The National Milk Producers Federation thanked President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for supporting dairy in USDA’s $16 billion agriculture payments plan, details of which were released today. Still, current aid levels will be insufficient to meet the needs of milk producers and other agricultural sectors facing massive disruption from the coronavirus crisis. NMPF will continue to work with administration officials and members of Congress to achieve adequate aid for all dairy producers, whose projected losses of $8.2 billion, based on USDA data, place them among the hardest-hit U.S. agricultural commodities.

“We welcome this federal dairy assistance, which is critically needed as the nation’s dairy farmers face an unprecedented market collapse,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, the largest U.S. dairy-farmer organization. “USDA’s plan will provide relief to many farmers, and we appreciate the department’s adjustments to payment limits, an issue which we raised prior to the department finalizing this package.

“Even so, we believe more flexibility in payment limits and some changes to payment calculations will be needed in future rounds of funding to meet the unprecedented challenges faced by producers of all sizes, in dairy and throughout agriculture. We look forward to working with federal officials and lawmakers on additional assistance.”

NMPF is still reviewing details of the latest USDA plan.

The direct assistance to farmers follows USDA’s acceptance of an initial round of contracts last week to buy $317 million in dairy products as part of its Farmers to Families Food Box Program, which is bolstering both milk prices and dairy supply chains. Mulhern applauded USDA’s planned large purchase of milk and dairy products for distribution through food banks and other non-profit organizations. “All that USDA can do to buy and quickly distribute dairy products to those in need will immediately help lift depressed markets,” he said.

In addition to the White House and USDA, NMPF thanked the many members of Congress who have urged USDA to provide robust assistance to dairy and will be essential to achieving additional assistance. “A strong bipartisan, bicameral, nationwide push from members of Congress will be necessary to enact the significant dairy aid package needed for farmers to survive,” Mulhern said. “We thank our champions in Congress for their tireless advocacy and hope more will join as we work together to preserve dairy farms and support the U.S. economy.”

The HEROES Act, passed by the House of Representatives last week, includes important provisions to provide relief to dairy producers, and the Senate is slated to begin work on a measure in the coming weeks.

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 www.nmpf.org. Additional resources to help the dairy community meet the coronavirus challenge can be found at www.nmpf.org/coronavirus.

The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), North American Meat Institute (NAMI), National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) and American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) commend the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a new examination guide published on Friday that will help ensure that generic terms are given adequate consideration and protection.

The new improvements are contained within an examination procedure that guides USPTO trademark examining attorneys to inform their review of applications. The revision significantly clarifies and improves review procedures for certain trademarks related to cheese or meat names, creating a more consistent process that will protect the interests of manufacturers, farmers and consumers of common food terms such as parmesan and bologna.

“The U.S. remains the preeminent leader on intellectual property (IP) rights and, given the critical importance of safeguarding the rights of consumers and other stakeholders in a balanced IP system, sets a global example for a system that fairly protects truly distinctive products and common name goods alike. This recent step further deepens U.S. leadership in this arena,” said CCFN Executive Director Jaime Castaneda.

The National Milk Producers Federation, U.S. Dairy Export Council and the International Dairy Foods Association jointly urged Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to use all tools at his disposal to “ensure high-quality, nutritious U.S. dairy products are made available to our international neighbors in need.”

“As a nation, we are blessed to have an abundance of dairy available, even during this difficult time. Taking steps to share that abundance with the world will provide a lifeline for regions where food is needed while supplying an additional outlet for American farmers to share their abundance of dairy products,” wrote Jim Mulhern, Tom Vilsack and Michael Dykes – the respective presidents and CEO’s of the three leading U.S. dairy organizations, in the letter dated May 18. “We encourage a focus in particular on countries that have indicated a food or nutrition deficit in their country during these times and that lack the infrastructure or resources to reliably deliver dairy supplies through robust commercial channels.”

