In September, NMPF’s Jim Mulhern and Jaime Castaneda, as well as Jay Waldvogel of Dairy Farmers of America, traveled to Argentina as part of the 15^th annual Pan-American Dairy Congress to discuss ongoing trade issues and ways to address those challenges to benefit producers, businesses and consumers in both the United States and Latin America.

The congress brought leaders from across the region gather to learn about industry innovation, effective public communication, government policies’ impact on the food sector, dairy’s role in child nutrition, and maintaining international competitiveness. Mulhern discussed consumer trends affecting dairy and the U.S. dairy industry’s efforts to address those trends.

The U.S. representatives at the event were able explore how science-based policies can result from better collaboration among governments. They also met with colleagues from the Pan-American Dairy Federation (FEPALE) to discuss how to put forth a unified defense against non-scientific regulations brought forward in forums like the World Health Organization (WHO), Codex Alimentarius Commission and Office of International Epizootics (OIE).

Discussion also included protecting common-name food products. NMPF explained to South American dairy representatives how Europe’s crusade to monopolize common food names like feta and muenster is a disservice to producers and consumers around the globe. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue made a similar pitch at the recent G-20 meetings in Argentina: “We need to stand together against abuse of geographic indications,” the Secretary said, reflecting NMPF’s efforts to build alliances with its Latin American counterparts.

Congressional efforts to pass a new Farm Bill before Sept. 30 have failed, but several major programs, including the dairy Margin Protection Program, will continue until the end of the year. Negotiations over the bill will continue, even as of the House of Representatives has adjourned until after the midterm elections.

Leaders from both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have been working to resolve differences between each chamber’s Farm Bill, including disagreements on nutrition, conservation and commodity policy changes. Dairy issues are not sticking points in the conference committee, although some differences exist in the House and Senate versions, including some provisions of the Margin Protection Program.

NMPF continues to work closely with the committee leaders on the dairy provisions and urges lawmakers to pass a new farm bill later this fall that reflects the best work from both chambers’ bills.

Should work on the Farm Bill not be completed before year’s end, Congress would need to pass an extension of the current farm bill to stave off the expiration of MPP. NMPF remains optimistic, however, that a final bill will be completed before 2019.

The month of October ushered in a new trade agreement: the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is designed to replace the longstanding North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The new agreement will allow the U.S. dairy industry to continue developing new markets while eliminating Canada’s trade distorting Class 7 policy.

Over the last several months, NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) worked closely with the U.S. government on the three-country talks as confidential private sector trade advisors. Staff members were enmeshed in intensive consultations with U.S. trade negotiators to help hammer out a workable deal with Canada following the conclusion of U.S.-Mexico negotiations in late August. NMPF issued a joint industry release welcoming the conclusion of the treaty modernization process, and is now in the process of reviewing the details of the final deal.

While Canada’s protectionist stance on dairy trade was a prominent sticking point in the negotiations, the USMCA also includes other key factors of relevance to the dairy industry. Among those is the preservation of a 24-year old trading framework base that will allow the sector to continue developing new markets.

The new agreement offers some expansion of dairy access to the Canadian market and new disciplines intended to tackle Canada’s use of harmful pricing programs to dump an escalating volume of dairy proteins onto global markets. On both fronts, implementation and adherence to the agreement will be a critical factor in how those provisions play out for U.S. dairy as the agreement is implemented in the coming years.

“This agreement, when implemented, should give us additional marketing opportunities that will allow us to provide high-quality American dairy products to Canada, which means we’ve made incremental progress,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We appreciate that the Trump Administration continually raised the profile of our issues at the negotiating table.”

The agreement also includes valuable new commitments on food safety-related rules to strengthen their transparency and basis in sound science, as well as new provisions aimed at tackling the misuse of geographical indications (GIs) that erect barriers to the sale of U.S. cheeses relying on common food names. On this front, the deal incorporates new due process requirements for handling GI applications, and for the first time ever, includes a non-exhaustive list of products for which additional naming restrictions would not be permitted. Names on that list include important varieties widely produced in the United States, like mozzarella, cheddar and provolone.

With Mexico, our neighbor to the south and strongest trading partner, the deal preserves the agreement’s duty-free dairy trade provisions. NMPF has continued to stress the need to address the U.S. steel and aluminum tariff issues that have resulted in Mexico’s corresponding retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports like cheese. This critical element must be solved to fully restore tariff-free U.S.-Mexico trade.

