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.
When USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing reconvenes on Jan. 16, it will set a new record for the longest hearing in USDA history. NMPF’s proposals, however, have all been examined, with dairy cooperative leadership firmly stamped on testimony and cross-examination that will likely reach more than 15,000 pages by its expected conclusion on Groundhog Day, Feb. 2.
NMPF’s December focus was finishing region-by-region discussion on its final proposal, Proposal #19 to update Class I differentials. NMPF testimony concluded with analysis supporting the full range of NMPF proposals for comprehensive modernization offered by Dr. Scott Brown of the University of Missouri. Cooperative experts also explained both the need for updated differentials and the detailed analysis behind NMPF’s plan.
The final two weeks of presentations on the final three of 22 total proposals are scheduled for Jan. 16-19 and Jan. 29-Feb. 2, more than three months later than USDA’s originally projected completion date. The dragged-out hearing, largely because of an unexpectedly contentious atmosphere encouraged by exhaustive cross-examination by processor groups, may potentially cost farmers millions of dollars due to current inequities in the current, unmodernized system. Upon its conclusion, the next stage will be to create a legal brief, a written argument of NMPF’s case presented at the hearing to USDA using testimonies, exhibits, and cross-examinations.
For all the effort expended thus far, 2024 may be the most critical year of the entire FMMO modernization process that began with NMPF examination in 2021, as co-op leadership and farmer-owners lead the way in ensuring a final, adopted USDA proposal that heavily incorporates NMPF’s unanimously adopted, farmer-led, consensus and common-sense proposal for change.
NMPF’s Chris Galen tells Dairy Radio Now listeners about the major national policy developments expected to top the headlines in early 2024. These include efforts to fund the government, including agencies like the USDA. Lawmakers also have to complete work on a new Farm Bill prior before the political focus shifts away from Washington toward the 2024 election campaign.
NMPF’s Chris Galen offers a Christmas-themed list of for listeners of Dairy Radio Now on several major achievements for dairy farmers: updating the milk pricing system, improving the Farm Bill, and expanding milk options in schools. He describes how NMPF successfully created momentum in the House of Representatives for a bill that would expand students’ milk options in schools.
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.
NMPF witnesses advocated for a fairer Class I price surface dominated testimony in USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing, which resumed Nov. 27 in Carmel, IN. That’s critical for its contributions to the hearing record the Agriculture Department is building to craft a proposal to submit to farmers next year.
Economist Peter Vitaliano continued to anchor NMPF’s testimony, joined by multiple co-op experts explaining the effects of a modernized formula taking account of differing cost structures for milk production in various regions of the country. With NMPF’s Proposal #19 taking the bulk of the hearing time over a scheduled two-week period, the team effort highlighted the unanimous co-op unity that’s allowed NMPF to lead the discussion, aided by organizations such as the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Milk Producers Council that are aligned with NMPF positions and show broader farmer and industry support for the proposal.
The hearing itself, however, is becoming significantly delayed, with an original timeline of wrapping up in mid-October now being pushed as late as early February due to venue availability and delays for holidays. That potentially may cost millions of dollars to farmers who would not benefit from the improved component pricing, modernized Class I price surfacing and the return to the “higher of” Class I mover. NMPF continues its thorough preparation for all scenarios.
NMPF Executive Vice President Alan Bjerga speaks with RFD-TV about how all of agriculture needs to fight for the integrity of trade agreements in the wake of a USMCA dispute panel decision that failed to protect U.S. access to Canada’s market. The President’s Export Council, with member co-op Land O’Lakes representing farmers, discussed the importance of market access in a White House meeting on Wednesday. Bjerga also talked about the resumption of the USDA Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing in Indiana this week, and how repeated delays aren’t helpful for milk producers.
By Randy Mooney, Chairman, NMPF Board of Directors
We’ve had a lot of achievements this year, but it’s also been a challenging time.
A year ago, costs on the farm were extremely high, but we had prices that would cover that. This year, costs are still high, but prices are down. That’s a lot of stress on the farm. And we’re also dealing with problems that we’ve dealt with for years.
There are labor problems; you just can’t find anybody to work. Supply chain disruptions are closer to the farm this year. It’s milk trucks getting milk off the farm; it’s feed trucks bringing feed into the farm. It’s getting simple parts that we took for granted we could get anytime we wanted to. There are geopolitical issues and extreme weather events.
We have challenges all the time, but it just seems like we continue to have more. It seems like we’re in the eye of a storm. But as farmers, we always anticipate a moment before the dawn, before things turn, before things get good again.
