NMPF’s efforts to revitalize the REAL® Seal will take a big leap forward this spring, as a new campaign to build interest in the seal through social media is being launched. The campaign will galvanize interest among consumers in real, American-made dairy products, using a new Facebook page, blogger outreach, and digital advertising. The program will be launched in time for June Dairy Month.

The revamped REAL Seal® Facebook page will create a new voice and visual feel to engage and cultivate target audiences, especially moms and heads of households consuming dairy products. The page’s content will include interaction-provoking updates, multimedia presentations, contests, polls, and quizzes. One of the elements of the launch will feature a “Name the Character” contest. Kids submitting the winning name will receive a packet of coupons provided by product marketers using the REAL® Seal.

The blogger outreach will generate engagement, online conversation, and awareness surrounding the REAL® Seal campaign by driving consumers to official REAL® Seal platforms, and by interacting with bloggers writing about the mom/parenting, food/cooking, health/wellness, and lifestyle topic areas. Starting in July, a special Buyer’s Guide section will be added to the REAL® Seal website, where consumers will be able to go to find REAL® dairy products, foods made with REAL® dairy products and restaurants that use and serve only REAL® dairy products. REAL® Seal users will have the option of providing links to their company’s website as well.

For the second time in two years, state public health and agriculture department officials participating in the National Conference on Interstate Milk Shipments (NCIMS) turned down a proposal to reduce the maximum allowable level of somatic cell counts in milk.

At its meeting in Indianapolis last month, the NCIMS voting delegates – a group of state regulators overseeing milk safety rules – considered a proposal sponsored by NMPF to reduce the maximum threshold of allowable somatic cells in milk at the farm level from the current 750,000 cells/mL, down to 400,000, starting in 2015. But on a close vote, the delegates rejected the proposal, meaning that the status quo threshold of 750,000 will remain for domestic milk production – putting the U.S. “behind the curve when it comes to milk quality standards,” according to Jerry Kozak, NMPF President & CEO.

On a related decision with trade policy implications, the NCIMS delegates approved a proposal to permanently allow foreign dairy marketers to participate in the U.S. Grade A program, by permitting required sanitation evaluations of overseas dairy farms and processing facilities to be carried out by third-party, non-governmental inspectors.

“Dairy farmers in the world’s major milk producing regions have made great strides in reducing somatic cell count levels. Regulatory systems around the world have moved to incorporate these lower somatic cell count levels, and the U.S. needs to be on board with that process, not be left watching from the side of the road by the failure to update our standards,” said Kozak. “We continue to be perplexed by the inconsistency of those state regulators who voted to make it easier to import Grade A dairy products into the United States by outsourcing mandatory inspections, while at the same time rejecting efforts to facilitate the export of American dairy products,” Kozak said.

A similar somatic cell count proposal was defeated by the NCIMS in 2011. Since then, the European Union has moved ahead with a somatic cell count limit of 400,000 for dairy products being exported by the U.S. to EU member countries.

NMPF also expressed disappointment at the NCIMS delegates’ rejection this week of a resolution calling for the enhanced enforcement of federal labeling regulations affecting the marketing of imitation Grade A dairy products, such as soy, hemp and rice “milks,” and soy and rice “yogurt.”  The recommendation was also opposed by representatives of the dairy processing community.

NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) applauded the United States’ decision last month to welcome Japan into Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade negotiations.

“Japan greatly enhances the potential value of the TPP to U.S. dairy producers and processors,” said Jaime Castaneda, senior vice president for strategic initiatives and trade policy. “Japan is the third-largest economy in the world and already a major dairy importer. Reducing excessive tariffs and removing non-tariff barriers to trade will significantly increase U.S. dairy export opportunities, which will help drive overall U.S. dairy industry growth.”

U.S. suppliers shipped $284 million worth of cheese, whey proteins, milk powder and other dairy products to Japan in 2012. It is the fifth-largest U.S. dairy export market, despite substantial market access barriers in many of the biggest dairy categories.

The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office officially notified Congress of the American government’s intention to enter into TPP trade talks in 2009. At that time, it did so with the idea that the TPP would eventually expand from the initial eight participants—Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam—to the entire Asia-Pacific, thus expanding the economic significance of the deal.

