NMPF’s Government Relations team offers an issues update for the 2020 NMPF Virtual Town Hall.
Author: Alan Bjerga
NMPF’s Bjerga on the Dairy Economy and the 2020 Elections
NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses the way forward for dairy disaster assistance and the impact farmers could have on the 2020 election in key swing states, on RFD-TV.
NMPF’s Bjerga on the Importance of DMC Signup
Signup for the 2021 Dairy Margin Coverage begins on Tuesday, Oct. 13. NMPF’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Alan Bjerga, breaks down how DMC provided effective disaster assistance for farmers, and why 2021 is shaping up to be a year when participation will be important for all dairy producers. On RFD-TV.
https://www.rfdtv.com/story/42746824/national-milk-producers-federation-on-the-2021-dairy-margin-coverage-program
NMPF Applauds Latest Disaster Assistance Efforts, Calls for Further Legislation
The National Milk Producers Federation thanked President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for again supporting dairy in its latest round of disaster assistance to agricultural producers, as well as Congress for providing the funding in the CARES Act in the spring. NMPF pledged to work with USDA and Congress as they chart paths forward toward providing necessary stimulus to the struggling dairy economy.
“This latest round of CFAP assistance will help many family dairy farmers suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “It will not address the needs of all dairy farmers, but it will help bolster the safety net for many as we enter the fall and winter months.”
“We urge lawmakers to make agriculture a priority in its next round of legislation addressing coronavirus,” Mulhern said. “Dairy farmers have been especially hard-hit by supply-chain disruptions, given the year-round, perishable nature of dairy products, and many are still struggling to repair balance sheets after five years of low prices that were only beginning to recover before COVID-19 shutdowns hit.”
USDA’s so-called CFAP 2.0 package builds on support offered earlier this year and combines disaster assistance to farmers with targeted government purchases that stabilize markets hit hard by COVID-19 related disruptions to supply chains. Highlights include:
- A dairy payment amounting to $1.20-per-hundredweight on a farm’s production during the last nine months of 2020. Dairy payments will be based on actual milk production from April 1 to Aug. 31, 2020. Milk production for Sept. 1, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020, will be estimated by FSA, using daily average production from the April-August base period of known production.
- 100% of the payment will be made once a farm’s eligibility is determined, meaning there will be no 20% holdback as with earlier assistance.
- For dairy beef, producers are eligible for cattle inventory payment on bull calves and dairy steers, but not for breeding stock. The payment is $55-per-head on eligible cattle in inventory on a date between April and the end of August selected by the producer.
- Significantly, this round’s payment limitation provision has been expanded to include trusts and estates for both rounds of CFAP payments, meaning those who were disadvantaged by restrictive trust-related payment interpretations in the first round will have their situation resolved for that round as well as in the latest tranche of aid. The application of direct attribution is also modified so that payment limits will not be reduced based on ownership shares, providing more equitable support to dairy farmers of various ownership structures.
NMPF expressed concern that payment limits included in earlier CFAP assistance are maintained in this round. “We are disappointed the department has continued to include payment limits on this disaster assistance, which is inequitable to the many large farms that have been hard hit by milk price declines,” Mulhern said.
President Trump mentioned the payments last night during a campaign stop in Wisconsin, and this morning, the USDA posted the details on its CFAP website. Signup for the new round will begin on Monday and run through Dec. 11.
NMPF is activating its grassroots advocacy to assist in its efforts to meet dairy’s needs. More information on how to help can be found at NMPF’s new “Take Action” page. Additional resources to help the dairy community meet the coronavirus challenge can be found at www.nmpf.org/coronavirus
NMPF’s Bjerga Discusses Natural-Disaster Resources
NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses NMPF’s new resource page for dairy farmers experiencing natural disasters and how that effort, as well as NMPF’s coronavirus page, is set up to serve dairy farmers and all of agriculture in times of need, on the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast.
NMPF’s Castaneda Says U.S. Needs to Be Careful in Mexican Trade Issues
NMPF Senior Vice President for Policy Strategy and International Trade Jaime Castaneda says the U.S. needs to be careful in how it handles concerns about trade with Mexico of seasonal agricultural products, given the ripple effect Mexican trade has across agriculture. Castaneda also discussed the USMCA trade agreement, dairy sales to China and other issues on the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast.
NMPF’s Bjerga on USMCA, Need for Disaster Assistance
NMPF’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Alan Bjerga, discusses a Senate effort to keep Canada and Mexico accountable on USMCA dairy provisions, as well as the need for additional dairy disaster assistance including USDA commodity purchases, on RFD-TV.
NMPF’s Morris Says USMCA Must Be Protected
NMPF’s vice president for trade, Shawna Morris, talks about the importance of enforcing the dairy provisions of the USMCA trade agreement, including access to Canada’s market and the protection of common cheese names in Mexico, on the Adams on Agriculture podcast.
CCFN’s Castaneda Discusses Why Cheese Names Should Be Left Alone
Jaime Castaneda, the executive director of the Consortium for Common Food Names, discusses why nontariff barriers against cheeses that use common terms like havarti in their names harm American farmers, limit choices for consumers and have put farming and manufacturing jobs across an essential sector at risk. The chat on the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast comes in the wake of a Senate letter last week in which 61 U.S. senators asked for more protection of feta, parmesan and other common food names.
NMPF’s Bleiberg Breaks Down Congressional Plans for Dairy
Paul Bleiberg, NMPF’s vice president for government affairs, discusses where congressional assistance for dairy producers may be heading in the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast. Challenges include: appropriate aid for farms of differing sizes and structures; the extent of USDA food purchases for nutrition programs; and just where the Senate lands with its final package.
NMPF’s Detlefsen Discusses the Dietary Guidelines
Clay Detlefsen, NMPF’s senior vice president for regulatory affairs, discusses the science behind the Dietary Guidelines report released this week, as well as the report’s reaffirmation of dairy’s nutritional value. Detlefsen spoke on the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast.
NMPF’s Bjerga on Dairy Trade and “Sharing Our Story”
NMPF’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Alan Bjerga, discusses the challenges of enforcing the new USMCA trade agreement for dairy; also, a discussion of NMPF’s new “Sharing Our Story” effort, highlighting how dairy farmers have faced the challenges of coronavirus, on RFD-TV.
