Author: Theresa Sweeney

Regulatory Staff Protect and Advance Dairy

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney
  • Pushed for labeling integrity and FDA to enforce its own standards of identity, filing extensive comments in response to its draft guidance on plant-based beverage labeling
  • Personally urged FDA Commissioner Robert Califf to develop labeling standards for cell-based and synthetic “dairy” products
  • Successfully advocated for dairy cooperatives and their producer members at the National Conference of Interstate Milk Shipments to ensure they have a voice in any updates made to the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance
  • Filed comments on FDA’s proposed “healthy” definition pushing for milk, cheese and yogurt to qualify, thus better educating consumers on dairy’s nutritional benefits
  • Outlined animal health priorities with USDA APHIS

Regulatory work is often just as much about fighting against harmful rules, as it is pushing for positive change. Efforts this year have ranged from pressuring FDA to enforce its own standards of identity for milk and develop labeling standards for cell-based products to representing member views on issues including the biannual update of the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance and EPA PFAS regulations.

FDA’s draft guidance on labeling for plant-based beverages released in February encourages plant-based beverage manufacturers who choose to use dairy terms to voluntarily disclose their nutritional differences with real milk. NMPF regulatory staff submitted comments July 31 emphasizing the importance of transparent product labeling to ensure consumer understanding FDA’s need to enforce its own standards of identity for milk.

NMPF staff also elevated the need for FDA to develop labeling standards for cell-based products to end dairy product mislabeling and prevent a repeat of the plant-based labeling fiasco through a conversation and letter addressed to Commissioner Califf sent on June 26.

The biannual National Conference of Interstate Milk Shipments convened in April to revise the Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, with NMPF regulatory staff playing a vital role in the conference deliberations. NMPF submitted three proposals at the conference, dealing with on-farm biosecurity and defining equivalency – all of which had positive outcomes.

Following a proposed rule from FDA to update the labeling definition of “healthy” to align more closely with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), NMPF urged FDA to include a broader range of dairy products, thus educating consumers about dairy’s nutritional value and improve consumption closer to DGA recommendations.

NMPF in August met with USDA Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) leadership to discuss dairy’s domestic and international animal health priorities. Staff emphasized the importance of collaboration between industry and government on preparedness for foreign animal diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease.

To further NMPF’s antibiotic stewardship work, Chief Science Officer Jamie Jonker, Ph.D., was appointed to the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance to provide an animal health perspective to the group’s goal of strengthening global political momentum on the issue.

NMPF Economists Lead on Path to FMMO Modernization

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney
  • Led development of NMPF’s policy proposals to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Orders.
  • Requested national order hearing to amend five pricing provisions, as agreed unanimously by the NMPF Board.
  • Developed testimony and gathered witnesses in support of the FMMO modernization efforts in advance of the hearing.

The Economics team this year has led NMPF’s efforts to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, a complex and critical component of the industry’s future.

After nearly two years of work and more than 200 virtual and in-person meetings, NMPF’s FMMO efforts reached another milestone August 23 on the long path towards implementation. with the start of the national USDA hearing in Carmel, IN. NMPF’s Chief Economist, Peter Vitaliano, providing the first testimony of any of the interested parties presenting at the hearing, expected to last six weeks. Vitaliano’s initial testimony laid out the context for NMPF’s full proposal before he focused on the rationale for updating the milk component factors in the skim milk price formulas, the first of National Milk’s five proposals to amend the FMMO pricing provisions.

Before the hearing concludes, Vitaliano will testify another four times on NMPF’s other proposals to ensure the FMMO better reflects current market conditions. Those additional four proposals recommend that USDA:

  • Discontinue use of barrel cheese in the protein component price formula
  • Return to the “higher-of” Class I mover
  • Increase make allowances in the component price formulas; and
  • Update the Class I differential pricing surface.

