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DMC Sign-up Begins as NMPF Calls for Farm Bill

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF welcomed USDA’s Feb. 23 announcement that this year’s sign-up period for the Dairy Margin Coverage program would open Feb. 28 and run through April 29. Payments began yesterday for payments triggered by January’s $8.48/cwt DMC margin.

The DMC program for 2024 is improved compared to past years, due to NMPF leadership. The one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill approved in December permanently incorporated the Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage program into the underlying DMC. This important fix ensures that the 2019 production history update will move forward permanently with DMC and not need to be extended separately.

“Dairy farmers are pleased to finally have the certainty of knowing when the Dairy Margin Coverage program signup is beginning, and NMPF urges every dairy farmer to strongly consider signing up,” said Gregg Doud, NMPF president and CEO, in a statement. “We thank Congress for making this important change and are grateful for USDA’s work in rolling out this updated program for farmers.”

Still, the delay in DMC implementation – and its one-year nature – underscores the importance of approving a new farm bill, Doud said. Recent low producer margins show the critical importance of longer-term DMC reauthorization. NMPF is reaffirming its call for Congress to pass a five-year farm bill as quickly as possible. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees are continuing to develop their respective farm bill proposals.

“NMPF is eager to assist producers in any way they can with this program. We also look forward to working to ensure that farmers receive what they need even more – a new farm bill that provides certainty for the next several years, and not just 2024,” said Doud.

Dairy farmers who were enrolled in DMC in 2023 under a five-year lock-in contract received a 25 percent discount on their premiums. Those farmers will be eligible for the discount in 2024 as well. However, all dairy producers must still enroll during the 2024 DMC enrollment period.

For more NMPF resources related to the DMC program and federally backed risk management programs, visit here.

NMPF’s Galen Urges DMC Signup

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

NMPF Senior Vice President Chris Galen detailed improvements to the Dairy Margin Coverage program in an interview with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. “We encourage people to look at the dairy margin coverage program if they’re not already covered or to make adjustments in their coverage levels, because you don’t know what’s going to happen with either milk prices or feed costs,” he said.

Cooperatives Working Together Critical for U.S. Dairy’s Future

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Let’s say it plainly: Exports are critical to the future of U.S. dairy, and dairy cooperatives that point themselves toward benefiting from exports will gain additional opportunities to thrive. That’s why one of NMPF’s most important projects this year is rethinking and renewing its Cooperatives Working Together program. CWT has played a major role in boosting U.S. dairy exports and increasing milk prices for all producers in recent years. It promises to become even more significant in the future as its reach and resources potentially expand.

For those less familiar with the program, here are the basics: It’s a voluntary, marketing-focused program managed by NMPF and funded by CWT participating member cooperatives that boosts U.S. dairy product sales and strengthens relationships with overseas customers by helping participating cooperatives weather the ebbs and flows of international markets. Increasing overseas sales helps U.S. producers grow new markets. It also helps them sell products abroad that otherwise would stay at home, which better aligns supply and demand for everyone, regardless of where their milk is marketed. And by pooling resources to build member exports, CWT is a classic example of the self-help cooperative spirit in action.

Trade is the central way U.S. dairy producers have been able to find markets for production that’s grown faster than U.S. mouths can consume it: 17 percent of U.S. milk is now being shipped overseas in some form, up from 13 percent in 2010. CWT has significantly assisted that expansion. Last year, despite global economic challenges and sluggish international demand, CWT member cooperatives secured 553 contracts overseas, representing 58.4 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 1.1 million pounds of butter, 46,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 39 million pounds of whole milk powder and 9.1 million pounds of cream cheese. In milk equivalent, that equals 922.1 million pounds on a milkfat basis.

Other than cheese, every product included in CWT saw its volume of sales supported by the program increase in 2023, including a 73 percent gain in butter and a 27 percent jump in whole milk powder. CWT-supported sales also reached more countries than the year before, thriving both in places where the U.S. is establishing itself as a reliable partner and in new destinations where CWT has encouraged buyers to take a closer look at U.S. dairy. All of this shows how CWT is a proven winner for U.S. dairy, one that, even in challenging years, shows growth and greater potential.

That’s where we stand, heading into a pivotal year for the program.

CWT is renewed every three years, and 2024 is a renewal year in that cycle. We have exciting opportunities this time around to enhance CWT’s export assistance program, including expanding the number of products supported. We have also initiated conversations about how CWT could help member sales through means other than providing direct export support, such as providing logistical, manufacturing and marketing support. To generate ideas and assess the merits of various innovative proposals, we’ve convened a task force of experts from our cooperatives to identify what the collective investment in CWT can achieve.

Membership is open to any dairy cooperative – most, but not all, members are part of NMPF – and its business benefits outweigh its membership costs. Every cooperative has good reason to join: Larger, established co-ops can use export assistance to solidify and expand sales and markets, while co-ops less acquainted with the international arena can use CWT to help them break in, knowing they have the backing of an established, successful way to reach foreign markets.

