The National Milk Producers Federation expressed appreciation to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue for including dairy in its $19 billion-dollar agriculture disaster assistance package released today while noting that more will be needed to stem steep losses in the dairy sector. NMPF staff are awaiting details of the plan, which appears to include financial aid for producers and purchases of at least $100 million per month in dairy products for distribution to the public.

“Federal dairy assistance is critically needed as the nation’s dairy farmers face an unprecedented collapse of markets resulting from the shutdown of much of the economy,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF, the largest U.S. dairy-farmer organization.  “The plan announced today should provide important relief to some producers, and we look forward to learning more of its details in coming days to fully understand its scope and implementation.”

“Dairy’s fortunes have been especially grim, given the perishability of our product, its daily harvest and the fact that the virtual shutdown of the food service market has wiped out more than one-third of our product demand. After five years of poor prices, many producers faced financial difficulties even before the coronavirus crisis. Without more aid, this crisis could be their demise. We hope to work with USDA and members of Congress on implementing this plan and on the further assistance that will inevitably be needed due to this deepening crisis.”

NMPF thanked the many members of Congress who weighed in during the process to urge USDA to provide robust assistance to dairy. “We are extremely grateful for the strong bipartisan, bicameral push from members of Congress across the country in support of a significant dairy aid package,” Mulhern said. “Their important efforts built on successful bipartisan passage of the CARES Act late last month, which set the stage for this aid to be provided, and we thank them for their tireless advocacy for dairy farmers.”

NMPF and the International Dairy Foods Association developed a joint plan of assistance to farmers and processors that was sent to the department earlier this month.

NMPF Senior Vice President of Membership Services and Strategic Initiatives Chris Galen discusses the latest updates on coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on the U.S. dairy industry on Dairy Radio Now.

Jaime Castaneda, senior vice president for policy strategy and international trade at the National Milk Producers Federation, says the coronavirus crisis carries an urgency for the federal government comparable to world-shaping events such as World War II and the Great Depression. And as policy leaders work to rise to the occasion, the dairy community needs to as well, he said.

“This is the time to be united. We need to support all farmers of all sizes,” Castaneda says in an NMPF podcast released today. “This is the time for USDA and the U.S. government to step up to support agriculture and the dairy farming community. And I think that dairy farmers and the dairy industry, we need to continue to be united in aiming to that solution.”

NMPF and the International Dairy Foods Association last week released a joint plan for dairy assistance presented to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To listen to the full podcast, click here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

National Milk Producers Federation Chief Economist Peter Vitaliano says government support for dairy producers to reduce production in coming months can speed dairy’s recovery from coronavirus-driven price declines. Production balancing is part of the NMPF and International Dairy Foods Association plan for dairy assistance presented to the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week.

“That type of unified, collective government action would probably be the best and most effective and speediest way of rebalancing supply and demand,” Vitaliano says in an NMPF podcast released today. To listen to the full podcast, click here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

The National Milk Producers Federation thanked the U.S. Department of Agriculture for allowing discarded milk to be counted toward milk marketings for the Dairy Revenue Production (DRP) or as actual marketings for the Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy (LGM-Dairy) programs. That decision will allow dairy farmers participating in those risk management programs not to lose coverage on any milk that can’t be marketed and will be helpful in mitigating some of the catastrophic damage many dairies face due to supply-chain disruption caused by the coronavirus crisis.

“The market realities of the COVID-19 era demand solutions, and USDA’s decision is a balm for thousands of dairy farmers participating in these important risk-management programs,” NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We commend USDA’s decision and look forward to discussing further actions that can provide immediate relief for all dairy farmers, as outlined in our joint plan developed with the International Dairy Foods Association that we sent to the department earlier this week. Together, we can make a real difference for dairy, and we are pleased with USDA’s action here.”

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is asking the Labor and Agriculture Departments to accept and approve H-2A visa applications from dairy farmers offering temporary immigrant farmworker employment for up to 364 days in a 12-month period, which would align dairy with other livestock sectors and not require a change to current rules governing the program.

“The dairy sector, like the rest of American agriculture, is facing a labor crisis that has been ongoing for decades. The COVID-19 reality we are all trying to navigate has only exacerbated these challenges,” wrote NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern in a letter to the two departments dated April 9. “As more and more Americans have to remain home to care for children who are out of school or care for other loved ones, there are even fewer workers available to work on our nation’s farms. Our members – and all dairy employers – need increased access to the H-2A program to meet our workforce needs.”

