Posted: February 2, 2012 at 8:34 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
Just prior to the opening general session of the Cattle Industry Convention this week, the U.S. Labor Department announced that a proposal which would have barred children from many on-farm tasks will be revised to allow broader exemptions for parents who own or run agricultural operations.
“I’ve got a news flash for all of you,” said National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) president Bill Donald as he took the stage and shared the news with some 6,000 cattle industry members from around the country who broke into applause. “That is big news. Your voices were heard – our voices were heard. This goes right to the very fiber of who we are in this country.”
Donald noted that HR departments love to hire farm kids to fill positions “because they have a work ethic. They don’t just sit on their butts and play video games. They do their chores before they catch their school bus and do them again when they get home.”
The proposed rules would have prevent children younger than 16 from using most power-driven equipment on farms and prohibit anyone under 19 from working in grain bins, stockyards and feedlots.
Posted: January 25, 2012 at 3:45 pm
By News Editor
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) is pleased with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s updated school meal standards that continue to stress the nutritional benefits of low-fat and fat-free milk and dairy products.
A final version of those standards was released Wednesday by the USDA following more than a year of public comment and review. NMPF submitted comments to USDA last April focusing on the nutrient package of milk and dairy foods, which will continue to be a core component of school meals, with fluid milk being offered at all meals.
“The updated nutrition standards require that low-fat or fat-free milk remain a part of every school meal,” said NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak.
In addition, Kozak said, including both plain and flavored milk in school meals is a sure-fire way to make diets more nutritious. “Milk, including chocolate milk, is the No. 1 source of three out of four nutrients cited by the U.S Dietary guidelines as lacking in children’s diets,” he said, “and chocolate milk is the drink-of-choice in school meal lines.”
Kozak noted that, since 2006, the dairy industry has proactively reduced the sugar in flavored milk by nearly 40 percent, and flavored milk contributes only three percent of the added sugar in children’s diets.
Kozak also praised USDA for keeping low-fat and fat-free yogurt and cheese on school breakfast and lunch menus. “Yogurt and cheese are kid-friendly solutions to help meet protein requirements,” he said. “They are favorites at home so it’s only natural that schools also should offer these products.”
The newly proposed regulations from the Department of Labor will delay the education of a farm kid well past the point he or she may ever want to return to the farm. Ag restrictions are being placed on what can be done at certain ages.
Sorry, can’t go out to the machine shed, you’ll be hurt. Sorry, can’t go to the barn, you’ll be hurt. Sorry, can’t mow the lawn, you’ll be hurt. Sorry, can’t touch the family GPS unit, you’ll be hurt. Oh, and don’t even think about going near the county fair livestock show ring, Dad or Mom will be showing your 4-H and FFA projects because you’ll be hurt, if you try that.
It is not a thrill to read the 50 pages in the Federal Register where such new regulations are proposed, but it was published September 2, beginning on page 54836. On the Internet, it is here.
The Department of Labor is proposing new rules for the Child Labor Act. Not many farm kids would consider themselves slaves, because they would rather be with Mom and Dad learning what happens on the farm, with hands-on, on the job training.
However the restrictions being proposed will severely reduce those opportunities, and in some cases eliminate them until they are at least 16, and in some cases 18 years of age.
Posted: October 27, 2011 at 4:28 pm
By News Editor
Lots of talk right now about federal dairy policy. Jim Dickrell, Dairy Today, offers an opinion on why dairy policy is so hard to change.
If federal spending wasn’t an issue, dairy policy would be easy. But deficit spending is no longer an option.
Anyone can propose change; getting that change enacted into law is an entirely different piece of cheese. That’s what makes dairy policy so darn hard.
At first glance, Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-Pa.) dairy reform package, “The Dairy Advancement Act of 2011,” seems like a common sense compromise for dairy policy reform.
Besides Federal Order reform and more mandatory price reporting by processors, it offers producers a choice: Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) payments or Livestock Gross Margin-Dairy (LGM-Dairy) insurance.
Heck, even processors sing its praises: “We applaud Senator Casey’s inclusion of critically needed risk management tools, particularly his call for an expansion of the LGM-Dairy program. . . . LGM-Dairy is the type of program that our government should encourage,” says Connie Tipton, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association.
Upon further review, of course, the devil is in the down and dirty.
