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Dairy Groups Seek Swift Resolution of NAFTA Trucking Dispute with Mexico

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) hailed today the recent release by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) of proposed details for the phased implementation of a long-haul, cross-border trucking program between the United States and Mexico, a program that the department says emphasizes safety, while satisfying international obligations of the United States.

In a letter today to House Speaker Boehner, House Minority Leader Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Reid and Senate Minority Leader McConnell, NMPF and USDEC urged all members of Congress to support swift progress towards putting in place an agreed-upon resolution so that the retaliatory tariffs can be lifted and trade can be normalized in Mexico, the number one export market for U.S. dairy products.

The trucking program is crucial to the U.S. dairy sector, since many U.S. cheese exports have been subjected to legally-imposed retaliatory tariffs by Mexico since last August. As a result, shipments of the targeted cheeses fell by 60 percent between August 2010 and February 2011, the latest month of available data.

The DOT announcement represents the first critical step towards resolution laid out by Presidents Obama and Calderon in early March. As DOT reaffirmed today, the plan calls for a 30-day comment period once the Federal Register Notice is published this week, followed by a period of approximately 30 days for DOT to assess comments. Subsequently, DOT will publish a Final Federal Register Notice addressing comments received and describing the implementation process of the project. Once a final agreement is signed—estimated to take place in approximately 60 days—Mexico will suspend its retaliatory tariffs on all products by 50 percent and then will suspend the remaining 50 percent when the first Mexican carrier is approved to cross the border.

“It is deeply heartening to see the Administration dedicated to moving forward in a timely manner to put in place a program that will uphold strong safety standards for U.S. roads and fully resolve the trucking dispute so that dairy producers and processors are no longer caught in the cross-fire of this issue,” said Tom Suber, president of USDEC. “Valued at $837 million last year, Mexico is our largest dairy export market and we want to ensure that we remain their number one source of dairy products.”

“We applaud the commitment by both the United States and Mexico to take swift action to follow through on the March agreement by Presidents Obama and Calderon to restore our ability to service the fast-growing Mexican dairy market,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “Making the most of this market, as well as others around the world is vital to supporting our dairy producer community.”

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the export trade interest of U.S. milk producers, proprietary processors, dairy cooperatives, and export traders. Its mission is to enhance international demand for U.S. dairy products and assist the industry to increase the volume and value of exports. USDEC accomplishes this through market development programs that build overseas demand for U.S. dairy products, resolving market access barriers and advancing the industry’s trade policy goals. USDEC activities are supported by staff in Mexico, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, South America, Middle East and Europe. Website: www.usdec.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 31 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 40,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

 

EPA Finalizes Dairy Exemption Sought by NMPF for Oil Spill Regulation of Milk Tanks

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Exemption Applies to Milk, Product Containers, Milk Production Equipment on Farms

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today issued a final exemption clarifying that dairy farms don’t have to treat milk the same as petroleum products under the Spill, Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) regulation.

NMPF has been working with Congress and the EPA for two years to win the exemption for dairy farmers, so that their bulk milk storage equipment doesn’t get regulated under the SPCC rules, since milk storage is already regulated as part of the current Grade A Pasteurized Milk Ordinance (PMO).

“We appreciate that the EPA is taking a common-sense approach with this decision, recognizing that arbitrarily lumping milk and oil together isn’t the appropriate thing to do,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “’Got Milk?’ and ‘Got Oil?’ aren’t the same question, and they shouldn’t need the same answer.”

The goal of the SPCC program is to prevent oil spills into waters of the United States and adjoining shorelines. A key element of the program calls for farmers and other facilities to have an oil spill prevention plan, called an SPCC plan. NMPF expressed concern to federal authorities that the EPA was unnecessarily grouping together fuel oil and milk, and asked the EPA to exempt milk. In June 2010, the EPA committed to finalizing the SPCC exemption for bulk milk storage “as expeditiously as possible…to have that process completed by early 2011.” Today’s announcement is the culmination of that effort.

Even with today’s exemption of milk handling equipment, many farmers still need to have an SPCC plan. Such plans are required for farms which have an aggregate storage capacity of oil products of 1320 gallons, or more, for every storage container larger than 55 gallons.

A farm with less than 10,000 gallons of total storage capacity and no single storage greater than 5,000 gallons can self-certify their SPCC plan. Farms that do not meet this exemption must have a plan certified by a professional engineer.

NMPF has completed the development of a self-certification template tool to assist dairy producers in developing their SPCC plans that covers all fuel and oil storage on the farm. The template, developed with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), is available on the NMPF website.

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 31 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 40,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

 

Dairy Groups Welcome Progress on U.S.-Colombia FTA

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) applauded the announcement this week that the Obama Administration and Colombia have reached an agreement on an action plan that will help to move forward the long-stalled Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Colombia.