A group of 130 members of the dairy industry met last month in Indianapolis for the 2013 National Dairy Producers Conference (NDPC). The conference kicked off with a behind-the-scenes tour of Fair Oaks Farms. The program included topics such as understanding the importance of immigrant labor, technology and innovation, agricultural lending, dairy beef quality assurance, high feed prices, and international trade issues, among others.

Presentations and photos from the conference are available at www.nmpf.org/NDPC.

The 15th joint annual conference of the American Butter Institute (ABI) and the American Dairy Products Institute (ADPI) was held April 28-30, in Chicago.  This year’s meeting drew over 850 industry executives, government officials, academia, and media.

The two-and-a-half-day meeting addressed the manufactured dairy product industry’s latest challenges and opportunities, featuring presentations from a wide range of speakers. The opening panel discussion outlined topics and issues that would affect business, including weather conditions, feed costs, global economic and population growth, as well as production and pricing.

Other topics covered included industry relations and opportunities with China, dairy industry traceability issues, best practices to follow in the event of a recall, and uses of milk protein concentrate as an ingredient. Top industry chief executives also shared their vision of opportunities for the dairy industry in future years.

The 2013 conference also featured a silent auction that was held during the Grand Chicago Reception, which raised $5,000 to benefit the Jim Page Memorial Scholarship Fund. In addition, Phillip S. Tong, Professor of Dairy Science and Director of the Dairy Products Technology Center at California Polytechnic State University, received the 2013 ADPI Award of Merit.

The ABI Board Meeting was held on Tuesday, April 30^th, where the board elected Josh White, Hoogwegt, U.S., Inc.; William Schreiber, O-AT-KA Milk Products Coop, Inc.; and Keith Murfield, United Dairymen of Arizona to serve on the ABI Board for 2013-2014. The board also got an opportunity to listen to presentations on ABI’s Strategic Planning Meeting, Butter Economic & Market Outlook , an update on the Butter Promotion Program, as well as learn more about the REAL® Seal and Cooperative Working Together.

The complimentary social hours held each afternoon in the exhibit hall and the sizeable receptions held on Monday and Tuesday evenings provided abundant opportunities to network with producers, marketers, suppliers, distributors, and brokers of manufactured dairy products.

From Jerry Kozak, President and CEO, NMPF:

“The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is pleased that the Farm Bill unveiled today by the House Agriculture Committee contains dairy program reform provisions based on the Dairy Security Act (DSA). These are the same provisions that were included in last year’s bill that the committee approved. The DSA updates the badly frayed dairy safety net, and it enjoys strong support among dairy farmers nationwide.

“In addition to providing dairy farmers an effective safety net, the DSA is fiscally responsible. The alternative to the DSA, expected to be offered by Reps. Goodlatte and Scott, is unfortunately not fiscally responsible and could return us to the bad old days of huge price-depressing dairy surpluses. Goodlatte-Scott would guarantee cheap milk for processors while dulling market signals to farmers through margin insurance payments. If milk prices fall sharply or feed costs soar – both common occurrences in recent years – government costs of the dairy program could spiral out of control.

“The DSA provides the right combination of effective risk management for dairy farmers while minimizing program costs to the taxpayer. NMPF commends both Committee Chairman Frank D. Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Collin D. Peterson (D-MN) for their support of DSA over the last two years and looks forward to continuing to work with them to enact this crucial legislation in the months ahead.”

 

The National Milk Producers Federation, 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 30 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 32,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

From Jerry Kozak, President and CEO, NMPF:

“We are pleased that the dairy title of the Farm Bill released today by the Senate Agriculture Committee contains the Dairy Security Act (DSA), just as it was included in last year’s Senate Farm Bill. The DSA is the best approach for providing a cost-effective safety net for dairy farmers, and we commend Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-MS) for their efforts to pass the DSA into law. The DSA provides the right combination of effective risk management for dairy farmers while minimizing program costs to the taxpayer.

“NMPF is part of a coalition of more than 50 state and national farm groups that have been working since 2009 on replacing outdated dairy programs that don’t work, with a new safety net that reflects that realities of dairy farming in the 21st century. Dairy farmers throughout the U.S. support the proposal that the Agriculture Committee will be reviewing next week, and urge members of the committee – and their counterparts in the House Agriculture Committee, which will also review the DSA next week – to pass this critical legislation.”