In addition to Vitaliano, experts from NMPF member cooperatives along with dairy farmer leaders will be testifying in support of NMPF’s proposals. Throughout the process, NMPF staff, attorneys, and consultant/FMMO expert Jim Sleper will remain actively engaged in formulating strategy to achieve the best possible outcome for U.S. dairy farmers and their member cooperatives. Economics has also assisted Government Relations in advocating for Farm Bill language to direct USDA to conduct mandatory plant cost studies every two years to better inform future make allowance discussions.

Beyond the extensive Federal Order work, the Economics team provided the analytical and administrative backbone to the Cooperatives Working Together program, supporting the export of more than 600 million pounds milk equivalent of dairy products through August of this year. Additionally, the team has been helping members and farmers stay ahead of the market, publishing 40 market reports and delivering over 35 presentations so far this year.

NMPF Advances Dairy Priorities in Farm Bill, Ag Labor, Sustainability

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney
  • Advocated for farm bill policies that maintain and strengthen gains made in 2018
  • Prepared farmer cooperative members for farm bill listening sessions
  • Helped obtain a commitment from House leadership to work on ag labor reforms that would protect current workers, allow year-round sectors to access H-2A, and reform H-2A wages
  • Assisted bipartisan House ag labor working group in developing its report and recommendations on how to fix the broken ag workforce system
  • Helped advance bipartisan legislation to spur approval of innovative products to help farmers reduce enteric methane emissions.

Agricultural organization government relations teams are facing a dynamic legislative environment in 2023, a “farm bill year” that brings a heightened focus on agricultural and food policy in Congress. NMPF has successfully navigated this policy climate, seizing opportunities to advance on traditional farm-bill topics as well as agricultural labor reform and sustainability concerns that are among dairy farmers’ top policy priorities in 2023.

The farm bill due to expire Sept. 30 leads this year’s agricultural policy agenda. NMPF seeks to build on its successes in the last farm bill to strengthen the dairy safety net and provide producers with access to a range of risk management tools. NMPF supports updating the Dairy Margin Coverage program’s production history calculation to better reflect current data, as well as further strengthening key dairy risk management tools. As part of its effort toward modernizing the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, NMPF also is seeking to restore the previous “higher of” Class I mover formula in the most expeditious manner possible and advocating for language to direct USDA to conduct mandatory plant cost studies every two years to better inform future make allowance discussions.

NMPF cooperative members have voiced these key points across the country as the House Agriculture Committee has embarked on a nationwide producer listening tour intended to help Committee Chairman GT Thompson, R-PA, and Ranking Member David Scott, D-GA, craft a new law.

NMPF is also advancing the workforce needs of dairy farmers, even as lawmakers appear reticent to work on immigration reform beyond border security measures. NMPF and the Agricultural Workforce Coalition (AWC) in May worked with Congressman Dan Newhouse, R-WA, and other congressional champions to turn the controversy surrounding the Secure the Border Act (H.R. 2) into an opportunity to gain a commitment from House majority leadership to work on ag labor reforms to protect current workers, allow year-round sectors to access H-2A, and reform the H-2A wage. NMPF also assisted the House Ag Committee’s bipartisan ag labor working group to develop a report on the current problems with America’s ag labor system and draft a set of bipartisan recommended solutions. The working group plans to issue a preliminary report in early fall.

Following a historically productive 2022 on sustainability front through passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, NMPF has not slowed down in 2023.

Beyond farm bill conservation programs, NMPF and partners worked closely with Senators Roger Marshall, R-KS, and Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, to advance legislation to enable the Food and Drug Administration to review animal feed ingredients as food, not as drugs. That would help unlock animal feed ingredients to reduce enteric methane emissions by as much as 30 percent, a key role in dairy’s sustainability efforts once approved for use. The provision backed by NMPF and sponsored by the two senators secured a strong bipartisan vote of 19-2 for this bill in the Senate HELP Committee in order to smooth its path to eventual passage this fall.

