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Missouri Dairy Act moves forward

The Missouri House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed the Missouri Dairy Revitalization Act of 2014. The effort seeks to reverse the rapid decline in Missouri’s dairy industry and preserve the state’s 15 milk processing plants.  In 2003, Missouri had 129,000 milk cows producing nearly 1.9 billion pounds of milk. By the end of 2013 the state was down to 90,000 cows and 1.35 billion pounds of milk. Earlier this year the USDA replaced Missouri with South Dakota on the list of 23 Major Dairy States.

Missouri Dairy Association’s Dave Drennan tells Brownfield Ag News they are pleased, “We were expecting a positive vote but the fact that it was 137 to 4 is overwhelming. It really is.”

Sponsored by Representatives Casey Guernsey (District 2) and Bill Reiboldt (District 160), the Act would have the University of Missouri determine how much sales tax revenue is generated in the state from the sale of dairy products. No more than 40 percent of that revenue would then be appropriated to a Revitalization Fund which would help Missouri dairy producers pay for the federal margin insurance premiums; create a Dairy Scholars Program for students who commit to working in Missouri’s agriculture industry and make available up to 80 scholarships of $5,000 each to assist with tuition at a two or four year college or university in the state.

The plan also requires the University of Missouri Commercial Agriculture Program to conduct an annual study of the dairy industry and then develop a plant to grow and enhance dairy production and processing in Missouri.

The bill now awaits State Senate action which Drennan says could be as soon as next week.

Interview with Dave Drennan (5:00 mp3)

A summary of the bill follows:

HCS HB 1326 — DAIRY AND AGRICULTURE EDUCATION ACT (Guernsey)

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Committee on Agri-Business

This bill establishes the Missouri Dairy Revitalization Act of

2014. In its main provisions, the bill:

(1) Creates the Missouri Dairy Industry Revitalization Fund;

(2) Requires the University to conduct or contract with an

independent research company to conduct research to determine the

estimated sales tax revenue generated in the state from the sales

of dairy products and must provide the estimate to the Department

of Agriculture by October 1 of each year;

(3) Specifies that no more than 40% of the estimated sales tax

revenue generated from the sales of dairy products may be

appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Missouri Dairy

Industry Revitalization Fund and must be spent in the following

order of priority:

(a) First, to the diary producer margin insurance premium

assistance program;

(b) Second, to the Missouri dairy scholars program; and

(c) Third, to the commercial agriculture program;

(4) Requires the department to create and administer, through the

Missouri Agriculture and Small Business Development Authority

(MASBDA), a dairy producer margin insurance premium assistance

program for the purpose of assisting dairy producers who

participate in the federal margin protection program in the

Agricultural Act of 2014;

(5) Specifies that all dairy producers who participate in the

federal margin protection program are eligible to apply to

participate in the dairy producer margin insurance premium

assistance program and must apply with MASBDA by January 1 of each

year;

(6) Specifies that participating dairy producers who have paid

their federal premium payment and provide proof of such payment to

MASBDA are eligible to have 70% of federal premium payment up to a

maximum premium reimbursement rate of $.34 per hundredweight of

milk;

(7) Requires the University of Missouri and MASBDA to provide risk

management training for Missouri dairy producers annually;

(8) Creates the Missouri Dairy Scholars Program, administered by

the department, for eligible students in agriculture-related degree

programs who make a commitment to work in Missouri’s agriculture

industry;

(9) Requires the department to make available to eligible students

up to 80 scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each to assist with

the costs of tuition at a Missouri two-year or four-year college or

university;

(10) Sets out eligibility requirements for students, including

requirements to sign a contract with the department in which the

recipient agrees to work in the agriculture industry in Missouri

for at least two years for every year the recipient receives the

scholarship and to work on a dairy farm or in a dairy-related

internship for at least three months; and

(11) Requires the University of Missouri’s Commercial Agriculture

Program to conduct an annual study of the dairy industry, develop a

dairy-specific plan for how to grow and enhance the dairy and dairy

processing industries in Missouri, and report the results of the

study to the department and all agriculture-related legislative

committee chairpersons by January 1 of each year.