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Capitol Hill Event Adds Momentum as Consortium Keeps Busy Pace

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN) – an organization staffed by the NMPF trade policy team – joined Agri-Pulse in hosting a bipartisan congressional event at the U.S. Capitol to highlight the need for heightened U.S. government efforts to protect generic food and beverage terms. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA) shared remarks at the March 1 event on the need for a robust U.S. strategy to counter the European Union’s (EU) aggressive campaign of misusing their geographical indications system to monopolize common terms like “parmesan” and “feta” for their own use.

The hybrid virtual event also featured speakers from Sartori, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, USA Rice, The Wine Institute and the North American Meat Institute. Participants highlighted that American dairy farmers and other food and beverage producers continue to lose market share overseas and face costly trademark registration battles domestically just to continuing selling their products that consumers recognize as generic.

The lawmakers and industry representatives called on the Biden Administration to take action to establish firm and clear protections for commonly used food and beverage terms to safeguard U.S. export markets. NMPF and CCFN continue to work with the U.S. Trade Representative and USDA to identify avenues of advancing a proactive U.S. strategy to protect the rights of common name food and beverage producers throughout the United States.

In addition to its March 1 event, NMPF remained active on the issue of geographic indications and the importance of allowing common cheese names in February, holding a session with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Feb. 21 for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) governments on the importance of preserving common names.

NMPF’s Jaime Castaneda, acting in his capacity as CCFN’s Executive Director, provided remarks to the APEC session attendees to underscore the negative impacts on trade and local producers when common names are restricted. CCFN members and experts rounded out the event’s speakers.

The event followed efforts on behalf of common names earlier in the year, with NMPF, in partnership with USDEC, submitting comments to USTR on Jan. 30, emphasizing its support for firm and explicit commitments assuring the future use of specific common names. The comments were in response to USTR’s request for input on its annual Special 301 review of intellectual property trade issues and supported more comprehensive comments made by the Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN).

The European Union’s decade-long efforts to monopolize common names – like “parmesan” and “feta” – for its own producers has created a deeply one-sided playing field, restricting American producers’ ability to market and sell their products overseas. In its comments, NMPF implored the Administration to secure guarantees from trading partners that they will not abuse geographical indication rules to restrict the use of common food and beverage names.

NMPF Submits Comments to Proposed WIC Rule

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF submitted comments Feb. 21 urging USDA to not include the proposed cuts to dairy in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), pointing out that reducing dairy could lower participation in the program.

“Reducing the amount of dairy available in WIC packages will decrease participants’ access to valuable nutrients needed during pivotal life stages, such as the first thousand days of a child’s life and their mother’s pregnancy and lactation, and those proposed reductions could lead to long-term negative health consequences,” NMPF said in its comments. With milk, cheese and yogurt being three of the five top redeemed items in the WIC program, NMPF is concerned reducing access to dairy will reduce participation in WIC as participants won’t be able to get the foods they value.

The rule also included some positive proposed changes, such as requiring the authorization of lactose-free milk, increasing the yogurt substitution amounts for milk and flexibilities for yogurt size containers, which are important steps to ensuring dairy and its nutrients are accessible for all WIC participants. The proposed rule was largely based on a 2017 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine report that made recommendations based in part on the principle that any changes be budget-neutral; USDA’s proposal is not budget-neutral, removing one of the key justifications for following that report’s recommendations on that would reduce dairy access.

NMPF’s comments also emphasized the importance of nutritional equivalency for any plant-based alternatives that may be allowed to be substituted for dairy products.

NMPF and IDFA met with USDA last December, emphasizing the two organizations’ concerns with the proposed cuts to dairy. Both organizations will continue to monitor the situation closely.

Plant-Based Guidance a ‘First Step’ Toward Labeling Transparency, NMPF Says

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Long-awaited FDA guidance on plant-based beverages that encourages manufacturers of plant-based beverages to disclose their nutrient inferiority and acknowledges the public health concern of nutritional confusion over such beverages was seen as a first step toward labeling transparency by NMPF, even as the proposed guidance’s allowance of such beverages to call themselves milk spurred a vow for further action.

The guidance “falls short of ending the decades-old problem of misleading plant-based labeling using dairy terminology,” Mulhern said in a statement released shortly after FDA’s announcement Feb. 22. “By acknowledging both the utter lack of nutritional standards prevalent in plant-based beverages and the confusion over nutritional value that’s prevailed in the marketplace because of the unlawful use of dairy terms, FDA’s proposed guidance today will provide greater transparency that’s sorely needed for consumers to make informed choices.

