The Dairy Margin Coverage Program and other federal risk management programs have served farmers well during the coronavirus crisis and will continue to offer effective aid, as long as farmers participate, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson said in an NMPF podcast.

“Dairy now has, I think, the best safety net of any part of agriculture, especially for small dairy farmers,” said Peterson, a Democrat from Minnesota, in the podcast released today. “They, no doubt, have the best safety net that there is right now, if they utilize it.”

Peterson also said that emergency aid provided by Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has been necessary to keep farmers afloat – but financial risks to farms haven’t ended. He also reflected on how politics has evolved during his time in Washington and his own place in it as one of its most conservative Democrats.

To listen to the full discussion, click here. You can also find this and other NMPF podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file below. Please attribute information to NMPF.

Dairy farmers nationwide are taking the initiative to protect their workforce, with producers adjusting their operations and refining protocols to mitigate risk while also preventing and controlling the spread of coronavirus. The farm workforce is not immune to this public health crisis, and managers must remain vigilant so as not to jeopardize the health of their workforce, their families and the community at large, as well as business continuity of the farm.

New and updated guidance for the prevention and management of coronavirus on dairy farms is listed below, along with a compilation of federal assistance offerings for which many producers are eligible. Visit www.nmpf.org/coronavirus for additional resources and the latest updates.

WORKFORCE CORONAVIRUS PREVENTION & MANAGEMENT

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) have issued new and updated guidance to minimize the risk of coronavirus to dairy farmers, family, employees and essential professional and service providers.

• Interim Guidance for Agriculture Workers and Employers, CDC and U.S. Department of Labor
• Agricultural Employer Checklist for Creating a COVID-19 Assessment and Control Plan, CDC
• Dairy Farmer Handbook on Coronavirus Prevention and Management, NMPF
• Recommended Protocols for Dairy Farms When an Employee Tests Positive for COVID-19, NMPF
• Staying Proactive on the Farm: COVID-19, Adapted from Dairy Farmers of America materials
• Poster: What You Need to Know Now About Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Your Dairy, Alltech

Resources in Spanish

• Interim Guidance for Agriculture Workers and Employers, CDC and U.S. Department of Labor
• Dairy Farmer Handbook on Coronavirus Prevention and Management, NMPF
• Staying Proactive on the Farm: COVID-19, Adapted from Dairy Farmers of America materials
• Poster: What You Need to Know Now About Coronavirus (COVID-19) on Your Dairy, Alltech
• Video: What is a Virus and How Can We Protect Our Loved Ones? Alltech

AVAILABLE FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

The federal government has responded to NMPF’s assessment of dairy’s needs amid the coronavirus crisis, offering payments to producers and purchases of dairy products, along with replenished loan programs to assist small businesses. Eligible farmers are encouraged to apply for assistance to mitigate losses they have incurred over the past several months.

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is accepting CFAP applications through August 28, 2020. Submit an application online or call and set up an appointment with the local USDA Farm Service Agency to apply. To date, 20,000 dairy farmers have received more than $1.2 billion in payments through this program.

• USDA Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Webpage
• USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program: Frequently Asked Questions by Dairy Farmers
• What Dairy Farmers Need to Know About the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program

The Small Business Administration is accepting EIDL and EIDL Advance applications. Funds are distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

• COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Webpage
• COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Application
• What Dairy Farmers Need to Know About COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans

Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

The Small Business Administration’s PPP provides forgivable loans for businesses that meet certain criteria.

• Paycheck Protection Program Webpage
• Paycheck Protection Program Details and Guidance
• What Dairy Farmers Need to Know About the Paycheck Protection Program
• Paycheck Protection Program Eligible Lenders

The National Milk Producers Federation said it was pleased that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s final report reaffirms dairy’s crucial role in a nutritious diet but expressed concern that the committee failed to recognize newer, broader science that shows the benefits of dairy foods at all fat levels.

“The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee today restated what consumers already know – that regular dairy consumption offers essential nutrition that nourishes people throughout their lives,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, the largest organization of U.S. dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own. “Across different types of diets and throughout all stages of life, dairy products provide the nutrients people need to be healthy.”

But Mulhern said it was disappointing that the committee largely reflected long-held assumptions on saturated fat, despite numerous studies that have called traditional anti-fat guidance into question.

“We repeatedly called on the committee to take a fresh look at multiple studies that show beneficial or neutral effects of dairy on chronic disease risk at all fat levels,” Mulhern said. “Unfortunately, the DGAC report does not reflect this newer science.”

The DGAC’s final scientific advisory report, submitted to the secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services and released today, notes that Americans overall need more dairy in their diets, with 88 percent of them falling short of recommendations. That figure includes 79 percent of 9-13-year-olds, who rely heavily on the school-lunch program to meet nutritional needs. The report also highlights dairy’s unique place as a provider of key nutrients that otherwise would be under-consumed in American diets.

• Dairy is recommended for consumption within all three healthy eating patterns featured in the report, with three servings per day recommended in the Healthy U.S. style eating pattern and Healthy Vegetarian Style patterns and two servings per day in the Healthy-Mediterranean pattern;
• The committee recognized milk as a nutrient-rich beverage that contributes positively to under-consumed nutrients, including potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, vitamins A and D, and others;
• Low-fat and nonfat dairy foods are recommended as nutrient-dense building blocks of a healthy diet; and
• In the committee’s first-ever recommendations for birth through 24 months, yogurt and cheese are recognized as complementary feeding options for infants ages 6-12 months, and dairy foods (milk, cheese and yogurt) are included in healthy eating patterns for toddlers 12-24 months.