Posted: October 26, 2011 at 8:02 pm
By News Editor
The Wisconsin Dairy Business Association and the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association have re-affirmed their opposition to U.S. House bill H.R. 3062, the Dairy Security Act.
A recent presentation by economist Dr. Mark Stephenson, Director of Dairy Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, confirmed their position.
The dairy policy bill recently introduced by Minnesota’s U.S. Representative Collin Peterson includes a proposed “Dairy Market Stabilization” program which would restrict the amount of milk that U.S. dairy farmers are paid. Dr. Stephenson revealed impacts of the Dairy Security Act using the first in-depth economic analysis of the legislation completed since the Congressional Budget Office scored an early draft of the bill.
“The Dairy Security Act is bad policy,” said Jerry Meissner, President of the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association. “Dr. Stephenson’s modeling shows that there would be a Milk Price Reduction of $.80 to $1.63 per hundredweight for all size farms with only moderate milk price volatility improvement. We recognize that volatility has been a real problem, but dairymen can’t be willing to accept any type of change, just because it is something new. We don’t need another dairy policy program of the same nature. Farmers need to be better educated on using risk management tools that are currently available. Our industry cannot afford this severe net revenue loss on every load of milk that farmers sell,” Meissner said.
“We offer our bill as a thoughtful option for consideration by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, as well as the Congressional Deficit Reduction ‘Super’ Committee charged with making real federal spending cuts by the end of the year,” Lugar said of the bill they have entitled “The Rural Economic Farm and Ranch Sustainability and Hunger Act” or REFRESH.
The bill allows the current dairy price support programs (the dairy price support program (DPPSP) and the milk income loss contract (MILC)) to expire and “creates a voluntary margin protection program that would operate as a form of insurance.”
The bill would would also reform farm programs, update conservation programs and close nutrition program eligibility loopholes. In reforming farm programs, it would end direct payments to farmers, counter-cyclical payments, the ACRE program and marketing assistance/loan deficiency payments.
“Long before I came to Washington, I’ve opposed the direct payments that handcuff farmers and manipulate markets. Today, I’m happy to introduce legislation with Senator Lugar that ends those direct payments. After talking with Hoosier farmers, we’ve proposed genuine safety nets—options that give confidence and expand opportunities for farmers, not outdated systems that restrict their options,” Stutzman said.
Read details of the bill.
Posted: October 6, 2011 at 8:57 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
The National Milk Producers Federation held a press conference here at World Dairy Expo on Wednesday to help the media better understand the recently introduced Dairy Security Act of 2011 so that we can in turn better explain it to the dairy industry.
The legislation, HR 3062, introduced in the House last month by Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Mike Simpson (D-ID) grew out of the Foundation for the Future proposal made by National Milk Producers Federation, but the final version is different, according to NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak. “When Mr. Peterson introduced his discussion draft, it was Foundation for the Future, word for word,” Kozak said. However, after some grassroots meetings with producers around the country, it became evident that some changes needed to be made. “So, it’s now the Peterson-Simpson bill, there is no Foundation for the Future.”
Kozak says the main components of HR 3062 are pretty simple. “It establishes a dairy margin protection program, a basic and a supplemental program, it establishes a market stabilization program that would kick in during times of imbalance,” he explained, noting that it would be voluntary, not mandatory. The act would eliminate all current dairy programs, including the price support and MILC, and would result in an overall budget savings.
Kozak feels confident about the chances of passage for the Dairy Security Act since it has good support within the industry, but he is disappointed with the strong opposition by the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). “We’ve tried to engage them in the dialogue and they have repeatedly just said no,” Kozak said. “Secondly, the tactics they’ve recently come out with that expose the entire country to the issues between producers and processors are not healthy for the image of dairy products.”
He encourages producers to contact their representatives in Congress and encourage them to support the Dairy Security Act (HR 3062).
Posted: October 3, 2011 at 8:04 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
After more than four years in limbo, trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama have finally been sent to Congress by the White House and could be voted on by next week.
“The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports,” President Obama said in a statement.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said completing the agreements “will level the playing field and secure markets for America’s farmers, ranchers, growers and producers ahead of competitors in the global marketplace.”
Once the agreements were finally sent to Congress, the dairy industry began urging for immediate passage. Both the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) note that the FTAs have the potential to expand U.S. exports and create thousands of export-supporting jobs in the U.S. dairy industry, in particular.
