NMPF submitted comments to USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Aug. 21 supporting enhancements to the National List of Reportable Animal Diseases.  These proposed changes will streamline state and federal cooperative animal disease detection, response, and control efforts.

In addition to supporting the proposed enhancements to the National List of Reportable Animal Diseases, NMPF comments included detailed suggestions to provide additional clarity including:

• Clarity to ensure protection to individual privacy and confidential business information while collecting and reporting critical epidemiological information;
• Including the reporting of notifiable diseases in wildlife;
• Clarity on enforcement authority; and
• Recommendations to improve definitions for reporting requirements including “emergency,” “emerging,” “regulated,” and “immediate reporting.”

NMPF also encouraged USDA-APHIS to rapidly develop a single portal for both federal and state personnel to receive notifiable disease reports simultaneously, which would minimize paperwork for accredited veterinarians and laboratories. Dual reporting requirements would be made much less burdensome for the states, diagnostic laboratories, and other animal health professionals with such a new information technology system.

Zoonotic and foreign animal diseases remain an ever-present risk to U.S. dairy farmers and their animals, and domestic and international confidence in purchasing U.S. dairy products is intimately tied to the health of the U.S. dairy herd. A foreign animal disease incursion would disrupt the nation’s ability to maintain or expand exports of US dairy products valued at $6.02 billion, or 14.5 percent of production, in 2019.

Building on the robust support that NMPF received for its most recent grassroots advocacy campaign to comment on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report, the organization’s website has added a permanent feature offering advocates a one-stop-shop for current advocacy efforts. Dairy advocates also have the option to sign up to receive alerts and stay informed on how they can influence federal policies crucial to U.S. dairy farmers and their cooperatives.

NMPF’s new “Take Action” page represents an evolution in grassroots advocacy that takes advantage of  the increased opportunities industry advocates have to directly connect to federal officials and to organize on behalf of important issues. The central role federal policies play in the dairy economy, from farmer assistance and nutrition guidelines to international trade rules, makes it increasingly important for dairy farmers and their allies to speak up and make their voices heard.

The new page makes available tools dairy advocates can use to send an email, make a call and use social media to engage with lawmakers in a centralized, user-friendly format. Current advocacy opportunities include writing a letter to urge congressional leaders to prioritize dairy in upcoming disaster assistance and sharing stories about how agriculture labor reform inaction impacts dairy farms and communities.

NMPF and IDFA submitted joint comments Aug. 13 to the re-opened docket on permitting the use of ultrafiltered milk in cheese, saying that the practice should be allowed. This docket, originally opened in 2006, has been dormant for the past 14 years, but was revived   to receive information and further comment on current industry practices regarding the use of fluid UF milk and fluid UF nonfat milk in the manufacture of standardized cheeses and related cheese products, and the declaration of fluid UF milk and fluid UF nonfat milk when used as ingredients in standardized cheeses and related cheese products.

“Our position is based on the simple fact – which FDA has already recognized in proposing to allow for the use of UF milk in standardized cheese – that the use of ultrafiltration in the cheesemaking process “has no material effect on the final cheese process,” NMPF and IDFA stated in their comments. The comments go on to touch on three main points:

• Liquid Ultrafiltered and liquid microfiltered milk should be permitted in making standardized cheeses;
• Ultrafitered and microfiltered milk should just be labeled as “milk” on the ingredient statement; and
• The ultrafiltered and microfiltered milk may be made in the same plant or brought in from another dairy plant in liquid form only.

The use of ultrafiltered milk has many benefits in cheese processing. It creates an efficient way to get milk to cheese plants that are a large distance apart. Transportation of UF milk is often more cost-efficient, because unnecessary water is removed through filtration before shipment. Finally, it reduces the environmental impact of cheese making by shipping more milk in fewer loads.

NMPF urges FDA to re-evaluate its temporary  enforcement discretion position on ingredient labeling of ultrafiltered milk and make it permanent and expand the proposal to include microfiltered milk in cheesemaking.