A “farm bill Congress” is a busy one no matter what. After having laid significant groundwork this spring and summer, NMPF is eager this fall to support passage of a farm bill that improves dairy policy while also informing the important efforts of the House’s agriculture labor working group and making further legislative gains to give producers the stewardship tools they need. With another presidential election looming next year, NMPF is ready to seize what may be a last window of opportunity this fall to notch wins for U.S. dairy producers and the cooperatives they own.

August Update: FMMO Hearing Underway; Margins Below $4

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF capped an unusually busy August – traditionally a slower month in policy circles due to the congressional recess – with the beginning of the USDA Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing in Carmel, IN. The first comprehensive hearing on the FMMO system since 2000 is the result of more than two years of NMPF study, discussion and leadership, featuring more than 200 meetings and exhaustive, member-led examination of all issues as dairy farmers achieved overwhelming consensus behind its proposal.

That said, work is far from over. The first weeks of questioning and cross-examination have featured challenging questions regarding methodology, analysis and whether NMPF’s plan is best for the industry. Still, led by staff economists, cooperative efforts and dairy farmers, NMPF is entering September in a commanding position in a hearing that may last well into October.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of dairy farmers and their cooperatives, this industry is poised for progress as Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization is now in sight,” NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said in a statement on Aug. 23, the hearing’s first day. “NMPF’s comprehensive proposal for improvements to the system forms the basis of this hearing, and through our members’ depth of expertise and unmatched team of dairy farmers and cooperative analysts, we are prepared to advance our industry’s need for these updates.”

The FMMO hearing is occurring against a backdrop of the lowest producer margins since margin-protection insurance was introduced in the 2014 Farm Bill. The USDA announced that the July Dairy Margin Coverage margin dropped $0.13/cwt from June to $3.52/cwt. That will generate payments of $0.48/cwt payments for the free $4/cwt coverage level, and payments of $5.98/cwt for coverage the maximum $9.50/cwt Tier 1 coverage. The July all-milk price was $17.40/cwt, $0.50/cwt lower than in June, while the DMC July feed cost was $0.37/cwt of milk lower than June’s.

Available forecasts indicate the margin will increase rapidly during the following three months and stabilize around $9.50/cwt for the fourth quarter of this year.

In addition to FMMO activity, NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council organized an Aug. 3 meeting for APEC agricultural officials as part of the larger APEC Food Security Ministerial session in Seattle as part of the federation’s ongoing engagement with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), an organization that includes 15 of the top 20 U.S. dairy export markets. Mulhern spoke to the value of an incentive-based, voluntary approach toward improving the sustainability of U.S. agriculture and highlighted the dairy sector’s leadership in implementing climate-smart solutions.

NMPF tangibly expanded U.S. dairy exports in August through the Cooperatives Working Together program. CWT member cooperatives secured 67 contracts, adding 6.3 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 2,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 337,000 pounds of cream cheese and 137,000 pounds of whole milk powder to CWT-assisted sales in 2023. In milk equivalent, this is equal to 61.5 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Sales for the year so far through August are the total milk equivalent of 610.5 million pounds on a milkfat basis.

NMPF’s regulatory team, meanwhile, noted progress in the Waters of the U.S. issue, with a new Biden Administration rule offered in line with a Supreme Court decision last spring that limited the reach of EPA’s regulatory authority. While the rule will almost certainly be subject to litigation, the approach is an improvement of the most recent changes to WOTUS, which created regulatory uncertainty for farmers and represented government overreach, a point regulatory staff have made in numerous meetings with and comments to EPA over more than a decade.

Finally, the final day of August saw USDA announce the fiscal year 2023 notice of funding for CIG On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials, bringing to fruition an important win NMPF secured last year.

