Renewed Emphasis Needed on More Effective Safety Net for Dairy Farmers in New Year

ARLINGTON, VA – Now that the House of Representatives has passed the Senate’s fiscal cliff package extending existing farm programs into 2013, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) said today it will continue its push in the 113th Congress for a five-year farm bill that includes the Dairy Security Act.

NMPF said that “we need to spend the coming months figuring out how to move farm policy forward. The status quo is not an acceptable outcome, either for farmers or taxpayers. The renewal of current programs doesn’t offer dairy farmers a meaningful safety net,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. The fiscal cliff package, among other things, extended the MILC program through Sept. 30th, 2013, and the price support program through Dec. 31st of this year.

Kozak thanked supporters of the Dairy Security Act – the new margin insurance-based safety net for dairy farmers – who worked diligently into the final hours of 2012 attempting to gain its inclusion in the final legislative fiscal cliff package.

As the Senate and House Agriculture committees begin work next month on a full, five-year farm bill, Kozak said that dairy farmers would reiterate the value of the Dairy Security Act, which eliminates the dairy product price support program, direct payments, and export subsidies, and establishes a voluntary risk management tool for farmers that saves the government money.

Kozak did express satisfaction that the overall fiscal cliff deal prevents the estate tax from returning at punitively high levels in 2013. The package includes a 40% rate on estates valued at more than $5 million, up from the previous 35% rate, but far less than the 55% top rate on $1 million estates that could have become permanent absent the new package.

 

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 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.

The lesson from the 1993 Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day is that until you get the important things right in life, you have to keep reliving the past over and over again. As the New Year begins in 2013, it seems just like Groundhog Day on Capitol Hill.

On the morning of January 1st, 2013, the Senate passed a farm bill that was exactly like the farm bill that had expired at midnight Dec. 31st. The House followed by passing the same bill later in the day. After a year of working to create a more modern farm safety net that saves taxpayer dollars and better protects dairy farmers’ equity, we’ve ended up right back where we started 12 months ago. We have another nine months of the MILC program (which isn’t forecast to pay out anything for the foreseeable future); the Dairy Export Incentive Program (which the USDA won’t use); and the dairy product price support program (with levels set far below those that will generate any price-enhancing activity).

Congress did avert the dairy cliff – the return of the 1949 permanent law that would have generated billions in government price support program purchases – but in so doing, arrived back where it started, at a status quo that offers nothing of real value to dairy farmers.

How did this happen, particularly after the Senate previously had passed a reform-minded, budget-cutting bill containing the Dairy Security Act – and the House Agriculture Committee had done the same? Unfortunately, what transpired on the last few days of 2012 was the creation of an insider deal by congressional leaders who turned their backs not only on dairy farmers, but also on the policy experts in the Congress who actually understand the issues at stake.

The 2012 Farm Bills, in both the Senate and House, were bipartisan creations, with tough choices and compromises made to bring them to fruition. None of that seemed to matter in the end, however, as the hard work evident in both farm bill versions was buried by a last minute deal that’s a slap in the face to those who worked hard to do the right thing using the right political processes.

In Groundhog Day, Murray finally progresses forward after he learns some tough lessons – and gains valuable insights – about how he has been conducting his life. Where the dairy cliff is concerned, the most important lesson is that we again are confronted with this reality: the risk of balancing and stabilizing the marketplace continues to fall on the backs of cooperatives and ultimately it is the dairy farmer who is at the greatest risk in our system. We can try to convince ourselves that we are working on a number of positive issues with processors, both in the policy and non-policy areas, but if dairy farmers are always the ultimate victim of inadequate policy or programs, we will continue to see our farm families exiting the business.

All good intentions are wasted if ultimately our farmers cannot produce milk at a profit. This last sentence must be our mantra, and we must base our future direction whether it is in policy, promotion or other ventures.

We can rage against midnight deals in Congress, those that, by not moving dairy policy forward, move us back to where we started last year. But we also have to learn lessons about how to maximize our influence in Washington, using the grassroots power that only the farm community can muster.

Otherwise, we’ll keep waking up to the same old policies, day after day, year after year.

From Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF

“The Senate’s vote earlier today on a nine-month extension of current farm policy is a devastating blow to the nation’s dairy farmers. After months of inaction, the plan that passed overnight as part of the fiscal cliff package amounts to shoving farmers over the dairy cliff without providing any safety net below.

“Meanwhile, the House is now considering a similar proposal that extends the farm bill nine months, but also without the new dairy safety net program that would provide better protection for the nation’s milk producers.

“Dairy farmers across the country have united behind the Dairy Security Act provisions in the original farm bills that have already been approved by the full Senate and by the House Agriculture Committee. These stop-gap efforts don’t even qualify as kicking the can down the road. It’s little more than a New Year’s Day, hair-of-the-dog stab at temporarily putting off decisions that should have been made in 2012 about how to move farm policy forward, not offer more of the same.

“The Senate had already passed a full, five-year farm bill that NMPF endorsed because it contains the Dairy Security Act that America’s farmers need in 2013 and beyond. The House Agriculture Committee also passed a farm bill in 2012 that includes the Dairy Security Act. The bills in both chambers end the price support program that, starting today, will revert back to 1949 levels. But more importantly, they also eliminate direct payments and export subsidies, and establish a voluntary risk management tool for farmers that would save the government money.

“Despite the progress made in 2012 on the farm bill, we’re starting 2013 on a bad note. We oppose any farm bill extension of any duration that does not contain the Dairy Security Act and resolve to work this year on achieving that as a long-term goal.”

 

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 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.

Additional materials available online

ARLINGTON, VA – Today the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) released a revised version of its Spanish residue prevention manual Prevención de residuos de fármacos en la leche y la carne for 2013. As an area of focus for the National Dairy FARM Program^TM, the manual can be found on the FARM Program’s website. This version was translated to Spanish from the revised 2013 Milk and Dairy Beef Drug Residue Prevention Manual, which was released in the fall.

The Prevención de residuos de fármacos en la leche y la carne is the Spanish version of the FARM Program’s concise review of appropriate antibiotic use in dairy animals. It’s a quick resource to review those antibiotics approved for dairy animals and can also be used as an educational tool for farm managers as they develop their on-farm best management practices necessary to avoid milk and meat residues.

Additions to the 2013 version include a section on avoiding potential residue violations from extra-label drug use in an unapproved class of cattle, cephalosporin extra-label use prohibitions, as well as an updated drug and test kit list. The 2013 manual includes a certificate of participation that can be signed by a producer and his/her veterinarian to demonstrate their commitment to the proper use of antibiotics.

“We know that there is increased attention to the use of medicines in livestock, and in order to maintain the ability to use those products, we have to demonstrate that we are using them properly,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “We also know that a significant portion of the people who care for dairy cows speak Spanish, and we need to make this information available in Spanish as well as English.”

The dairy industry is committed to producing safe, abundant, and affordable milk and dairy beef of the highest quality. Healthy animals help make for safe food and disease prevention is the key to keeping cows healthy, Kozak said.

The National Dairy FARM Program was created by NMPF to demonstrate and verify that U.S. milk producers are committed to providing the highest levels of quality assurance including animal care, residue prevention, and other on-farm practices.

The Spanish manual was sponsored by Charm Sciences, IDEXX, and Pfizer Animal Health. No check-off funds were used in its development and distribution.

For more information on the National Dairy FARM Program, contact Betsy Flores at (703) 243-6111 or visit www.nationaldairyfarm.com.

 

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 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.

Two Dairy Farmers among Finalists in Nationwide “Faces of Farming & Ranching” Contest

Two dairy farmers are among the nine finalists in a nationwide search for farmers and ranchers who will be part of a campaign in 2013 to help connect consumers with the sources of their food. The contest is being run by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), a coalition of which NMPF is a member. Voting in the contest runs through next Saturday.

Last summer, USFRA began a nationwide search for farmers and ranchers who are proud of what they do, want to share their stories of continuous improvement, and are actively involved today in telling those stories. The goal was to identify three or four producers who could act as spokespeople for modern agriculture with consumers.

