Tag: dairy farmers

FMMO Hearing Shows Strength of Co-ops

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing in Carmel, IN, is providing the dairy industry with mountains of valuable information and insight that goes well beyond facts and figures.

The hearing isn’t only about shaping milk pricing; it’s also showing what needs improving in our industry, and it’s an opportunity to demonstrate what keeps dairy strong. And nothing is on display more emphatically than the power of dairy farmers and the cooperatives they own, and the importance of the cooperative structure to future progress in dairy, at all levels of production, processing and marketing.

Our breadth of membership and depth of milk marketing expertise has risen to every occasion during this hearing, relentlessly advancing the consensus proposal we adopted after two years of exhaustive study and discussion.

That plan, the only comprehensive solution that adequately makes the adjustments the FMMO system needs, would not have come about in the first place were we not able to rely on our farmer-cooperative members and staff to lead the industry. And without the unified voice a farmer cooperative provides its members in policy discussions, we never would have been able to achieve the unanimity in our membership that was necessary for USDA to take up our plan at all.

That final point is important. Cooperative membership holds multiple benefits for member-owners, beginning with having a guaranteed market for milk each day, but adding up to much more. Cooperatives provide technical expertise and risk-management assistance. Cooperatives pool supplies and capital, finance exports, enhance farmers’ bargaining position with proprietary processors, and even enable those farmers to become processors themselves.

These benefits have allowed dairy farmers to build multimillion-dollar processing plants in local communities, access needed financial resources, and capitalize on efficiencies in areas like milk hauling. Membership in a cooperative is the best way, and sometimes the only way, for a dairy farmer to get products to market and earn a decent return from doing so. Simply put, cooperatives make farmers stronger.

But for cooperatives to remain strong, they also need their members to actively engage.

That’s why it’s important to always remain vigilant against any effort to weaken cooperatives by limiting their ability to speak with a unified voice or adequately represent the best interests of their members. From time to time we hear of efforts on Capitol Hill or elsewhere to dilute the power of cooperatives to speak with one voice on votes on issues such as the Federal Milk Marketing Order system. Offered under the guise of encouraging individual choice, in practice these efforts are more like “divide and conquer” – chipping away at the benefits cooperatives provide by weakening their ability to pursue their members’ best interests.

Such efforts tend to be pursued by the same interests that, in the end, would rather that co-ops go away: companies that would prefer the benefits (to them) of vertical integration; agribusinesses that would rather not bargain with co-ops to get a better price for farmers; individual farmers who don’t feel they “need” co-ops to succeed (even as they buy inputs and sign contracts with them); and political ideologues who just don’t like the idea of farmers helping one another for mutual benefit. We’ve always been able to successfully resist them because, in the end, we use the very power we have to work together and protect our members’ interests.

As we celebrate October as National Co-op Month, with Farm Bill discussions underway and FMMO modernization making its way toward an eventual producer vote, we stand ever ready to defend cooperatives and their principles. Every day, at the federal order hearing in Indiana, we’re proving just how valuable to dairy the cooperative model remains. And every day across America, on farms, in milk trucks and in supermarkets, we remain proud of all we do to facilitate orderly marketing of milk and keep this nation nourished – and will continue to do so, with a strong, united voice, for many years to come.

 

Jim Mulhern

President & CEO, NMPF

 

 

 

 

 

NMPF’s Bjerga on FMMO Hearing Progress

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga discussed progress so far at USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing, which began last month, in an interview with RFD-TV. Testimony thus far has focused on proper pricing for milk components, an area in which dairy farmers have made significant headway in the past quarter century.

Dairy Gains Strength Through its Advocates

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

Dairy farmers don’t advance better policy unless dairy farmers get involved. And don’t take my word for it: Listen to NMPF’s Young Cooperators, who met with members of Congress last month at their annual Capitol Hill fly-in.

“Forging connections with our elected officials is so important for dairy farmers,” wrote Isabel Mullin, an Agri-Mark farmer near Kittery, ME, in feedback after the event. “The communication informs them about the real-life impact of policy proposals and it informs us about potential changes coming for our farms.”

“As the general public becomes further and further removed from agriculture, it is even more important to share our experiences and build relationships with our elected officials,” said Katelyn Packard, who dairies outside Manchester, MI. “They represent our community and make decisions that affect us each day.”