 

The National Milk Producers Federation, 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 30 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 32,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

ARLINGTON, VA – More than 50 state and national dairy organizations, including the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), sent a joint letter today to members of the House Agriculture Committee, urging that panel to include the Dairy Security Act (DSA) in upcoming Farm Bill. The House Ag panel is expected to begin drafting a Farm Bill next Wednesday.

The letter, which can be found online, said that dairy producers need “a financially-sound risk management program to help farmers better manage margin volatility,” noting that the economic conditions that led to the development of the DSA after the dairy depression in 2009 – low milk prices and high feed costs generating terrible margins – were experienced again by America’s dairy farmers last year, when feed costs soared to record levels as milk prices dropped.

The coalition’s letter – signed by 52 separate organizations – urged House members to oppose a competing proposal to be offered by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and David Scott (D-GA), the “Dairy Freedom Act,” because it would weaken the safety net for farmers in order to benefit dairy processors. The Dairy Freedom Act strips out the market stabilization component from the DSA.

The letter says that “Without the discipline offered by market stabilization, low milk prices will continue for longer periods. This is detrimental to farmers. Low milk prices will lead to more government outlays. This is detrimental to taxpayers. The Dairy Freedom Act is supported by processors precisely because it offers them the prospect of lower milk prices, subsidized by government insurance payments. This scenario is not sustainable. Free margin insurance alone is a costly ruse.”

The farm groups assert that “Market stabilization sends a clear signal to farmers participating in this program that a bit less milk is needed. Not only does this hasten a rebound in low-margin situations, it reduces the cost of the program to the government.”

The joint letter points out that “The real threat to the growth of our domestic dairy industry is not a market stabilization program that will only rarely activate; it’s the further damage to our dairy producer sector that would result from an ill-conceived processors’ dream plan to assure themselves a sea of taxpayer-subsidized milk.” Also, the letter notes, the DSA is “a voluntary approach to risk management, which offers producers the choice to participate.”

“The U.S. dairy industry is demonstrating a level of unity and support for the Dairy Security Act that is unprecedented for our industry. These organizations share the belief that the status quo is not an option for our future, and we stand united behind the Dairy Security Act as a rare opportunity for the dairy industry to collectively support reasonable, financially-sound changes to our Federal policies,” said the letter.

The following groups signed onto the letter: Agri-Mark, Alabama Dairy Producers, Arkansas Dairy Cooperative Association, Associated Milk Producers Inc., Colorado Dairy Farmers, Continental Dairy Products, Inc., Cooperative Milk Producers Association, Dairy Farmers of America, Dairy Farmers Working Together, Dairy Producers of New Mexico, Dairy Producers of Utah, Dairylea Cooperative Inc., Dairymen’s Marketing Cooperative, Inc., Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery, Farmers Cooperative Creamery, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative, First District Association, Foremost Farms USA, Holstein Association USA, Inc., Idaho Dairymen’s Association, Iowa State Dairy Association, Kansas Dairy Association, Land O’Lakes, Lone Star Milk Producers, Maryland Dairy Industry Association, Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Coop. Assoc., Michigan Milk Producers Association, Midwest Dairy Coalition, Milk Producers Council, Missouri Dairy Association, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Farmers Organization, National Milk Producers Federation, North Carolina Dairy Producers Association, Northeast Dairy Farmers Cooperatives, Northwest Dairy Association, Oregon Dairy Farmers Association, Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc., Premier Milk Inc., Scioto County Cooperative Milk Producers’ Association, Select Milk Producers, Inc., South Carolina Dairy Association, South Dakota Dairy Producers, St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, Swiss Valley Farms Company, Tillamook County Creamery Association, United Dairymen of Arizona, Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc., Virginia State Dairymen’s Association, Washington State Dairy Federation, and Zia Milk Producers, Inc.

 

The National Milk Producers Federation, 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 30 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 32,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

May is going to be a pivotal month in the crusade to create a better future for dairy farmers, as both the Senate and House Agriculture Committees will, in the next two weeks, begin marking up the five-year farm bill that stalled out at the end of 2012. Dairy farmers have a huge stake in how the farm bill gets resolved.

Unfortunately, our efforts to obtain an effective safety net for farmers, in the form of the Dairy Security Act (DSA), have been contested every step of the way by dairy processors. Their main goal in this process has been assuring themselves of an abundance of cheap milk, priced at levels that will harm farmers over the long term, and bankrolled by taxpayers. This is a recipe for disaster.