Jerry Kozak, president and CEO of NMPF, says the South Korean agreement is especially significant. “hese agreements will not only expand export sales for such products as cheese, whey, skim milk powder, and other dairy products, they will also prevent our competitors from taking market shares that we currently have in those countries,” said Kozak.
Tom Suber, president of USDEC, agreed, pointing out that the industry estimates that as many as 10,000 additional U.S. jobs, both on and off the farm could be created by the Korea agreement alone. “The growth in exports of dairy products from these agreements will not only help bolster milk prices for America’s dairy farms, it will also expand jobs in the dairy processing and transportation sectors,” he said. “The FTAs represent a big win-win for all elements of the U.S. dairy industry.”
The dairy organizations noted that the export benefit from the Korea FTA to the U.S. dairy industry in the first few years after implementation will be approximately $380 million per year, on average, and the gains from the Colombia and Panama FTAs will add another $50 million annually.
Posted: September 26, 2011 at 5:46 pm
By News Editor
Dairy farm families in Pennsylvania affected by the massive flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee can apply for recovery funding through the state’s Center for Dairy Excellence.
“These tools are needed now more than ever, with many of Pennsylvania’s dairy farm families struggling to know how to move forward after being devastated by the flooding,” said John Frey, executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence. “Producers can use these programs to plan for the future and work through difficult situations on the farm.”
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has identified a list of the programs that are available to farm families recovering from flood damage. A Dairy Decisions Consultant can help farms assess their individual situation, identify which programs are appropriate and ensure they are taking full advantage of all the resources available.
Up to $1,500 is available for individual farms to work with one of 13 dairy decisions consultants identified by the center who can help farms work through the planning and decision-making process that follows a catastrophic situation. For flood victims, the $250 application fee for this program will be waived.
Up to $1,500 is available for farms through the On-Farm Dairy Resource Team program for farm families who want assistance from a team of individuals to help them identify their needs and develop a plan to move forward. There is no application fee involved in this program.
Posted: September 25, 2011 at 6:45 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
A new dairy risk management strategy that would update existing dairy programs was introduced Friday in the House by Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Rep. Mike Simpson (D-ID).
The Dairy Security Act of 2011 would include three main components – a Dairy Producer Margin Protection Program, a Dairy Market Stabilization Program and reforms to the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, according to a news release issued by House Agriculture Committee Democrats.
“If we have another crisis like we had in 2009, when milk prices dropped and input costs skyrocketed, I fear we could lose half our dairies,” Peterson said. “The dairy safety net did not work then and it won’t work if similar events occur now. Producers cannot wait for another crisis or a new farm bill for Congress to fix the broken dairy safety net. Feedback from all sectors of the diverse dairy industry has been instrumental in drafting this bill, and I look forward to continuing these conversations, as well as working with other members of Congress to advance dairy reform.”
“It’s been helpful to me to hear from Idaho’s dairy industry about changes that we can make to the dairy program to prevent another economic crisis like that the industry faced in 2009. I appreciate the cooperative spirit and contributions of the members of the dairy industry thus far and look forward to continuing this conversation as the legislation moves through the committee process. I am confident that the Dairy Security Act of 2011 will provide an effective economic safety net for the U.S. dairy industry while saving taxpayer dollars,” Simpson said.
Both the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) support the proposed legislation. “It’s been a long journey of reforming dairy policy following the difficult days of 2009, when America’s dairy producers lost billions of dollars in equity, but the introduction of the Dairy Security Act is a huge step towards ending an ineffective program, and replacing it with something much better,” said Jerry Kozak, President and CEO of NMPF.
“The Dairy Security Act of 2011 provides producers options to protect their margins and the ability to strengthen exports, both of which will be instrumental in maintaining the vitality of the U.S. dairy industry,” said a statement from DFA.
Posted: September 15, 2011 at 9:25 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
Dairy, livestock and poultry producers were represented during a hearing this week before a House Agriculture subcommittee on concerns about feed availability and the main theme of all the witnesses was the impact of ethanol policy on feed availability.
Testifying on behalf of the dairy industry was Dr. Eric Erba with California Dairies. “From our point of view, the problem is not feed availability, it is the price of feed,” Erba said. “Feed has been and continues to be available, but not at prices at prices that make good financial sense for dairy producers” since feed costs represent almost 65% of the cost of producing milk.
