Pierre, SD, USA / DRGNews
May 19, 2021 | 9:00 AM
Five Midwestern dairy groups evaluating solutions to federal milk pricing issues recently sent their comprehensive focus to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The groups seek a broad scope of focus should there be a Federal Milk Marketing Orders emergency hearing about reform. In April, the groups announced a proposal called Class III Plus, aimed at creating long-term stability in fluid milk pricing and reducing the likelihood of negative producer price differentials. Class III Plus would tie the Class I price to the Class III skim milk price plus an adjuster and do away with advanced pricing.
All dairy farmers need a new pricing formula
Arden Tewksbury
The action taken by Congress two years ago, which ended up taking money from all dairy farmers, must be changed. However, if the problem was rectified, then each dairy farmer in all eleven Federal Milk Marketing Orders should examine how big or how little a piece of that pie that they will receive.
For instance, take Federal Order Number One. If the increase to the Class I differential was 60 cents per cwt., then the affected dairy farmers would see an 18 cent per cwt. increase, and if the correction went to 80 cents per cwt., the dairy farmer would see a 24 cent per cwt. increase.
Is a single federal order in our future?
Hoard’s Dairyman DairyLivestream, commentators including Cornell’s Chris Wolf, Dairy Farmers of America’s Ed Gallagher, and dairy policy consultant Alan Zolin responded to the question, “Is it time to consider more consolidation in federal orders?”
Just as those involved in the dairy industry across the country would differ in their responses to this question, the panel had varied perspectives.
“Not if it’s strictly consolidation. There are a number of things I would do, but I wouldn’t consolidate how pricing works now,” Wolf shared to initiate the conversation. Instead, he suggested separating out and balancing volatility rather than making a single order applicable to the whole country.
Bloc voting: Let dairy farmers cast their own vote fergusfallsjournal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fergusfallsjournal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Co-op can vote for every member via bloc voting
By Bruce Shultz - For the Sidney Daily News
Can you imagine being a member of a group in which your vote counts, but you can’t cast your own ballot? Sadly, this very situation exists today within America’s dairy industry. Specifically, I’m referring to bloc voting, which USDA allows to dairy co-ops. The way USDA rules are written when it comes to voting on referendums for Federal Milk Marketing Orders which USDA administers a co-op has the right to vote for every member of their co-op. There are only three instances a dairy producer can vote themselves: 1) They are independent of any co-op; 2) Their co-op, such as National Farmers Organization, allows each member to cast their own ballot; or 3) the producer petitions their co-op and is allowed by that co-ops’ leaders to vote on their own. Dr. Corey Freije, Agricultural Economist, Federal Order 30, Minneapolis, Minnesota Federal Milk Marketing Administration office, says