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Trade and farm bill top MMPA member concerns

Dairy farmers in the Great Lakes set policy for the year ahead at the recent Michigan Milk Producers Association Annual Delegate Meeting.

Michigan Milk Producers Association President Ken Nobis tells Brownfield members are very concerned by negative trade rhetoric and the impact it could have on agriculture.  “All of American agriculture needs trade to survive and prosper, dairy’s no exception.”

He says Mexico is the U.S. dairy industry’s most important trading partner and poor relationships would greatly impact an already volatile market.  “We have a 73 percent share on the milk that is imported into Mexico and they represent 25 percent of our total dairy exports.  Last year they actually used 3.4 percent of the milk that was produced in this country.”

Nobis says member delegates finalized policy at their annual meeting which supports strong trading relationships and fixing the dairy Margin Protection Program in the next farm bill.

Other delegate resolutions included supporting the Dairy Pride Act which would require non-dairy products to be labeled as something other than milk and opposing attempts to limit production or use of biotech crops.

Brownfield spoke with Nobis during the Annual MMPA Delegate Meeting in Lansing.

AUDIO: Interview with Ken Nobis

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