Dairy farmers are facing some of the steepest losses of all major U.S. agricultural producers – potentially $8.2 billion, based on a comparison of current USDA projections with pre-crisis estimates. U.S. dairy supplies available for international distribution remain ample, making targeted food-aid shipped worldwide a promising avenue for helping populations struggling with localized hunger and the coronavirus crisis.

Additional resources on how the dairy community is meeting the coronavirus challenge – and how it can be effectively assisted – can be found at www.nmpf.org/coronavirus.

As U.S. dairy farmers and their cooperatives continue to weather the unique storm of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Milk Producers Federation today thanked the U.S. House of Representatives for supporting critical measures for dairy farmers and their industry partners in its HEROES Act slated for a vote later this week.

Dairy farmers continue to work around the clock to ensure a steady, healthy, and nutritious supply of milk. However, farmers have endured significant losses as the unprecedented collapse of foodservice markets has wiped out substantial dairy product demand. Dairy’s fortunes have been especially grim given milk’s perishability, and farmers of all sizes have suffered from these major losses.

NMPF appreciates that the HEROES Act includes multiple provisions to provide additional direct relief to dairy farmers based on the losses they face this year. The bill also includes NMPF-advocated provisions to strengthen opportunities for milk and dairy product donations to help farmers and consumers. Finally, the package provides important nutrition assistance to the millions of American families and households who are facing food insecurity during this difficult time.

“The dairy industry continues to grapple with difficulty and uncertainty on a scale we have not seen in our lifetimes. Dairy farmers are resilient and will continue to push through this challenge, but the help provided in the HEROES Act will make that burden less overwhelming. We thank the many members of Congress who have given voice to dairy’s urgent needs,” said NMPF president and CEO Jim Mulhern.

NMPF looks forward to continuing to work with Congress and the Trump Administration to provide important relief to all dairy farmers as this process continues.

The economic and health risks of coronavirus have many dairy producers on edge – but staying focused on the task at hand and remembering the value that dairy farming provides can help carry farmers through, says Emily Yeiser-Stepp, vice president at the National Milk Producers Federation and director of National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management, a.k.a. the FARM Program, in a new NMPF podcast.

“The noise that does exist in moments of crisis, like what we’re experiencing within the pandemic, does tend to heighten our stress and anxiety levels naturally,” said Yeiser-Stepp, author of a recent Hoard’s Dairyman article on helpful FARM resources and the value of establishing best-practice farm procedures.  “By defaulting to what we know, we inherently regain some control” over managing a crisis, she said. And that helps farms “stay focused on the task at hand to producing nature’s most nearly perfect product, milk.”

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

 

As the European Union (EU) is poised to begin government-financed intervention purchases of skim milk powder (SMP) and butter, dairy farmers and processors in key dairy-producing countries around the world are calling on the EU to avoid the market-distorting practices that have significantly harmed them and the broader global dairy market in the past.

A coalition of dairy organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay and the United States joined together in urging the EU not to repeat the inventory-building and extended market-price suppression it engaged in just a few short years ago.

Exporting large quantities of government-purchased SMP and butter at below-market rates onto the world market will prolong the deeply challenging environment under which dairy sectors are operating worldwide. The EU intervention program would artificially distort prices for an extended period and displace commercial competition just as the world begins to recover from the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The groups instead urge the EU to adopt measures that further spur consumption within the EU and encourage its producers to implement appropriate production practices to survive during this difficult time.

A coalition representing dairy industries from around the world issued the following joint statement:

“The European Commission must avoid dumping government-purchased SMP and butter on the world market and implementing policies that undermine global dairy markets under the guise of protecting its farmers. The EU’s market-distorting practices are harmful enough during normal operations. If used in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has dramatically eroded dairy prices, they would be disastrous to the world dairy market by prolonging the current crushing economic conditions. Global buyers of SMP and butter will have little incentive to bid up prices as long as the EU Government holds significant quantities in Intervention.

“It’s critical that the EU act now to put a long-term plan into place regarding how to handle its government-incentivized stockpiling given that the EU has a demonstrated history of dumping intervention purchases in a way that disrupts the world dairy market. The EU intervened in 2016-17 and held the equivalent of 16 percent of the global SMP market in government storage. It subsequently released the product on the world market over the next two years, unfairly undercutting international prices and harming the global dairy industry.”

