The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveiled its long-awaited bioengineered food labeling rule on Dec. 20 detailing how companies will disclose the presence of bioengineered ingredients in their food products.

The rule defines bioengineered foods as those that contain detectable genetic material that has been modified through certain lab techniques and cannot be created through conventional breeding or found in nature. The implementation date is Jan. 1, 2020 (the date for small food manufacturers Jan. 1, 2021). The mandatory compliance date is Jan. 1, 2022. Regulated entities may voluntarily comply with the standard until Dec. 31, 2021. USDA has formulated several frequently asked questions that can assist in understanding the rule.

By January 2022, packages of food that contain bioengineered ingredients must include one of three disclosure options: a USDA-selected logo that includes an image of a field with the letters “BE”; the phrase “bioengineered”; or a QR code.

In a regulatory victory for NMPF, the rule reiterated that meat or milk from animals consuming bioengineered grains does not make that meat or milk a bioengineered food. USDA stated that under any voluntary disclosure, it would be inappropriate to label that same meat or milk as being “derived from bioengineering.”

Overall, the rule follows the statute closely, especially with respect to the definition of “bioengineered food.” For example, if it is determined that a bioengineered ingredient is refined to the point that it does not contain detectable genetic material that has been modified using recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology, that will not trigger a disclosure. As a result, most bioengineered ingredients in dairy products (e.g. enzymes, vitamins) will not require reporting.

As the disclosure deadline approaches, dairy companies should verify whether their flavorings, sweeteners, enzymes, and other ingredients contain genetic material. If not, then no disclosure is needed. NMPF believes that most finished dairy products will not need to have a mandatory bioengineered disclosure.

Three federal filings by NMPF regarding trade deals in North America, the European Union and Asia highlighted U.S. dairy-farmer interests for the attention of government trade policy officials as 2018 ended. The first filing came Nov. 30, the same day the Trump Administration signed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), and the submissions continued until just before Christmas.

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern said the work late last year will give American dairy farmers a stronger voice in key trade deals this year and beyond.

“We’re at a very important point right now for trade, with the prospect of an updated North American trade treaty at hand and new trade agreements about to launch with other major trading partners,” Mulhern said. “NMPF is ensuring that dairy farmers’ priorities are clearly communicated to our policy makers as they prepare to move forward on both fronts.”

U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement

NMPF’s Jaime Castaneda testified Dec. 10 at a U.S. International Trade Commission hearing on the proposed U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, following the submission of NMPF’s written comments the previous week. Castaneda said America’s dairy farmers are pleased to see the United States moving forward with a deal with Japan – fourth among U.S. export markets, with exports valued at almost $300 million in 2017 – given the risk posed by standing still. But Castaneda cautioned that the U.S. must push strongly on Japan to provide greater dairy market access than the country’s leaders currently appear willing to offer.

“Our market share in Japan is at risk as our competitors will be receiving the benefits of the soon-to-be implemented Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EU-Japan EPA),” said Castaneda. “We therefore urge the administration to swiftly begin negotiations and pursue ambitious results.”

Among NMPF’s recommendations:

• Rejecting a pre-determined ceiling on the level of agriculture trade and instead determining the results of the agreement through negotiations;
• Securing a better outcome than the CPTPP or the EU-Japan EPA for each tariff line to achieve larger TRQ volumes and a shorter tariff phase-out period;
• Building upon the work done within the USMCA on topics of geographical indications and sanitary and phytosanitary commitments to safeguard access for U.S. exports to Japan.

U.S.-European Union Trade Agreement

NMPF focused on a possible U.S.-European Union Trade Agreement later in the month by teaming up with the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) to file recommendations with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and testify at a USTR hearing on the potential agreement. NMPF pointedly emphasized that improved agricultural trade with Europe can only happen if the European Union (EU) is prepared to make major reforms to its protectionist and trade-distorting agricultural and regulatory policies.

“Anything less would pose a very high risk of simply exacerbating the present and deep agricultural trade imbalance that greatly benefits European farmers and companies at the expense of those in the United States,” said NMPF. “To date, the EU has shown no inclination to reform its ways. Instead, various actions over the past year have indicated a further entrenchment of EU protectionism via regulation.”