“Still, the decision to permit such beverages to continue inappropriately using dairy terminology violates FDA’s own standards of identity, which clearly define dairy terms as animal-based products. We reject the agency’s circular logic that FDA’s past labeling enforcement inaction now justifies labeling such beverages “milk” by designating a common and usual name. Past inaction is poor precedent to justify present and future inaction.”

Integrity in the use of dairy terms has been an NMPF focus for more than four decades. Agency activity stepped up in 2018, after then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb pledged a fresh look at the issue. A request for comment generated more than 13,000 responses. Guidance in the aftermath of those comments was promised in 2021 and was initially expected last summer.

Mulhern, in NMPF’s statement, noted that, while accepting nutritional confusion is a key advance for dairy and consumers, without any means of enforcement, the guidance could hold little value, urging Congress to re-introduce and pass the DAIRY PRIDE Act, legislation that would mandate FDA enforcement of its own standards of identity.

“Because FDA’s proposed guidance is meaningless without action, enforcement will be necessary to ensure that this limited progress is reflected on grocery shelves,” he said. “For these reasons, we will continue our work in Congress to pass the DAIRY PRIDE Act, which would direct FDA to enforce its own rules and clarify that dairy terms are for true dairy products, not plant-based imposters.”

NMPF’s Support for DAIRY PRIDE, introduced in the Senate by a bipartisan group of senators on Feb. 28, adds another level of momentum to the effort to create labeling transparency, even as NMPF encourages dairy supporters to comment on the FDA’s guidance, which is here.

Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-WI; James Risch, R-ID; Peter Welch, D-VT; and Susan Collins, R-ME, led the reintroduction of the bill, which would require FDA to increase enforcement of existing dairy standards of identity, updated to respond to FDA’s guidance by essentially nullifying it. House re-introduction is expected in the next few weeks.

“Consumers and dairy producers, along with their allies in the nutrition and health communities, thank Sens. Baldwin, Risch, Welch and Collins for their leadership in this important public-health issue,” Mulhern said in a statement the day of the re-introduction. “We look forward to working with our Senate and House champions to enact the DAIRY PRIDE Act during the 118th Congress.”

While that debate is underway and comments are being accepted by FDA, Mulhern urged dairy farmers and consumers to speak up for labeling transparency – and pledged NMPF’s leadership in the effort.

“Consumers shouldn’t have to make choices in a marketplace that’s less than fully transparent,” he said. “And until the federal government fully lives up to its mission, NMPF will continue to lead the battle for labeling transparency.”

FDA’s proposed guidance is open for public comment here until April 24.

Proper Preparation Perpetuates Progress on Plant-Based Labeling

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The late-February release of proposed FDA guidance on the labeling of plant-based beverages is far from what dairy producers want or consumers deserve.

The agency’s justification of terms including “almond milk,” “soy milk” and other terms as commonly accepted relies on circular reasoning, using its previous non-enforcement of its standards of identity to justify further inattention. And as guidance, the portion that does improve the consumer marketplace – front-of-packaging disclosures by plant-based beverages of their inferiority to dairy – does not have the same strength as regulation. FDA can “guide” a manufacturer, but company disclosures are voluntary. The good news is that most companies follow such voluntary guidance for fear of bad publicity or legal challenges.

As such, FDA’s proposal contains a major win for dairy: the acknowledgment that consumer confusion over nutritional content is a public health issue that requires agency intervention. For nearly a decade, that’s been NMPF’s core argument against the mislabeling of plant-based beverages. And by accepting it, FDA has laid the groundwork for our work toward the logical conclusion of the need to end nutritional confusion: Reserving the use of dairy terms for dairy products only, in keeping with FDA’s own standards of identity. We’re on the right path, and FDA’s guidance can directly contribute to our own eventual success.

A bit of background: Three decades into what’s been a more than four-decade struggle to get FDA to take this issue seriously, in the early 2010s, the issue was in an unsatisfying stasis. NMPF would complain, and nothing would happen. Meanwhile, plant-based imposters were proliferating in the marketplace, to the detriment of public health. Beginning in 2015, we at NMPF zeroed in on the real issue of nutritional confusion – dismissing the plant-based red herring that “consumers know it’s not dairy, they’re not confused” to more accurately describe what “confusion” really meant: the mistaken belief that plant-based beverages provided the same level of nutritional benefits as real dairy.