Erba noted that California dairy producers are particularly vulnerable to feed price increases because they buy most of their corn for feed, rather than grow it on their own operations. “Dairy producers are critical of the federal policy that favors fuel over food because of the evidence that policies put animal agriculture at tremendous risk for higher production costs with no guarantee of higher prices for product produced,” he said.
Posted: September 9, 2011 at 5:18 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
The House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry held an audit hearing Thursday on how USDA dairy programs are working, current conditions and productivity in the dairy industry, and possible public policy challenges moving forward.
“The events of 2009 exposed what many have long-held to be an inadequacy of some of our current dairy programs. While some observers may argue that additional funding may improve the overall effectiveness of our dairy safety net, our current budgetary outlook makes this option a non-starter,” said Chairman Thomas Rooney (R-FL). “Innovative and effective ideas are needed in order to ensure that our programs support our producers, facilitate product and market development, and continue to ensure the availability of safe, abundant, and affordable products for our consumers.”
USDA Deputy Administrator for Dairy Programs Dana Coale gave an update to the committee on implementation of the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010. “We are on scheduled to hopefully have the program up and running by the first part of 2012,” she said.
Coale noted that USDA issued a proposed rule in June to implement the provisions contained in the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010. Under the proposed rule, AMS would develop the electronic system and collect the data. The comment period closed August 9 and AMS is currently reviewing the seven comments received.
Coale was asked about the status of proposals submitted by the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee to address price volatility. “Of the 23 recommendations that were presented to the secretary, over half of them requested either new funding or higher levels of funding,” she explained. Others required the secretary to have new legislative authority.
“Of the remaining recommendations, the department has completed five of those,” and three others are being considered, said Coale. “So we have taken what the advisory committee has done and we’ve been reviewing it and analyzing it.”
Coale says USDA is also working with Congress to review legislation proposed by Reps. Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Mike Simpson (R-ID) which includes a margin protection program, a Dairy Market Stabilization Program and reforms to the Federal Milk Marketing Order system.
Posted: September 8, 2011 at 2:08 pm
By Cindy Zimmerman
With three of the nation’s top ten dairy states being impacted by major flooding resulting from the Hurricane Irene last week, the USDA is pledging support for affected producers.
“We continue to closely coordinate with many partners to meet the immediate and plan for the long-term needs of those affected by Hurricane Irene,” said Agriculture Secretary Tim Vilsack. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have suffered losses caused by this massive storm. USDA is ready to provide food, emergency assistance and other resources to the affected areas.”
On Saturday, Vilsack visited a New York dairy operation hit by flooding with Governor Andrew Cuomo, who pledged immediate aid of $15 million to New York farms devastated by flooding. USDA officials report that Hurricane Irene affected the ability of some dairy cooperatives and handlers in the Northeast to pick up milk at local farms particularly in Southern Vermont and Eastern New York.
In some instances milk was dumped on the farm when it was unable to be picked up on a timely basis or where loss of power impacted milk quality, rendering such milk as non-Grade A. Due to the impact of this natural disaster on dairy farmers in the Northeast, USDA is taking administrative action to include this milk as part of the Federal milk marketing order pool for the months of August and September as needed, although it was never delivered to a plant for processing. This decision will enable cooperatives and handlers to pay the Federal order blend price to affected producers on all the volume that they produced including any milk dumped due to Hurricane Irene.
USDA encourages all farmers, ranchers, producers, landowners and rural communities to contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency Service Center to report damages to crops or livestock loss.
Meanwhile, a measure has been introduced in Congress by members of the New York delegation to help farmers recover from losses incurred by Hurricane Irene. The Post-Irene Emergency Farm Aid Act would authorize $10 million to support the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and the Emergency Watershed Program (EWP) that provide emergency services and resources for agricultural communities following natural disasters.
According to SDDP, the forum will provide South Dakota dairy producers with the opportunity to learn more about the latest federal legislation to authorize foreign workers through presentations and question and answer sessions led by officials of the National Milk Producer Federation (NMPF). South Dakota Secretary of Agriculture, Walt Bones will also speak at the event.
Specific legislation to be discussed includes the proposed “Foundation for the Future” policy introduced by the House Agriculture Committee’s ranking member, Collin Peterson (D-MN) the week of July 18. In the area of immigration, NMPF will provide an update on the H-2A Improvement Act, which would authorize foreign dairy workers, sheep herders and goat herders to remain in the U.S. for an initial period of three years, and give the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services the authority to approve a worker for an additional three-year period.