Among the priorities for EU trade that the dairy industry outlined:

• Remove EU-imposed restrictions on common cheese names in the EU market and other U.S. export markets through the misuse of geographical indications (GIs), and require the EU be WTO-compliant in its GI system.
• Fully recognize the safety of U.S. dairy products, eliminating problematic EU certificates pertaining to dairy, and assuring that future unscientific trade restrictions will not be imposed on U.S. dairy exports.
• Eliminate dairy tariffs in a coordinated manner – EU tariff rates are triple those in the United States – if all nontariff concerns are fully addressed.

NMPF and USDEC also jointly wrote Ambassador Robert Lighthizer directly to underscore the high stakes for the dairy industry, given the $1.4 billion annual dairy trade deficit between the United States and European Union.

Focus on Mexico

In a submission to the United States International Trade Commission on Dec. 20, NMPF outlined the likely impact of the USMCA on the U.S. dairy industry, noting that work still remains to ensure American dairy farmers have fair access in North America and urging that the USMCA’s progress be used in future U.S. trade negotiations. This work includes:

• Ensuring the reclassification of products after the end of Class 7 is done appropriately to genuinely reflect their end use, as called for by the agreement;
• Enforcing export surcharges on skim milk powder, milk protein concentrate and infant formula as outlined in the USMCA and preventing the proceeds from being redistributed to the Canadian industry;
• Lifting U.S. metal tariffs on Mexico in exchange for Mexico lifting its cheese tariffs;
• Avoiding trade quota administration in Canada in a manner that discourages full market access granted to the U.S. under the agreement;
• Making sure Canadian market access under the USMCA is provided in addition to the access Canada already agreed to; and
• Benchmarking language in the USMCA that could be used in other trade negotiations in Japan, the United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Despite a challenging trade environment, dairy exports hit record highs in 2018, growing 4.5 percent from the year before. Still, tariff headwinds blunted the positive impact this should have otherwise had on returns to dairy farmers – moving exports out but having to cut margins to keep those sales means farmers don’t see good returns.

ARLINGTON, Va. – New national survey data released today finds that consumers – by a nearly 3-to-1 margin – want the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce existing regulations and prohibit non-dairy beverage companies from using the term “milk” on their product labels. FDA is soliciting public comment regarding front-of-package dairy labeling regulations through Jan. 28.

The national survey conducted by IPSOS, a global market research and consulting firm, found that 61 percent of consumers believe FDA – which currently defines “milk” as the product of an animal, but doesn’t enforce that labeling rule – should restrict non-dairy beverage companies from using the term “milk” on their product labels. Only 23 percent said FDA should not limit the term “milk” to dairy products, while 16 percent were uncertain.

“Consumers have spoken, and they are clear in their desire for FDA to enforce its own rules,” said National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “FDA must listen to their voice and end deceptive labeling by plant-based beverage manufacturers.”

Plant-based beverage brands regularly exploit lax regulatory enforcement to label their products as “milk,” and polling data shows that consumers are widely misinformed by mislabeling. A survey by IPSOS from last August showed that 73 percent of consumers erroneously believe that almond-based drinks had as much or more protein per serving than milk. In a separate poll from the International Food Information Council Foundation released in October, one-quarter of consumers either thought almond drinks contained cow’s milk or weren’t sure.

The newly announced online IPSOS poll – commissioned by NMPF – was conducted Jan. 4-7, 2019, and surveyed 1,005 adults nationwide.

The question was: “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration currently defines ‘milk’ as the product of an animal, but doesn’t enforce that labeling rule. Do you believe that the FDA should restrict non-dairy beverage companies from using the term ‘milk’ on their product labels?”

About the study:

For the survey, a sample of 1,005 adults 18+ from the continental United States, Alaska and Hawaii were interviewed online in English. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2016 American Community Survey data. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on demographics. Post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on gender, age, race/ethnicity, region, and education.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to, coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of IPSOS online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points for all respondents. Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (n=1,005, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=+/-5.0 percentage points).

