USDA proposed amendments to all 11 Federal Milk Marketing Orders, and national ag groups shared their reaction, including the American Farm Bureau.
President Zippy Duvall says they’ve called for FMMO reform since 2021 and convened a successful first-of-its-kind industry-wide forum in 2022.
“We’re pleased with the intent to return the Class 1 skim milk prices to the “higher-of” formula as we wanted,” Duvall says.
Farm Bureau is disappointed in changes benefiting processors without regard for struggling dairy producers.
Elsewhere, FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative in Madison, Wisconsin, says much of the reform the co-op advocated for appears in USDA’s recommendations.
“What we’ve seen shows USDA has acknowledged what dairy farmers, cooperatives, and others have asked them to address for years,” says Sarah Sarbacker, director of communications and marketing.
Gregg Doud, President of the National Milk Producers Federation, says not every detail is exactly what they wanted, but “we knew that would be the case.”