We hammered that point home at every opportunity, to the extent that, when then-FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb was asked about nutritional confusion in a 2018 hearing, he had been informed enough about the issue to make his famous “confession”: “An almond doesn’t lactate, I will confess.”

With that acknowledgment we pushed even harder. Through quality submissions to an FDA comment period on the issue, through constant attention to the issue through the media, through tough questions from dairy’s allies in congressional hearings, we helped FDA – and importantly, consumers, who in 2022 drank a lower volume of plant-based beverages than the year before – understand the importance of the issue. We offered our own road map on labeling through a 2019 Citizen’s Petition. And with allies including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the School Nutrition Association, we showed it wasn’t just dairy that cared about consumer confusion – education and health professionals did as well.

And that brought us to last week. While FDA clearly wanted to cover over its decades-long failure to enforce existing standards by giving the plant-based folks the ability to use “milk,” the nutrition disclosure recommendations and the acceptance of nutritional confusion as a public health issue are powerful tools with which we can move forward in pursuit of full transparency. First of all, FDA’s concern for the issue adds impetus for what’s now the most promising immediate solution to the problem – congressional passage of the DAIRY PRIDE Act, which would require FDA to enforce milk’s standard of identity in the name of solving the very problem it’s identified.

Second, though FDA guidance is non-binding, as I’ve noted, it’s something industry takes seriously. We will be watching corporate practice on labels – and we won’t accept labeling that ignores FDA’s guidance or clearly attempts to do as little possible to get by. The plant-based industry is built on misinformation, and we expect old habits to die hard. But we’re in a new landscape, and we’ll make sure that consumers gain maximum benefit from the changed regulatory environment by reminding them of the nutritional inferiority of various fake milks.

This journey is far from complete. FDA has opened a comment period on the guidance that’s open until April 24. We have a call to action here that allows you to tell the agency not to backslide on its guidance, and in fact to go further to protect consumers. Momentum is on our side, and it’s gratifying to see an approach we consciously understood nearly a decade ago yield benefits that will only increase.

But it’s not time to let up on the gas, as our work is far from complete. We’ll take what FDA has offered. And we’ll make it even better in the future.

Jim Mulhern

President & CEO, NMPF

 

NMPF Praises Re-Introduction of DAIRY PRIDE Act, Calls on Congress to Finish FDA’s Job

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF commended a bipartisan group of senators, led by Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-WI; Jim Risch, R-ID; Peter Welch, D-VT, and Susan Collins, R-ME, for re-introducing the DAIRY PRIDE Act, which would end the problem of consumer confusion of the nutritional content of plant-based beverages the Food and Drug Administration took inadequate steps to remedy last week.

“DAIRY PRIDE is needed more than ever, now that FDA has offered guidance on the labeling of plant-based beverages that, while taking steps in the right direction, ultimately doesn’t remedy the problem it seeks to solve, which is the proven confusion among consumers created when plant-based beverages steal dairy terms to make their products appear healthier than they really are,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation.

“FDA has acknowledged the problem of nutritional confusion without providing  a complete solution,” Mulhern said. “DAIRY PRIDE solves the problem by requiring FDA to enforce what its own standards of identity state: that ‘milk’ is a term reserved for animal products and that plant-based drinks or beverages shouldn’t be allowed to use dairy terms in their labeling.”

The Defending Against Imitations and Replacements of Yogurt, Milk, and Cheese To Promote Regular Intake of Dairy Everyday Act” aka DAIRY PRIDE, requires FDA to enforce its standards of identity and would supersede the inadequate solution it offered last week, in which plant-based beverages could call themselves “milk” as long as they clearly state their nutritional differences with real dairy. While the long-awaited guidance acknowledges the  need to address consumer confusion, it does not resolve the cause of the problem, which is imitators using dairy terms. The logical solution is to limit dairy terms to dairy products, which DAIRY PRIDE would achieve.

FDA is accepting comments on its draft guidance until April 24. Meanwhile, DAIRY PRIDE introduction in the House of Representatives is expected within weeks.

“Consumers and dairy producers, along with their allies in the nutrition and health communities, thank Sens. Baldwin, Risch, Welch and Collins for their leadership in this important public-health issue,” Mulhern said. “We look forward to working with our Senate and House champions to enact the DAIRY PRIDE Act during the 118th Congress.”

