The U.S. Department of Agriculture decision on whether to continue on the Federal Milk Marketing Order Reform path should come by mid- to late July. This is the word from Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation President Kevin Krentz.
Krentz wears a few hats while advocating for members in Washington D.C. He sits on the American Farm Bureau Federation Board, and has worked on both a FMMO task force and dairy pricing work group.
He explains to Mid-West Farm Report that AFBF has been active in discussions around FMMO reform for what’s really the first time. And it’s an effort led by America’s Dairyland.
“That’s been one of my priorities since I’ve been on the board, is to really highlight that AFBF represents all commodities, including dairy, and we need to raise dairy up in the conversation,” he says. “I’m really proud of where we’re at a federal level in the discussion on dairy.”
In mid-May, National Milk Producers Federation proposed a petition to USDA to start the hearing process of the FMMO reform. AFBF came out in support of that. USDA didn’t outright accept the proposal, but asked for more proposals. On June 16, USDA hosted a webinar where 12 organizations submitted 38 proposals. By mid- to late July, USDA Secretary Vilsack will determine whether this hearing process will continue.
“And then they already have a hearing set up for August 23,” Krentz says. “So that tells me that they’re leaning toward walking this forward with the hard look they’re really taking at the Federal Milk Marketing Order.”
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