“NMPF strongly supports all three pending FTAs – including the one with Colombia – and it is exciting to see the White House take a step closer to advancing each of them,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “Dairy producers are looking to expand our export opportunities wherever possible and hope that this signals that we will soon see the Colombia FTA, as well as the vitally important Korea and Panama FTAs, submitted for Congressional approval.”

“Our industry has been eager to see this FTA move forward with an important Latin American ally and growing market for dairy products,” said Tom Suber, president of USDEC. “U.S. dairy exports to Colombia are currently greatly limited by tariffs that exceed 90% for many products of significance to us. We are eager to work with the Administration to help move this FTA to implementation in order to knock down these tariffs blocking greater U.S. dairy sales.”

NMPF estimates that the U.S.-Colombia FTA would deliver, on average, an additional $25 million a year in benefits to U.S. dairy producers during the phase-in period of the agreement. Both organizations urged the Administration to move swiftly to seek Congressional approval of the U.S.-Colombia FTA, as well as the FTAs with South Korea and Panama, given the strong benefits for the U.S. dairy industry in each agreement.

The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) is a non-profit, independent membership organization that represents the export trade interest of U.S. milk producers, proprietary processors, dairy cooperatives, and export traders. Its mission is to enhance international demand for U.S. dairy products and assist the industry to increase the volume and value of exports. USDEC accomplishes this through market development programs that build overseas demand for U.S. dairy products, resolving market access barriers and advancing the industry’s trade policy goals. USDEC activities are supported by staff in Mexico, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, South America, Middle East and Europe. Website: www.usdec.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 31 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 40,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies

Update on EPA Radiation Testing of U.S. Milk Supply

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NMPF Statement on U.S. Radiation Testing

The following statement is in response to questions regarding the effect of the Japan accident on the U.S. milk supply:

Rest assured, the U.S. milk supply is safe for everyone to drink, including children and infants. The Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have stated that there is no public health concern in the United States as a result of the nuclear accident that occurred in Japan. Consumer safety is the highest priority for dairy farmers and dairy foods companies, and the U.S. dairy industry will continue to work closely with federal and state government agencies to ensure that we maintain a safe milk supply.

 

Additional Resources

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 31 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 40,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

 

NMPF and IDFA Criticize New Jersey Raw Milk Bill, Urge Governor to Oppose It

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New JerseyWASHINGTON, DC – The leading national trade organizations representing dairy producers and processors today sent a letter to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, urging him to oppose legislation in the state senate that would allow the direct sale of raw milk to the public.

In the letter from the dairy associations, which was also sent to State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) said that the food safety risks inherent in raw milk will increase the incidence of foodborne illness and reverse public heath improvements in New Jersey.

“The link between raw milk and foodborne illness has been well-documented in the scientific literature, with evidence spanning nearly 100 years. Raw milk is a key vehicle in the transmission of human pathogens, including E. coli O157:H7, Campylobacter, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella,” the letter said. A copy of the letter can be found at www.nmpf.org, and www.idfa.org.

The joint letter pointed out that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that “nearly 90% of raw milk-associated outbreaks have occurred in states where sale of raw milk was legal. Legalizing the sale of raw milk in New Jersey increases the risk to public health, opening up the State’s consumers to the inevitable consequence of falling victim to a foodborne illness.”

Federal law prohibits the interstate sale of raw milk, but allows states individual discretion to regulate raw milk sales within their borders. Several states in recent years have considered expanding the sale of raw milk, even as the product has been repeatedly linked to serious illnesses from coast to coast. The bill in New Jersey’s statehouse is Assembly Bill No. 743.

“America’s dairy farmers and processors have worked hard to ensure that they produce a safe, wholesome product, and a key pillar in the steps the industry takes is pasteurization,” Connie Tipton, President and CEO of IDFA, referring to the heat treatment that milk receives to eliminate pathogens from the dairy supply.

NMPF’s Kozak, whose professional career started in Trenton when he worked for the State Department of Health, wrote in the letter that “it is disappointing to see that the public health gains we achieved in New Jersey in the 1970s would be compromised today by a conscious effort to allow the sale of potentially pathogenic foods. This is an affront to all those working to protect public health.”

Both Tipton and Kozak said there was no valid reason to liberalize sales of raw milk, asserting that “there is absolutely no science behind the claims of raw milk supporters that pasteurization does anything other than make safer a potentially hazardous product.”

The International Dairy Foods Association, Washington, DC, represents the nation’s dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies representing a $110-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA’s 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.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 31 cooperatives produce the majority of the U.S. milk supply, making NMPF the voice of more than 40,000 dairy producers on Capitol Hill and with government agencies.

