Listen to the latest updates on trade and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act from NMPF Senior Vice President of Membership Services and Strategic Initiatives Chris Galen on Dairy Radio Now.

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) praised the House of Representatives for today approving legislation implementing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

“USMCA will bring tangible benefits to the U.S. dairy industry by upgrading trade rules, opening the Canadian market to U.S. dairy exports and preserving our valuable market access in Mexico,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of USDEC. “Today’s bipartisan vote is indicative of the need to immediately secure these benefits for dairy and all of agriculture.”

“Today’s vote brings us one step closer to finalizing USMCA and securing a more certain future for America’s farmers and ranchers,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “It is imperative that the Senate act now to finalize USMCA.”

Ambassador Robert Lighthizer worked diligently alongside members of Congress to address outstanding concerns and deliver an improved trade pact. The House passage of USMCA and its broad range of support is a testament to their efforts.

USMCA makes important changes to Canada’s trade-distorting policies, reforms Canada’s controversial dairy pricing system and provides exclusive access to the Canadian market for U.S. farmers and manufacturers. The trade deal also strengthens our relationship with Mexico and establishes new protections for common cheese names, using a combination of approaches to protect the continued use of a number of generic cheese terms, such as parmesan and feta.

The National Milk Producers Federation commended Congress for including language in the report accompanying the final 2020 government funding measure to urge the Food and Drug Administration to finally enforce dairy-product standards of identity.

Both the House and Senate versions of the Agriculture-FDA bill report included language reaffirming bipartisan congressional concern with mislabeled imitation dairy products and directing FDA to enforce its own rules on labeling. The House and Senate passed the final compromise funding bill this week.

“We hope that the bipartisan, bicameral reminder from Congress, coupled with Dr. Stephen Hahn’s confirmation as FDA Commissioner earlier this month, will give FDA momentum to finally enforce standards of identity for dairy products,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Plant-based mislabeling intentionally misleads consumers into purchasing nutritionally inferior products that bear dairy’s good name. It’s long past time for FDA to right this wrong, and we hope this message from Congress helps make it happen.”

The report reaffirms Congress’s concern “about the proliferation of products …. that include the names of dairy products that do not contain milk or ingredients derived from milk,” as stated in Senate language. To address the problem, the Senate asks FDA to report on “steps taken to enforce against dairy imitation products marketed using dairy names,” while House language “urges the FDA to continue its work toward ultimately enforcing standards of identity for dairy products.”

The final measure also provides funding for several critical programs that were authorized last year in the 2018 Farm Bill. These include the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network to help distressed farmers during challenging times; the Dairy Business Innovation program to help the dairy industry explore opportunities for innovation and modernization; and the Healthy Fluid Milk Incentives Program designed to increase consumption of fluid milk.

ARLINGTON, VA – To help consumers find real dairy foods in an increasingly confusing retail marketplace, the National Milk Producers Federation today unveiled a completely redesigned website for the REAL® Seal, www.realseal.com, complete with a buyer’s guide that helps steer shoppers to those brands that feature the REAL Seal and use only real milk.

This is the first significant change in the online presence for the REAL Seal since NMPF first assumed management of the Seal in 2012. The new website will contain more content to educate consumers about why they should look for the REAL® Seal on the foods they buy, while also continuing to help those companies using the Seal to enhance their product marketing.

The new website will educate consumers about the REAL® Seal brand and the benefits of domestic dairy products, as only dairy foods made in America with American-produced cows’ milk are eligible to display the REAL® Seal.  The site showcases certified brands and products, and makes it easier for users to learn where to purchase them in retail locations.  It also streamlines the REAL® Seal application process to encourage more brands to apply for certification.

“NMPF continues to battle the misuse of dairy terms by plant-based products that seek to copy every aspect of real dairy, apart from nutrition,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF.  “The REAL® Seal allows us to work with food marketers to apply a simple, highly-recognizable icon on their products to help consumers separate the real from the fake.”

The new website both educates consumers about how real dairy foods compare to imitators, and explains how the REAL Seal program delineates which brands can use the seal.  The REAL Guide component of the website helps shoppers find certified brands and products displaying the Seal.

“We know many consumers want authentic foods made with quality and integrity. The dairy sector’s use of the REAL Seal, more than 40 years after it was created, is our ongoing commitment to help people define what’s real in the dairy case when they go shopping,” Mulhern said.  “As people increasingly turn to online sources for information about their shopping options, this new site is an important part of that mission.” The website is part of the REAL Seal’s suite of digital tools, including its Facebook and Pinterest communities.

ARLINGTON, Va. – To understand how dairy can be a part of climate solutions, it’s important to be clear about the role it plays in greenhouse gas emissions in the first place, said Dr. Frank Mitloehner, a professor in animal science at the University of California-Davis.

“Comparing cows versus cars is a major flaw” in how climate impacts are measured, he said, because agriculture is part of a carbon life cycle, rather than an extraction of resources that have been in the ground for millions of years. “We know every detail about the impact of dairies on greenhouse gases, on air and water pollutants, and so forth. We know what these impacts are, and we know how to further mitigate those,” Mitloehner said.

To listen to the full podcast, click here. You can also find the Dairy Defined podcast on Spotify,  SoundCloud and Google Play. Broadcast outlets may use the MP3 file. Please attribute information to NMPF.