How did we reach this point? NMPF’s members have been working across the farmer community for four years to develop a better safety net, one that eliminates the ineffective and costly MILC, price support, and dairy export incentive programs. In their place, we are asking for the creation of a voluntary program to address not just milk prices, but margins: the gap between national average milk prices, and national feed costs. This insurance program allows up to 90% of a farm’s production to be covered by this risk management approach. Importantly, the Dairy Security Act contains a mechanism to temporarily adjust milk production when periods of low margins threaten farm balance sheets and – just as critically – threaten to drive up the cost of the insurance payouts to unsustainable levels.

Thus, the DSA has a market stabilization element that asks farmers who choose to enroll in this government program to trim their milk output by a few percentage points only when margins are severely compressed—as they have been on a handful of occasions over the last ten years. Now, there is no requirement that a participating farm actually cut milk production. It’s just that they won’t be paid on 100% of their output when the market is clearly indicating it doesn’t need all that milk. The idea is that it’s better to trim a slight amount for a short time, rather than suffer prolonged poor margins for months on end, as happened in 2009.

The DSA’s market stabilization component has processors and their allies using all manner of distortions and misrepresentations to attack it. The biggest ruse is that the stabilization program is a government assault on a farmer’s milk check. Remember, this is a voluntary approach to risk management, which offers producers the choice to participate. If they do, market stabilization makes the program more effective by reducing milk output to keep prices from hitting rock bottom. In reality, the program will improve farm income more quickly than without it, by better aligning supply with demand. Just as importantly, this approach saves taxpayers money.

The alternative endorsed by processors features no mechanism to curtail potentially excessive milk production. This is a great deal for them: it offers processors an over-abundant, cheap milk supply, ensuring that farmers are underpaid for the milk they produce, while taxpayers are asked to make up the difference.

We’ve seen spurious claims aplenty about the Dairy Security Act: it would kill exports (no, there’s a provision to suspend the market stabilization element if a misalignment between U.S. and world prices arises that could disadvantage U.S. dairy exports); it would stop the growth of the industry (no, the analyses done show that long-term growth is not hampered); the DSA would gouge consumers (hardly; an analysis by the University of Missouri said that farm-level milk prices will rise only ½ of one cent per gallon because of the DSA, not even noticeable given the monthly volatility of farmers’ milk prices – not that they set retail prices to begin with!).

One processor-affiliated group has even distorted a recent study of the DSA by Midwestern university economists by asserting that margin insurance by itself has a better net benefit. It reached that conclusion by claiming credit for the market-stimulating (and thus revenue-enhancing) effects of the stabilization program, even though such a program doesn’t even exist under a limited, margin insurance-only approach! And this assessment also assumes farmers will continue to produce and dump milk, even when they have two months advance notice to trim milk production and save on feed costs.

As has been noted since the days of the ancient Greek empire, when it comes to war, truth is the first casualty. The same observation applies to the processors’ war on the Dairy Security Act. The truth is, the dairy farmer-developed DSA is a better deal for farmers and for taxpayers. The real threat to the growth of our domestic dairy industry is not a market stabilization program that will only rarely activate; it’s the further damage to our dairy producer sector that would result from an ill-conceived processors’ dream plan to assure themselves a sea of taxpayer-subsidized milk. Congress should choose wisely, as truly the best and most honest approach is the Dairy Security Act.

From Jerry Kozak, President and CEO, NMPF:

“Goodlatte and Scott’s misnamed Dairy Freedom Act is nothing more than an unacceptable attempt by dairy processors to assure themselves access to a sea of taxpayer-subsidized cheap milk. Congress rejected this approach last year, and should do so again this year.

“What processors claim is a compromise is nothing more than a costly ruse that will hurt farmers and taxpayers alike.

“Because it features no mechanism to put the brakes on potential excess milk production, it offers dairy processors an over-abundant, cheap milk supply that will help their corporations’ bottom lines, while ensuring that farmers are underpaid for the milk they produce. Dairy processors are simply trying to have taxpayers make up the difference.

“The market stabilization program in the Dairy Security Act that was approved last year by both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees makes our program cost-effective. Creating an effective, voluntary participation program supported by dairy farmers from coast to coast most certainly is the business of the federal government. That program is the Dairy Security Act, not this dairy processor-backed Trojan Horse.”