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce the majority of U.S. milk, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

In the holiday spirit, NMPF released its own version of a “Naughty or Nice” list the week before Christmas featuring plant-based drink manufacturers that do and do not employ dairy terms on their labels.

On the “naughty” side: beverage brands that use the word “milk” to sell nutritionally inferior non-dairy products. These include Almond Breeze, Oatly, Great Value (Walmart), Simply Balanced (Target), Muscle Milk, and So Delicious.

The “nice” side includes brands that lead with truthful food labeling by avoiding the term “milk” and offering an accurate description of what their products are – non-dairy beverages. Trader Joe’s, Quaker, Pacific Foods, and Kirkland (Costco) are on this list.

NMPF’s “Naughty or Nice” list comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to solicit public comment through Jan. 28 on the proper names for plant-based beverages. FDA defines dairy foods as “products made exclusively or principally from the lacteal secretion obtained from one or more healthy milk-producing animals.” NMPF is calling on FDA to enforce its own rules and end deceptive labeling of fake dairy products.

NMPF provided members with background materials and several data points at its Annual Meeting in October, and has since has expanded its toolkit of resources to include an instructional video, colorful graphics, a dedicated webpage and a social media marketing campaign – all intended to demonstrate  why the FDA needs to enforce its existing labeling standards. NMPF is urging not just its members, but also consumers, family members and even pediatricians to explain to FDA how misbranded dairy imitators mislead consumers and harm public health.

Informational materials now available on the NMPF website include:

• A four-page document that includes instructions for submitting comments and key points
• An instructional video with screen grabs illustrating the step-by-step process of how to comment on the FDA docket
• A library of graphics to share in newsletters or on social media

Dairy farmers, and the entire dairy community, will also have opportunities to ask questions and offer their own input on what dairy should be doing to get the FDA to enforce its own rules in upcoming webinars, as well as a Twitter chat scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, Jan. 17. Watch the @nmpf Twitter handle for more details.

With NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney in attendance, President Donald Trump signed into law a new farm bill just before Christmas, shortly after Congress passed the legislation. The final bipartisan bill – officially called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (H.R. 2) – made significant improvements to the dairy safety net and risk-management options, reflecting more than two years of effort by NMPF and dairy champions to revamp and revitalize federal dairy programs. Changes include:

• Affordable higher coverage levels in the Dairy Margin Coverage program (renamed from the Margin Protection Program) that will permit all dairy producers to insure margins up to $9.50 on their Tier 1 (first five million pounds) production history;
• Affordable $5.00 margin coverage, reduced in cost by 88 percent. That will make DMC enrollment more attractive to larger producers and create a baseline for meaningful catastrophic coverage at a reasonable cost, without distorting the market signals needed to balance supply with demand.
• Greater flexibility to allow producers of all sizes to access Tier 1 premium rates without having to cover additional milk; and
• Greater flexibility to participate in a suite of USDA programs, including the DMC, the Livestock Gross Margin insurance program and the Dairy Revenue Protection program. That helps producers of all sizes choose programs that best fit their needs, allowing them to effectively manage their risk and plan their business for the next five years.

The work done in the 2018 farm bill builds upon the improvements enacted in the Bipartisan Budget Act passed earlier last year, including dairy safety net reforms spearheaded by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), as well as risk management improvements advanced by Reps. Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Collin Peterson (D-MN).

NMPF commended the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees – Reps. Conaway and Peterson, and Sens. Stabenow and Pat Roberts (R-KS) – for their diligent, steadfast work to get the farm bill across the finish line. Senior House committee members Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Jim Costa (D-CA) also provided important support.

Since the law’s passage, the USDA has pledged to quickly implement the new dairy rules, bringing much-needed additional aid to producers, pending the resolution of the current government shutdown.  NMPF looks forward to working with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and his team to ensure its prompt, effective implementation to the benefit of all dairy producers.

Last year was extremely challenging for dairy. But as the year drew to a close, it ended on a very positive note. On Dec. 20, with NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney in attendance, President Donald Trump signed the new farm bill into law – with dairy the biggest winner. This key moment represented nearly two years of critically important work by congressional agriculture leaders and dairy champions.