Dairy farmers Will Gilmer of Sulligent, AL, and Daphne Holterman of Watertown, WI, are competing as two of the nine finalists. They were among 118 farmers who submitted a video entry application earlier this year to the USFRA contest. The winners will be tapped to share stories and experiences on a national stage to help shift conversations about food production, and set the record straight about the way we feed our nation.

Gilmer and his father own/operate a dairy farm in Alabama’s Lamar County. The dairy has been in continuous operation since Will’s grandfather established it on his parents’ farm in the early 1950s. They currently milk 200 Holstein cows and raise their own replacement heifers, while managing 600 acres of land used for pasture and forage production. Those forages include hay, summer silage crops, and small grains/ryegrass for both silage and strip grazing. Gilmer is an active contributor to social media, with a series of videos on his YouTube channel. He is a member of Dairy Farmers of America.

Holterman and her husband, Lloyd, are fourth-generation farmers in southeast Wisconsin. Along with their two daughters, they operate a dairy farm and raise corn for silage and alfalfa hay on 1,300 acres. In 1981, they started farming with Lloyd’s parents, milking 80 cows. Today, they own more than 500 acres and have a young partner who manages crops. They milk more than 800 cows, and sell milk as well as Holstein genetics around the world. The Holtermans are members of the Milwaukee Cooperative Milk Producers. Daphne was recognized as the 2009 World Dairy Expo Dairy Woman of the Year.

The other seven finalists in the Faces of Farming and Ranching contest include:

Bo Stone of Rowland, NC; Brenda Kirsch of St. Paul, OR; Eric McClam of Columbia, SC; Chris Chinn of Clarence, MO; Tim Nilsen of Wilton, CA; Katie Pratt of Dixon, IL; and Janice Wolfinger of Morristown, OH. Each of these grows and raises a variety of food products, but all share one common element: they are farmers and ranchers sharing their passion for producing food and continuously improving what they do.

Members of the public are encouraged to visit www.fooddialogues.com and vote for their favorite “faces.” Videos of each finalist and information about their operations are available on the site. Public voting is open through December 15th, and each person can vote once per day. The winners of the “Faces of Farming & Ranching” competition will be announced in January 2013.

In addition to the public vote, a panel of judges from throughout the food and agriculture community has interviewed and evaluated the finalists to help determine the Faces of Farming and Ranching winners. The judging panel included David Kurns of Successful Farming, Chef Danny Boome, Lauren Lexton of Authentic Entertainment, and Emily Paster, a food and parenting blogger at West of the Loop.

The National Ice Cream Mix Association (NICMA) is preparing to hold its 2013 Annual Meeting January 20 -23 at the Lago Mar Resort & Club in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The meeting offers members as well as non-members the opportunity to network with others who share a common interest in the ice cream mix industry. Industry speakers share their knowledge and expertise on topics that are current and relevant to the ice cream mix industry including economic, legislative and regulatory issues.

Information about the meeting, including registration details and a preview of the business session topics, is available at www.icecreammix.org/annual-meeting. Anyone with a connection to the ice cream mix industry is invited to attend (including non-NICMA members).

Last month, NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) praised the House of Representatives’ approval of H.R. 6156, which would establish permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) with Russia. NMPF and USDEC have actively supported approval of PNTR with Russia as part of work necessary to reopen that market to U.S. exporters.

The Russia dairy market has been closed to U.S. dairy products for more than two years due to Russian insistence on certain dairy certificate statements and accompanying facility inspection requirements that were not acceptable to the U.S.

“This is a significant step forward on the path to reopening one of the world’s largest dairy importing markets,” said Tom Suber, president of USDEC. “USDEC has been working extensively to help provide a firm basis for restoring access for U.S. dairy exporters to Russia. More is needed beyond PNTR to achieve that goal but approval of PNTR is a vital piece of puzzle.”

“NMPF hopes that the House action will help to spur swift action by the Senate to also approve PNTR with Russia so that we can move closer to re-establishing exports of U.S. cheese, butter and other products to benefit of America’s dairy producers,” said Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of NMPF. “This is a major market with solid opportunities for our industry and it is critical to ensure we have the same access to it that our competitors around the world enjoy.”