“To reap the full benefits of USMCA, the retaliatory tariffs on dairy products as well as U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs must be removed,” said Mulhern. “Hard economic times have hit farm country and these tariffs only continue to compound the negative impact U.S. dairy producers are experiencing and will continue to experience until lifted. Our famers need reassurance that our top export markets can continue at their normal trading conditions, and the focus should turn to pursuing new trade agreements that will expand U.S. dairy exports.”

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) today announced several staff changes that will strengthen and expand NMPF’s services to its members and the nation’s dairy producer community.

Chris Galen, NMPF’s long-time head of communications, is assuming a new role as Senior Vice President of Member Services and Strategic Initiatives. He will work directly under Jim Mulhern within the Office of the President and CEO, strategizing, developing and executing services to members, associate members and allied dairy organizations.

“Chris has served our members and the industry with great distinction and effectiveness as our lead communicator for many years,” said Mulhern. “His knowledge and skills will help expand our ability to deliver on our goal of exemplary service to members and will elevate the critical importance of these efforts.”

Alan Bjerga, formerly a journalist with Bloomberg, joins NMPF as its new Senior Vice President of Communications. Bjerga spent 11 years at Bloomberg as its lead writer on national farm policy issues, covering high-visibility topics like the Farm Bill, agricultural trade policy and rural economics.

His book on global hunger and food security, “Endless Appetites,” was published in 2011. Bjerga has also been a frequent contributor to Bloomberg’s other media platforms, along with NPR, the BBC, PBS Newshour, C-SPAN and more. In addition to his media work, Bjerga is an adjunct instructor at Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies. Bjerga is a past president of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and the North American Agricultural Journalists.

In his new role, Alan will lead NMPF’s communications efforts, focusing on media relations, marketing and digital storytelling.  Highlighting the importance of agriculture and the work of NMPF’s members to key audiences is a crucial task during a challenging time for the industry, Bjerga said.

“My work has long been focused on the well-being of rural communities, many of which depend on dairy,” Bjerga said. “It’s an honor to have this opportunity to serve farmers and their families in a new and compelling way.”

“We’re excited to welcome Alan’s breadth of journalism, communications and farm policy experience,” said Mulhern. “His wealth of experience will help diversify NMPF’s communications efforts, introducing new and better ways to reach our varied audiences on a daily basis.”

Mulhern also announced that Jaime Castaneda, NMPF’s long-time head of strategic initiatives and trade policy, will become Senior Vice President of Policy Strategy and International Trade. “Jaime plays a lead strategist role in helping to develop NMPF positions on a host of policy issues, both domestic and international. This new title better reflects his important role in the organization,” Mulhern said.

In addition, Nicole Ayache has joined National Milk as Director of Sustainability Initiatives. Prior to joining the NMPF staff, Ayache worked as a consultant for the dairy industry’s animal care and sustainability program, Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM), as well as the Innovation Center for US Dairy. Ayache has extensive experience developing sustainability programs and reports, creating procurement policies, and has conducted sustainability research for dairy cooperatives, environmental NGOs, and protein processors.

“Nicole is a great addition to our team and we are thrilled to have her expertise and experience deployed on behalf of the nation’s dairy farmers,” Mulhern said.  “Her leadership of our environmental stewardship and our newly launched workforce development programs within the FARM Program will help ensure these efforts effectively address the needs of our producers and customers.”

“These organizational changes reflect our drive to expand service to our members in what has been a challenging time for dairy farmers,” said Mulhern. “We just entered our second century as an organization – and we’re not slowing down. Strengthening our team through these staff changes will ensure a strong and capable organization for years to come.”

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

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should take prompt enforcement action against seven “butter” substitutes that flagrantly violate the agency’s food labeling requirements and thus are misbranded, the American Butter Institute (ABI) said today at its Board of Directors Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

ABI is the Arlington, Virginia-based trade association for manufacturers, processors, marketers and distributors of butter and butter products. The majority of butter consumed throughout the United States is made and marketed by ABI member companies and cooperatives.

As the only dairy food standard established by federal statute, butter is defined as “made exclusively from milk or cream, or both, with or without common salt, and with or without additional coloring matter, and containing not less than 80 per centum by weight of milk fat, all tolerances having been allowed for.” Concurrently, FDA dictates that certain foods should be deemed imitations if that food resembles another but is nutritionally inferior or fails to meet established characterizing ingredient requirements.

