Jan. 27 2014
This year marks the 50-year anniversary of President Johnson's "War on Poverty". Although he first discussed it in a January 1964 speech, the first food assistance program didn't become law until August...
Sept. 6 2013
Processor group leader takes another swipe at milk producers. For decades, the relationship between milk producer groups and the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), which represents milk processors,...
Aug. 10 2013
After nearly two years of debate and one failed vote for passage in June, the House of Representatives passed a farm-only farm bill in mid-July. Not only does this version not address food assistance which...
July 15 2013
Hoard's Dairyman Editorial: Farm bill's future appears bleak The path to a new farm bill hit a major roadblock last month following a failed 195 to 234 vote for passage. In the final count, 62 mostly conservative...
June 28 2013
But the latest token increase comes with a stunning admission by the ag secretary. Producer milk prices will go up 12.5 cents per hundredweight for six months in California starting July 1, the result...
June 21 2013
Despite strong support by House leaders, the farm bill is defeated with a 234 to 195 vote. The path to a new farm bill hit another huge roadblock yesterday, as House members defeated their version of the...
June 11 2013
With approval by the Senate, more pressure is now placed on the House to reach an agreement on the farm bill yet this summer. On Monday evening, the farm bill passed through the Senate by a bipartisan...
May 25 2013
In moving beyond the current government-sponsored dairy safety net, margin risk insurance would consider milk prices and feed costs. That combination would offer the greatest assistance when producers...
May 3 2013
State Assembly Ag Committee votes 6-0 in support of better parity with FMMO values. May Day was a good day for California dairy producers – and an unusually crowded one for members of the State...
Jan. 25 2013
AS 2012 drew to a close, the prospects of a new farm bill gaining final approval splintered as House leadership refused to bring it forward for a vote. While most components of the expiring farm bill were...
Dec. 19 2012
It's everywhere. "It" is the news that the fiscal cliff may double milk prices
Oct. 30 2012
Securing Dairy's Future, the joint annual meeting of the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board, the National Milk Producers' Federation (NMPF) and the United Dairy Industry Association, kicked off...
Sept. 24 2012
Even when the current farm bill expires on September 30, food stamps and crop insurance are all funded for the remainder of the fiscal year
Sept. 10 2012
Not long ago the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known to most of us as food stamps, was the political grease that encouraged urban legislators to vote for the farm bill
July 15 2012
The Senate has devolved into a cemetery filled with burial plots of pending legislation as Democrats and Republicans can only agree on one matter - to disagree. That funeral procession ended in early June...
April 25 2012
Flexibility and simplicity are major differences between USDA's LGM-D pilot project and NMPF's DPMPP protection proposal In 2010, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) developed and promoted a...
April 10 2012
Comparing crop insurance plans might give us more insight on how to develop a better structure to protect and insure dairy. Crop insurance programs date as far back as the 1930s, but today's extensive...
March 25 2012
USDA's pilot insurance project can provide insights into producer's demand for different levels of margin protection and the price they are willing to pay. Livestock Gross Margin for Dairy Cattle (LGM-D)...
Feb. 10 2012
There's a 50-50 chance for a farm bill in 2012 Former Washington legislative staffers told those attending IDFA's Dairy Forum that we may see a new farm bill before the fall election. If not passed before...
Nov. 15 2011
Changes in the Foundation for the Future (FFTF) initiative as shown in The Dairy Security Act of 2011 (HR 3062the Peterson-Simpson bill) represent another positive step toward significant and long-overdue...