CWT Assists with 540,000 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 456,000 pounds (207 MT) of American-type cheese and 84,000 pounds (38 MT) of cream cheese. The product is going to customers in Asia and Middle East-North Africa and will be delivered from March through July 2023.

CWT-assisted member cooperative year-to-date export sales total 10.7 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 50,000 pounds of butter (82% milk fat), 17.8 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 239.7 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Over the last 12 months, CWT-assisted sales are the equivalent of 1.054 billion 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 the export and delivery of the product are verified by the 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.

 

FDA Guidance On Plant-Based Beverages’ Use of Dairy Terms is a First Step, NMPF Says While Calling for Complete Transparency in Labeling

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

In response to today’s FDA guidance on plant-based beverages, which guides manufacturers of plant-based beverages to disclose their nutrient inferiority and acknowledges the public health concern of nutritional confusion over such beverages, the National Milk Producers Federation, which has led the fight for labeling transparency, released the following statement:

From Jim Mulhern, President and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation:

“Today’s FDA announcement is a step toward labeling integrity for consumers of dairy products, even as it falls short of ending the decades-old problem of misleading plant-based labeling using dairy terminology. By acknowledging both the utter lack of nutritional standards prevalent in plant-based beverages and the confusion over nutritional value that’s prevailed in the marketplace because of the unlawful use of dairy terms, FDA’s proposed guidance today will provide greater transparency that’s sorely needed for consumers to make informed choices.

“Still, the decision to permit such beverages to continue inappropriately using dairy terminology violates FDA’s own standards of identity, which clearly define dairy terms as animal-based products. We reject the agency’s circular logic that FDA’s past labeling enforcement inaction now justifies labeling such beverages “milk” by designating a common and usual name. Past inaction is poor precedent to justify present and future inaction.

“Because FDA’s proposed guidance is meaningless without action, enforcement will be necessary to ensure that this limited progress is reflected on grocery shelves. For these reasons, we will continue our work in Congress to pass the DAIRY PRIDE Act, which would direct FDA to enforce its own rules and clarify that dairy terms are for true dairy products, not plant-based imposters.

“FDA’s last three Senate-confirmed commissioners — from both parties — have each acknowledged the problem of consumer confusion over nutritional content created by beverage labels that use dairy terms to imply qualities they simply don’t have. Medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, concur with this concern. Today’s proposed guidance at least recognizes this reality: That nutritionally inconsistent concoctions of water, factory-processed powders and other additives simply don’t contain the same nutrition that milk provides.

“As the agency entrusted with protecting consumers from mislabeled products, FDA’s action here takes a step in that direction. And after more than four decades of efforts that have often fallen on deaf ears, we appreciate that today’s agency leadership is beginning to treat plant-based beverage labeling more like the critical issue of nutrition and agency integrity that it is.

“We also would like to thank consumers, who sales data show drank fewer fake dairy beverages in 2022 than in 2021, part of a broader awakening to the bogus marketing of fake milk manufacturers that have been accepted uncritically for far too long. Despite the misinformation spun in advertisements and media, consumers are seeing through the marketing and recognizing these beverages for the fakes that they are. But consumers shouldn’t have to make choices in a marketplace that’s less than fully transparent, and until the federal government fully lives up to its mission, NMPF will continue to lead the battle for labeling transparency.”

For more NMPF discussion of the misleading use of dairy terms on plant-based beverages, see:

https://www.nmpf.org/the-plant-based-lie-that-needs-to-die/

https://www.nmpf.org/say-it-loud-say-it-clear-the-plant-based-beverage-bust-is-here/

https://www.nmpf.org/dairy-wins-on-facts-in-looming-lab-based-labeling-battle/

https://www.nmpf.org/plant-based-higher-cost-lower-quality-be-sure-to-tell-your-barista/

https://www.nmpf.org/fdas-proven-it-can-do-its-job-on-fake-milk-it-can-do-it-again/

https://www.nmpf.org/dairy-defined-lactose-free-milk-is-growing-faster-than-plant-based-you-didnt-know-that/

https://www.nmpf.org/dairy-defined-the-over-hyped-shift-to-plant-based-beverages/

 

 

 

 

Record Exports Drive U.S. Dairy Demand

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

By William Loux, Vice President, Global Economic Affairs, NMPF and U.S. Dairy Export Council.

U.S. dairy exports excelled again in 2022, with record shipments further cementing its role as the key demand driver for U.S. milk.

