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Economist expects hearings on Federal Milk Marketing Orders will happen

Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says he’s reluctant to open the Federal Milk Marketing Orders for hearings until the industry can come to an agreement on what they want, but a dairy economist says he’s confident the hearings will happen.  Dr. Marin Bozic teaches dairy foods marketing economics at the University of Minnesota. He tells Brownfield, “From what I understand, the hearing is going to take place. Whether it’s going to be before or after the elections, that’s to be seen and whether it’s going to happen before or after the farm bill is yet to be seen, but the hearing is going to take place. We are going to have a lot of issues reopened in that hearing including make allowances, including hopefully other elements of those pricing formulas, and we want to be ready to come to the meeting as a constructive partner.”

Bozic expects when the hearings do happen, there will be different needs for different regions. “Certainly, an inclusive, open process is something that I very much welcome, and we should not be afraid of vigorous debate.”

Bozic discussed the milk pricing issues with Brownfield during the recent Dairy Strong conference in Madison, Wisconsin.