The bill enhances protections against low prices and offers greater flexibility for producers of all size operations to choose the programs that are best for their needs. It caps several years of consistent effort by NMPF and dairy farmers throughout the country to impress upon Congress the unique challenges our sector has faced in recent years and the need to tailor legislation to meet those challenges.

It shows just how powerful a voice dairy can have in Washington – and not just because the president introduced our chairman by name when he welcomed farm leaders to the White House for the bill-signing. It shows how, when we unite toward common goals that improve the health of our industry, and when we work with the optimism that’s just as necessary in crafting policy in Washington as it is in sustaining a dairy operation, we can help build an environment in which dairy farmers’ needs for an economic safety net to offset milk price volatility can be met.

We’ve provided extensive information about this bill since Congress passed it on Dec. 12, and we will provide even more once the federal government re-opens and USDA can begin implementing the improved program in the weeks to come. Our website already features numerous resources where members can learn more about the bill and begin planning for its implementation next year.  At the center of the law’s dairy provisions is an improved safety net, now renamed the Dairy Margin Coverage program, that gives both smaller and larger producers new incentives to enroll and greater protection when they participate. These changes benefit all producers and build upon the gains we made last February in the Bipartisan Budget Act. Some highlights of the new safety net:

• Affordable higher coverage levels that will permit all dairy producers to insure margins above $8.00 on their Tier 1 (first five million pounds) production history, the previous limit under the Margin Protection Program. By going up to $9.50/cwt., producers will have greater opportunities for assistance during difficult price environments like the one we are currently living through.
• Affordable $5.00 coverage that lowers premium costs by roughly 88 percent. This aids larger producers, creating a baseline for meaningful catastrophic coverage at a reasonable cost without distorting the market signals needed to balance supply with demand.
• Greater flexibility to participate in a suite of USDA programs, including the DMC, the Livestock Gross Margin insurance program and the Dairy Revenue Protection program. That helps producers of all sizes choose programs that best fit their needs, allowing them to effectively manage their risk and plan their business for the next five years.

We owe a sincere debt of gratitude to several members of Congress who fought to enact these reforms both in the Farm Bill and in the Bipartisan Budget Act. In the Senate, Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) championed efforts to improve the dairy safety net, with support from Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) as well. In the House, newly-minted Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN) and then Chairman (now Ranking Member) Mike Conaway (R-TX) both spearheaded dairy policy reforms, with important support from senior committee members Reps. Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Jim Costa (D-CA).

The farm bill also strengthens the industry as a whole – and that came through industry-wide teamwork among NMPF and the International Dairy Foods Association which, beginning in 2017 preparations for the bill, forged an unprecedented industry consensus.

The farm bill includes an agreement reached between the two organizations on risk management that will help producers, cooperatives and processors to better hedge price risk. The bill will change the Class I fluid milk price mover from the previous higher of Class III or Class IV to the average of Class III and Class IV, plus a $0.74 adjustor. The so-called “Class I mover” provision aids the entire supply chain, showing how all can benefit when we work in unity to accomplish a common effort.

That momentum will continue into the new year.

Now that Congress has passed the law and the president has signed it, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is committed to making sure dairy is at the front of the line when it writes the rules and implements the law. Even before the farm bill was signed, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the department is “looking forward to prioritizing” dairy-program implementation. NMPF will work closely with the USDA, answering questions, providing analysis and advocating for our members to make sure the law’s good intentions become a fruitful reality.

This is not to say the new law alone turned 2018 into a positive year. It didn’t. Congress’s attention arose from the unfortunate reality that dairy farmers needed help – and that need doesn’t vanish with a new law. A new farm bill doesn’t bring back strong prices. It doesn’t restore access to foreign markets that farmers need to flourish. It doesn’t solve supply gluts, and it alone won’t keep every dairy afloat. These are hard realities – and they don’t go away with the stroke of a pen.

But an improved safety net can relieve some of the financial pressure that’s kept hard-working families awake at night. It can give producers renewed reason for hope. And it’s a motivation to keep working – we didn’t give up simply because the farm bill looked too difficult to pass or the budget environment was too difficult to navigate. That was true at the beginning of 2018 – but by year’s end, we got a bill in which even observers outside our sector acknowledged that dairy was a big winner.