Both organizations also stressed the importance of a strong focus by the Administration on resolving the ongoing dairy certificate and related technical requirements that currently block U.S. dairy shipments. NMPF and USDEC believe that it is critical to continue to move forward with active and aggressive efforts to resolve these issues at the same time that Congress works to pass PNTR legislation.

 

November was another very active month for the Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) Export Assistance program. Of the 79 requests received, CWT provided members with competitive assistance on 18 cheese bids totaling 7.315 million pounds, 14 butter bids totaling 9.306 million pounds, and one whole milk powder bid for 85,980 pounds.

When combined with assisted sales from the previous ten months, this activity brings the total pounds of cheese sold with the help of CWT to 113.6 million pounds for the year. The total butter CWT has helped members to sell is 70.5 million pounds. Total anhydrous milkfat and whole milk powder sales assisted by CWT are 127,868 pounds and 171,961 pounds, respectively.

These sales are the equivalent of 2.590 billion pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. That means that CWT-assisted export sales will utilize 75% of the 3.4 billion pounds of additional milk produced so far in 2012.

 

NMPF announced this week that Jim Mulhern, a veteran public affairs professional with three decades of government policy and communications experience in Washington, DC, will join the NMPF staff January 1st, 2013, as Chief Operating Officer.

Mulhern’s position is a new one within NMPF. He will report directly to President & CEO Jerry Kozak, and have direct oversight of the communications, government relations, and membership functions of the organization.

“As the scope of NMPF’s activities has broadened in recent years, and as we plan for the future, we are fortunate to bring Jim on board to help the organization and its members with the significant challenges our industry is facing,” Kozak said. “Jim’s deep knowledge of both the dairy industry and Capitol Hill, coupled with his demonstrated ability to get things done, will greatly benefit National Milk. His strategic insight and extensive network of contacts both inside and outside the Beltway perfectly complement our existing capabilities.”

Mulhern has an extensive dairy industry background, including earlier work with NMPF. A Portage, Wisconsin native and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Mulhern began his professional career working for a dairy cooperative in Madison.

Mulhern came to Washington, DC, to work on Capitol Hill in 1983. He first joined the staff of NMPF in 1985 before returning to Capitol Hill to serve as Chief of Staff to Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl. Mulhern has since worked in senior management positions for Fleishman-Hillard, the Fratelli Group, and Watson/Mulhern LLC. Throughout his time at each of these Washington, DC, public affairs companies, Mulhern maintained his relationship with NMPF by working as a consultant to the organization on numerous projects.

“I am very excited by the opportunity to return to NMPF in this leadership capacity,” Mulhern said. “I have been privileged to work on issues of importance to the nation’s dairy producers throughout my career, and I’m looking forward to expanding those efforts.”

 

Dairy Cliff Approaches Along with Fiscal Cliff

As the stalemate in Washington continues over a budget deal that would avert the arrival of the “fiscal cliff” on January 1st, the fate of the Farm Bill also remains in limbo, even as a “dairy cliff” also looms at the start of 2013.

Congressional leaders have not made significant progress since the election on a deal that would halt the implementation of billions of dollars in spending cuts, along with significantly higher income, payroll, estate and capital gains taxes. If no deal is worked out in the next four weeks, those budget cuts and tax increases will begin taking effect next month.

At the same time, if Congress fails to reach agreement on the pending 2012 farm bill, the 1949 permanent law will kick in next month, leading to a recalculation of price support levels for a variety of commodities. The first of these will be the dairy price support program, which will see its levels adjust dramatically upward, in the range of $40 per hundredweight. This is nearly quadruple the current price support level, and about double the present market price for dairy commodities.

If Congress fails to address the farm bill in the coming weeks, NMPF will urge Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to implement the provisions of the 1949 law as of Jan. 1, 2013.

“Along with Secretary Vilsack, our organization wants a new farm bill, and not an extension of current programs that don’t really serve dairy farmers. A one-year extension only gives new life to programs that we are seeking to replace with the new Dairy Security Act,” Kozak said.

