First things first. Until a farm bill gets inked, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), the nation's trade association representing dairy farmers and dairy cooperatives, doesn't have plans to open a second policy front regarding federal milk marketing order reform. However, once there is a new farm bill acting as law of the land, order reform will take center stage."Once we get through this process and have a farm bill that establishes an effective safety net, we will then be in a position to tackle other key components of dairy economics, and that is the system of classified pricing we use in the U.S.," said incoming NMPF CEO Jim Mulhern at the organization's annual meeting in Phoenix, Ariz.
"This was originally part of the Foundation for the Future initiative, but for a variety of reasons, it fell by the wayside," he noted when discussing federal order reform. "The good news is we don't have to start from scratch; the work done previously gives us a leg up on how to make this happen," said Mulhern. "It won't be easy, but it will be a priority going forward.
"Any changes to the federal order system have to benefit the nation's dairy farmers," he clearly stated. "Some dairy processors talk about reforming federal milk orders, when what they really seem to mean is increasing their control of the market and their share of the dairy dollar.
"That's a nonstarter for us," said Mulhern. "Our focus will be on reforms needed to ensure the orderly marketing of milk and to protect the financial interests of the nation's dairy farmers."
The soon-to-be CEO then went on to discuss standards of identity for dairy products and its relationship with classified pricing. "Are there provisions of standards that could be improved?" he asked rhetorically. "Absolutely, especially if they relate to improvements and efficiencies in plant-level processing technologies. And we are willing to explore them. However, National Milk will not agree to revisions to standards designed to ‘water down' their quality or deceive consumers. We will continue to work diligently to preserve all aspects of standards that preserve the integrity of traditional dairy products, their names and their composition," he said.
"But let me also be clear: we have much more in common than we have in difference with our friends in the processing community," Mulhern reminded the audience. "We must and we will work closely together to accomplish what's in the best interest of the entire dairy industry" he told the nearly 1,000 people attending the final session. "For us, the focus must be on growing the pie, not re-dividing the existing pie. It's about finding a win-win, and preventing win-lose scenarios."