The critical role that U.S. dairy exports play in Wisconsin’s economy and beyond took center stage at a virtual town hall Sept. 1 co-hosted by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council and organized by Farmers for Free Trade, a coalition of pro-trade farm organizations, as part of an ongoing “AgTalks” series generating discussion of important issues on agriculture and trade.

The event featured NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern and panelists from across all aspects of Wisconsin’s dairy supply chain, including and Jeff Lyon CEO of NMPF member cooperative FarmFirst. Panelists discussed how expanding dairy trade opportunities brings tangible benefits to America’s dairy farmers, processors, exporters and rural communities.

“America’s dairy farmers help produce high-quality dairy products that are renowned around the world. These exports drive economic growth here at home and create new jobs in rural communities that have borne the brunt of years of recession. . We cannot accept unjust trade barriers that limit our export dairy market access.” The dairy industry in Wisconsin, and across the country, is counting on the U.S. government to help open new doors and strengthen our international supply chains through a robust and forward-leaning trade policy,” said Mulhern.

Other featured guests included moderator Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council; Jeff Schwager, President of Sartori Cheese; Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin; and Randy Romanski, Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture.

For those who were unable to attend the Wisconsin AgTalks Town Hall, a recording of the event can be found here.

The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service once again approved the FARM Animal Care Program’s animal welfare standards, determining that the program’s 4^th version meets the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Specification. FARM was the first animal-care program in the world to have its updated standards verified through this process.

“The ISO certification for the FARM Program demonstrates its importance and validates our industry’s commitment to animal care not only domestically but also in the world market,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, which administers the FARM program.

The assessment to the ISO standard determines whether animal welfare programs meet international standards for animal care as set by an independent standards-setting organization. FARM was evaluated to ensure that the standards in Version 4.0 of its Animal Care program meet the highest quality in species-specific welfare practices.

The USDA verification signifies to FARM Program participants that its standards are among the best in the world. It also signals to consumers they can have confidence their dairy products were produced in accordance with the highest level of science-based animal care.

FARM was the first livestock program in the world recognized for the technical specification in 2018. It repeated the USDA verification process to provide an additional level of assurance for the improvements made to the program in its fourth iteration.

The monthly margin under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program for July was $12.41 per cwt. This was an increase of $2.42 per cwt. from the June margin. The milk price increased by $2.40 per cwt., from $18.10 per cwt. in June to $20.50 per cwt. in July. The feed cost calculation for July was just $0.02 per cwt. lower than in June.

Since March, the milk price has been by far the most volatile component of the DMC margin, showing month-to month changes, either down or up, that have averaged $2.83 per cwt. By contrast, the monthly changes in the feed cost component have averaged just $0.19 per cwt., and have been all declines, during that same period. Even the individual items in the feed cost formula have been relatively stable, with monthly price changes since March averaging, on a per hundredweight of milk basis, $0.15 for corn, $0.05 for soybean meal, $0.04 for all alfalfa, and $0.06 for dairy-quality alfalfa.

The pandemic is not yet through gyrating the milk price. Current dairy futures anticipatie a drop of well over $3 per hundredweight in the U.S. average all-milk price during the two months from July to September. The milk price outlook for the fall months has weakened in recent weeks as the second wave of Covid-19 infections continues, darkening the outlook for dairy use in food service and schools, and doing the same for the overall economic outlook. The current delay by Congress in agreeing to another pandemic relief package has added to this uncertainty as well.

The USDA-sponsored DMC Decision Tool is currently anticipating a drop in the margin of $3.30 per cwt. from July to September, with small payments for $9.50 per cwt. coverage occurring in both September and October, as shown in the chart below.

The DMC information page on NMPF’s website offers a variety of educational resources to help farmers make better use of the program.

 

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee’s scientific report reaffirms dairy’s important role in a healthy diet, but government officials need to take into account evolving science that shows the benefits of dairy fats when it releases its final report, said Miquela Hanselman, NMPF’s manager for regulatory affairs, during a virtual meeting of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services discussing the report August 11.

