Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Federation, sent a letter to President Barack Obama today pleading with him to do more to help struggling dairy farmers.
Kozak notes that January input costs exceeded milk prices by 25%, and that level could rise to 30% in February. “The resulting losses suffered by the nation’s dairy farmers are historic in magnitude,” Kozak wrote the president.
Kozak asked that the USDA more effectively utilize the Dairy Product Price Support Program, to activate the Dairy Export Incentive Program for a short period of time to a limited number of markets, and to purchase more dairy products for U.S. feeding programs for schools and other needy populations.
“Your Administration has the power to help bring existing programs and authorities to bear to help turn the tide on this mounting [dairy farm financial] crisis without the need for any further legislative action,” Kozak wrote.
For the full text of the letter, go to: www.nmpf.org/files/file/NMPF%20Letter%20to%20President%20Obama%20031909.pdf