We at NMPF don’t have a crystal ball for 2019. We know we have fights ahead – on trade, on immigration, and on labeling, just to name a few. And we know that 2018 wasn’t easy. We do know that, heading into this year, dairy’s safety net is stronger than it was a year ago – and, more importantly, so is our unity. That first fact will provide comfort in the new year. The second will help bring us continued success.

    

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ARLINGTON, Va. – The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) thanked President Donald Trump for signing a farm bill that enacts necessary reforms for dairy farmers. The organization looks forward to working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to quickly implement several new programs.

With NMPF Chairman Randy Mooney in attendance, Trump praised the hard work of American farmers and noted Congress’s efforts to assist them. Dairy has been noted as a big winner in the bill, with new programs that assist dairy producers facing low prices. Important policy reforms include:

• Much more affordable and higher coverage levels in the new Dairy Margin Coverage program (DMC) (renamed from the Margin Protection Program) that will allow all dairy producers to insure margins up to $9.50/cwt. on their Tier I (first 5 million pounds) production history
• Lower-cost $5.00 margin coverage, allowing farm operations wishing to cover more than 5 million pounds of production to have a higher level of affordable catastrophic protection
• Expanded access to additional risk management tools, which allows producers to participate in the DMC along with options including the Livestock Gross Margin insurance program and the new Dairy Revenue Protection program.

“By signing the farm bill, the president has acknowledged the problems dairy producers face and has put his stamp on improving their circumstances,” said Mooney, who operates Mooney Dairy in Rogersville, Missouri, with his wife Jan. “That only increases momentum for USDA to put these programs in effect quickly, assisting producers in a time of need.”

USDA earlier this week highlighted implementation of the dairy programs as an early priority. Once USDA draws up rules to administer its initiatives, producers will sign up for their coverage retroactive to Jan. 1.

NMPF again thanked Reps. K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) and Collin Peterson (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, as well as Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, for their work on reaching a final agreement.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce the majority of U.S. milk, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

ARLINGTON, Va. – In response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement today of its National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard, NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern offered the following comments:

“NMPF is pleased with the bioengineered food disclosure rule’s re-assertion that milk from animals that consume bioengineered feed shouldn’t be subject to mandatory GMO labeling. NMPF told Congress that any regulation requiring the labeling of bioengineered products must be science-based and acknowledge that feeding farm animals grains developed through biotechnology has no effect on the animals or products derived from them. This rule codifies our position.

“It’s important to remember that bioengineered food disclosure rules should be founded in science, and are a measure to regulate food marketing, not food safety. Also, the rule doesn’t fix every problem regarding the labeling of bioengineered products in the marketplace. Misleading absence claims may persist even under this rule, and we urge USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to focus their energy on examining voluntary disclosures and their potential to be false and misleading.”

NMPF is a member of the Coalition for Safe Affordable Food, a group of farm and food organizations that worked together to help pass the labeling law in 2016.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce the majority of U.S. milk, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

ARLINGTON, Va. – With the holidays fast approaching, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) today released its own version of Santa’s “Naughty or Nice” list focused on good and bad actors in the labeling of fake dairy products.

On the “naughty” side: beverage brands that use the word “milk” to sell nutritionally inferior non-dairy products. These include Almond Breeze, Oatly, Great Value (Walmart), Simply Balanced (Target), Muscle Milk, and So Delicious.

And on the “nice” side: brands that lead with truthful food labeling by avoiding the term “milk” and offering an accurate description of what their products are – non-dairy beverages. Trader Joe’s, Quaker, Pacific Foods, and Kirkland (Costco) are on this list.

NMPF’s “Naughty or Nice” list comes as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to solicit public comment through Jan. 28 on the proper names for plant-based beverages.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) already has a clear definition of what constitutes milk: “Food products made exclusively or principally from the lacteal secretion obtained from one or more healthy milk-producing animals.” Plant-based beverages don’t meet that standard. NMPF is calling on the FDA to enforce its own rules and end deceptive labeling of fake dairy products.

