U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, chair of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, Local Food Systems, and Food Safety and Security, praised the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to reinstate the “higher of” Class I pricing formula for milk. This measure aims to fairly compensate dairy farmers and address significant revenue losses caused by a formula change in the 2018 Farm Bill.
The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s decision to restore the original formula through the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system comes after years of advocacy from Gillibrand and her colleagues. The senator has been working since 2021 to reverse the pricing modification, which she said cost dairy farmers more than $1 billion nationwide.
“The ‘higher of’ Class I mover was in place for nearly two decades prior to being modified, and despite the best of intentions, the current formula has not performed as intended,” Gillibrand said in a statement. “I am proud that my work on the Senate Agriculture Committee will finally rectify this mistake, keeping more money in the pockets of New York’s dairy farmers.”
Gillibrand, a longtime advocate for dairy pricing reform, led a bipartisan coalition in June urging the USDA to implement the change. Her efforts include introducing the Dairy Pricing Opportunity Act in 2023, which would enhance farmers’ roles in shaping milk pricing policies. She has also called for increased scrutiny of the federal milk pricing system, including a 2022 request for a Government Accountability Office evaluation.
The “higher of” Class I mover formula had been a cornerstone of dairy pricing until the 2018 Farm Bill replaced it with a less stable model. The decision to revert to the original formula follows extensive hearings conducted by the USDA to gather industry input.
“This is a win for dairy farmers across the nation, and I applaud the USDA for recognizing that returning to the ‘higher of’ formula is the right decision for the dairy industry,” Gillibrand said.
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