A Taste of Wellness for Savoury and Snacks
Givaudan
The US House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture assembled dairy industry members last week to present opinions and advice on how future legislation can best serve the American dairy industry.
Topics of testimony ranged from the price support program to biosecurity. If the committee members were looking for a mandate, they likely were disappointed, as the testimony at this week's hearing seemed to reinforce the complexity of the issues facing the dairy industry.
One such complex issue is that of direct payments to producers. California dairy producer trade association Milk Producers Council representative Fred Douma stressed the importance of developing a national dairy policy which does not rely on direct payments.
"While no one is in a position of turning down th money, Milk Producers Council is very troubled by the policy implications of these direct payments," Douma testified. Milk Producers Council is opposed to National Milk Producers Federation's (NMPF) cash deficiency payment program, he says.
Mark Furth, general manager, Associated Milk Producers Inc., says that although he understands and appreciates the need for payments, "the fact that dairy producers need supplemental payments of any type is testimony to the inadequacy and inequity of national dairy policy."
So what should national dairy policy look like? Furth says it must include a mix of supply management, a stronger dairy price support program and the application of tariff rate quotas to dairy imports such as milk protein concentrate (MPC).
International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) Senior Group Vice President Connie Tipton outlined IDFA's ideas on what national dairy policy should contain, including an elimination or lessening of market intervention and regional distortions, which IDFA says are created by current dairy programs.
Dairy policy should provide a "reasonable" safety net for producers. It also should include enhanced risk management tools for milk buyers and sellers to allow producers and processors to better manage their business, Tipton testified.
Source: CheeseMarket News