 

NMPF Board of Directors Approves Proposal to Improve Federal Milk Marketing Order System as Part of Foundation for the Future

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At its spring meeting on March 8, the National Milk Producers Federation’s Board of Directors agreed to support a series of major reforms in the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) program, intended to renovate the economic structure of the U.S. dairy sector. The changes will be packaged as part of the Foundation for the Future program that NMPF has been developing during the past 18 months.

The proposal:

  • Replaces end product pricing formulas with a competitive milk pricing system;
  • Incorporates two classes of milk – fluid (Class I) and manufacturing (formerly Class II, III and IV product uses);
  • Maintains the higher of for establishing the fluid use (Class I) minimum base price;
  • Maintains current Class I regional differentials;
  • Maintains the number and basic structure and provisions of Federal Orders.

The changes approved at the board meeting – which were developed by a committee of dairy policy experts from across the industry – maintain the basic framework of the FMMO system, but eliminate some of the most contentious elements from the current structure, such as make allowances, which are the result of the end product pricing formulas now used to price farmers’ milk.

NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak said that the Federal Order reforms will be incorporated into legislative language and submitted to Congress to review, as part of the overall Foundation for the Future package. He said that the proposal will be shared with other stakeholders in the dairy sector, including processors, in an effort to build consensus around the changes.

“There has long been a shared notion that change is needed; now we’ve taken a big step toward defining what that change should look like,” Kozak said. “We are looking forward to explaining to everyone, from farmers to processors to lawmakers, how a competitive pricing system, and shifting the pricing basis to two classes of milk, will make the Federal Order system more flexible and sensible.”

New documents giving an overview of the proposed FMMO reform and an explanation of how the FMMO reform works were posted in the News & Resources section of the Foundation for the Future website. A new video was also released last month that described the need for policy reform in the U.S. dairy industry, and how Foundation for the Future could accomplish it. The video is available at www.futurefordairy.com and on NMPF’s YouTube channel. Anyone interested in receiving a hard DVD copy of the video may do so through the Contact Us page on the Foundation for the Future website.

NMPF Hosts Board Members, Young Cooperators for Capitol Hill Meetings

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In conjunction with the March Board of Directors meeting, NMPF board members and Young Cooperators (YCs) participated in a joint Capitol Hill fly-in. The purpose was to meet new staff and educate members of Congress on the pressing dairy issues of the day. During the one-day event, there were more than 100 meetings on both the House and Senate sides of Congress. While most of the focus was on promoting Foundation for the Future, other issues, including trade, energy, environment, and the agriculture budget were also discussed.

Most of the 25 YCs who attended the spring fly-in had already been to Washington, DC, in June 2010, when they first met with their members of Congress and lobbied for NMPF. This year’s spring fly-in gave them the opportunity to follow up with their representatives and observe the progress made on the issues they discussed last summer.

Photos from NMPF’s March board meeting and the Capitol Hill fly-in are publicly available on NMPF’s Flickr account.

 

In the photo: Senator Michael Bennet (CO – second from right) met with NMPF board member Les Hardesty and YC brothers Greg and Craig Pearson to discuss important dairy industry issues.

 

USDA Finalizes Regulation to Apply Promotion Assessment to Foreign Dairy Products

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After many years of delay, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a final rule applying the long-delayed promotion checkoff on dairy imports, a development hailed by NMPF.

NMPF first worked with Congress to include a provision in the 2002 Farm Bill to expand the promotion checkoff to imports, but the expansion was blocked due to objections that the domestic checkoff was not applied to farmers in all 50 states, only the continental 48. So, NMPF again worked with Congress as it wrote the 2008 Farm Bill to ensure that the checkoff was applied in every state. However, implementation of the measure has languished for the past three years in regulatory limbo – until now.

On March 18, 2011, a final rule was released by USDA. It extends the checkoff to all 50 states and Puerto Rico as of April 1st, and starting on August 1st, it assesses the equivalent of 7.5 cents per hundredweight on all dairy-based imports, including cheese and butter products, as well as dry ingredients such as casein and milk protein concentrates. The money will be collected by the National Dairy Board to be used for nutrition research, consumer education, issues management, and other programs that build demand for dairy consumption.

“It’s been a long time in coming, but we’ve finally achieved a degree of fairness in the area of dairy promotion between domestic milk production and imports. Dairy importers, who benefit from the world’s largest dairy market, need to help pay to expand that market, the same way that our farmers do,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF. “We appreciate the efforts of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to recognize how important it was to finally resolve this issue.”

