National Milk Producers Federation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its final decision Friday to limit the unfair pricing exemption enjoyed by large, vertically-integrated farmer-owned bottling plants, which according to NMPF will close the loophole for the largest “producer-handler” milk bottlers.  read more»

The charge of the Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) Subcommittee that is part of the overall NMPF Strategic Planning effort has been expanded to include a thorough review of supply-demand approaches, as well as an examination of ways to expand CWT’s programs. Because of this change, the name of the CWT Subcommittee has been changed to Production Management Subcommittee.  read more»

On February 23, livestock and poultry groups hosted educational briefings on Capitol Hill to share the facts about the importance of tools like antibiotics in raising healthy food animals. The informational sessions were co-hosted by NMPF, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association through beef checkoff funding, the National Chicken Council, National Pork Producers Council, National Turkey Federation, American Meat Institute, and National Meat Association.  read more»

On February 5, USDA announced a new, flexible framework for animal disease traceability in the United States. The framework will provide the basic tenets of an improved animal disease traceability capability for the country. USDA’s efforts will:  read more»

NMPF will be testifying at the International Trade Commission’s hearing today on the estimated economic impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) FTA. NMPF’s comments will focus predominantly on the severe harm that would result on US dairy producers if U.S.-New Zealand dairy trade were to be expanded as part of the TPP. NMPF is preparing a statement template on the TPP FTA for coops to use to submit comments to the ITC following the hearing if they wish.  read more»

NMPF and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) applauded an introduction of a House bill last week that would allow for open travel for all Americans to Cuba and further facilitate U.S. agricultural exports to that nation.  read more»

NMPF commented last month on the New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene national sodium reduction initiative. The voluntary initiative sought to reduce sodium content on a variety of consumer products including cheese and cheese for frozen pizza.  read more»

In comments to USDA, the National Milk Producers Federation supported efforts to update the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food packages to reflect current nutrition science. However, NMPF disagreed with USDA’s decision to require any changes in the program to be cost-neutral.  read more»

The National Milk Producers Federation is now accepting applications for its National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program for academic year 2010-2011.  read more»

After being part of the NMPF staff for six years, Mary Knigge (Manager, Government Relations) left the organization in February to join the House Agriculture Committee professional staff. In her new role, she will be assisting the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Subcommittee for Chairman David Scott (D-GA) and Ranking Member Randy Neugebauer (R-TX).

The NMPF Board of Director's spring 2010 meeting is scheduled for March 8-9 at the Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City hotel in Arlington, Virginia.  read more»

The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) will host the Animal Care and Handling Conference for the Food Industry from March 25-26, 2010, in Kansas City, MO. The conference is the leading animal welfare educational opportunity for meat companies, their customers, and those involved in the production and management of livestock and meat products. NMPF is a co-sponsor of the conference.