South Dakota Dairy Producers encourage dairy producers, milk processors, and other key industry stakeholders to take part in the discussion by attending the forum, which will be held at the Best Western – Ramkota Hotel, in Sioux Falls, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. central time on August 30. The free forum is limited to 100 attendees. To pre-reregister for the forum, email sddairyproducers@gmail.com.
Posted: August 13, 2011 at 7:57 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
Congressman Mike Simpson (R-ID) has joined the effort in the U.S. House to reform dairy programs.
Simpson is the lead Republican proponent of discussion draft legislation released by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Colin Peterson (D-MN) earlier this month. The draft language is based on reform proposals put forward by the dairy industry.
“I look forward to working with members of the Idaho dairy industry and Representative Peterson to prevent another economic disaster like the dairy industry suffered in 2009. I believe we can do better for Idaho dairy farmers,” said Simpson. “This legislation starts a conversation, that I intend to help lead, on how to build a more effective economic safety net for the U.S. dairy industry.”
The effort is supported by Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and the National Milk Producers Federation, but opposed by some regional dairy groups like the Southeast Milk Cooperative. While not yet formally introduced, the dairy reform package text has been released by Peterson. The legislative language is termed a discussion draft, rather than a bill, as it now allows members of Congress to view the language, prior to it being formally introduced as a bill. Peterson, along with Simpson, will now be seeking additional cosponsors, of both parties, to cosponsor and introduce the legislation once Congress returns from its August recess after Labor Day.
A recent news release from National Milk Producers Federation explains why the current federal dairy policies need to change, and how Foundation for the Future, including the Dairy Producer Margin Protection Program and the Dairy Market Stabilization Program, can help.
Dairy producers realize that the status quo protections offered by current federal policies have failed them during the past decade – especially in 2009 – yet some may understandably be apprehensive about advocating comprehensive reform of those policies.
The Dairy Product Price Support Program (DPPSP) and the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program combined constitute nearly 80 percent of the dairy budget baseline over the next ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office. However, the DPPSP has become an ineffective safety net for farmers, and has created an unintended outcome whereby the U.S. has become burdened with balancing the world’s milk supply.
The MILC program also has been ineffective in providing a safety net for farmers, and treats farms and entire regions of the country unequally. More specifically, it does not address the rise in volatile feed costs, and has not prevented the exodus of farms during its decade of existence. In 2001, there were 97,460 U.S. dairy farms, but by 2010, that figure was 62,500 – a loss of 36 percent of the nation’s dairy farmers, almost all of which were small to medium-size operations of 500 cows or less. This clearly demonstrates the inadequacy of the current program and the need for better dairy policy.
The policy proposals contained in the National Milk Producers Federation’s Foundation for the Future (FFTF) eliminate the DPPSP and MILC programs, and create a more efficient and effective safety net in the form of a Dairy Producer Margin Protection Program, the costs of which are shared by dairy farmers and the federal government. FFTF also establishes a Dairy Market Stabilization Program to prompt producers to respond more quickly to economic signals from the marketplace and at no cost to the government.
Existing farm programs, including the dairy title within the Farm Bill, are expected to undergo further cuts as part of the new federal budget deal passed by the House and Senate. FFTF was created to achieve better economic protection for farmers, while also yielding a budget savings – compared to current baseline spending levels – precisely because farm safety nets are going to shrink in the future. The Congressional Budget Office says FFTF will save $166 million over the next five years, at a time when Congress has now pledged to cut more than a trillion dollars from federal spending.
Dairy producers have acknowledged that shrinking federal resources are the reality. Keeping the status quo is not an option, either economically, as the best safety net to producers, or fiscally, due to budget demands. Producers have been calling for something better for the past two years. We can’t stay where we are and change is needed, which is why Foundation for the Future was developed.
Posted: July 20, 2011 at 9:18 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) is concerned about adequate funding for the popular Livestock Gross Margin (LGM) Dairy plan of insurance.
“Congress makes $20 million a year available for all livestock programs,” says RMA administrator Bill Murphy. “The popularity of the newly-designed dairy program exhausted these funds in March, halfway through the fiscal year.”
Murphy says the agency has historically only spent about $3-4 million a year of that $20 million annual allocation. “What changed this year is that the dairy industry requested two changes. One, to provide a subsidy, which was not in there before. And they also requested that the premium payment to be changed from the beginning of the insurance period to the end, like the rest of our crop insurance programs.”