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The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), based in Arlington, VA, develops and carries out policies that advance dairy producers and the cooperatives they own. NMPF’s member cooperatives produce more than two-thirds of U.S. milk, making NMPF dairy’s voice on Capitol Hill and with government agencies. For more, visit www.nmpf.org.

From Jim Mulhern, President and CEO

“We congratulate Dr. Stephen Hahn on his bipartisan confirmation as FDA commissioner. Dr. Hahn will provide strong leadership and direction to an agency that, understandably, has been reticent to resolve important issues in the absence of a full-fledged leader.

“Dr Hahn showed in his confirmation hearing that he understands the public-health need to address the issue of mislabeled plant-based products inappropriately marketed using dairy terms. As this problem grows more acute, consumer deception about nutritional content increases, adding urgency to the need for the FDA to enforce its own rules.

“Dr. Hahn has voiced his support for ‘clear, transparent, and understandable labeling for the American people,’ and we urge him to act quickly on this issue at FDA, as he pledged during his confirmation hearing.”

Senior Vice President of Policy Strategy and International Trade Jaime Castaneda gives updates on the impact of USMCA on the dairy industry and the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.

The National Milk Producers Federation today commended the House of Representatives for its bipartisan passage of the Farm Workforce Modernization Act (H.R. 5038). The bill, the first House-passed agricultural labor reform since a comprehensive immigration plan in 1986, includes critical provisions to address dairy’s unique workforce needs.

NMPF thanks Immigration Subcommittee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA). ), the lead sponsors of H.R. 5038, as well as its more than four-dozen co-sponsors drawn from each party, for their work on this legislation, which has drawn wide support from prominent groups in the agriculture, business, worker, and humanitarian communities.

“The passage of legislation that helps address dairy’s unique workforce challenges is certainly a milestone and an opportunity we must pursue to the fullest,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of NMPF. “Agricultural labor reform is long overdue. With today’s action it is now imperative that the Senate act to fully address the needs of dairy farmers and all of agriculture, helping farmers do what they do best: feed our nation, and the world.”

“The urgency to reform the agricultural labor system cannot be overstated for dairy farmers,” said Mike McCloskey, dairy farmer and chair of NMPF’s Immigration Task Force. “Today, House members on a bipartisan basis showed us that they are taking our labor crisis seriously. We will use this momentum to work with the Senate to build consensus in drafting an improved bill that further addresses dairy’s workforce needs.”

More than 300 dairy, agriculture, business, and agriculture-allied organizations urged House leaders in mid-November to bring the bill to the floor for a full House vote, while more than 80 immigration and labor advocacy organizations called on their representatives to support the measure. The bill’s diverse backing ranged from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights and the United Farm Workers to:

• The New York Farm Bureau, whose President, David Fisher said the bill “goes a long way towards addressing the workforce shortage that limits farmers’ ability to plant, harvest, and care for livestock.” The legislation “would take a significant step to ensure that New York agriculture is positioned to have a sustainable and reliable workforce that will support our rural economy.”
• The Cato Institute, whose analysis estimated the bill “would have saved H-2A farmers in 2019 about $324 million in labor expenses for H-2A workers alone.” The bill would “substantially reduce the illegal market for labor and increase agricultural production, without harming U.S. workers,” the organization said.
• And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which stated the bill “would take important steps to address the growing struggle of agricultural employers to meet their workforce needs.”

Discussing artificial milk, competition and the “fake-food” frenzy, with Jim Mulhern, CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation.

Watch the full video

ARLINGTON, VA – The U.S. dairy industry commended the White House and Congress for reaching a deal on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and urged lawmakers to vote swiftly on legislation implementing the trade pact.

“Passing USMCA would be a boon to America’s dairy farmers,” said Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation. “USMCA will expand trade opportunities with our most valuable partners and secure immediate benefits for our rural communities, adding an estimated $548 million to dairy-farm revenues in its first six years after implementation. Newly announced improvements to USMCA will also ensure that if our trading partners flout their dairy obligations under the trade deal, the U.S. has the tools it needs to vigorously enforce our rights. An already good deal for U.S. dairy farmers is even better now, thanks to these changes.”

Our membership would specifically like to thank Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, who provided enormous leadership working with members of Congress to address their concerns, as well as the work of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress who worked hard to find solutions that addressed concerns over the agreement.

Now it’s up to Congress to quickly finalize USMCA and secure its benefits for America’s dairy industry this year.

“Washington has worked hard to make USMCA an even better deal for America’s dairy farmers and exporters; now we are counting on Congress to move expeditiously to pass USMCA and usher in its significant improvements to trade rules,” said Tom Vilsack, president and CEO of the U.S. Dairy Export Council. “Finalizing USMCA will bolster international confidence in the U.S. as a serious negotiating partner and build momentum for other trade agreements in key markets abroad. Without this crucial trade agreement, Made-in-America dairy and agriculture products could be left behind in the new year.”

USMCA makes important changes to Canada’s trade-distorting policies, reforms Canada’s controversial dairy pricing system and provides exclusive access to the Canadian market for U.S. farmers and manufacturers. The trade deal also strengthens our relationship with Mexico and establishes new protections for common cheese names, using a combination of approaches to protect the continued use of a number of generic cheese terms, such as parmesan and feta.

Important advancements made during negotiations between lawmakers and the White House included an enhanced Dispute Settlement process for enforcing the agreement’s measures. This stronger enforcement mechanism gives the dairy industry greater assurance that USMCA’s gains will be fully realized.