“The way in which these brands use the term ‘butter’ is false and misleading,” said Tom Balmer, executive director of ABI. “These imposter products don’t contain actual dairy ingredients, and cannot match real butter’s positive attributes – from its unmatched flavor and creamy, rich texture and unique performance in cooking and baking, to its significant level of Vitamin A. We’re bringing this deception to FDA so that it can rectify the issue and ensure truth and fairness in the marketplace.”

In comments sent recently to the FDA, ABI listed seven plant-based so-called “butter” brands that blatantly contradict the federal definition for butter, including Miyoko’s Kitchen “Vegan Butter” and Fora Foods’ “FabaButter.” Based on a labeling review of the seven brands, ABI underscored how each vegetable based-product contains no actual dairy ingredients, and called out some for lacking the positive nutritional profile associated with real butter.

“We thought this issue was settled decades ago, when the common term for vegetable spreads was ‘oleomargarine.’ But the misuse of the term ‘butter’ on non-dairy products has become ever more egregious in recent years, and FDA needs to remind makers of these products that they are violating long-standing regulations,” Balmer said.

“Section 102.5 (of Code of Federal Regulations Title 21) in no way permits the standardized term, ‘butter,’ to be used to name a non-standardized plant-based butter substitute that is characterized by its plant-based ingredients and the complete absence of milk, cream and other milk constituents that comprise standardized butter unless such products constitute and are labeled as ‘imitation butter,’” ABI said in its comments.

FDA prohibits a food from being sold under the name of a different food, as well as imitations of another food unless it bears the label “imitation.” While some of the products could possibly be re-labeled as “margarine” or “oleomargarine,” FDA regulations say that those considered nutritionally inferior to butter must bear the word “imitation” so as not to be false or misleading.

ABI argued that Congress established a definition for butter specifically to protect consumers from being deceived by simulated versions of the traditional product such as those identified in the complaint.

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ARLINGTON, VA – The National Dairy FARM Program announced today the launch of its fourth program area, FARM Workforce Development. The initiative provides U.S. dairy farm owners and managers with educational tools that offer best management practices around human resources – including hiring, training, and supervision – and worker health and safety.

FARM Workforce Development was created by stakeholders from the entire dairy value chain to provide educational materials on one of the most pressing concerns for the dairy sector. The human resources part of the program focuses on how to best attract, invest in, and retain a professional, high-quality, engaged workforce.

The safety portion outlines how farms can further cultivate and demonstrate continuous commitment to on-farm safety. For the safety portion of the initiative, FARM is collaborating with the Idaho Dairymen’s Association (IDA) to develop a best-in-class safety resource for dairy farm owners and managers. IDA’s Dairy Workforce Training & Safety Program Oversight Board includes representation from dairy farm employees to provide the worker perspective into the development of the safety manual.

According to FARM Program management, these new educational resources will help farmers who want to broaden their understanding and implementation of human resources tools and safety practices for their employees.

“By making these tools available, we will further demonstrate the dairy industry’s existing commitment to continuous improvement in human resources and worker safety,” said Emily Yeiser Stepp, senior director of the FARM Program. “This new component of the FARM Program offers educational materials tailored to the needs of U.S. dairy farms of all sizes.”

The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program began developing its newest component last year, gathering expert and stakeholder input through its Workforce Development Task Force. Farmers, cooperative staff, academics, and other subject matter experts – divided into working groups – have reviewed, recommended and provided counsel on the program area’s resources. This reliance on stakeholder input ensures the Workforce Development materials are technically robust and relevant to today’s dairy industry.

The educational resources will provide farm owners with resources that can assist in increasing worker engagement, reducing employee turnover and enhancing the safety of dairy farming. Some of those resources will include:

• State-by-state and federal legal fact sheets that summarize state laws and regulations on a variety of human resource issues for dairy farms, including wages, benefits, payroll, youth employment and more.
• The FARM Human Resources Reference Manual that contains a self-assessment and templates, including a sample employee handbook.
• The FARM Safety Reference Manual that provides dairy owners and managers with an overview of safety management best practices, legal considerations and more.

