NMPF’s Galen Explains Latest Development in Farm Bill Process in Congress

NMPF’s Senior Vice President Chris Galen explains for listeners of Dairy Radio Now how the House and Senate agriculture committees are each now seeking to advance their respective versions of the 2024 Farm Bill.  Galen describes how the measures may affect dairy policy, and what the next steps are for lawmakers this spring on Capitol Hill.

 

NMPF Statement on House and Senate Farm Bill Frameworks

From NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud:

“Dairy farmers are heartened that today, both House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, R-PA, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, each released documents providing an overview of their farm bill priorities and plans. Dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own are better-served by the certainty provided under a five-year farm bill, and as both chairs point the way toward important dairy priorities across multiple farm bill titles, all of dairy is eager to see this process get moving.

“We look forward to the House Agriculture Committee’s markup of its bill on May 23. We’re ready, and excited, to work with both chairs and their ranking members to complete work on a farm bill this year.”

NMPF’s Paul Bleiberg Outlines USDA Decision On WIC Dairy Purchases

NMPF’s Executive Vice President Paul Bleiberg gives Dairy Radio Now the background on this week’s decision by USDA to adjust spending for WIC program recipients, and how that will impact dairy purchases, including milk, as the changes are implemented.

FARM Biosecurity Program Outlines HPAI Prevention and Security

The National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management, or FARM Program, is the U.S. dairy’s on-farm national social responsibility program. One of its important parts is on-farm biosecurity. Emily Yeiser-Stepp, executive director of the National Dairy FARM Program, says biosecurity is more important than ever after the recent outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in dairy cattle herds

NMPF’S Jonker Discusses Findings of Bird Flu in Cattle in Southwest

NMPF’s Chief Science Officer Jamie Jonker explains to Dairy Radio Now listeners what the implications are of the discovery that bird flu has infected some cattle in Texas and Kansas. As the USDA investigation and more sampling is done, Jonker provides tips to listeners about how they can protect their herds from the contagious virus.

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NMPF’s Bleiberg discusses new congressional report on need for farm labor

NMPF’s Executive Vice President Paul Bleiberg joins Dairy Radio Now this week to assess the impact of a new report from the House Agriculture Committee on the need that dairy farms and other ag employers have for farm workers, and what the prospects are for the push to expand the H2A visa program to dairy employers.

The Class I Mover Needs to Move

By Paul Bleiberg, Executive Vice President, Government Relations, NMPF

Even as an election looms on the horizon, USDA will soon develop its Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) modernization recommendations after months of proceedings. Meanwhile, Congress is preparing to advance a farm bill. U.S. dairy farmers and their cooperatives have a stake in both. But regardless of the policy landscape of the moment, one pressing priority that unites producers from coast to coast in every way, shape, and form is the need to restore the “higher of” Class I mover.

Since it was implemented five years ago, the current “average of” Class I mover has cost dairy farmers nationwide more than $1 billion in Class I skim revenue, with losses continuing to pile up monthly. This, of course, was not intended — but neither were the repeated price inversions that upended decades of data and showed the new mover is poorly adapted to dairy’s present and future in a variety of economic climates.

Congress changed the mover during the last farm bill to respond to fluid processor requests for risk management, but that was with the expectation that it would be revenue neutral for the dairy producer. Unfortunately, the new mover has been anything but revenue neutral, and it’s been so in a way that has overwhelmingly favored processors, who are not the epicenter of the FMMO system. The new mover has underperformed repeatedly, to the detriment of dairy farmers, in 2020, 2022, 2023, and again, month by month, in 2024. The current formulation has harmed farmers so consistently that it would have been nowhere close to revenue neutral even setting aside the calamity of 2020.

In an attempt to remedy an intolerable situation (everyone, even processors, agrees on that point, at least), several concepts have been put forth that are bandages to the problem but aren’t true solutions. Modifying the current formula, for example, to retroactively recoup producer losses would still fail to send timely price signals to farmers. The argument that this modified version would have paid more to farmers at some point just yet again exposes the problem with the “average of,” which is that it causes farmers to suffer losses when they should have been paid based on market signals and instead distorts the true market by paying them back later. That approach also provides little help to the many family dairy producers who don’t have years to be made whole, a fact underscored forcefully by continued trends toward farm consolidation.

The solution to this problem comes down to priorities. The current mover may have been a fair experiment to test, but with its performance now having been assessed, continuing the “average of” formulation can be to nothing except the detriment of dairy farmers who have lost more than $1 billion dollars of ongoing disorderly marketing of milk.

The right solution is the previous “higher of” mover. That tried-and-true approach, one that served farmers well for decades, responds quickly to and accurately reflects the marketplace, encouraging the orderly marketing of milk that provides the rationale for the FMMO system, and it helps dairy farmer cash flow when it counts. The “higher of” Class I mover must be reinstated.


This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on March 4, 2024.

NMPF’s Galen Urges DMC Signup

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.

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

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.

NMPF’s Bjerga on the Urgency of Changing the Class I Mover

NMPF Executive Vice President for Communications & Industry Relations Alan Bjerga speaks with RFD-TV about the need to change the Class I mover in a way that ends losses to dairy farmers that have totaled $1.2 billion since 2019. The mover is in the spotlight with the conclusion of USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing in Carmel, IN.

 

NMPF’s Bleiberg Explains Federal Funding Process to Avert Government Shutdown


NMPF’s Paul Bleiberg tells Dairy Radio Now listeners about the latest developments in efforts on Capitol Hill to fund the government in 2024 before certain agencies run out of money.  He also explains the impact of the funding fight on efforts to pass a new Farm Bill in the spring months, before time runs out as the political focus shifts to the fall election campaign.

 

NMPF’s Galen Outlines Latest Developments on FMMO Hearing, School Milk Legislation

NMPF’s Chris Galen provides the latest developments for the listeners of Dairy Radio Now on two key priorities for farmers:  updating the milk pricing system, and expanding milk options in schools.  The USDA’s national hearing on Federal Order modernization continued its review of Class I differentials this week in Indiana, while back in Washington, NMPF is building support for an anticipated vote next week in the House of Representatives on a bill that would expand students’ milk options in schools.