daniel Inouye, D-HI
Environment/Public Works-Senator Barbara Boxer, D-CA
Finance-Senator Max Baucus, D-MT
Foreign Relations-Senator Joseph Biden, D-DE
Judiciary-Senator Pat Leahy, D-VT
Rules-Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-CA
Small Business-Senator John Kerry, D-MA

Senate Passes Law Criminalizing Radical Animal Rights Activities

The Senate last week passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA), which amends the federal criminal code to deal with increased radical animal rights and eco-terrorist violence and intimidation. AETA provides additional authority to federal law enforcement officials to investigate, arrest and prosecute those who would use violence and intimidation in pursuit of animal rights or radical environmental goals. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) worked with Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA) to secure this important victory for animal agriculture. This measure had passed the House of Representatives earlier this fall.

President Bush is expected to sign this measure into law shortly. This legislation is necessary to provide additional protections to farmers, scientists, exhibitors, sportsmen and others from animal rights and eco-terrorist violence.

NMPF Expresses Concerns About USDA's Proposed Changes to WIC Program

In public comments filed earlier this month, NMPF articulated its concerns about proposed changes in the WIC program that would reduce the availability of dairy products to those enrolled in that USDA feeding program.

NMPF has long supported the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food program, and believes that the food packages that have been provided to participants since the program's inception in the 1970s have been tremendously successful in addressing the supplemental nutritional needs of the WIC population. NMPF supports efforts to incorporate current nutrition science in updating the WIC food packages. The proposed addition of fruits, vegetables and whole grains to the program are positive developments that could improve the nutritional status and diet quality of participants.

Unfortunately, however, NMPF wrote that the Department's decision at the outset of their review of the program to require that any changes in the program be cost-neutral to the federal budget "have undermined the scientific integrity of the process and resulted in a proposal that contains changes in the food packages based as much or more on cost than on science." In light of the critically important role of the WIC program in providing supplemental, nutrient-rich foods to economically disadvantaged women and children, NMPF wants to ensure that USDA is able to make valuable, science-based improvements in the program. However, the cost-neutral stance will unfortunately require reductions in some foods in order to accommodate the introduction of other foods.

NMPF commented that the reductions in dairy allocations in the proposed rule are detrimental to WIC recipients and should be reversed. In addition, NMPF urged USDA to change the proposed rule to include yogurt, as proposed by the IOM, and to increase the permissible substitutability levels of cheese for fluid milk in the packages for women and children. Also, in order to assure the health benefits provided by adequate dairy consumption, the proposal should encourage lactose-free milk as the preferred substitute for fluid milk for individuals with lactose intolerance. Soy beverages, even when fortified with the nutrients required in the proposed rule in an effort to mimic the nutritional profile of milk, "are not equivalent to milk, are much more expensive than milk, and should not be positioned as a preferred substitute," NMPF wrote.

NMPF will continue to work with USDA to make sure that the WIC program provides the highest quality products for recipients, at the lowest possible cost. In addition, NMPF will work with Congress to provide adequate funding for the WIC program.

USDA To Hold Pre-Hearing Workshop on Class III and IV Pricing Proposals

USDA will hold a "pre-hearing information session" on the many Class III and IV pricing proposals they've received from the industry, according to a notice in Thursday's Federal Register. The session will begin on Tuesday, December 5th, at 8:30 a.m. in Room 107-A of the USDA Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250.

USDA's January 2006 hearing on make allowances in the Class III and IV formulas was criticized for not considering all elements of the formulas. To address this criticism, on June 28, 2006, USDA asked for additional proposals to revise and update the Class III and IV formulas, with the apparent intent of having a follow-up hearing after issuing a decision on the make allowance changes. These proposals, which were due on September 30, are all on the USDA website.

The December 5 workshop is intended to clarify the form and intent of the proposals before a hearing is called. In the formal Federal Order rulemaking process, once a hearing is called, the Department cannot discuss the merits of any proposal except in the hearing itself. USDA staff expects that this hearing will allow proponents to clarify their proposals and develop a more meaningful record for the formal hearing.

If you have any questions please contact Roger Cryan.

Associate Member Focus: M.E. Franks

Founded in 1948, M.E. Franks Inc. is a leading global supplier of dairy ingredients. They work closely with their customers to meet their supply chain and quality assurance requirements by sourcing ingredients through their international network of dairy suppliers. They also support their customers and suppliers by providing them market analysis and direction.

M.E. Franks Inc. was a pioneer in the Dairy Export Incentive Program during the 1980 and 90's. In recent years, their partners have benefited from participation in U.S. Food Aid programs and the development of functional dairy blends.

For more information contact Donald Street at 610-989-9688 or visit their website: www.mefranks.com