“The committee, correctly in our view, maintained dairy as its own group and did not allow the inclusion of any plant-based beverages or foods other than fortified soy beverage,” Hanselman said.

The committee also acknowledged dairy’s unique and important nutritional package and included it in food recommendations developed for children ages 6-24 months, the first time the panel gave that age group a specific focus. Still, the committee’s work is unfinished, Hanselman said. While pleased with most of the committee’s work, NMPF was disappointed that the committee didn’t include newer science on dairy fats that would better place full-fat dairy products within the healthy eating patterns the committee identified.

In addition to submitting both written and oral comments to USDA and HHS, NMPF also created a Call-to-Action, rallying 186 dairy advocates to reaffirm dairy’s positive role in the diet and ensuring that dairy’s specific concerns provide a distinct flavor to the full buffet of comments government officials will review as they craft the final 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. That document is expected to be released later this year.

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) is poised to bring tangible benefits to America’s dairy farmers and cooperatives, but only if its dairy-related provisions are fairly implemented and fully enforced.

A broad, bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in August asked the U.S. government to ensure that Canada and Mexico uphold their trade obligations. Two letters were sent by lawmakers in the House and Senate.

The August 13 House letter was signed by a broad bipartisan coalition of 104 lawmakers, led by Representatives Ron Kind (D-WI), Tom Reed (R-NY), Collin Peterson (D-MN), Glenn “GT” Thompson (R -PA), Anthony Brindisi (D-NY), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Xochitl Torres Small (D-NM), and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH).

Senators Tina Smith (D-MN) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) spearheaded a second letter signed by a bipartisan group of 25 Senators on August 25, writing that “It is imperative that Canada and Mexico deliver upon their agreed upon commitments related to dairy products.”

“USMCA is a modernized trade deal that represents new opportunities for our farmers and processors after years of rural recession and the new challenges presented by the current crisis. We must utilize USMCA’s enforcement mechanisms to bring home its hard-fought wins for America’s dairy farmers,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, following the House letter.

Specific provisions of concern to U.S. dairy highlighted in each letter include Canada’s administration of its dairy TRQs, the full and transparent elimination of Classes 6 and 7 and related dairy pricing program disciplines, and the enforcement of side-letter agreements with Mexico that protect market access for U.S. common names cheeses.

With talks on a new round of federal stimulus to deal with the economic effects of this year’s coronavirus pandemic stalled, NMPF is urging USDA to make the best use of the funds it already has while continuing to prod Congress toward further funding.

NMPF joined 27 other agricultural organizations on a letter Aug. 7 urging Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to extend the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program’s (CFAP) August 28 sign-up deadline and to exercise additional flexibility in payments to producers.  NMPF included language in the letter urging USDA to take a fairer approach to CFAP’s direct attribution rules and to the treatment of farms held in trust as corporations, to maximize benefits to dairy farmers of all sizes. NMPF also added language to the letter urging reconsideration of the CFAP payment limitation as a path forward is contemplated for spending the additional $14 billion provided to the Commodity Credit Corporation.

USDA responded to the letter with an extension of the CFAP sign-up deadline to Friday, September 11.

When Congress adjourned for its annual August recess, negotiations between Republicans and Democrats over a fifth round of coronavirus relief had stalled, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) meeting frequently with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in attempts to reach a bipartisan agreement on another relief package.

The two parties’ respective opening offers were the House-passed HEROES Act and the Senate Republicans’ HEALS proposal.  Issues ranging from unemployment benefits to state and local aid have dogged negotiations, but agriculture is unlikely to be a major stumbling block to reaching a deal. NMPF will continue to advocate for equitable dairy disaster assistance to producers of all sizes and for enhanced milk donation opportunities and robust government purchases of dairy items.

NMPF will continue to work closely with the Department and its allies in Congress to secure better treatment for producers under existing and subsequent rounds of coronavirus-related assistance to producers.