One of the things I’ve learned is that a lot of the world is envious of what we have.
They’re envious because we have the Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program, a self-governing program. We have a government that recognizes what we’re doing with sustainability — it’s not being mandated down from the top.
We’re taking care of our own. Today, we produce more milk using fewer and fewer natural resources. We’re revitalizing rural communities. For every dollar generated in dairy farming, it turns over three to seven times in local communities, generating $750 billion in the United States. That‘s pretty impressive.
We’re nourishing families around the world through milk’s unbeatable nutritional value. I’ve dairy farmed for a long time, through good times and bad times, but there’s never been a time that I haven’t laid my head down on my pillow at night and been proud of what I accomplished on my farm. We’re putting the most nourishing, most nutritious product known to man in that milk tank. And when that truck leaves, I know I’ve done something good.
Our ability to evolve how we work and adapt our resiliency is becoming more and more important. This year, we came together as an industry to unite around issues that helped build that resiliency. NMPF worked with member co-ops, farm bureaus, and state dairy organizations to come to consensus on the most substantial issues. Even going back to 2021, when you talk about Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization, we’ve worked hard to get these things done. Nobody knows what the outcome’s going to be, but you telling your story has made a difference.
Beyond that, we’re going to get a farm bill passed — we’re going have an extension. We’ve been working to implement the next version of FARM, FARM 5.0, that goes into effect in July. We also will work on promoting dairy’s sustainable nutrition. Dairy offers the most complete nutritional package available, and what’s amazing is that as we produce more milk, we’ll continue to use fewer natural resources. That’s the definition of sustainable nutrition.
For years, we’ve talked about sustainability in terms of environmental stewardship and how that translates into financial value for farms. Now, the financial values are there. You take solar panels, wind, methane digesters, and a lot of things happen on a farm that’s generating electricity to run your farms and to run your neighbor’s households. We’re there now. What we need is conservation funding in the farm bill through USDA grants through state and federal programs. There’s real money available to help us continue to do that, and we will.
No imitation food from a nut, a bean, or grain can hold a candle to dairy’s nutritional package. We all know that. That’s why it’s important to keep fighting the fight on plant-based alternative labeling. In the guidance that was issued earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recognized and admitted that plant-based alternatives are nutritionally inferior to real dairy.
Dairy protein plays a critical role in feeding people around the world, and it can’t be replaced by alternatives, including plant-based. Consumers have the right to understand how they’re nourishing their families, and we’re going to continue to advocate for the Dairy PRIDE Act to try to get that passed in Congress.
We’re going to continue to fight for more flavored milk in schools and higher fat levels, especially for those children whose main source of nutrition is through the school milk program. Milk is essential to their diets, and we’re not going to give up that fight. We’re all part of an industry that’s doing remarkable things. We are winning.
This has been adapted from Chairman of the NMPF Board of Directors Randy Mooney’s speech at the National Milk Producers Federation annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 14, 2023. This column originally appeared in Hoard’s Dairyman Intel on Nov. 22, 2023.
NMPF Executive Vice President of Communications & Industry Relations Alan Bjerga speaks on WEKZ Radio, Janesville, WI, about the resumption of USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing in Carmel, IN, next week. The hearing, which was originally expected to last until mid-October, may now slip into 2024. Scheduling issues and unexpected confrontations are pushing back the timeline for the necessary modernization many farmers are hoping can take effect to help their operations thrive, Bjerga said.
Incoming NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud explains NMPF’s role in Washington policy formulation and dairy farmer priorities, including a new farm bill, Federal Milk Marketing Order modernization, integrity in plant-based labeling and dietary guidelines that maximize the benefits of dairy, in an interview with RFD-TV. He also emphasized the importance of international trade and global issues to U.S. dairy’s future. “We need to look five, 10 years ahead and see what this industry needs,” he said.
NMPF Executive Vice President for Communications & Industry Relations Alan Bjerga takes viewers on a tour of the Dairy Experience at this week’s Joint Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL. From information booths to ice cream, this year’s event brought together a diverse dairy community, showing farmer unity and industry pride during a time of transition at NMPF.
NMPF Executive Vice President for Communications and Industry Relations Alan Bjerga offers an update on where the USDA’s Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing stands as it goes on hiatus until late November. Bjerga also discusses the importance of the IDF-World Dairy Summit in Chicago and where the public can go to learn more about the FMMO discussion, in an interview with WEKZ radio, Janesville, WI.
Download PDF