Mulhern noted that granting dairy access to visas for a temporary position lasting up to 364 days in a 12-month period would provide dairy treatment equal to sheep and goat herders and not require a statutory or regulatory change. The letter also makes clear that hiring American workers before supplementing with H-2A continues to be the goal of farmers as well as a legal requirement of the H-2A program.

NMPF also thanked federal agencies for recognizing agriculture as critical infrastructure, which has helped keep dairies in operation during the coronavirus crisis.

“Preserving a vibrant dairy producer community in America is indeed essential for the health of rural and urban communities across the country and critical for continued access to wholesome, fresh, nutritious food,” Mulhern wrote. “The availability of workers to help with the daily milking of our cows is crucial – it must be done.”

A copy of the letter is available here.

Following the release of its joint Milk Crisis Plan with the International Dairy Foods Association earlier this week, the National Milk Producers Federation today began a social-media campaign geared toward dairy farmers and their allies, #dairyneverstops, to underscore the urgency in dairy country for a federal plan that can mitigate catastrophic economic damage that is expected to worsen for producers over the next several months, as the coronavirus-created recession bites more deeply.

“#dairyneverstops is both a nod to the unique difficulties dairy farmers face as producers of a perishable product that’s created 24/7, 365 days a year and to the resilience of those farmers in the face of overwhelming economic difficulties,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “The support of retail consumers who have turned to milk in grocery aisles in recent weeks has been incredible. But even this sales surge is not enough to offset the near-evaporation of dairy demand from the foodservice sector. As milk continues to be produced with fewer buyers to purchase it, dairy farmers face significant revenue losses, which come on top of a half-decade of low prices that only recently had seen recovery.”

Farmers, other segments of the dairy sector, and their allies in broader communities are all encouraged to use the hashtag to share their stories, engage in discussion and create a greater awareness of dairy’s circumstances for policymakers in Washington and across the United States.

Clay Detlefsen, senior vice president of regulatory and environmental affairs for the National Milk Producers Federation and the private-sector chair of the Food and Agricultural Sector Coordinating Council – says that while shortages of grocery staples have eased in the U.S., shortages of personal protective equipment may linger into June – and that even after the coronavirus threat has ebbed, the era of masks and gloves for food-sector workers may be here to stay.

“I have to wonder if we just haven’t changed the game,” said Detlefsen in an NMPF podcast. “Are workers down the road, in the future, going to want wear those masks and gloves at all times? It’s quite possible. But if that doesn’t happen, I still think we have several more months of this.”

The Food and Agriculture Sector Coordinating Council was set up after the Sept. 2001 terror attacks to share information between government agencies and private businesses during crises that affect the U.S. food-supply chain. To listen to the full podcast, click here. You can also find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) sent a set of recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture yesterday urging the Administration to take swift, comprehensive action to support the U.S. dairy industry through the COVID-19 crisis. The plan outlines how this disaster is affecting U.S. dairy from farm to fork and underscores the main challenge facing U.S. dairy today: Supply exceeds demand by at least 10% – a gap that could widen as supply increases to its seasonal peak and as “shelter in place” conditions endure. NMPF and IDFA urge USDA to use as many tools as possible – as quickly as possible – to bridge the supply and demand gap without creating any long-term market repercussions.

NMPF and IDFA are grateful to Congress and the Administration for moving quickly to pass and sign into law the CARES Act, a substantial relief package to bolster the programs and support mechanisms needed to weather the COVID-19 crisis. The NMPF-IDFA plan calls for USDA and the Administration to go above and beyond traditional programs and solutions to bring balance and certainty to the dairy industry in the months ahead. Through the CARES Act, Congress has deployed substantial financial resources to USDA. To ensure the U.S. dairy industry is intact following the COVID-19 disaster, NMPF and IDFA request the federal government use every financial tool in its arsenal to bring balance to the dairy industry as quickly as possible. The organizations also ask that USDA harness the productive capacity of U.S. dairy to address the growing and widening food insecurity facing many Americans by redirecting wholesome, nutritious dairy foods to food banks and national nutrition programs.