For the third consecutive year, the U.S. dairy industry set a record for the volume of dairy products exported on a milk solids equivalent basis, with the current record now surpassing 2.4 million metric tons — the equivalent of over 40 billion pounds of raw milk, or 18% of the U.S. milk supply.

Perhaps even more impressive, for the fifth time in the last six years, U.S. exports grew by more than domestic consumption. Of that six-year window, 2019 was the only time in that span when exports grew by less than domestic sales. That’s the year the U.S. faced prohibitive retaliatory tariffs on dairy products destined for China. In addition, African Swine Fever was cratering China’s demand for whey products. At the same time, U.S. skim milk powder exporters were facing headwinds from EU intervention storage stocks that began hitting the market at below-market prices in 2019. All this noted, with 2019 being a particularly unique exception, the international market has been the driver of U.S. dairy demand growth for the past six years.

Success can’t be taken for granted

European milk production came on strong at the tail end of 2022 as favorable weather and margins boosted output. Conversely, demand within the European Union bloc has reportedly weakened as consumers feel the squeeze on their wallets, which is causing European wholesale prices to dip. With more supply, weaker internal demand, and low prices, we can expect significantly more competition from Europe in the international market than we did in 2022 when their exports dropped 10% during the first 11 months of the year.

Additionally, the international demand picture remains uncertain. Despite the clear success of U.S. dairy, the world’s collective dairy trade actually dropped 4% in 2022 — primarily on account of China. The world’s largest dairy product-importing nation contracted dairy imports by 21% as the country drew down inventories built in 2021, witnessed a surge in domestic milk supplies, and instituted movement restrictions, all of which damaged dairy consumption and imports.

China’s return to the market in 2023 remains uncertain. The lockdowns have been lifted, but milk production in the country is still growing, and inventories of milk powder reportedly remain heavy. Optimistically, consumption in the country will rebound and stockpiles will be reduced, setting the stage for China’s return as a global buyer in the middle part of the year. But until they do, New Zealand, which exported over 40% of its production to China at its peak, will have plenty of products available for customers elsewhere, meaning increased competition with the United States.

Outside of China, the demand picture will likely be mixed depending on local conditions, but broadly, slower economic growth and inflation are expected to challenge lower-income consumers and push buyers to look for bargains.

Overall, I am forecasting international demand in 2023 to return to growth, but not at a spectacular rate, and with more suppliers competing for business.

Given the expected headwinds this year, industry investment in international markets will be critical to success. To set another record in 2023, the U.S. must continue the work being done to build demand for U.S. dairy products overseas and expand market access in key markets, all while maintaining reliability with international customers by being engaged and responsive.

This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on Feb. 21, 2023.

CWT Assists with 2.0 Million Pounds of Dairy Product Export Sales

Posted on by Khadija Gibson-White

ARLINGTON, VA – Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) member cooperatives accepted ten offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 2.0 million pounds (886 MT) of American-type cheese. The product is going to customers in Asia and Oceania, and will be delivered from March through August 2023.

CWT-assisted member cooperative year-to-date export sales total 10.2 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 50,000 pounds of butter (82% milkfat), 17.8 million pounds of whole milk powder and 1.2 million pounds of cream cheese. The products are going to 15 countries in five regions. These sales are the equivalent of 234.8 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis. Over the last 12 months, CWT assisted sales are the equivalent of 1.084 billion 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 the dairy farmers’ milk prices and margins.

Dairy Brings Resilience for Ukraine Farmer

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

One year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, dairy cows are critical to keeping Kees Huizenga’s crop and livestock operation running as the war continues to bring hardship and suffering to the country and its agriculture.

When the war began, “I went to the people, to the old employees to talk to them and tell them not to panic and that we will all stay, and that we have to keep on running the farm and keep on feeding and milking the cows because they don’t care if it’s rockets or not. They have to be milked three times a day. And that’s what we did. And everybody stayed,” said Huizenga, who is now living in his home country of the Netherlands while managing the 2,000-cow dairy and crop farm he began more than 20 years ago near Cherkasy, Ukraine, about 120 miles southeast of its capital city of Kiev.

“The creamery, the processing factory, they never skipped one day in picking up the milk. They never skipped a day in paying. We gave them some milk for free and they processed it for free and they gave these products to refugees and to the army. And a lot of people, a lot of farmers did similar things.”

