NMPF’s Senior Vice President for Communications, Alan Bjerga, discusses NMPF’s “CEO’s Corner” for June, which deals with U.S. dairy’s growing leadership in sustainable dairy exports. The monthly thought-leadership series highlights key dairy issues of the day from an NMPF perspective and is part of the organization’s “Sharing Our Story” initiative that spotlights farmer voices and industry commentary. Bjerga spoke on WEKZ radio, Janesville, Wisconsin.
NMPF Senior Vice President for Policy Strategy and International Trade Jaime Castaneda says the U.S. needs to be careful in how it handles concerns about trade with Mexico of seasonal agricultural products, given the ripple effect Mexican trade has across agriculture. Castaneda also discussed the USMCA trade agreement, dairy sales to China and other issues on the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast.
NMPF’s Senior Vice President of Communications, Alan Bjerga, discusses a Senate effort to keep Canada and Mexico accountable on USMCA dairy provisions, as well as the need for additional dairy disaster assistance including USDA commodity purchases, on RFD-TV.
NMPF’s vice president for trade, Shawna Morris, talks about the importance of enforcing the dairy provisions of the USMCA trade agreement, including access to Canada’s market and the protection of common cheese names in Mexico, on the Adams on Agriculture podcast.
Jaime Castaneda, the executive director of the Consortium for Common Food Names, discusses why nontariff barriers against cheeses that use common terms like havarti in their names harm American farmers, limit choices for consumers and have put farming and manufacturing jobs across an essential sector at risk. The chat on the “Adams on Agriculture” podcast comes in the wake of a Senate letter last week in which 61 U.S. senators asked for more protection of feta, parmesan and other common food names.
NMPF’s vice president for government relations, Paul Bleiberg, discusses the potential for a Senate agricultural labor bill this year — and NMPF’s member fly-in to discuss the issue with individual Senators — on the Adams on Agriculture podcast.
As the voice of dairy farmers in Washington, the National Milk Producers Federation constantly works for policy solutions to help our members succeed. As an organization that advances the interests of dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own, we strive to help producers meet their evolving needs regardless of the prevailing policy environment in Washington. Our ongoing efforts to improve dairy’s labor situation are a clear example of both priorities at work.
Agricultural labor reform legislation is a top Washington priority for us in 2020. We’re doing all we can to advance the policy process even though it’s a contentious election year. We’re also building the new FARM Workforce Development program, which will give farmers tools to better manage their workforce needs in the here and now. One effort aims to create a reliable ag worker program that would alleviate labor shortages and allow for future growth; the other focuses on human resources and safety management to ensure the highest quality dairy workforce here and now. The dual approach embodies NMPF’s comprehensive, farmer-driven problem-solving.
About farm-labor legislation: We celebrated a win last December when the House of Representatives passed its first ag-labor bill since 1986. The initiative created a workable guest-worker program for year-round agricultural sectors, including dairy, and offered a vehicle that can be improved and reconciled with any bill on this topic the Senate passes this year. But of course, key to that strategy is actual Senate passage – and on that front we are working diligently to pave a way forward.
We’re anticipating a Senate bill will be introduced this spring containing changes to the H-2A visa program so it can work for dairy – and stabilization of our current workforce. Observers of behind-the-scenes negotiations expect that the Republican-led Senate will likely make improvements to H2A that build on the House’s initial effort. Indications are that USDA is working to keep ag labor reform on the agenda and that the White House has spoken with Republican senators on this topic, suggesting that a compromise is still possible.
Any Senate bill would likely need to be considered before Congress leaves for its summer recess to have a chance to be reconciled with the House legislation in time for final congressional approval this year. We’re making sure dairy’s voice is heard throughout the process – including by having a large group of our dairy advocates from across the country make Capitol Hill visits this month to talk with their Senators. Ag labor reform is crucial for future prosperity. This potential opportunity isn’t one we can afford to let pass by.
But working for improvements in Washington isn’t enough to help farmers navigating an increasingly complex labor market on their own farms every day. That’s where FARM Workforce Development (WFD) comes in. FARM is developing a guide to best practices that offers assistance, not requirements — designed to help farms improve their HR and safety management; identify which best practices will be most useful to implement on their farm; and track improvement over time.
The WFD program area as a whole is focused on farm-level best-practices. And by helping farmers better lead their workforces, it also provides important assurances to dairy customers, an increasingly important consideration in a consumer conscious age.
A WFD evaluation tool was tested in a pilot program involving 10 cooperatives and 28 dairies that provided feedback, ranging in size from 120 cows to 18,000. We also solicited public comments on the tool. Overall response to the tool was positive and constructive, and the tool itself will be discussed and presented for approval at National Milk’s Board meeting later this month. FARM Workforce Development may not generate the headlines of immigration legislation, but it is very important – because farmers won’t prosper tomorrow if they don’t thrive in the here and now.
That is, after all, what we are striving to do. There may be no more emotional or complex an issue in dairy today than labor markets. But that’s exactly why engagement is so crucial. Farmer concerns spur action – and progress – inside the Beltway and far beyond it. It’s all how we serve our members, and our commitment will not waver.
ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) cheered today’s Senate vote paving the way for the President’s signature of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Looking ahead, USDEC and NMPF urged U.S. officials to carefully monitor Canada and Mexico’s USMCA commitments once the trade deal takes effect to ensure its provisions are enforced accordingly so that the dairy industry is able to reap the full benefits of the agreement negotiated by Ambassador Lighthizer and the negotiating teams at USTR and USDA.