Isabel and Katelyn are right. As dairy farmers grow fewer in number and demands on congressional attention rise, a personal voice is critical to breaking through the noise and misinformation that dominates federal policymaking. Important decisions for the future of dairy are coming over the next few months, ranging from a new farm bill and Federal Milk Marketing Order discussions to efforts to get whole milk back in schools and bring greater transparency to the labeling of plant-based beverages that use dairy terms.

All these challenges will make grass-roots engagement from dairy farmers and their affiliated organizations, as well the broader dairy industry and allies among the public, that much more important. That’s why our preparations for an FMMO order hearing are being led by our member cooperatives, who with us are coordinating farmer testimony during the upcoming weekslong USDA hearing. That’s why we’ve created a Dairy Voice Network of farmers trained to deal with media interviews and speak out for the industry. It’s why we help our cooperatives prepare farmers for congressional hearings on the farm bill and other topics.

Dairy farmers need a seat at the table; we work both to get them there and help them be effective in that position.

Also critical to our efforts are our Calls to Action – a way for dairy farmers and their friends to get involved that’s as simple as sending an e-mail. Our Advocacy page, found at https://www.nmpf.org/take-action/ offers updates on critical initiatives affecting farmers and provides tools for dairy advocates to make themselves heard via letters to relevant lawmakers and policy officials.

Currently, the page offers opportunities to help on the FDA’s draft guidance on plant-based beverages; the SAVE Act, a critical piece of legislation defending U.S. cheesemakers from European Union attempts to restrict what names are used for cheeses; and the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which would put whole and 2% milk back on school lunch menus. Calls to support dairy farmers in the farm bill and through Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization will be coming soon.

We’d urge everyone who cares about dairy’s future to visit the page and sign up for our Advocacy Alerts, where advocates are notified of important policy developments and asked to act upon them. As an organization, the National Milk Producers Federation has always worked with a strength that’s greater than its numbers – and that strength comes from the unity of our community. With important initiatives imminent, now is a great time to reinforce this strength. We’re hoping you can help.

 

Jim Mulhern

President & CEO, NMPF

 

Young Leaders Promote Dairy Priorities

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

By Theresa Sweeney-Murphy, Director, NMPF Young Cooperators Program

Theresa Sweeney-Murphy, NMPF headshotFarm bill negotiations, an effort to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, and an ongoing dairy labeling battle provided up-and-coming dairy leaders with no shortage of topics to discuss with members of Congress and their staffs on Capitol Hill.

Young Cooperators (YC) from across the country were in Washington last week for the National Milk Producers Federation’s annual Dairy Policy and Legislative Forum, a two-day issues and advocacy training that equips young dairy farmer leaders to effectively advocate for dairy’s interests.

Forty-nine producers from 21 states ranging from Maine to California brought dairy’s voice to Capitol Hill to promote NMPF’s policy priorities while sharing how these issues uniquely affect their businesses.

NMPF’s effectiveness in Congress depends heavily on grassroots engagement. With fewer people than ever directly involved in dairy, farmers must continue to punch above their weight to maintain relevance in an increasingly urban Congress. NMPF’s National YC Program equips them to do that, providing opportunities to learn background information about the many issues affecting the industry, and empowering them to become — and stay — politically engaged.

The National YC Program is open to producers under the age of 45 who own or are employed on an NMPF member cooperative dairy farm.

The program’s webinar series is open to all eligible dairy farmers and industry affiliates and available at no cost. The 45-minute webinars, each covering a different topic, are held quarterly. Recent topics include an update on NMPF’s modernization efforts, finding work/life balance on the farm, and a panel discussion about challenges women face in reaching dairy leadership positions.

In addition to its Dairy Policy and Legislative Forum, NMPF’s YC Program has other in-person opportunities this year. The program will host a workshop and reception on October 5 at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. Later that month, the National YC Program is hosting a Young Farmer Forum at the International Dairy Federation’s World Dairy Summit October 17 to 18 in Chicago, Ill. The next month, it will host its annual Leadership and Development Program from November 12 to 13 in Orlando, Fla.

Click here and check the National YC Program box to stay up-to-date on program activities and contact your cooperative to learn more about the program and how you can be involved

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This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on June 15, 2023.

Dairy Will Seize Generational FMMO Opportunity

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

USDA has moved forward on our request by announcing an “action plan,” and we at NMPF are pleased that the formal process of modernizing Federal Milk Marketing Orders is now officially underway.  The department’s plan announced last Thursday moves us toward the national federal order hearing we’re seeking, giving dairy a generational chance to update this important program to better reflect today’s market conditions and dairy producer needs.

