Though the dairy market stabilization program was soundly defeated in the House of Representatives when the House voted on it back in June, Senator Debbie Stabenow is not writing it off.
Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, is chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. She held a press conference call this afternoon. She said the dairy market stabilization program received strong bipartisan support in her committee and in the full Senate when the Senate passed its version of the Farm bill.
If the House does send its version of the farm bill to the Senate for Conference Committee consideration, dairy policy will be in play. “We’ll have to negotiate [the dairy market stabilization program] out,” she said in a response to a Dairy Today question.
The Senate chairwoman says there are only 24 Congressional working days left before the current Farm bill expire September 30. She hopes the House will send over something to negotiate soon.