In a world of “lies, damned lies, and statistics,” plant-based marketing combines all three.

A pro tip: When reading about the alleged competition between dairy products and plant-based beverages, carefully note whether the statistics being used are based on value – the amount of money people spend on something — or volume, the amount of a product people actually drink. Both have their use — but they are often used by vegan advocates to paint an inaccurate picture of what consumers prefer.

Plant-based activists  like to measure by value, with its built-in bias toward more expensive products. But slick marketing campaigns cost a lot of money. Thus, plant-based beverages cost more than dairy: $6.95 per gallon on average this year, versus $4.12 per gallon for milk. So far this year (through June 14), milk sales are $6.96 billion, while consumers spent $1.16 billion on overpriced plant-based beverages – that’s 86 percent of the pie compared to 14 percent. Put this way, milk outsells plant-based by a 6 to 1 margin when calculated by value.

But that’s not a measure of what people are drinking. Milk isn’t consumed by dollars, it’s consumed by people. To understand consumer preferences, volume is the clear determinator. Through mid-June, consumers have bought 1.7 billion gallons of milk, a figure that’s outpacing last year because of rising retail demand. Plant based alternatives? 0.17 billion gallons year-to-date. Measuring by volume, the percentages are 91 percent and 9 percent — more than 10 to 1 in favor of milk.

Inappropriate use of value-versus-volume measurements is one trick plant-based marketers use to make their products appear more popular than they are. It would seem harmless, except that  it is designed to confuse perceptions of what’s actually happening in the marketplace. Of course, when the entire plant-based sector is based on confusing consumers, using dairy terms used for non-dairy products, then exploiting dairy’s “health halo” by using those terms, we in dairy are not surprised.

But we still need to confront it, because a fair marketplace is a transparent marketplace.  And p.r. hype using disingenuous numbers isn’t transparent – until you explain it for what it is, and show how the statistics are used to support all the damned lies.

The National Milk Producers Federation praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture for taking a critical step in modernizing Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) preparedness for U.S. dairy farmers through its initial purchase of $27.1 million in foot-and-mouth disease vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank.

The initial purchase culminates a multi-year effort by NMPF and other livestock organizations working with USDA to update U.S. preparedness for a Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak.

“NMPF appreciates the leadership shown by Congress in including FMD preparedness in the 2018 Farm Bill and USDA in moving forward with implementation,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “A modernized vaccine bank signals appropriate vigilance against a threat that, while not a present danger, is always a potential risk.”

The U.S. has not had an FMD outbreak since 1929. Still, recent foreign animal disease outbreaks in the U.S. of avian influenza and porcine epidemic diarrhea has focused attention on the importance of preparedness for other diseases, including FMD, for which outbreaks would have profound effects on international trade and animal health.

NMPF’s Board of Directors in 2014 endorsed a set of FMD priorities for the U.S. dairy industry, including modernizing the FMD vaccine bank, which enabled NMPF to advocate for dedicated funding in the 2018 Farm Bill. This first purchase agreement for FMD vaccine is part of a multi-year USDA commitment to modernize the FMD vaccine bank.

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is in effect, boosting opportunities for dairy producers. But enforcement vigilance will be necessary to make sure the deal meets its potential, said Shawna Morris, vice president for trade at the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

“Our work’s not done. This is not a victory party and on-to-the-next-thing,” Morris said in an NMPF podcast released today. “We have a lot of work cut out for us in enforcing those provisions the U.S. negotiated, especially with the Canadians.” To listen to the full discussion, click here. You can also find this and other NMPF podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

The USMCA Agreement is in effect, boosting opportunities for dairy producers. But enforcement vigilance will be necessary to make sure the deal meets its potential.

CWT assisted member cooperatives in securing 17 contracts to sell 1.014 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 1.543 million pounds of whole milk powder, and 672,410 pounds of cream cheese. The products will go to customers in Asia, and South America. The product will be shipped during the months of June through November 2020

These contracts bring the 2020 total of the CWT-assisted product sales contracts to 21.859 million pounds of cheese, 6.246 million pounds of butter, 18.450 million pounds of whole milk powder, 3.606 million pounds of cream cheese and 1.960 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat. These transactions will move the equivalent of 558.444 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis overseas.

Exporting dairy products is critical during these challenging times to the viability of dairy farmers and their cooperatives across the country.  Whether or not a cooperative is actively engaged in exporting cheese, butter, anhydrous milkfat, cream cheese, pasteurized process cheese, or whole milk powder, the moving products into world markets is essential. CWT provides a means to move domestic dairy products to overseas markets by helping to overcome U.S. dairy’s trade disadvantages.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

All cooperatives and dairy farmers are encouraged to add their support to this important program. Membership forms are available at http://www.cwt.coop/membership.

The new Waters of the United States rule, now known as the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, on June 22 took effect in 49 states. But even before the rule had taken effect, there were already several organizations and states bringing court cases against it.

One lawsuit was brought by 17 states in the Northern District of California requesting an injunction to block the rule from taking effect. In a win for the rule and for dairy farmers, this request was denied June 19. However, just hours later, a district court judge issued a preliminary injunction for only the state of Colorado, which the Department of Justice will now appeal. NMPF was pleased with the ruling in California; still, more lawsuits are expected, making it likely that a patchwork of different rules may develop, as has long been the case with navigable-waters rules.

NMPF has long battled to prevent and Water of the U.S. rule from overreaching and is pleased with the new Navigable Waters rule. The new rule establishes the scope of federal regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act, narrowing Federal jurisdiction. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule includes four simple categories of jurisdictional waters and provides specific exclusions for many water features that traditionally have not been regulated.