The long wait for normalcy that’s only growing longer as the COVID-19 pandemic reaches its half-year mark of disruption is excruciating for many farmers and their families.

They’re waiting to see when schools reopen nationwide. Waiting for the latest news on a coronavirus vaccine. Waiting for the conclusion of a difficult political season. And, for dairy farmers struggling through a rollercoaster year, waiting to see whether Congress can come to agreement on disaster assistance that may at least somewhat salvage bottom lines damaged by ongoing economic disruptions.

But waiting doesn’t mean being passive; knowing that much is beyond anyone’s control doesn’t mean giving up on trying to improve farmer lives. Pursuing those improvements for our members is what we do in Washington. And even as elected officials start thinking more about November ballots (or September and October ballots, this mail-driven election season) than legislation, much can be done to address the needs of dairy as we continue the struggle to weather this pandemic.

First things first: Despite valuable and important measures to date, dairy’s economic situation remains precarious. USDA’s badly needed CFAP program has bolstered many farmers’ cash flows (and its deadline for application has been extended to Sept. 11, thanks to USDA heeding the requests of NMPF and other agriculture groups), and economic stimulus in the form of USDA dairy-product purchases for distribution to struggling families did wonders for dairy markets in the dark days of April through June.

Those efforts, combined with proactive actions from farmers and cooperatives to better align supply with pandemic-depleted demand, fueled a rebound as dramatic as the decline. The comeback was so decisive, in fact, that normal price swings fell momentarily out of whack, with record-shattering cheese prices outpacing fluid-milk gains to the point of triggering negative Producer Price Differentials (PPDs) in milk checks in June and July.

It’s important to remember that, while it is frustrating to see negative PPDs, they have been the product of a rapidly improving price picture – a sign of a real market recovery that occurred when forceful measures needed to work, and did. Without the actions that created the price recovery there would have been no or very small negative PPDs, but overall milk prices would have been much lower.

And the phenomenon will be short-lived as relative prices among different classes of milk return to more normal relationships. But even here, there’s a rub. Part of the reason negative PPDs will shrink is because cash cheese prices fell hard from mid-July and into the first part of August and will take milk prices back down when this drop shows up in milk checks. The possibility remains that Dairy Margin Coverage payments, which at one point seemed likely to be limited to spring months, may be triggered again later this year.

Based on current price calculations, dairy-farmer income in September could be quite a bit less than it was in July because of lower product prices, making the outlook for the rest of the year more challenging than producers were hoping for in mid-summer. That brings policy needs into clearer focus and makes additional disaster assistance a higher priority.

Congress still has time to – and must – pass another COVID-19 relief package when lawmakers return this month. Negotiations have stalled over several issues, including the scope and duration of enhanced unemployment benefits as well as state and local aid. Fortunately, both the House-passed HEROES Act and the Senate-proposed HEALS Act both include additional funding for agriculture. The HEROES Act provides greater specifics, including:

• Authorizing additional direct payments based on second-quarter losses without imposing payment limits;
• Creating a new dairy donation program to help farmers and consumers;
• And making enhancements related to the Dairy Margin Coverage program.

While the HEALS Act does not include specific directives, it does provide new funding to USDA, which will allow for additional disaster aid. Along with resolving these differences, negotiators also must determine the fate of additional nutrition assistance that’s important to helping the millions of Americans who face food insecurity and need dairy to nourish their families.

NMPF is advocating for additional relief for dairy producers that reflects the losses they have suffered, no matter the size of an operation. We are also working with Congress on a dairy donation program that can maximize dairy consumption among food-insecure populations.

Direct purchases of dairy products for distribution to consumers in need is a win-win, and they will be critically important. Disaster assistance paid directly to producers is very helpful and always appreciated; still, the market price impact on all milk production through well-targeted purchases ripples through the entire rural economy, stabilizing markets and maintaining key links on the chain from farm to fork that benefit everyone.

We of course are working for assistance on all fronts – but we know from long experience just how powerful a tool these product purchases can be.