 

The National Milk Producers Federation, 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 30 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 32,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

ARLINGTON, VA – A new analysis released today by a group of university economists demonstrates that the Dairy Security Act (DSA) – the farm bill proposal advocated by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) – provides the most effective economic safety net for farmers. The DSA provides catastrophic risk insurance, helps enhance farmer revenue, and does so in a way that minimizes government outlays.

That assessment was generated by the Midwest Program on Dairy Markets and Policy, a team of six economists who specialize in farm bill analysis. It includes doctoral student John Newton (in the photo) and Dr. Cameron Thraen of Ohio State University; Dr. Marin Bozic of the University of Minnesota; Drs. Mark Stephenson and Brian Gould of the University of Wisconsin; and Dr. Christopher Wolf of Michigan State University.

“This new report provides independent corroboration of why the DSA is the best choice for saving dairy farmers while protecting taxpayers. Congress needs to heed this report and pass the Dairy Security Act in 2013 as part of the farm bill,” said NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak.

In particular, the report “debunks any concerns that the DSA’s market stabilization element will hinder the growth of our industry or detrimentally affect the future of the dairy business. This says those fears are unfounded,” Kozak said. “In fact, we need the DSA in order to give our farmers a future.”

The paper compares the dairy farmer-backed DSA, a voluntary program featuring margin insurance paired with a Dairy Market Stabilization Program, with an alternative approach that offers a smaller-scale, limited margin insurance program alone. The paper addresses four critical questions comparing the DSA to the margin insurance-only proposal offered last year by Reps. Bob Goodlatte and David Scott (G-S), members of the House Agriculture Committee. The paper estimates how the programs would operate in 2013.

The issues addressed in the report include the extent to which the DSA and G-S offer effective catastrophic risk insurance; whether they reduce government costs; and whether they present a long-term obstacle to the growth of farms wishing to expand.

After running a variety of milk price, feed cost, and participation scenarios, the academic report offered several conclusions:

• The Dairy Security Act does provide effective risk insurance, removing 66.6% of the catastrophic risk a typical farm would face in the future. It noted that the Goodlatte-Scott measure would force farms with growth plans to rely more  on private markets, rather than the farm bill, to effectively protect against catastrophic risks, because the G-S does not provide a means to insure future milk production;
• The DSA’s market stabilization plan helps reduce the frequency and severity of insurance indemnity payments, generating higher milk prices for farmers and reducing the taxpayer burden. The report notes that the main limitation on government financial liability in the G-S measure is achieved by limiting farmers’ ability to insure their production to 80% of a farm’s production history.
• The DSA’s market stabilization plan does not present a long-term obstacle to farm growth, even for those operations with a very aggressive farm growth plan.

The Dairy Security Act was approved by both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees during consideration of last year’s farm bill. The full Senate also approved the bill, but the House failed to vote on the farm bill last year, so Congress is now beginning efforts to pass a farm bill this year.

 

The National Milk Producers Federation, 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 30 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 32,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

From Jerry Kozak, President and CEO, NMPF:

“The National Milk Producers Federation welcomes an agreement on immigration reform reached by the Agriculture Workforce Coalition (AWC), the United Farm Workers (UFW) and key Senators engaged in the process. The framework and objectives of this agreement represent a positive step toward providing America’s dairy farmers access to a legal workforce now and in the future.

“The coalition is committed including an agricultural guest worker program and supporting the general framework negotiated in any final immigration reform package. As members of Congress begin the process of drafting legislative language, we look forward to working with them to ensure that the bill details reflect the goals and intent of this framework agreement.

“The AWC, of which NMPF is a member, appreciates the efforts of Senators Dianne Feinstein, Marco Rubio, Orrin Hatch and Michael Bennet in helping to foster this agreement between agriculture employers and farm workers.

“For many farmers across the country, finding a sufficient number of workers to harvest crops or care for animals is the biggest challenge they face in running their businesses. There is a shortage of U.S. workers willing and able to perform farm work. Securing a reliable and competent workforce for our nation’s farms and ranches is essential to ensuring that American consumers continue to enjoy abundant and affordable food on their grocery store shelves.”

Additional information on the AWC can be found on its website: www.agworkforcecoalition.org.

 

The National Milk Producers Federation, 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 30 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 32,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. Visit www.nmpf.org for more information.