As a result, the program was so popular for dairy producers this year that they used up all the funds in four months, which was about $15 million or 75% of the total annual allocation for all livestock programs. LGM Dairy provides protection to dairy producers when feed costs rise or milk prices drop. Gross margin is the market value of milk minus feed costs. LGM Dairy uses futures prices for corn, soybean meal, and milk to determine the expected gross margin and the actual gross margin.
You may have heard the news today, regarding the USDA’s announcement of the new MyPlate. This tool is intended to educate Americans about the healthy choices they make regarding their diet. The shape may have shifted from pyramid to plate, but the message remains the same: dairy is an important part of the daily diet, for adults and children alike.
For that reason, the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) and other dairy organizations today praised the USDA’s new MyPlate education tool, which provides a clear and visual message that a healthy diet is comprised of a variety of nutrient-rich foods, including low-fat and fat-free milk, cheese, and yogurt.
America’s dairy farmers and processors commended the USDA for including a light blue circle depicting a serving of “Dairy” – milk, cheese, or yogurt – next to the dinner plate to illustrate how to build a healthy eating plan, including a serving of dairy at every meal.
“Dairy foods are rightfully being recognized — from the school house to the White House — as an important part of everyone’s diet,” noted NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak. “USDA’s new MyPlate, the simple visual metaphor of a serving of dairy products alongside a plate, says it’s vital to consume three servings of low-fat and fat-free dairy foods every day.”
Other dairy industry leaders similarly applauded the new graphic. “Knowing what we do about dairy’s ability to reduce the risk of conditions like osteoporosis, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes, we think it’s exciting that dairy is highlighted individually,” said Jean Ragalie, R.D., president of National Dairy Council. “The location of dairy on the graphic really helps it stand out as an essential part of a healthy eating plan,” she added.
“Milk provides a unique package of nine essential nutrients and dairy foods are a substantial contributor of many nutrients that are important for good health,” offered Vivien Godfrey, CEO of the Milk Processor Education Program. “We are firm believers in the importance of ‘pouring one more’ serving of dairy, and this tool will be a fresh reminder to all Americans as they sit down at their tables with their families.”
Dairy contributes beyond the glass, as well. A serving of nutrient-rich, low-fat or fat-free milk, cheese, or yogurt has, on average, at least as much protein as an egg. In fact, dairy foods contribute 18 percent of the protein to the American diet. Simple steps, like adding lower fat cheese to a veggie sandwich or topping a baked potato with fat-free plain yogurt can give any meal a nutrient boost.
Americans currently average about 2 daily servings of dairy foods, while USDA’s dietary guidelines encourage 3 daily servings of low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products for adults and children nine years and older. This underscores the importance of a direct, visual metaphor like the MyPlate tool in relaying this guidance to a population being urged to get more nutrients per calorie at every meal.
“We’re delighted that this new education tool makes it clear that milk and other dairy products are important for a nutritious diet,” said Connie Tipton, president and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association. “It highlights how beneficial a serving of dairy at every meal can be and helps to educate people about dairy’s role on the table and in the American diet.”
The new MyPlate will encourage a variety of dietary patterns that support a healthy lifestyle, and it will make clear that dairy foods are a nutritional fit for most everyone. Whether it’s flavored or lactose-free milk, Greek yogurt or frozen yogurt, or one of the many reduced-fat cheese options available, the dairy industry is committed to providing tasty, healthy and affordable options to help Americans consume essential nutrients that can be hard to get from other foods.
Posted: May 31, 2011 at 8:39 am
By Cindy Zimmerman
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) is turning to social media to get its message out about the Environmental Protection Agency’s potential regulation of coarse particulate matter, more commonly called dust. A new animated video, themed Over Regulation All Across the Nation, was launched today on NCBA’s You Tube channel.
NCBA notes that U.S. Representative Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) introduced, with bipartisan support, the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011 (H.R. 1633) that would block dust regulation by EPA in rural areas where state dust laws are in effect and the organization is strongly urging members to contact their Congressional representatives and ask them to stand firm for family farmers and ranchers by supporting this legislation.
In a rare turn of events, there seems to be consensus between the U.S. House and Senate agriculture committees about when dairy reform should move through Congress. At least for now, it will remain where it has always been – within the farm bill.
