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NMPF Co-op Member Outlines Dairy Needs in Farm Bill Kickoff Hearing

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Michigan dairy farmer Ashley Kennedy, a member of the Michigan Milk Producers Association, testified on behalf of MMPA and the National Milk Producers Federation at the Senate Agriculture Committee’s first hearing dedicated to the upcoming Farm Bill, the twice-a-decade reauthorization of all USDA programs.

“I couldn’t have come back to the family farm if it were not for many of these programs,” said Kennedy, whose family milks 240 cows in east-central Michigan, at the field hearing held April 29 at Michigan State University in East Lansing. “Being a part of the conversation is essential to see a future that reflects opportunity and success.”

Addressing Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), who presided over the hearing, Kennedy discussed her perspective as a third-generation farmer on the successes and shortcomings of current dairy policies and programs Congress must address in the next reauthorization. Kennedy thanked the committee, and Chairwoman Stabenow in particular, for overhauling the dairy safety net during the last farm bill and providing producers with access to crop insurance-like risk management tools, which puts dairy farmers on par with producers of other commodities.

Kennedy praised the Dairy Margin Coverage program as “essential to our farm and family’s financial success last year” and called attention to recent improvements that accounted for modest production increases and better reflect dairy farmer feed costs.

Still, the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic for the dairy sector in Michigan and nationwide need to be considered, Kennedy said in her written testimony, including the effects of a milk pricing change made in the previous farm bill. “The combined effects of the change made to the Class I mover in the last farm bill, and the government’s heavy cheese purchases, cost dairy farmers over $750 million in Class I skim revenue ring the last six months of 2020.”

The dairy industry, under NMPF leadership, is seeking consensus on a range of improvements to the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, including but not limited to the Class I mover, that can be taken to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for consideration in a national order hearing.

Beyond economic policy, Kennedy also advocated for additional investments in conservation programs to help dairy farmers build on their ongoing sustainability work; urged a doubling of funding for key trade promotion programs; and spoke to the importance of farm bill nutrition programs as “the bedrock of linking the food we produce as farmers to households across the country.”

Kennedy closed by offering a personal take on the need for significant mental health policy in the farm bill. “Stress in rural America is not talked about enough, which is unfortunate, because it’s a problem we can only solve by working together.” Kennedy thanked the committee for reauthorizing the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network in the last farm bill but urged that even more robust resources be provided.

The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to hold an additional field hearing in Arkansas, the home state of Ranking Republican John Boozman, in the coming weeks.

NMPF Looks Forward to White House Conference on Nutrition, Emphasizes Dairy’s Role

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“NMPF looks forward to the first White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health in more than 50 years, to advance the goals of ending hunger, increasing healthy eating and physical activity, and decreasing the prevalence of diet-related diseases across our nation. Dairy products — and the 13 essential nutrients they provide — are a key ingredient in this effort. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans shows that dietary patterns including dairy are associated with beneficial health outcomes, including lowered risk for cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes. The dietary guidelines also identify dairy products as a critical source of calcium, potassium and vitamin D, three of the four nutrients of public health concern, and note that dairy is under-consumed across all age categories.

“NMPF looks forward to working with the White House and both public and private partners toward advancing these incredibly important goals as we work to ensure all Americans have access to healthy food.”

NMPF’s Bjerga on How Dairy Farmers Face High Inflation

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses how dairy farmers are facing high inflation, with rising feed and labor costs eating into record milk prices, on RFD-TV. USDA reported last week that March saw the highest-ever monthly U.S. average all-milk price, at $25.90/cwt. This was twenty cents per cwt higher than the previous record, in September 2014.

NMPF Co-op Member Outlines Dairy Needs in Farm Bill Kickoff Hearing in Michigan

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Michigan dairy farmer Ashley Kennedy, a member of the Michigan Milk Producers Association, testified on behalf of MMPA and the National Milk Producers Federation at the Senate Agriculture Committee’s first hearing dedicated to the upcoming Farm Bill, the twice-a-decade reauthorization of all USDA programs.

“I couldn’t have come back to the family farm if it were not for many of these programs,” said Kennedy, whose family milks 240 cows in east-central Michigan, at the field hearing held Friday at Michigan State University in East Lansing. “Being a part of the conversation is essential to see a future that reflects opportunity and success.”

Addressing Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), who presided over the hearing, Kennedy discussed her perspective as a third-generation farmer on the successes and shortcomings of current dairy policies and programs Congress must address in the next reauthorization. Kennedy thanked the committee, and Chairwoman Stabenow in particular, for overhauling the dairy safety net during the last farm bill and providing producers with access to crop insurance-like risk management tools, which puts dairy farmers on par with producers of other commodities.

Kennedy praised the Dairy Margin Coverage program as “essential to our farm and family’s financial success last year” and called attention to recent improvements that accounted for modest production increases and better reflect dairy farmer feed costs.

