Federal Milk Marketing Order Hearing Start This Week, Sign Up Now to Testify
Beginning Aug. 23 at 9 a.m. EST in Carmell, Ind., the USDA Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) hearing will start considering proposals to amend the uniform pricing formulas applicable in all 11 FMMO orders.
The American Farm Bureau Federation encourages dairy farmers to participate in the upcoming Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing, either in person or virtually. American Farm Bureau Federation economist, Danny Much, encourages producers to get involved, explaining they can either testify in-person or virtually.
“For the in-person option, farmers can show up at any time,” he says. “All they have to do is find a USDA official and they’ll have up to 60 minutes to provide context and testimony on any of the issues.”
Dairy farmers may testify in person at any time during the hearing, or virtually via Zoom on Fridays. Starting Friday, September 1, 2023, and each Friday thereafter during the hearing, beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET, ten (10) time slots will be available for dairy farmers to testify virtually. Dairy farmers must pre-register to testify, as outlined in the instructions provided on the Hearing website. Each registered dairy farmer will be allocated up to 15 minutes to present testimony. Additional time may be requested. There will be no time limit on cross-examination. Dairy farmers testifying, either in person or virtually, are not required to pre-submit testimony or exhibits.
Virtual registration to testify for the FMMO hearing is available at ams.usda.gov.
“Federal Milk Marketing Orders influence how dairy farmers are paid every month and historically has always been based on dairy farmers input,” Much says. “So, it’s important for dairy farmers to make their voices heard, how has the federal milk marketing order impacted them in the past several years and how can we advocate for a system that’s modernized and more reflective of what the Federal Milk Marketing Order system is meant to provide, which is a fair market price for farmers.”
Industry Leaders Ready to Move Forward
Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMFP) shared in his weekly President Update, “As regular readers of this column already know, NMPF has been the industry leader on this effort, and we expect to continue shaping this discussion as USDA considers different proposals in areas we’ve already thoroughly examined through what is now roughly 200+ meetings among cooperative marketing experts, farmers and industry stakeholders. We’re eager to move forward, and assuming that the spirit of consensus and improvement we’ve fostered continues, we expect further advances for dairy farmers through this process.”
International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) chief economist, Mike Brown, says they are grateful that both of IDFA’s proposals were accepted by USDA as part of the hearing.
“We go into this process with the same goal we’ve had all along—unify the industry around ideas that are in the best interest of the full dairy supply chain. IDFA members across the dairy industry want to see milk pricing policies that support all parts of the supply chain, to ensure the industry’s continued success and growth,” Brown says.
Along with IDFA, there are 22 proposals for consideration during the hearing process, including proposals submitted by the following organizations.
- National Milk Producers Federation
- National All-Jersey Inc.
- American Farm Bureau Federation
- California Dairy Campaign
- Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association
- Select Milk Producers Inc.
- Milk Innovation Group
- Edge Dairy Farm Cooperative
- Dairy Program, Agricultural Marketing Service
To read the full AMS-USDA document, ‘Milk in the Northeast and Other Marketing Areas; Notice of Hearing on Proposed Amendments to Marketing Agreements and Orders’ that outlines all 22 proposals go to: federalregister.gov/d/2023-15496.