On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials support widespread adoption of innovative approaches, practices, and systems on working lands. The Inflation Reduction Act, which Congress passed last year, doubled annual funding for this program from $25 million to $50 million for four fiscal years. NMPF won language in the law to target this new funding toward initiatives that use feed and diet management to reduce enteric methane emissions, which can comprise roughly one-third of a dairy farm’s greenhouse gas footprint and represent a major opportunity for dairy to lead the agriculture sector in making sustainability gains.

Editor’s Note: September Newsletter Operating Instructions

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

For the second consecutive year, NMPF is devoting its September newsletter to updating members on progress made so far this year on crucial issues for dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own. While August has been a busy month for dairy – as you can see in our article updating the latest developments – Washington tends to take a slower pace in late summer because of the annual congressional recess. That makes Labor Day week a great chance to take stock of what’s been accomplished so far, before the hectic calendar of autumn takes hold and additional developments gather in speed and frequency, with a farm bill looming, critical legislation yet to pass and the Federal Milk Marketing Order process moving forward.

Here’s how to proceed: Start with the update, then work through this team-by-team update of NMPF’s work so far in 2023. We hope you find this account of challenges met so far this year to be useful. We look forward to more in the upcoming months. Thank you, again, for this opportunity to serve.

NMPF’s Galen Discusses Federal Order Hearing, WOTUS Updates

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Chris Galen, NMPF’s senior vice president of membership services and strategic initiatives, discusses the second week of USDA’s national hearing on Federal Order modernization, which focused on updating the milk composition formula. NMPF witnesses this week included member cooperative staff experts and dairy farmers, who effectively discussed the need to have the FMMO pricing formula reflect the rise in milkfat and solids over the past two decades. Galen also discussed EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers’ revised definition of the “waters of the U.S.”, which conforms to a recent Supreme Court ruling.

 

As Hearing Moves Forward, Dairy’s Path is Becoming Clearer

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) hearing is well underway, and thus far its progress is much as expected. With NMPF’s proposed modernization plan serving as its bedrock, the topics under discussion very much reflect the areas we identified as key areas of improvement to FMMOs. At the same time, cross-examination and counter-proposals from other parties have been thorough, and at times, off-base.

Unsurprisingly, those questions and perspectives reflect the vested interests of the questioners, with changes often presented as zero-sum games in which the questioner’s ideas and opinions just-so-happen to benefit its bottom line. Our position at NMPF is a little different. We recognize that any proposal USDA puts up to a producer vote will need to meet a balance of interests, as admittedly, some regions, sizes or business models may benefit more than others depending on the issue. That’s a simple fact of reality in the world of policy progress. In that sense, we’re not always arguing specifically for the benefit of one party – we’re defending the consensus we’ve crafted that provides the greatest benefit to the industry as a whole, dairy farmers, processors, and consumers alike, because that’s the only approach that will bring the lasting improvements for the entire dairy industry.

This is why we at NMPF can’t help but smile a bit when we hear someone bring up an idea that we considered – and discarded – as far back as two years ago, when we began holding more than 200 meetings among farmers, cooperative analysts and industry-leading economists that generated our comprehensive improvement plan. We’ve literally been there and done that. But interested parties must have their say, and differing proposals can be brought before USDA – and in fact, they should be, so as to serve the important interests of transparency and continued consensus.

This is where all those meetings, and the thorough preparation our cooperative-led team has made for this generational opportunity for improvement, reaps dividends. We’ve faced tough questions. We’ve developed industry-leading analysis. We’ve even “war-roomed” the hearing process itself, meeting to discuss anticipated critiques of our proposal and preparing authoritative responses. Our approach is exhaustive, but never exhausting, because we’ve always kept our eyes focused on the ultimate goal of a modernized, fairer, more robust system of milk pricing for dairy farmers. And with each step toward that goal, we feel we’re only gaining more momentum – one that in the end will benefit everyone, even those who, at this moment, are offering alternatives aimed at simply boosting their narrower self-interests.