CWT can help co-ops keep their bottom lines healthy, and they can provide impetus for expansion. It’s been helping everyone in dairy for years by encouraging demand that lifts the entire industry, driven by the cooperatives who effectively use it.

As this conversation unfolds, we’re both interested and eager to gain input that both improves CWT’s value for current members and encourages new ones to join. Cooperatives Working Together gives its members an advantage in facing dairy’s future, and it’s an important asset to the entire industry. We’re excited to see where we can take it in its next chapter. Thank you for any help you can provide.

Gregg Doud

President & CEO, NMPF

 

NMPF’S Galen Discusses DMC Signup, Impact of Government Shutdown on Farm Bill

Posted on by Chris Galen

NMPF’s Senior Vice President Chris Galen explains to Dairy Radio Now listeners the importance of using the Dairy Margin Coverage program, now that signup for 2024 is open until April 29.  He also predicts what will happen with a looming government shutdown, and how that could impact prospects for the next Farm Bill.

U.S. Dairy Backs American Ag Negotiators at WTO Ministerial

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) are backing efforts by U.S. negotiators to advance an agriculture work plan and oppose trade distorting proposals at the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial (MC13). NMPF and USDEC representatives are on the ground in Abu Dhabi, supporting and advising U.S. trade negotiators on agricultural priorities during the ongoing negotiations.

As with prior ministerials, there is the concern that a small group of countries will attempt to extract concessions on one issue by withholding support on other broadly supported provisions. While it is evident that most countries do not want the WTO to take a step backward, a select few members are leveraging unrelated issues to advance proposals that would expand agricultural trade distorting measures like public stockholding. USDEC and NMPF strongly support the U.S. government’s leadership in standing firm against any attempts to weaken trade disciplines.

“We should not allow one country to dictate the outcome of the negotiations in agriculture for concessions on other unrelated issues,” said Gregg Doud, president and CEO of NMPF. “We are privileged to have strong negotiators in Abu Dhabi who are defending against attempts to introduce additional trade distorting elements in the WTO. NMPF supports a holistic work plan on agriculture that includes an equal commitment to increasing market access and limiting domestic support.”

“The WTO is an important organization that has served its members well. We need to protect its important function in governing a rules-based trading system while also pursuing needed reforms, particularly to improve the dispute settlement mechanism,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “USDEC commends the U.S. negotiating team for their strong stance to defend U.S. interests and we encourage them to stand firm against any tradeoffs between agriculture and other sectors. We are also encouraged that WTO negotiations are highlighting the important role that trade has in addressing sustainability concerns, particularly given the U.S. dairy industry’s leadership in growing sustainable production and feeding the world.”

The WTO provides a rules-based trading system that provides stability and predictability for U.S. dairy exporters. The system includes provisions that reduce trade barriers and a dispute settlement mechanism for holding member countries accountable to their obligations, allowing U.S. dairy products to compete globally on a level playing field. MC13 provides a forum for members to deliberate reforms to the WTO framework.

CWT Assists with 1.2 Million Pounds of Dairy Product Export Sales

Posted on by Khadija Gibson-White
ARLINGTON, VA – Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted five offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 1.1 million pounds (490 MT) of American-type cheese and 112,000 pounds (50 MT) of anhydrous milkfat. The product is going to customers in Asia, Central America, the Caribbean and Middle East-North Africa, and will be delivered from March through June 2024.

CWT-assisted member cooperative year-to-date export sales total 20.1 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 112,000 pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 7.1 million pounds of whole milk powder and 1.3 million pounds of cream cheese. The products are going to 18 countries in five regions. These sales are the equivalent of 251.4 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Over the last 12 months, CWT assisted sales are the equivalent of 933.8 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers and cooperatives by fostering the competitiveness of US dairy products in the global marketplace and helping member cooperatives gain and maintain world market share for U.S dairy products. As a result, the program has helped significantly expand the total demand for U.S. dairy products and the demand for U.S. farm milk that produces those products.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT pays export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by required documentation.

 

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The Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) Export Assistance program is funded by voluntary contributions from dairy cooperatives and individual dairy farmers. The money raised by their investment is being used to strengthen and stabilize dairy farmers’ milk prices and margins.

 

Raw Milk Doesn’t Define Dairy

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The activist claims are unfounded. The proposed laws endanger public health. And raw milk does not define dairy.

Much like the anti-vaccination movement (with whom it shares many advocates), raw milk proponents make various claims that may seem at least somewhat plausible but fall apart on closer scrutiny. The arguments, and the suspect reasoning behind them, have popped up in state legislatures for years, and for the most part they may not seem to require that much scrutiny – until someone gets sick, which happens all too often.