“Certain brands already use truthful and transparent labels and don’t improperly borrow dairy terms to describe their products. Unfortunately, far too many brands market their nutritionally inferior products under the health halo of real dairy milk,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “It’s time for the FDA to enforce milk-labeling laws already on the books.”

Consumer data illustrate just how many consumers are being misled by imitation dairy products. A survey by IPSOS, commissioned by Dairy Management Inc., found that:

• 73 percent of consumers believed that almond-based drinks had as much or more protein per serving than milk. Milk has eight times as much protein;
• 53 percent said they believed that plant-based food manufacturers labeled their products as milk because their nutritional value is similar. That’s not the case; and
• Misinformation was more prevalent among those who only bought plant-based drinks. Of those buyers, 68 percent strongly or somewhat argued those drinks have the same nutritional content as dairy milk. In reality, those beverages do not.

Check out the full “Naughty or Nice” list below:

Naughty

Almond Breeze is the best-selling almond “milk” brand and prominently features the descriptor “milk” on its package, even though it doesn’t contain any milk from a cow.

The Swedish oat beverage Oatly has two different packages: one without the term “milk” to satisfy labeling regulations abroad and another that uses misleading labeling in the United States.

Walmart is the largest U.S. grocer, exposing a tremendous number of Americans to misleading labeling every day.

Target’s Simply Balanced brand also reaches a large number of consumers with its misleading labels.

Muscle Milk has one of the most recognizable labels of all the dairy imitators. It has a laundry list of ingredients, but not an ounce of milk in it.

Coconuts can’t lactate. So Delicious shouldn’t peddle their product as “milk.”

Nice

Trader Joe’s sells a variety of plant-based beverages with accurate labels, a stark contrast to Almond Breeze.

Quaker Oats calls its oat product a beverage.

Pacific is a good example of a smaller company that uses truthful and transparent labeling.

Costco, through their Kirkland brand, does not use the term “milk” to describe its almond beverage.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce the majority of U.S. milk, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

In response to USDA’s announcement of a second round of trade mitigation payments to U.S. farmers, NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern offered the following comments:

“The tariff-mitigation payment for dairy farmers in this second round of payments is less than we had hoped for, but it will provide some assistance during difficult times.

“The tit-for-tat tariffs that prompted these mitigation payments continue to inflict damage across the farm economy. We urge the Administration to resolve tensions with key trading partners, including China and Mexico, as the best way to assist farmers going forward.

“We are thankful that Congress last week emphatically supported milk producers and all of U.S. agriculture by passing a farm bill that will provide timely, critical assistance. We look forward to the president signing the bill and appreciate that USDA has highlighted implementation of the new dairy program as an early priority.”

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce the majority of U.S. milk, making NMPF the voice of dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

Congress released on Monday a compromise farm bill for consideration by both chambers this week, potentially concluding a months-long process with progress for dairy producers. 

The National Milk Producers Federation thanked members of Congress, especially the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, for crafting a new farm bill that includes much-needed reforms to help American dairy farmers.

“Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle should be commended for reaching a deal that will benefit U.S. agriculture and ensure safe, affordable food for Americans and the world,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “A new law is especially important for dairy, a sector struggling with low prices and disrupted exports. We thank lawmakers for addressing our concerns with measures that will help producers in need.”

NMPF called on the full Congress to pass the bill quickly while thanking its four principal negotiators:  Senator Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) as well as House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN).  While the bill includes a vast array of farm policy changes, improvements benefiting dairy include:

• Higher coverage levels in a renamed Margin Protection Program (MPP) that address deficiencies in the current program’s feed-cost formula
• Greater flexibility to allow producers of all sizes to access Tier 1 premium rates
• Expanded access to additional risk management tools, allowing producers to participate in both MPP and the Livestock Gross Margin insurance program
• Continued support for land and water conservation programs that assist dairy producers
• Full funding for Farm Bill trade promotion programs, a crucial concern in an era of markets lost to tariffs
• Nutrition provisions intended to enhance consumption of fluid milk

The law’s provisions build on improvements enacted in the Bipartisan Budget Act earlier this year, including dairy safety net reforms spearheaded by Senators Stabenow and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), as well as risk management provisions championed by Reps. Conaway and Peterson.