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Farm Events: |
Farm News: Coops Frustrated By Policy StrugglescommentsPosted: 10.05.2011
As the dairy industry converges on Madison, Wisconsin this week for World Dairy Expo, many eyes will be on Washington D.C., where the future of dairy policy is starting to play out.
The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction—more commonly know as the Super Committee—has been charged with finding at least $1.5 trillion in cuts to the federal budget over a decade. The Super Committee must report to Congress with its savings plan for an up or down vote by the end of this year. Cooperative Network and other farm organizations are concerned about the impact the committee will have on current and future dairy programs as Congress prepares to debate the 2012 Farm Bill.
At the same time, last Friday, Representatives Collin Peterson, (D-MN), and Mike Simpson, (R-ID), introduced The Dairy Security Act of 2011. The legislation seeks to replace current dairy programs. According to the House Committee on Agriculture, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has reviewed the act and determined it shows budgetary savings.
“This reported savings could put the Dairy Security Act on the Super Committee agenda with broad implications for the vitally important Upper Midwest dairy industry,” said David Ward, dairy director of Cooperative Network, a trade association representing cooperative interests in Minnesota and Wisconsin and a large majority of milk processors in the two states. “Cooperatives in Minnesota and Wisconsin have supported current safety net programs like the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program and they have performed well. The dairy legislation introduced last week proposes to replace the MILC program with a margin insurance program.”
“It’s important all dairy producers pay close attention to the dairy discussions in Congress because the potential impacts and events could begin to move very quickly,” said Ward.
Cooperative Network is working with its member-cooperatives to inform members of the Minnesota and Wisconsin congressional delegations on the details and impact of any changes to federal dairy policy and what it will mean for producers in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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