“We do not support doing anything that relieves the pressure on Congress to pass the new bill. A much higher milk price support level in the short-term is the threat of dramatic change that is needed to force Congress's hand. Otherwise, there is no impetus for completing work on the farm bill, in the same way that the pressure of a fiscal cliff deadline is what Congress imposed on itself last year in order to reach a long-term budget deficit deal. Washington needs deadlines to prompt action, and it has two big ones at the end of this month.”

 

Two dairy farmers are among the nine finalists in a nationwide search for farmers and ranchers who will be part of a campaign in 2013 to help connect consumers with the sources of their food. The contest is being run by the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance (USFRA), a coalition of which NMPF is a member. Voting in the contest runs through next Saturday.

Last summer, USFRA began a nationwide search for farmers and ranchers who are proud of what they do, want to share their stories of continuous improvement, and are actively involved today in telling those stories. The goal was to identify three or four producers who could act as spokespeople for modern agriculture with consumers.

Dairy farmers Will Gilmer of Sulligent, AL, and Daphne Holterman of Watertown, WI, are competing as two of the nine finalists. They were among 118 farmers who submitted a video entry application earlier this year to the USFRA contest. The winners will be tapped to share stories and experiences on a national stage to help shift conversations about food production, and set the record straight about the way we feed our nation.

Gilmer and his father own/operate a dairy farm in Alabama’s Lamar County. The dairy has been in continuous operation since Will’s grandfather established it on his parents’ farm in the early 1950s. They currently milk 200 Holstein cows and raise their own replacement heifers, while managing 600 acres of land used for pasture and forage production. Those forages include hay, summer silage crops, and small grains/ryegrass for both silage and strip grazing. Gilmer is an active contributor to social media, with a series of videos on his YouTube channel. He is a member of Dairy Farmers of America.

Holterman and her husband, Lloyd, are fourth-generation farmers in southeast Wisconsin. Along with their two daughters, they operate a dairy farm and raise corn for silage and alfalfa hay on 1,300 acres. In 1981, they started farming with Lloyd’s parents, milking 80 cows. Today, they own more than 500 acres and have a young partner who manages crops. They milk more than 800 cows, and sell milk as well as Holstein genetics around the world. The Holtermans are members of the Milwaukee Cooperative Milk Producers. Daphne was recognized as the 2009 World Dairy Expo Dairy Woman of the Year.

The other seven finalists in the Faces of Farming and Ranching contest include:

Bo Stone of Rowland, NC; Brenda Kirsch of St. Paul, OR; Eric McClam of Columbia, SC; Chris Chinn of Clarence, MO; Tim Nilsen of Wilton, CA; Katie Pratt of Dixon, IL; and Janice Wolfinger of Morristown, OH. Each of these grows and raises a variety of food products, but all share one common element: they are farmers and ranchers sharing their passion for producing food and continuously improving what they do.

Members of the public are encouraged to visit www.fooddialogues.com and vote for their favorite “faces.” Videos of each finalist and information about their operations are available on the site. Public voting is open through December 15th, and each person can vote once per day. The winners of the “Faces of Farming & Ranching” competition will be announced in January 2013.

In addition to the public vote, a panel of judges from throughout the food and agriculture community has interviewed and evaluated the finalists to help determine the Faces of Farming and Ranching winners. The judging panel included David Kurns of Successful Farming, Chef Danny Boome, Lauren Lexton of Authentic Entertainment, and Emily Paster, a food and parenting blogger at West of the Loop.

The National Ice Cream Mix Association (NICMA) is preparing to hold its 2013 Annual Meeting January 20 -23 at the Lago Mar Resort & Club in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The meeting offers members as well as non-members the opportunity to network with others who share a common interest in the ice cream mix industry. Industry speakers share their knowledge and expertise on topics that are current and relevant to the ice cream mix industry including economic, legislative and regulatory issues.

Information about the meeting, including registration details and a preview of the business session topics, is available at www.icecreammix.org/annual-meeting. Anyone with a connection to the ice cream mix industry is invited to attend (including non-NICMA members).