But with new laws being considered in more states, the tiny niche of raw milk has the potential to disrupt the dairy industry far beyond its actual market. Long touted by its devotees as superior to pasteurized milk and the key to saving dairy farms, in practice it undoes generations of public health success that has won consumer trust and made commercially sold milk one of the safest products available.

To cite the science: Raw milk does not contain more or superior nutrition to pasteurized milk. Raw milk’s record on gut health shows how greater harm works against any perceived benefits. Raw milk does not “cure” lactose intolerance. And so on, and so on.

What raw milk does do is contain pathogens that make people sick. The current patchwork of local regulations has proven why raw milk is a public health threat: Places where raw milk sales are available to the public see much greater milk-related illness outbreaks than places where such sales are prohibited. That’s why pasteurization was invented in the first place – not as a conspiracy against consumers or farmers, but as a public health measure that has saved thousands of lives over  generations.

Those are just a few of the reasons why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration support raw milk restrictions. As with routine vaccinations, in which a decline has led to deadly, and absolutely unnecessary, illness outbreaks, pasteurization has been so effective, for so long, that many people no longer remember how  this technology improved lives in the first place.

Another popular raw-milk argument is that what consenting adults choose to buy and sell is their own business. With all due respect to absolutist libertarians, the world doesn’t work that way, as every consumer-safety regulation in the universe attests. The world especially doesn’t work that way when a product bought by consenting adults is then given to children. The vaccination comparison holds: Even though personal-conscience and religious belief exemptions exist, good luck enrolling children in a public school without a polio vaccine. There’s a reason for that. Ask your grandparents.

Another argument in raw milk’s favor is that it will “save the farm.” It’s certainly possible that revenues from small-scale sales may help a dairy farm here and there. But it’s even more certain that foodborne outbreaks that weaken consumer confidence in milk (and unfortunately, many consumers won’t distinguish between raw and pasteurized milk when hearing a radio news report on a highway) harm the tens of thousands of dairy farmers who sell in the commercial marketplace.

Dairy farmers have spent generations building a reputation for safety and quality. No “alternative” testing protocol will ensure the same level of safety as decades of experience with pasteurization, and no assurance that raw milk sellers will do the right thing and ensure safety on their own will take the place of a surefire technology that is universally applied.

So, to any state legislator who is contemplating loosening restrictions on raw milk sales: The National Milk Producers Federation, the largest organization of dairy farmers in the United States, representing small, medium and large farms, more than 95 percent of them family-owned and operated, in every region of the country, stands opposed to the legislation you are considering. It’s bad for families, it’s bad for farmers, and it’s based on bad science.

The suspect evidence and faulty reasoning has gone on long enough. It needs to stop.

NMPF Urges DMC Signup as USDA Announces Enrollment

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Statement from NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud:

“Dairy farmers are pleased to finally have the certainty of knowing when the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program signup is beginning, and NMPF urges every dairy farmer to strongly consider signing up. DMC itself is improved from the previous farm bill, thanks to the permanent incorporation of updated production histories in the program, and recent low producer margins underscore just how critical DMC is for dairy farms of all sizes. We thank Congress for making this important change and are grateful for USDA’s work in rolling out this updated program for farmers.

“NMPF is eager to assist producers in any way they can with this program. We also look forward to working to ensure that farmers receive what they need even more – a new farm bill that provides certainty for the next several years, and not just 2024.”

USDA announced today that the 2024 Dairy Margin Coverage sign-up will open Feb. 28 and run through April 29. For more NMPF resources related to the DMC program and other federally backed risk management programs, visit here.

CWT Assists with 3.3 Million Pounds of Dairy Product Export Sales

Posted on by Khadija Gibson-White

ARLINGTON, VA – Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted 11 offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 2.6 million pounds (1,170 MT) of American-type cheese, 218,000 pounds (100 MT) of whole milk powder and 487,000 pounds (220 MT) of cream cheese. The product is going to customers in Asia, Central America, the Caribbean, Middle East-North Africa and Oceania, and will be delivered from February through June 2024.

CWT-assisted member cooperative year-to-date export sales total 19.1 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 7.1 million pounds of whole milk powder and 1.3 million pounds of cream cheese. The products are going to 15 countries in five regions. These sales are the equivalent of 238.4 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Over the last 12 months, CWT assisted sales are the equivalent of 925.7 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers and cooperatives by fostering the competitiveness of US dairy products in the global marketplace and helping member cooperatives gain and maintain world market share for U.S dairy products. As a result, the program has helped significantly expand the total demand for U.S. dairy products and the demand for U.S. farm milk that produces those products.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT pays export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by required documentation.

 

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The Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) Export Assistance program is funded by voluntary contributions from dairy cooperatives and individual dairy farmers. The money raised by their investment is being used to strengthen and stabilize dairy farmers’ milk prices and margins.