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NFU says re-open federal milk marketing orders

A National Farmers Union leader says they have a battle ahead to improve the farm bill safety net for dairy farmers.  Wisconsin Farmers Union President Darin Von Ruden chairs NFU’s National Emergency Dairy Committee and tells Brownfield the federal Margin Protection Program (MPP) needs to be replaced, not repaired.  “We need to come up with something that’s going to get dollars back into farmer’s pockets.”

Von Ruden says the Federal Milk Marketing Order system should be re-opened and modernized.  “The current pricing structure that we’re under is just about 25-years old, and I think with modern technology and the ability of retailers to report what they’re receiving for prices at the stores, needs to be more reflective in what farmers are being paid for their commodity that they’re selling.”

He tells Brownfield one of the challenges is convincing other dairy organizations including National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) that the MPP is a failure. Von Ruden says,  “What we need to do is get our dairy cooperatives that are the owners of National Milk (Producers Federation) to understand that this program isn’t working.  National Milk sold a bill of goods to Congress that got changed in Congress in the farm bill debate, so farmers didn’t get what farmers are asking for.”

Von Ruden says the National Milk Producers Federation proposal to modify the MPP by restoring the original feed price adjuster and setting regional pricing is a small step in the right direction, but not enough.

He says a farm bill safety net needs to be fair to all areas of agriculture.  “We’re looking at the dollars that go into other commodity programs, for instance, the crop insurance, and subsidies they get are five to ten times higher than what dairy farmers get.”

NFU has called on Congress Friday to give USDA authority and funding for additional dairy purchases to help with dairy prices.  Von Ruden tells Brownfield “dairy farmers don’t need band-aids anymore, they need a lifeline.”

National Milk Producers Federation’s Communications Director Madelyn Berner tells Brownfield officials are not available for comment.