“The COVID-19 crisis has hit the dairy industry with a unique set of challenges that impact our dairy farmers and processors equally hard,” said IDFA President and CEO Michael Dykes, D.V.M. “As the impact deepens across our economy, the federal government must go above and beyond traditional programs and solutions to bring balance and certainty to the dairy industry. The CARES Act deployed substantial financial resources to USDA to address dairy’s unique challenges. The IDFA-NMPF plan calls for USDA and the Administration to bring those resource to bear as quickly as possible. The dairy industry requires a response that is robust, broad and strategic enough to lift all boats in a way that prevents long-term market impacts, preserves the supply chain so the industry remains intact once the COVID-19 crisis passes, and ensures dairy remains a vital part of feeding a growing number of food insecure Americans.”

“As most of the country shelters in place and large swaths of the foodservice sector come to a standstill, dairy sales outside retail channels have plummeted. Market prices have fallen rapidly, creating a crushing economic outlook for producers of nutritious, and necessary, milk and dairy products,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “While no plan can wholly remedy the losses that are occurring, dairy is responding with a united plan that can help mitigate the damage caused to it by the COVID-19 pandemic. After extensive discussions across the industry, we have developed this comprehensive action plan to address many of the key marketplace challenges created by the pandemic and are presenting it to USDA. We will engage in discussions with USDA in the coming days about the proposal, urging the department, as we know it will, to move quickly to address the effects of the pandemic on our industry. We look forward to working closely with USDA as we fight for dairy farmers.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the U.S. dairy supply chain in a matter of weeks, lowering milk prices, sapping demand by shutting down most restaurants and other foodservice businesses, and bringing unprecedented challenges to our dairy farms and processors. Together, NMPF and IDFA are unified in their proposal to USDA and the Administration and will continue to work around the clock to ensure the U.S. dairy industry remains a viable, critical piece of our national, economic and food security.

For information, resources and updates on COVID-19, please visit NMPF or IDFA.

CONTACT:

Alan Bjerga, Senior Vice President, Communications

National Milk Producers Federation

703-469-2372

 

Matt Herrick, Senior Vice President, Executive & Strategic Communications

International Dairy Foods Association

mherrick@idfa.org

Last night, the National Milk Producers Federation, the largest organization of U.S. dairy farmers, and the International Dairy Foods Association submitted a request for assistance to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern offered the following statement:

“As most of the country shelters in place and large swaths of the foodservice sector come to a standstill, dairy sales outside retail channels have plummeted. Market prices have fallen rapidly, creating a crushing economic outlook for producers of nutritious, and necessary, milk and dairy products.

“While no plan can wholly remedy the losses that are occurring, dairy is responding with a united plan that can help mitigate the damage caused to it by the COVID-19 pandemic. After extensive discussions across the industry, we have developed this comprehensive action plan to address many of the key marketplace challenges created by the pandemic and are presenting it to USDA.

“We will engage in discussions with USDA in the coming days to discuss the proposal, urging the department, as we know it will, to move quickly to address the effects of the pandemic on our industry. We also understand the demands being placed on USDA at this time. Nevertheless, after five straight years of poor milk prices that were just starting to improve before the pandemic hit, USDA’s immediate actions here will be critical to help people survive the market devastation that has occurred.  We look forward to working closely with USDA as we fight for dairy farmers.”

The National Milk Producers Federation’s coronavirus webpage has added new information for farm employers and employees, as well as guidance for veterinarians, to help the dairy community keep up with evolving government and marketplace responses to coronavirus.

Key new documents include:

• An NMPF/FARM Program-created guidance for farmers if an employee tests positive for COVID-19;
• NMPF’s two-page “What Farm Employers Need to Know about Sick Leave Requirements” document;
• Temporary guidance for veterinarians and producers regarding telemedicine and the Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship, created by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, the National Milk Producers Federation, the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association; and
• And a guide for Wisconsin farmers on the emergency disposal of milk.

NMPF’s coronavirus page, which debuted March 6, has emerged as a go-to resource for all of dairy, featuring information for farmers, employers and processors and offering rich materials on topics from animal health to workforce management in both English and Spanish. The page also is home to an NMPF podcast series that includes in-depth interviews with dairy experts as the industry manages through the coronavirus crisis.