We’re gratified that USDA recognizes the comprehensive nature of our proposal and are looking forward to it being considered in full, because the whole of our plan adds up to more than the sum of its individual parts. That’s a testament to the careful work put into this effort over two years and more than 150 meetings. But it also means that the next steps will require the same level of dedication and preparation, if not even more.

Once USDA conducts some preliminary steps (providing opportunity for additional proposals; holding a pre-hearing workshop) and sends out its hearing notice – likely late July – the stage is set for the hearing, which could begin as early as August and take 6-8 weeks. Once all the testimony is considered, USDA would be on track to put forward a final plan for a producer vote in 2024. Assuming that’s successful, implementation would begin late next year.

That’s assuming everything goes smoothly, which, in this broad and varied industry, is always a big assumption. But as dairy producers have proven throughout this process, with unity and careful attention to each other’s needs, impressive things can be done.

To work through this next stage as smoothly as possible, we plan to stick with the formula for success that’s served us well since the beginning. The principles we’ve followed include:

  • An approach grounded in thorough research and deliberation. Our meticulous, consensus-driven efforts allowed us to craft a proposal that comprehensively addresses today’s milk-pricing needs. As we prepare for a USDA hearing, that same commitment to substantive research over mere posturing will be critical. Fortunately, we’ve been working with many of the industry’s top economists and analysts to guide our approach. Their work will be key in the hearings to addressing complex issues such as Class I differential pricing, the make allowance or the return to the “higher-of.”
  • A devotion to consensus. We’ve focused on measures that unite the nation’s producers, and we will continue to advocate for solutions tailored to broad benefit rather than narrow, specialized self-interests. When disagreements have arisen, we’ve invariably worked toward, and achieved, consensus among producers. During our many meetings, if a proposal couldn’t attract a strong majority of support, we dropped it and moved on, always making sure that our members were lined up behind anything that moved forward. While this meant no one likely got exactly what they wanted, in the long run our proposal is stronger because it reflects the collective consensus of dairy producers serving markets nationwide.
  • An understanding that failure – or a focus on one single aspect of the program— is not an option. The need to comprehensively update a system built for the dairy industry of 23 years ago has always been obvious. Now that we’re moving toward a hearing, giving anything less than maximum attention and support is not an option either; nor is arriving at a final decision that producers won’t approve, a case we will make clearly and cogently in the hearing process. At this point the need for program modernization isn’t only established: a comprehensive approach to meeting it has been unanimously adopted by representatives of two-thirds of the nation’s milk supply and the added support of numerous other state, regional and national organizations with dairy producer members. This effort can’t, and won’t, be thrown into reverse. It needs to be brought to a successful conclusion, with the same spirit of consensus that brought us here.

With these principles in mind, we are about to embark on the next phase. This has been a heavy lift, and it’s far from complete. But we’re excited for the formal hearing process to begin. Deep thanks and appreciation to everyone who has contributed to and supported this journey so far. Additional opportunities to advance this effort and successfully see it through will be plentiful in the months ahead.

 

Jim Mulhern

President & CEO, NMPF

 

NMPF Eager for Next Steps in Milk Marketing Modernization with USDA “Action Plan”

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

ARLINGTON, VA – The National Milk Producers Federation applauds USDA for today proposing its “Action Plan” to move toward a national hearing based on NMPF’s proposal to modernize the Federal Milk Marketing Orders. The largest representative of U.S. dairy farmers and farmer-owned dairy processors is eager to begin the next phase of creating a federal order system that better reflects today’s market conditions and dairy producer needs.

“We’re gratified that USDA recognizes the comprehensive nature of our proposal and are looking forward to it being considered in full, because the whole of our plan adds up to more than the sum of its individual parts,” said NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern. “We will bring the same level of dedication and preparation to this part of the process that we did in drafting our own plan, which included more than 150 meetings and wide consultation across dairy producers and the entire industry.”

NMPF’s Federal Milk Marketing Order proposal, detailed here, offers comprehensive solutions that recognize the needs of today’s dynamic industry. While the complexity of the process will require detailed discussions, the unity seen among dairy producers supporting NMPF’s proposal, which the organization’s Board of Directors approved unanimously, puts adoption on a positive path moving forward, since producers vote for Federal Orders Mulhern said.