Assistance continues to be needed, and we know how effective it can be. It’s as important as ever for Congress to act and for USDA to use the tools it has available. Despite headlines, the end of this crisis is not yet in sight. Our efforts will continue through the long haul.

The critical role that U.S. dairy exports play in Wisconsin’s economy and beyond took center stage at a virtual town hall today. This town hall was co-hosted by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and Farmers for Free Trade, a coalition of pro-trade farm organizations, as part of an ongoing series titled AgTalks.

Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC, moderated the event, which featured panelists from across all aspects of Wisconsin’s dairy supply chain. The clear consensus of the panelists was that expanding dairy trade opportunities will bring tangible benefits to America’s dairy farmers, processors, exporters and rural communities.

“America’s dairy farmers help produce high-quality dairy products that are renowned around the world. These exports drive economic growth here at home and create new jobs in rural communities that have borne the brunt of years of recession. We cannot accept unjust trade barriers that limit our export dairy market access. The dairy industry in Wisconsin, and across the country, is counting on the U.S. government to help open new doors and strengthen our international supply chains through a robust and forward-leaning trade policy,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF.

“It is important that policymakers continue to not only advance new trade agreements to further open markets for U.S. dairy, but also enforce the agreements that are already on the books. We know that dairy exports will help build a brighter future for our industry, from the thousands of proud Wisconsin dairy farmers to the multi-generation business exporting world-class cheeses abroad. It was an honor to moderate this important discussion and I am grateful to our panelists for their timely insights into what matters the most to U.S. dairy at this critical juncture,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC.

“We are proud to be a family-owned business with a long legacy of sharing Wisconsin dairy with the world. We would like to continue serving customers around the world, but unfair rules and unbalanced trade relationships have at times made expanding exports difficult. This harms our dedicated workers and our supplying farmers. Preserving and growing dairy exports is not just an economic issue, it’s a people issue,” said Jeff Schwager, President of Sartori Cheese.

“It’s true what they say: America’s farmers feed the world. Wisconsin dairy farmers are proud to be a part of this agricultural tradition. Our farming families produce nutritious and wholesome milk that ends up in dozens of international markets as ingredients or dairy products. It is important that the U.S. government continue to work towards fairer trade rules, and we’ll continue to provide Wisconsin milk to help feed families around the world,” said Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.

“The current health care crisis has highlighted the resiliency of America’s dairy farmers and the importance of ensuring that U.S. dairy products can continue to move smoothly to overseas markets. It is critical that our lawmakers support our hardworking dairy farmers by continuing to fight for fair trade and the smooth export of American-made dairy products,” said Jeff Lyon, CEO, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative.

“Wisconsin is proud to be known as America’s Dairyland. Our dairy farmers, cooperatives and processers are an integral part of our state’s culture and a cornerstone of our economy. Trade is key to the health of Wisconsin’s dairy industry and its critical that we all work together to keep Wisconsin dairy exports moving,” said Randy Romanski, Secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

U.S. dairy exports and the crucial role they play will take center stage today starting at noon Eastern Time/11 a.m. Central Time at a virtual town hall featuring NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern and moderated by Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

Interested media and members of the public can still register here to attend the event.

“America’s dairy farmers help produce high-quality dairy products that are renowned around the world,” said Mulhern in prepared remarks for the town hall, part of an ongoing series titled AgTalks featuring discussions of trade and the rural economy co-hosted by the two organizations and Farmers for Free Trade, a coalition of pro-trade farmer groups.

“These exports drive economic growth here at home and create new jobs in rural communities that have borne the brunt of years of recession,” Mulhern said. “We cannot accept unjust trade barriers that limit our export dairy market access.”

Each AgTalks event has focused on a different state, with today’s talk focused on Wisconsin. Also speaking at the event are Jeff Schwager, President of Sartori Cheese; Chad Vincent, CEO of Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin; Jeff Lyon, CEO, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative; and Randy Romanski, Secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

More information on AgTalks can be found here.