Looking at the next year, the biggest challenge for Ukrainian farmers is “the uncertainty,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, if that rocket might hit your farm. We are still far away from the front line, but I know farmers who’ve been hit and who’ve been tortured and killed as well. So, I don’t know what the biggest uncertainties are. If there will be enough fertilizer available to grow a good crop. Seeds, are they more or less available. Prices because of these export complexities.”

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NMPF Commends Farmers Speaking at House Farm Bill Listening Session

Posted on by Rachel Ravencraft

NMPF commended three NMPF cooperative members who spoke up for dairy producers today at a bipartisan House Agriculture Committee farm bill listening session held in Tulare, CA. California dairy producers Brad Bosch, Jared Fernandes and Tony Lopes each discussed farmer needs as lawmakers begin work on a reauthorization of farm programs due later this year.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-PA, presided over the session, accompanied by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-CA, and Representatives David Valadao, R-CA, Jim Costa, D-CA, John Duarte, R-CA, Jimmy Panetta, D-CA, Doug LaMalfa, R-CA, Salud Carbajal, D-CA, David Rouzer, R-NC, and John Rose, R-TN. Held in one of the nation’s biggest milk-producing counties, dairy was top-of-mind as farmers and lawmakers discussed critical agricultural policies.

“Just as NMPF appreciates the work dairy producers do every day to nourish our nation and the world, we are grateful to each of our members for taking time out of their day to attend this important session,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We also thank Chairman Thompson, Speaker McCarthy, Representatives Valadao and Costa, and their colleagues for hosting today’s farm bill listening session.”

NMPF cooperative member farmers touched on critical issues NMPF is hoping the House Agriculture Committee will consider in crafting the 2023 farm bill, including key matters related to the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, the Dairy Margin Coverage program and other risk management tools, and the important sustainability opportunities that farm bill conservation programs provide to dairy producers of all sizes.

Among farmer comments:

Brad Bosch, southern California dairy farmer, California Dairies, Inc. and Dairy Farmers of America member-owner: “The dairy industry is working hard to reach a consensus on the Federal Milk Marketing Order improvements that will be submitted to USDA for consideration in a national federal order hearing.  Of most importance is returning to the ‘higher of’ Class I mover. The current formula is blamed for a nearly $1 billion loss over the last few years.

“Discussions in the industry are also focused on potential changes to the make allowance.  While make allowance changes will also go through a federal order process, the industry lacks the data to make good decisions on this issue. I hope that the next farm bill will include language giving USDA to authority to conduct mandatory plant cost studies so that we better understand the real cost of dairy manufacturing.”

Jared Fernandes, third-generation dairy farmer, Tipton, CA, Land O’Lakes, Inc. member-owner: “The 2018 Farm Bill made tremendous improvements to the dairy safety net, including through the Dairy Margin Coverage program. These changes provided better coverage levels, lower premiums and more flexibility for dairy farmers. We hope to build off of the improvements to both DMC and dairy insurance programs in the 2023 Farm Bill to continue providing dairy producers with straightforward, easy-to-use risk management tools.

“Next, we need bipartisan collaboration that encourages the adoption of conservation practices at scale. There is significant opportunity for farmers looking to utilize the USDA conservation programs, and the farm bill presents an opportunity to support and streamline these programs to make them easier for farmers to use and we encourage you to consider allowing the private sector, including farmer cooperatives and ag retailers, to extend the conservation delivery system.”

Tony Lopes, fourth-generation dairy farmer, Gustine, CA, CDI and DFA member-owner: “Across the California dairy industry, we largely view the 2018 Farm Bill as a legislative victory. It provided the much-needed safety net programs, the Dairy Margin Coverage as well as Dairy Revenue Protection, that has worked well for us through these unprecedented times through the pandemic and supply chain constraints. However, due to inflationary pressures, constraints related to how much milk volume can be enrolled in these programs as well as regionally different cost structures in calculating the milk-to-feed margin within the DMC, $9.50 is not the same as it was years ago, and it’s different in every region and every shape and size of operator. We just ask to echo Speaker McCarthy’s words with the opportunity to produce dairy on a level playing field with other regions across the country.

“Additionally, when we look at the Dairy Revenue Protection program, we ask that our friends in the dairy industry be afforded the same opportunity as our friends in the livestock sector to protect at 100% price coverage level, similar to that of the Livestock Risk Protection program. And lastly, recognizing the large component of the farm bill that is nutrition assistance. We just ask that you continue to prioritize U.S. dairy and beef production throughout that program.”