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Farm Bureau breaks down milk pricing proposals

American Farm Bureau has released an analysis of milk pricing options which could potentially provide more stability to Class I prices.

Danny Munch tells Brownfield three main proposals have surfaced including going back to the model prior to the 2018 Farm Bill, one from the National Milk Producers Federation, and another from Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, the Dairy Business Association, and state associations in Nebraska and Minnesota.

“There’s actually a wide diversity across the country of options that people like,” he says.  “Farmers that are really into simplification are really proponents for going back to the higher of and that’s because it’s kind of the easiest to understand.”

Munch says to change the milk pricing system, there needs to be a Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing to do so or an act of Congress like within the next farm bill.

“There would still be a large time lag for when we really could see a change on the Class I mover basis,” he says.

Farm Bureau is not endorsing a specific formula but is calling for transparency in the process, and market-based solutions which reflect regional differences and utilization.

For more breakdown on the proposals, hear more in Munch’s interview.