In an interview with Agri-Pulse last week, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, clearly indicated her belief that dairy policy would not move ahead of the 2012 Farm Bill.
“The only reason to even talk about moving it separately would be if there was agreement on a package. At the moment, there is not,” Stabenow said. “Frankly, I think, politically, it makes sense to move everything within the context of the farm bill.”
Her comments mirror those made by House Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) in interviews earlier this year. Lucas said he would consider moving a dairy reform package ahead of the farm bill only if the farmers and processors are united. Currently, the National Milk Producers Federation and IDFA have differing points of view on the path forward for dairy reform.
“We’d like to move ahead with proposals where IDFA and NMPF agree, such as the need for new risk insurance programs and the elimination of the price support program” said Jerry Slominski, IDFA senior vice president of legislative affairs and economic policy. “But we support making our Federal Milk Marketing Order system less complex instead of more, and strongly oppose any new mandatory program to have the government intervene in markets to control milk supply as this would clearly hurt our industry’s ability to grow and create jobs.”
At the spring board meeting in April, the board members of IDFA’s constituent organizations endorsed a new package of dairy reform proposals and rejected NMPF’s policy package, Foundation for the Future. IDFA is now scheduled to provide a policy briefing on its proposals to the House Dairy Caucus on May 19.
The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold its first field hearing on the farm bill in Lansing, Mich., on May 31. No legislation has yet been introduced that would serve as a dairy reform package.
Just prior to the opening general session of the Cattle Industry Convention this week, the U.S. Labor Department announced that a proposal which would have barred children from many on-farm tasks will be revised to allow broader exemptions for parents who own or run agricultural operations. 
Senator Dick Lugar (R-IN) and Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R, IN-3rd) have 
The legislation, HR 3062, introduced in the House last month by Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Mike Simpson (D-ID) grew out of the Foundation for the Future proposal made by National Milk Producers Federation, but the final version is different, according to NMPF President and CEO Jerry Kozak. “When Mr. Peterson introduced his discussion draft, it was Foundation for the Future, word for word,” Kozak said. However, after some grassroots meetings with producers around the country, it became evident that some changes needed to be made. “So, it’s now the Peterson-Simpson bill, there is no Foundation for the Future.”
“The series of trade agreements I am submitting to Congress today will make it easier for American companies to sell their products in South Korea, Colombia, and Panama and provide a major boost to our exports,” President Obama said in a statement. 
Once the agreements were finally sent to Congress, the dairy industry began urging for immediate passage. Both the 
“If we have another crisis like we had in 2009, when milk prices dropped and input costs skyrocketed, I fear we could lose half our dairies,” Peterson said. “The dairy safety net did not work then and it won’t work if similar events occur now. Producers cannot wait for another crisis or a new farm bill for Congress to fix the broken dairy safety net. Feedback from all sectors of the diverse dairy industry has been instrumental in drafting this bill, and I look forward to continuing these conversations, as well as working with other members of Congress to advance dairy reform.”
“It’s been helpful to me to hear from Idaho’s dairy industry about changes that we can make to the dairy program to prevent another economic crisis like that the industry faced in 2009. I appreciate the cooperative spirit and contributions of the members of the dairy industry thus far and look forward to continuing this conversation as the legislation moves through the committee process. I am confident that the Dairy Security Act of 2011 will provide an effective economic safety net for the U.S. dairy industry while saving taxpayer dollars,” Simpson said.
Dairy, livestock and poultry producers were represented during a hearing this week before a House Agriculture subcommittee on concerns about feed availability and the main theme of all the witnesses was the impact of ethanol policy on feed availability.
“The events of 2009 exposed what many have long-held to be an inadequacy of some of our current dairy programs. While some observers may argue that additional funding may improve the overall effectiveness of our dairy safety net, our current budgetary outlook makes this option a non-starter,” said Chairman Thomas Rooney (R-FL). “Innovative and effective ideas are needed in order to ensure that our programs support our producers, facilitate product and market development, and continue to ensure the availability of safe, abundant, and affordable products for our consumers.”
USDA Deputy Administrator for Dairy Programs Dana Coale gave an update to the committee on implementation of the Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2010. “We are on scheduled to hopefully have the program up and running by the first part of 2012,” she said. 
On Saturday, Vilsack visited a New York dairy operation hit by flooding with Governor Andrew Cuomo, who pledged immediate aid of $15 million to New York farms devastated by flooding. 
The 