Leadership isn’t easy. As this is being published, we still have several weeks of proposals to wade through, after which further discussion and USDA consideration begins. But thus far we’re gratified that our leadership on this issue has taken dairy thus far. We set out to modernize the system. We worked with USDA, which decided it was time to examine that modernization. Now we’re explaining and justifying our proposals, with dairy’s brightest and most articulate analysts, economists and farmers testifying to the value of what we painstakingly crafted and impressing upon all of agriculture just how seriously we’ve taken this mission. We look forward to showing why our comprehensive proposal – the unanimous choice of dairy cooperatives that produce more than two-thirds of the nation’s milk — is the best approach for dairy’s future.

This occasion is incredibly important, and we’re rising to it. We look forward to continued progress.

 

Jim Mulhern

President & CEO, NMPF

 

NMPF’s Galen Discusses NMPF’s Federal Order Modernization Efforts

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Chris Galen, NMPF’s senior vice president of membership services and strategic initiatives, discusses NMPF’s Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) modernization efforts. Dairy experts and government officials are gathered in Carmel, IN, for what’s expected to be five to seven weeks of testimony and discussion of proposals to update and improve the FMMO system, which last saw a major revision in 2000. Following USDA’s initial presentations, the hearing will then launch into discussions of specific issues placed within the scope of the hearing, including; milk composition; surveyed commodity products; Class III and Class IV formula factors; the Base Class I skim milk price; and Class I and Class II price differentials.

FMMO Hearing Heralds Farmer-Led Progress for Dairy, NMPF Says

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The first day of USDA’s once-in-a-generation hearing on federal milk pricing represents a critical moment for dairy’s future, one in which the National Milk Producers Federation intends to lead, President and CEO Jim Mulhern said today.

“Thanks to the tireless efforts of dairy farmers and their cooperatives, this industry is poised for progress as Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization is now in sight,” Mulhern said, as dairy experts and government officials gathered in Carmel, IN, for what’s expected to be five to seven weeks of testimony and discussion of proposals to update and improve the FMMO system, which last saw a major revision in 2000. “NMPF’s comprehensive proposal for improvements to the system forms the basis of this hearing, and through our members’ depth of expertise and unmatched team of dairy farmers and cooperative analysts, we are prepared to advance our industry’s need for these updates.”

Following USDA’s initial presentations, the hearing will then launch into discussions of specific issues placed within the scope of the hearing, including; milk composition; surveyed commodity products; Class III and Class IV formula factors; the Base Class I skim milk price; and Class I and Class II price differentials.

After the hearing’s conclusion, entities involved in the hearing then have a period of time to respond to the testimony, followed by a USDA draft decision, then more discussion, and ultimately a vote among dairy farmers on a final proposal, likely in the second half of 2024.

Because of the hearing’s complexity and the multi-step process of formulating and approving a final plan afterward, Mulhern noted that the hearing itself is far from the culmination of the process. Still, as the centerpiece of milk-pricing efforts, the next few weeks will be the most intense for public discussion of how to create a better milk-price system for dairy farmers – a moment NMPF has spent literally years waiting for.

“Though far from the final word, this national hearing stage is a critical phase that starts a foreseeable timeline for a new system to become real,” Mulhern said. “That’s exciting for our industry. It took a long time, and incredible effort, to get to where we are today. With the leadership I know our member cooperatives will provide, it can only lead to a brighter tomorrow.”

NMPF’s Galen on FDA’s Draft Plant-Based Labeling Guidance

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Chris Galen, NMPF’s senior vice president of membership services and strategic initiatives, discusses NMPF’s latest effort to prevent misleading labeling on Dairy Radio Now. While FDA’s draft guidance on plant-based beverages acknowledges the public health concern regarding nutritional confusion, it falls short of ending the decades-old problem of misleading plant-based labeling using dairy terminology, he says. Galen discusses the comments NMPF submitted to FDA this week that emphasize the importance of transparent product labeling to ensure consumer understanding and informed purchasing decisions.