“Farmers and dairy processors in our countries and many others around the globe are already in the fight of their lives, working hard every day to help keep the world well-nourished through this crisis. We are all dealing with great enough challenges already in our own markets. If the EU does not commit to avoid distorting global markets by dumping their excess intervention stocks onto the world market just as dairy sectors begin to recover, the more farmers and processors outside the EU could be forced to close their doors. We encourage the EU to implement policies that support greater utilization of dairy products with the goal to increase consumption, particularly with the consumers impacted most by the covid-19 outbreak.”

The groups issuing the statement include:

Argentina

Sociedad Rural Argentina (SRA)

Centro de la Industria Lechera Argentina (CIL)

 

Brazil

Sindicato da Indústria de Laticínios e Produtos Derivados no Estado São Paulo (SINDLEITE)

 

Central America

Federación Centroamericana de Productores Lácteos (FECALAC)

 

Chile

Federación de Productores de Leche (FEDELECHE)

 

Costa Rica

Cámara Nacional de Productores de Leche de Costa Rica (CNPL)

 

Ecuador

Centro de la Industria Láctea del Ecuador (CIL)

Asociación de Ganaderos (AGSO)

 

Guatemala

Cámara de Productores de Leche (CPL)

 

Mexico

Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Leche, A.C. (AMLAC)

Cámara Nacional de Industriales de la Leche de México (CANILEC)

Confederación Nacional de Organizaciones Ganaderas (CNOG)

 

Paraguay

Cámara Paraguaya de Industriales Lácteos (CAPAINLAC)

 

United States

International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA)

National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF)

U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC)

 

Uruguay

Cámara de la Industria Láctea del Uruguay (CILU)

 

NMPF’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Alan Bjerga, explains why dairy-revenue declines are being felt hardest now and how that makes USDA loss calculations key for future assistance, on RFD-TV.

The National Milk Producers Federation commended Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for pledging to buy $317 million in dairy products as part of its Farmers to Families Food Box Program, an amount that is expected to rise in the months ahead. The products will start being distributed “within days,” according to the USDA’s announcement.

“Innovative solutions are demanded in these unprecedented times, and I applaud USDA for its actions to provide nutritious dairy products to families in need,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, the largest U.S. dairy-farmer group.

The purchases are part of $1.2 billion in contracts for agricultural products that support American producers and communities in need through CARES Act funding generously provided by Congress.  A full list of approved suppliers will be posted on the Farmers to Families Food Box Program website at 5 p.m. Eastern Time today.

 

The National Milk Producers Federation expressed appreciation to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for including $120 million of cheese and butter among $470 million in Section 32 food purchases it announced today. The purchases are scheduled to occur in the next two months and are in addition to purchases previously announced in the CARES Act funding.

“These Section 32 purchases will help both Americans who need high-quality nutritious food as well as U.S. dairy farmers who are experiencing unprecedented losses from the COVID-19 national emergency,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, the largest U.S. dairy-farmer organization.  “The purchases will provide important and needed support to the dairy supply chain. We look forward to learning more details and to continue working with USDA on possible additional purchases.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration began accepting new Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance applications today at 12:00 PM EDT on a limited basis only, to provide relief to dairy farms and other U.S. agricultural businesses. The application is available here.

The Small Business Administration is encouraging all eligible agricultural businesses with 500 or fewer employees wishing to apply to begin preparing their business financial information needed for their application. During this application window, only agricultural business applications will be accepted due to limitations in funding availability and the unprecedented submission of applications already received.

For more information or to apply, please visit this link.

The National Milk Producers Federation has numerous EIDL resources available on its coronavirus website page, www.nmpf.org/coronavirus. Among them:

• COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans Overview (NMPF)
• SBA Disaster Assistance in Response to the Coronavirus (SBA)
• CARES Act and SBA Loan Update Webinar (KCOE in partnership with NMPF)