“Dairy farm employees are dedicated to high-quality animal care and producing nutritious milk. Farm owners and managers share that dedication and strive to create work environments that attract and retain employees. Until now, they didn’t always have access to the proper resources to advance their farm’s HR and safety management goals,” said Nicole Ayache, NMPF’s Director of Sustainability Initiatives and FARM Workforce Development team leader. “It only made sense to bring those goals into the FARM Program’s spirit of continuous improvement to enhance the safe, secure, and thriving work environments on our dairy farms.”

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

If a quick scan of the business news headlines of 2018 tells us anything, it’s that America’s dairy farmers have a great deal riding on foreign exports – even as domestic markets continue to absorb the lion’s share of U.S. milk production.  The tariff conflicts affecting U.S. dairy export sales to our top markets have had significant, harmful financial impacts for dairy farmers. Resolving them is critical to realizing our long-term farmer income and marketing opportunities at home and abroad.

It wasn’t all that long ago when export opportunities were hardly a component of any company’s marketing strategy in the dairy cooperative or processor communities, and the main thing the dairy farmer community focused on was minimizing imports.

But oh, how times have changed.  This is due to a variety of factors, ranging from the reality that there are now at least as many middle-class consumers in China as in the United States, as well as the fact that the U.S. has invested significant resources in recent decades, such as forming the U.S. Dairy Export Council, our own Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) program, and the Consortium for Common Food Names, to help dairy companies reach and defend foreign markets. The trickle of export volume at the start of the 21^st century has now surged to more than 16% of our overall milk production, and earlier this summer, the share topped 18%.

To be clear, the U.S. dairy sector will always rely heavily on nourishing America’s 330 million consumers. But with the recognition of the critical role that global markets have come to play for U.S. dairy farmers, growing our exports is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s an imperative. And just as slight swings in domestic supply and demand can have outsized impacts, so, too, does the size of our export market have a noticeable effect on milk checks.

The best example of this is what happened earlier this summer, when after a long period of lackluster prices, the dairy futures markets indicated much better milk prices for the second half of the year – until both China and Mexico announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. farm exports, in response to U.S. tariffs against steel and aluminum exports from those nations.

Mexico and China are the No. 1 and No. 3 destinations for America’s dairy exports, and even though exporters are working to maintain a portion of existing sales, the impact on both cash and futures markets was damaging.  The imposition of those tariffs was the only significant “new” factor affecting milk supply and demand this summer, and it knocked farm-level prices down by more than $1 per hundredweight. NMPF estimated that the total cost of the tariff conflict to dairy farmers, if nothing changes between July and the end of this year, will be more than $1.5 billion.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue recognized the cost of the tariffs to American agricultural producers and worked to help mitigate some of those losses.  Unfortunately, the dairy portion of the tariff relief package – $127 million in direct payments to farmers, plus $85 million in purchases of dairy products – is far smaller than what the tariffs are costing dairy producers.

NMPF is continuing its efforts to demonstrate to the Agriculture Department (USDA) the full extent of the monetary losses caused by the tariffs, in anticipation that a second payment package may be delivered before the end of 2018.  While USDA’s current methodology to calculate the damage for U.S. ag commodities doesn’t adequately capture the impact on dairy, we will keep making the case for adjusting that approach to reflect how this retaliation is actually impacting farmers.  We will push for additional financial resources while our products face significant tariff-related headwinds in world markets.

The best solution to this export challenge, of course, is the removal of the tariffs and the creation of even more trade deals that deliver new dairy markets for our industry.  That’s why it is so important that the newly negotiated agreement with Canada force that country to scrap their harmful Class 7 pricing program. We’ll have more to say on that agreement in the coming months.

Since trade policy solutions are likely to take time to implement, there are other avenues we must also pursue. One of the tools we’ve used to help dairy farmers mount a vigorous effort in the trade arena is the dairy-farmer funded CWT export assistance program which, for 15 years, has utilized member resources to bolster the sales of American-made dairy products in overseas markets.  With its focus on the products that most benefit dairy farmer milk checks – cheese, butter and whole milk powder – CWT helps cooperatives compete for and win sales contracts against foreign competitors.

Earlier this month, total year-to-date exports facilitated by CWT topped 1 billion pounds’ worth of milk output, which is more than half of the total increase in U.S. milk production through August.  Without CWT’s assistance, we would have a lot more cheese, butter and milk powder looking for a home domestically.

Some people in the industry may look at the vagaries of international markets and think, if the world is so uncertain, given the fickle political and economic factors on every continent, why even bother? The answer is because we must. If the 34+ billion pounds of milk we currently export were sloshing around the U.S. market, just imagine how bad milk prices would be.  A lot more farmers would be forced out of business.