Randy Mooney, NMPF chairman and dairy farmer near Rogersville, MO, called the proposal’s strong momentum a testament to the power of dairy farmers, through their cooperatives, to undertake bold initiatives that advance their industry. Farmers will continue to lead as modernization moves forward, Mooney said.

“Dairy producers have proven throughout this process that, with unity and careful attention to each other’s needs, we can achieve impressive things,” he said.  “Dairy’s strength comes from its farms, and producers ready to face challenges and seize opportunities. We’re excited to begin the formal hearing process.”

New FMMO Will Work Better for Farmers, Mulhern Says

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

 

NMPF President and CEO Jim Mulhern says the industry need a modernized Federal Milk Marketing Order that works better for dairy farmers, in an interview with the National Association of Farm Broadcasters. “We’re really excited that is a plan that will point a way toward a much brighter future for us dairy industry,” Mulhern said.

NMPF’s Bjerga on New Pandemic Aid

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga said $100 million on new assistance to dairy farmers under the Pandemic Market Volatility Assistance Program will better aid midsize and larger dairies that received inadequate support in an earlier round of aid. Bjerga also discusses mental health stresses among farmers, and a recent Dairy Defined Podcast that discusses ways they can get help. Bjerga was interviewed on RFD-TV.

Congress’s Bumpy Start Could Smooth Farm Bill

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

By Paul Bleiberg, Senior Vice President, Government Relations, NMPF.

The beginning of each new Congress is marked by a period of temporary excitement, borne of optimism that legislators will put aside political differences to finally enact solutions to problems affecting Americans from all walks of life.

The opening of the 118th Congress earlier this month presented a different picture. While the usual political disputes between the two parties remain, the first days of this congress featured not a contrast between Republicans and Democrats, but instead disagreements among Republicans about who to elect as Speaker of the House and, more fundamentally, how to govern the institution for the next two years.

Ultimately, after four days of intense negotiation that occurred both in private meetings and in public on the House floor, Republicans voted to elect California Representative Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House for the 118th Congress. Six Republican members who had voted against McCarthy on previous ballots chose to vote ‘present’ on the final ballot, clearing a path for McCarthy to claim the Speaker’s gavel.

Personalities certainly played a role in this conflict and its resolution, but so did significant discussions about the ability of individual members to influence the legislation that advances in the House. Part of the agreement that got McCarthy elected speaker allows members to offer many amendments to bills that reach the floor, a departure from recent practice. Amendment debate and votes can sometimes smooth over bumps in the road to a bill’s passage, but they also can create new obstacles.

This may seem like ‘inside baseball,’ but it is of great importance to one piece of legislation expected to advance this year: the 2023 Farm Bill. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-PA) kicked off that process with a recent listening session at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg. Many hearings are expected this spring in both the House and Senate agriculture committees.

Soon after that, the work of drafting the bill will begin. Members on and off the committees will seek to have their say. Yes, this means Congress may take votes on a wide range of amendments to the farm bill, good and bad. Hopefully, the amendment process will help to expand the bipartisan, bicameral consensus that will be needed to enact a farm bill, and not detract from it. But dairy will need to do its part to make sure the process doesn’t work to the detriment of its interests. That means we’ll be striving to maintain the Dairy Margin Coverage program and separate risk management tools, with tweaks as needed, and to ensure dairy’s needs are met in other key titles like conservation, trade, and nutrition.

Dairy will be engaging closely to help guide Congress to that outcome. The beginning of the new Congress wasn’t the most auspicious in terms of unity. Even so, policy progress is always possible, and on the farm bill and other issues, we will work with both sides of the aisle – and even both sides of one aisle should there be conflicts – to get things done.

This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on Jan. 23, 2023.

NMPF’s Bjerga on Dairy’s Recent Policy Wins

Posted on by Alan Bjerga

As the year comes to a close, the National Milk Producers Federation is applauding two recent measures that support the dairy industry. NMPF Senior Vice President of Communications Alan Bjerga spoke with RFD-TV’s own Janet Adkison about how the Growing Climate Solutions Act and Sustains Act benefit dairy farmers, and what USTR’s announcement of a new request for dispute settlement consultations with Canada means for U.S. dairy.

 

https://www.rfdtv.com/two-recent-measures-from-congress-and-ustr-are-giving-a-boost-to-dairy-farmers