Dairy producer groups all want USDA to change the Class I milk pricing formula back to the “higher of” Class III and Class IV, but one of the producer groups says an emergency order is not a good idea. Peer Vitaliano with the National Milk Producers Federation says, “Not because we didn’t think it was important, but because we thought it was going to be a distraction for USDA.”

Vitaliano tells Brownfield USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service is already reviewing testimony and briefs from the Federal Milk Marketing Order hearing, and an emergency “higher of” pricing order wouldn’t save much time.

The request for a USDA emergency order was placed by American Farm Bureau Federation and supported by other groups including the American Dairy Coalition.

Vitaliano says another big issue brought up in the hearing was the make allowance, or amount of money producers give processors to cover production costs.  Vitaliano says producers want mandatory cost of production reporting to justify any increases, and he believes Congress will give USDA that authority in the next farm bill. “The farm bill has not been officially unveiled. The House Ag Committee is working much more quickly than the Senate. We’re very confident that will be in there.”

Vitaliano says he’s also expecting Congress will put language in the next farm bill that would require USDA to return to the “higher of” Class I formula and authorize USDA to conduct mandatory cost of production surveys.

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