Maintaining existing markets while searching for new customers is never a given, at home or abroad. But the U.S. dairy community has had tremendous success at reaching foreign customers in the past 15 years.  Despite today’s headlines about the current headwinds we’re experiencing, America’s dairy producers and processors will continue competing – successfully – in the coming years.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The trade agreement reached last night between the United States and Canada includes the elimination of Canada’s Class 7 pricing system and creation of some additional market access, two important objectives of the U.S. dairy sector.

The National Milk Producers Federation, (NMPF), the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) thanked Trump Administration negotiators for fighting hard against Canada’s trade-distorting practices. The groups look forward to reviewing the text of the U.S. -Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), in particular the dairy provisions, to better understand the benefits to U.S. agriculture and dairy.

Canada has strictly controlled imports for decades to limit the supply of milk in the country. Recently, as milk production in Canada has grown, it created the Class 7 pricing system to dump surplus milk proteins onto global markets, in direct competition with exports from the United States and other nations.

From a strategic standpoint, the agreement announced Sunday night will benefit America’s dairy sector because it preserves the overall structure of the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“The outlines of the NAFTA pact remain intact, which will allow the U.S. agricultural sector to continue developing new international markets for our farmers,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “We also need to pursue new free trade agreements with other nations and resolve our trade conflicts with China. It is imperative that the United States remains an integral player in driving the global trade agenda.”

While Canada will remain a largely self-contained, protected milk market, “this agreement, when implemented, should give us additional marketing opportunities that will allow us to provide high-quality American dairy products to Canada, which means we’ve made incremental progress,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We appreciate that the Trump Administration continually raised the profile of our issues at the negotiating table.”

“Maintaining dairy market access in Mexico and improving market access into Canada were IDFA’s top priorities during the talks to modernize NAFTA,” said Michael Dykes, D.V.M., president and CEO of IDFA. “We’re also pleased that the Administration was successful in getting Canada to eliminate Class 7 pricing. This new agreement will preserve our vital partnership with both countries and allow the U.S. dairy industry to seek more export opportunities.”

The dairy groups said that the ultimate benefit of the new USMCA will depend on how it is implemented. Now that a tentative trilateral agreement has been reached, the dairy organizations urged the governments of the three nations to remove their tariffs on agricultural exports – as well as steel and aluminum – that have been sticking points in relations between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The three organizations also thanked the many members of Congress who insisted than an increase in dairy market access be an essential outcome to the negotiations.

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

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the global trade interests of U.S. dairy producers, proprietary processors and cooperatives, ingredient suppliers and export traders. Its mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and assist the U.S. industry to increase its global dairy ingredient sales and exports of U.S. dairy products. USDEC accomplishes this through programs in market development that build global demand for U.S. dairy products, resolve market access barriers and advance industry trade policy goals. USDEC is supported by staff across the United States and overseas in Mexico, South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), Washington, D.C., represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industry, which supports nearly 3 million jobs that generate more than $161 billion in wages and has an overall economic impact of more than $628 billion. IDFA is the umbrella organization for the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). Our members range from large multinational organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent approximately 90 percent of the milk, cultured products, cheese, ice cream and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States and sold throughout the world. Our diverse membership includes numerous food retailers, suppliers and companies that offer infant formula and a wide variety of milk-derived ingredients. Visit IDFA at www.idfa.org.

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern

ARLINGTON, VA – “We welcome the public comment request announced today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that we hope will finally curtail the misleading labeling practices of plant-based foods imitating real dairy products. NMPF will provide additional perspective explaining why the agency must enforce its own labeling regulations and limit the use of standardized dairy terms to products that come from an animal.

“We are pleased that after years of engagement with FDA, the agency is finally addressing our concerns about how these plant-based products are inappropriately marketed to consumers. In fact, the docket recognizes many of the same issues we’ve brought to light over the last four decades: that plant-based products are packaged, merchandized and sold in the same way as real dairy foods, yet provide fewer nutrients and therefore cannot be considered suitable substitutes.

“However, our comments will further emphasize that at its heart, our concern over accurate labeling is a concern not just about nutritional equivalence and the implications for public health. A food identified by a standard of identity is so much more than just a collection of nutrients. A standardized dairy food, like milk, yogurt or butter, is defined by its inherent characteristics including how and where it is sourced, and its sensory attributes and performance properties. Quite simply, just adding plant protein, calcium and a few other ingredients to water does not make it milk.