Under the new import assessment, regional and state promotions, including those in Wisconsin and California, will continue to drive demand for dairy products, and the program will, in all substantive respects, continue to run as it has. The USDA has stated that the dairy import assessment will be administered so as to continue to permit state and regional promotions.

NMPF released a document of Frequently Asked Questions to help clarify the impact that this assessment will make on the dairy industry.

CWT Progressing in Achieving Membership Goal

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Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) continued to make progress towards its membership goal of getting a minimum of 75% of the nation’s milk supply investing in CWT for 2011 and 2012.

CWT announced last week that Bongards Creameries, in Bongards, Minnesota, has joined as a new cooperative member for the 2011-2012 membership period. This brought the total number of CWT members to 35 cooperatives (listed below), and 134 independent producers. With Bongards Creameries on board, the current level of total participation rose to 67% of eligible milk. The 2¢ investment will not be initiated until the 75% goal is reached.

Agri-Mark, Inc.
Arkansas Dairy Cooperative Association
Bongards Creameries *
Cooperative Milk Producers Association
Cortland Bulk Milk Producers Cooperative
Dairy Farmers of America, Inc.
Dairylea Cooperative Inc.
Farmers Cooperative Creamery
First District Association *
Foremost Farms USA
Jefferson Bulk Milk Cooperative, Inc.
Land O’ Lakes, Inc.
Lone Star Milk Producers
Lowville Producers Dairy Cooperative
Magic Valley Quality Milk Producers Inc. *
Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association
Michigan Milk Producers Association
Midwest Dairymen’s Company *
Mount Joy Farmers Cooperative Association
National Farmers Organization
Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold)
Oneida Madison Milk Producers Cooperative
Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc. *
Preble Milk Cooperative Association, Inc.
Premier Milk Inc. *
Schoharie County Cooperative Creamery
Snake River Dairymen’s Association
South New Berlin Milk Cooperative, Inc.
Southeast Milk, Inc. *
St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, Inc.
Swiss Valley Farms Company *
United Ag Services Cooperative, Inc.
United Dairymen of Arizona
Upstate Niagara Cooperative, Inc.
Zia Milk Producers, Inc.
* New CWT Members in 2011

 

Court Issues Opinion on CAFO Rule

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On March 15th, the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans issued a unanimous ruling that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cannot require livestock farmers to apply for Clean Water Act (CWA) permits unless their farms actually discharge manure into United States waters. In the ruling, the Court concluded: “The CWA provides a comprehensive liability scheme and the EPA’s attempt to supplement this scheme is in excess of its statutory authority.”

According to the ruling, non-discharging confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) do not need permit coverage. In addition, CAFOs cannot face separate liability for “failure to apply” for permit coverage, as EPA’s rule provided. Instead, where a CAFO does not seek permit coverage, the CWA imposes liability only for discharges that occur from the unpermitted CAFO. The National Milk Producers Federation was a participant in the lawsuit.

Agriculture Committee Chairperson Senator Stabenow Kicks of 2012 Farm Bill Hearings

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Agriculture Committee Chairperson Senator Stabenow Kicks of 2012 Farm Bill Hearings

The first “2012 Farm Bill” hearing of the 112th Congress will begin on April 9th. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, is hosting a field hearing in her home state of Michigan. The hearing will be at the Kellogg Center on the Michigan State University campus in Lansing from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. More information about the location is available at www.kelloggcenter.com/about/location.html.

Written testimony may be submitted for the record to the Senate Agriculture Committee no later than April 16, 2011. Send your testimony or questions to aghearing@ag.senate.gov or to:

US Senate Committee on Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry
328A Russell Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510

NMPF will be submitting testimony for the record.

National Dairy Producers Conference Registration Deadline Two Weeks Away

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There is still time to take advantage of the early-bird registration rate for the National Dairy Producers Conference (NDPC) in Omaha, Nebraska from May 15 – 17. After April 13, the cost of registration will go up, and hotel rooms and farm tour spots will only be confirmed on a space and rate-available basis.

Secure your meeting registration, hotel reservation, and farm tour spot online at www.registration123.com/NMPF/2011NDPC. Although participants are encouraged to register online, conference registration forms submitted through the mail with credit card or check payment will also be accepted.

Formerly known as the National Dairy Leaders Conference, the NDPC gives dairy producer participants the opportunity to listen, learn, and lead. It provides a way to critically analyze the status of the dairy industry now and discuss possible solutions for the future.

Even though the conference is geared primarily toward dairy producers, anyone with a stake in the dairy industry is invited to attend. This may include dairy cooperative executives and directors, dairy processors, suppliers and consultants to the dairy business, state and federal regulators, promotion organization executives, and academics.

More information about the NDPC, including the agenda and details about the conference’s location, is available at www.nmpf.org/NDPC.