Still, the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic for the dairy sector in Michigan and nationwide need to be incorporated into the next reauthorization of federal farm programs, she said in her written testimony. The effects of federal programs on milk pricing deserve special attention, she said. “The combined effects of the change made to the Class I mover in the last farm bill, and the government’s heavy cheese purchases, cost dairy farmers over $750 million in Class I skim revenue during the last six months of 2020.”

The dairy industry, under NMPF leadership, is seeking consensus on a range of improvements to the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, including but not limited to the Class I mover, that can be taken to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for consideration in a national order hearing.

Beyond economic policy, Kennedy also advocated for additional investments in conservation programs to help dairy farmers build on their ongoing sustainability work; urged a doubling of funding for key trade promotion programs; and spoke to the importance of farm bill nutrition programs as “the bedrock of linking the food we produce as farmers to households across the country.”

Kennedy closed by offering a personal take on the need for significant mental health policy in the farm bill. “Stress in rural America is not talked about enough, which is unfortunate, because it’s a problem we can only solve by working together.” Kennedy thanked the committee for reauthorizing the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network in the last farm bill but urged that even more robust resources be provided.

The Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to hold an additional field hearing in Arkansas, the home state of Ranking Republican John Boozman, in the coming weeks.

U.S. Trade Representative Remarks on EU GI Abuses in Special 301 Report

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

The Consortium for Common Food Names (CCFN), U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) today welcomed the U.S. Trade Representative’s prioritization in this year’s Special 301 Report of the importance of preserving U.S. food and beverage producers’ market access rights in the face of persistent efforts by the European Union (EU) to misuse geographical indications (GIs) and create non-tariff barriers to trade in markets around the world. The report follows detailed comments on the global scale of various common name threats submitted in January by CCFN and supported by USDEC and NMPF.

This annual report outlines global challenges on intellectual property issues and describes in detail the European Union’s (EU) campaign to eliminate competition by restricting the use of common food and beverage terms, such as “parmesan,” “bologna” and “chateau.” The EU’s strategy, active in numerous countries around the world, erects unfair barriers to trade that negatively impact non-EU exporters relying on common food names, as illustrated by USTR’s report which noted, “As part of its trade agreement negotiations, the EU pressures trading partners to prevent any producer, except from those in certain EU regions, from using certain product names, such as fontina, gorgonzola, parmesan, asiago, or feta. This is despite the fact that these terms are the common names for products produced in countries around the world.”

“We whole-heartedly agree with USTR about the harm imposed by the EU’s deliberate restriction of generic food and beverage terms in markets around the world,” said Jaime Castaneda, executive director of CCFN. “USTR’s Special 301 report should serve as a foundation upon which the administration can build a more proactive and focused global campaign of its own to counteract the EU’s long running efforts. U.S. farmers and food producers, and others around the world, deserve the chance to compete fairly in export markets.”

“The U.S. government has accurately diagnosed the EU’s deliberate global strategy of cloaking nontariff trade barriers as ‘GIs’ so that it doesn’t have to compete head-to-head in common product categories with U.S. food producers,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “By deploying all of the tools at its disposal, including use of existing U.S. FTAs, the upcoming IPEF talks and TIFAs, the administration can take strong action to establish concrete market access protections with our trading partners around the world. The time for this is now and we stand ready to support those proactive efforts on behalf of American farmers.”

“Because we export the equivalent of 17% of U.S. milk production, trade barriers like bans on the use of common cheese names have profound consequences for the entire American dairy industry, from the many small and medium-sized family-owned companies to farmer-owned cooperatives and the workers employed there,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “U.S. dairy farmers and cheesemakers only want a fair shot at sharing their high-quality, sustainably produced products with consumers around the globe. By doubling down on combating global restrictions on the sale of common name products, USTR can defend opportunities for American-made products internationally and the jobs they support here at home.”

U.S. Dairy Industry Urges Additional Export Supply Chain Relief

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) today sent a letter to the Biden administration recommending specific steps to provide relief and support to dairy farmers and exporters facing supply chain constraints.

The letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg called for interagency collaboration to enhance capacity at ports, incentivize carriers to load export cargo, and improve transparency throughout the supply chain. The lead recommendation called for USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) to restart its Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report (OSCAR).

“Supply chain challenges have cost U.S. dairy exporters over $1.5 billion last year alone. We thank Secretaries Vilsack and Buttigieg for their advocacy for America’s agriculture exporters in the face of significant supply chain constraints. We are incredibly grateful for the administration’s ongoing efforts and creative solutions, particularly for the development of ‘pop-up’ sites for agricultural exporters to source empty containers,” said Krysta Harden, president and CEO of USDEC. “The additional recommendations submitted today would provide agricultural exporters much needed insight into container availability and provide avenues to incentivize carriers to load outbound shipments to key dairy markets around the world.”