“We appreciate Commissioner Gottlieb’s efforts to evaluate current food labeling practices and how they can impact public health. But, as important as that is, we also believe FDA’s efforts must go a step further. We will remain engaged throughout this and future processes to keep a spotlight on this critical issue.”

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

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern

ARLINGTON, VA – “We welcome the public comment request announced today by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that we hope will finally curtail the misleading labeling practices of plant-based foods imitating real dairy products. NMPF will provide additional perspective explaining why the agency must enforce its own labeling regulations and limit the use of standardized dairy terms to products that come from an animal.

“We are pleased that after years of engagement with FDA, the agency is finally addressing our concerns about how these plant-based products are inappropriately marketed to consumers. In fact, the docket recognizes many of the same issues we’ve brought to light over the last four decades: that plant-based products are packaged, merchandized and sold in the same way as real dairy foods, yet provide fewer nutrients and therefore cannot be considered suitable substitutes.

“However, our comments will further emphasize that at its heart, our concern over accurate labeling is a concern not just about nutritional equivalence and the implications for public health. A food identified by a standard of identity is so much more than just a collection of nutrients. A standardized dairy food, like milk, yogurt or butter, is defined by its inherent characteristics including how and where it is sourced, and its sensory attributes and performance properties. Quite simply, just adding plant protein, calcium and a few other ingredients to water does not make it milk.

“We appreciate Commissioner Gottlieb’s efforts to evaluate current food labeling practices and how they can impact public health. But, as important as that is, we also believe FDA’s efforts must go a step further. We will remain engaged throughout this and future processes to keep a spotlight on this critical issue.”

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

The FARM Program has created helpful new human resources materials as part of its Workforce Development initiative. The aim of this project is to provide U.S. dairy farm owners and managers with guidance and best management practices around human resources (hiring, training, and supervision), as well as worker health and safety.

The Guide for Managing Employee Housing covers legal considerations and management recommendations to promote safe, clean and comfortable living spaces for dairy farm workers. FARM Program staff have been working on federal and state legal fact sheets that summarize federal laws and regulations on a variety of human resource issues for dairy farms.

This suite of educational materials will help farmer owners who want basic human resources tools and safety practices for employees, thus enabling them to increase worker engagement, reduce employee turnover and manage liabilities from the safety risks of dairy farming.

In mid-August, a new ruling issued by a U.S. District Judge in South Carolina revived the flawed 2015 Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation for some states – though the rule does not apply in other states where court actions have stayed its implementation. This most recent legal turn comes just after NMPF submitted comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that said the 2015 rule must be permanently rescinded and the prior version of the regulation re-codified to provide better clarity for dairy farmers.

On Aug. 16, Judge David Norton for the District of South Carolina ruled that the Trump Administration failed to seek public comment on both the WOTUS Applicability Rule and the implications of delaying the 2015 regulation by two years. The Applicability Rule was put into effect to extend the effective date of the 2015 rule until Feb. 6, 2020, allowing EPA time to repeal and replace it after the Supreme Court determined the U.S. Court of Appeals did not have jurisdiction over the rule.

The South Carolina judge enjoined the Applicability Rule, also referred to as a “Suspension Rule,” nationwide. Norton’s ruling puts the 2015 policy back into effect in the following states: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. There are still injunctions that stay the 2015 rule in the 24 other states.

The South Carolina court ruling does not impact the repeal process of the 2015 rule, though it could still take time to complete, as the comment period on the repeal closed on Aug. 13. In addition to its own comments, NMPF joined with other farm groups in filing extensive legal and technical comments describing everything that was flawed in the 2015 rule.

In its comments, NMPF said the definitions of the WOTUS rule need to be applied in ways that are consistent with recent Supreme Court decisions and long-standing farming practices. Re-codifying the regulations that existed before the 2015 rule will provide continuity and certainty for dairy farmers, other regulated entities, states governments, agency staff, and the public, the comments said.

The South Carolina decision is being appealed and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested that the South Carolina court agree to stay its decision by Sept. 4, 2018. There is also a possibility that the 2015 WOTUS rule will be stayed nationwide by a court in Texas that is also considering legal challenges to WOTUS. Though agricultural groups had asked for a nationwide stay previously, the DOJ opposed it and reversed its opposition.