“USMCA makes important strides to break down trade barriers, opening the door to new opportunities and supporting the flow of high-quality American dairy products to two valuable export markets,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “The strong enforcement measures included in the final agreement give officials the tools necessary to hold our trade partners accountable and ensure the gains secured by USMCA are completely realized. We are grateful to the Administration for the sizable accomplishments secured in USMCA on dairy. With this trade deal complete, negotiators can now turn their attention to other key markets around the world in order to gain further ground for U.S. dairy.”
“America’s dairy farmers are celebrating today’s bipartisan vote as a win. Under President Trump’s leadership, USTR and USDA negotiated an agreement that will deliver a more certain future for our dairy farmers and rural economy,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “The U.S. must now remain diligent and proactively work with Canada and Mexico to implement USMCA in both letter and spirit. Full compliance is essential to achieving more fair trade with Canada and protecting American-made cheeses in Mexico.”
USMCA fundamentally changes Canada’s trade-distorting policies, reforms Canada’s controversial dairy pricing system and provides exclusive Canadian market access for U.S. farmers and manufacturers. According to the International Trade Commission, U.S. dairy exports are projected to increase by more than $314 million a year. USMCA also strengthens the relationship between Mexico and the U.S. and establishes new protections for products that rely on common cheese names, such as parmesan and feta.
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Paul Bleiberg, NMPF’s vice president for government affairs, talks about the new agriculture labor bill before the House of Representatives on the Adams on Agriculture podcast.
The push to complete the U.S.–Mexico–Canada agreement (USMCA) received a boost in June when Mexico became the first country to ratify the trade agreement. Still, Washington has yet to take action, making collaboration key as NMPF works with other stakeholders to get the agreement over the finish line.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s Office is working with leading members of Congress to hash out a way forward, specifically focusing on concerns expressed by Democrats to guarantee sufficient Congressional support. Complementing that work, about 50 dairy farmers and dairy-cooperative staff took NMPF’s message in support of USMCA’s passage directly to Capitol Hill in June. Their on-the-ground advocacy was dovetailed with NMPF’s work to educate policymakers on the importance of this trade agreement to the dairy industry.
Also last month, NMPF joined forces with the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the International Dairy Foods Association to write to members of Congress from top dairy-producing states, asking them to “please pursue a USMCA vote without delay” on behalf of the dairy farms and businesses they represent.
“Solidifying and expanding trade opportunities abroad through USMCA will improve the prospects of dairy farms here at home,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “In the midst of uncertainty surrounding our trade relationships and yet another year of meager milk prices, the United States lost an average of seven dairy farms a day in 2018. The passage of USMCA will instill a renewed sense of optimism in our dairy farmers.”
USMCA will help bolster the U.S. dairy industry by locking in existing access to our key export market in Mexico while increasing trade opportunities in Canada and establishing new trade rules to discipline Canada’s trade-distorting dairy policies, discourage unscientific barriers to trade and preserve the rights of common cheese name users. U.S. government estimates calculate that USMCA will increase U.S. dairy exports to Mexico and Canada by $277 million once it is fully implemented.
The importance of committing to solidifying dependable trading conditions with our biggest export market – Mexico – was driven home in early June as President Donald Trump threatened to impose escalating tariffs against all Mexican products in an unrelated dispute over immigration. Numerous groups, including NMPF, swiftly spoke out against the proposal, and late on June 7th the White House announced it would not proceed with the tariffs.
In a statement issued the day after the President threatened to impose tariffs, NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern warned that “New tariffs against Mexico are unlikely to secure the border, but judging from reaction on Capitol Hill, they may very well jeopardize the chances of passing the USMCA, a key White House priority and one that’s crucial for future agricultural prosperity. Re-escalating trade tensions only harms farmers further, just when they were seeing glimmers of hope.” Over the course of the intervening week when the prospect of tariffs loomed, NMPF took the threat of upheaval to this critical market seriously, arming Young Cooperators meeting with dozens of Congressional offices with talking points urging maintenance of open trade with Mexico and joining onto a joint statement with others in the agriculture and business communities.
NMPF estimates that producers have lost at least $2.3 billion in revenues through March due to higher tariffs by Mexico and China against U.S. dairy, which have lowered milk prices for all producers.
Dairy producers got a dose of much-needed good news in May when North American trading partners reached agreement to end a testy tariff dispute. The trade deal announced May 17 put an end to the Section 232 metal duties that the United States levied against Mexico and Canada last year. In return, Mexico and Canada agreed to end retaliatory tariffs against several U.S. products, including cheese and yogurt. Economists with Informa Agribusiness Consulting had estimated that Mexico’s retaliatory tariffs, left unchecked, would have cost dairy farmers nearly $1.2 billion in lost revenue by the end of 2019.
“Dairy farmers have much to celebrate, with the resumption of normal business with our largest export partner,” Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, said. Congress’s next step should be “to vote on USMCA and quickly ratify it,” he said.
Dairy quickly capitalized on the USMCA momentum, with NMPF joining with the U.S. Dairy Export Council and the International Dairy Foods Association to inform Congress in a letter sent June 10 endorsing swift USMCA approval. The next day NMPF joined with almost a thousand other food and agricultural organizations and companies, including many NMPF members, to send a unified message to the Hill urging movement on the trade agreement.
USMCA modernizes the North American Free Trade Agreement, maintains U.S. dairy sales into Mexico, expands dairy market access in Canada, and reforms many nontariff barriers to trade. Dairy sales to Mexico and Canada should grow by a total of $277 million once USMCA is fully implemented, according to U.S. government estimates.
Dairy exports to Mexico totaled $1.4 billion last year, or 80 percent of Mexico’s total imports, and are poised for further growth under the open trade conditions that USMCA solidifies. Negotiations of the trade deal were completed in November but requires congressional approval. NMPF and its partners at the U.S. Dairy Export Council have pushed for USMCA ratification through a series of Capitol Hill meetings, briefings, special events, and letters to lawmakers.