“Shipping containers for U.S. dairy exports continue to be in short supply at coastal ports, and even more scarce at inland locations. These essential links in the global supply chain must be available to American dairy exporters throughout the country in order to ship their products to overseas buyers,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “We thank USDA and DOT for their strong focus on this issue. As congestion continues, so too must the spectrum of tools deployed to address these challenges. Today’s letter highlights the additional steps necessary to take to ensure American dairy farmers are not losing long-term international market share due to these persistent supply chain challenges.”

The specified programmatic elements to provide supply chain relief include:

  • Restarting USDA AMS’ OSCAR, which would detail the availability of ocean shipping containers at locations throughout the United States.
  • Establishing inland pop-up terminal yards, similar to those in Oakland and Seattle, in Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Salt Lake City and Kansas City. This would enable greater access inland to containers and improve the ability to secure vessel accommodations with short earliest-return-date windows at those locations.
  • Developing the ‘fast lane’ concept to incentivize the flow of agriculture exports into and from ports. This would include trucking lanes at port terminals that are dedicated to the expeditious delivery of perishable agriculture goods to ports.
  • Incentivizing ocean carriers to load more export containers, instead of empty containers, through preferred or prioritized berthing access.
  • Including real-time tracking of containers as part of the Administration’s Freight Logistics Optimization Works initiative.
  • Piloting projects with carriers for ‘dual turns’ of containers, wherein containers delivering imports to an in-land location may be provided directly to an export-focused shipper, rather than being sent back empty to the port. This could be supported through the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation resources.

 

 

What’s Important to Know About Dairy on Earth Day

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Spring has arrived, the weather is warming (though not too much, we hope), and Earth Day is April 22. Dairy always has reasons to celebrate Earth Day (or Week, or Month — we have enough reasons to carry the season), an opportunity to refocus on its environmental and climate leadership within agriculture in the U.S. and worldwide. Here are a few of them, courtesy of our colleagues at Undeniably Dairy.

  • Due to innovative farming and feed practices, a gallon of milk in 2017 required 30% less water, 21% less land and 19% smaller carbon footprint than in 2007.
  • According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, since 2005 North America was the only region in the world that reduced its greenhouse gas emissions, even as it increased milk production, making its greenhouse gas intensity for dairy products the lowest in the world.
  • Dairy farms are a powerful tools against food waste by diverting byproducts (such as almond hulls, citrus pulp, and brewer’s grains) from other food industries and using them as feed, converting potentially unused resources into high-nutrient foods and beverages. Dairy farmers can also convert food waste and manure into valuable products such as renewable energy and fertilizer.
  • U.S. dairy has set a goal to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2050, creating a cross-industry Net Zero Initiative that advances research, on-farm pilots and new market development to make sustainability practices more accessible and affordable to farms of all sizes and regions.

All these facts are important to know. But maybe you want to dig deeper. Maybe you need some uplifting reading … or some social media content to share … to help you become an influencer. If that’s the case, could we suggest these helpful links, sharing stories about dairy’s stewardship of the planet and the farmers who care for them? These are just a start.

The list could go on and on – and we intend to keep adding! So grab a glass of milk and be glad you’re consuming the perfect nutritional complement to an important date on the calendar this week. Sustainability solutions are worth celebrating — and not just on Earth Day. It’s what dairy seeks every day.

NMPF Statement on NYC Mayor Adams Backing Off Proposed Ban of Flavored Milk in Schools

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

From NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern:

“Dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own are pleased that Mayor Adams isn’t moving forward with a misguided ban on flavored milk in schools and instead maintaining New York City schools’ ability to offer a wide variety of milk that’s consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Flavored milk is rich in nutrients like calcium, potassium, and vitamin D; its consumption as an aid to better student nutrition is supported by parents, physicians, and public health professionals alike. Just this spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture moved forward with a rule to allow schools to offer low-fat flavored milk for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.

“Today’s victory is the product of diligent work. We particularly thank Representatives Antonio Delgado (D-NY) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) for their advocacy in support of continued flexibility for schools to serve children healthy milk and dairy products that benefit their growth and development.”

NMPF’s Jonker Discusses Net Zero Goals

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

This week is Earth Week, and the U.S. dairy industry is celebrating by highlighting the sustainability efforts of dairy farmers. Jamie Jonker, National Milk Producers Federation Chief Science Officer and Vice President of Sustainability and Scientific Affairs, says the biggest goal for dairy farmers was developed a few years ago to be greenhouse gas neutral, or better, by 2050. Jonker spoke with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters.

NMPF’s Bjerga on Ukraine’s Agricultural Challenges

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discusses efforts to assist farmers in Ukraine and some of the challenges faced by the sector in an interview with WEKZ, Janesville, Wisconsin. Livestock producers face special challenges with feed and fuel, while farmers also are struggling with access to transportation.