MILC makes it to farm bill draft

AMPI members applaud congressional efforts
 

NEW ULM, MINN. (July 10, 2007)—An addition to the 2007 Farm Bill draft is getting an enthusiastic response from the more than 4,000 dairy farmer-owners of Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI).

For the first time since farm bill talks began, the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC)—a program that provides financial support to dairy farmers when milk prices fall—is in the legislative package. Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., of the House Agriculture Committee included the program in his version of the bill that was just released. The addition is a big step for AMPI members who have been pushing to get the countercyclical program into the next farm bill.

“The MILC program is essential legislation for dairy farmers, supplementing an inadequate federal dairy price support system,” says Paul Toft, chairman of the AMPI Board of Directors and a dairy farmer from Rice Lake, Wis. “AMPI members have been actively lobbying Congress to get this program returned to the farm bill.”

AMPI members have testified before both the Senate and House agriculture committees and flooded Capitol Hill with letters, calls and e-mails about the importance of the MILC program. Some even traveled to Washington to make personal appeals to elected officials.

Since being introduced in the 2002 Farm Bill, the MILC program has often served as a life preserver for dairy farmers. The program provides assistance when market prices fall below target levels and remains dormant when market prices are strong.

“The MILC program helps dairy farmers pay their bills when the milk check doesn’t cover them,” Toft says. “Though milk prices are strong right now, dairy farmers know it won’t last.”

Initially enacted for a three-year period, the MILC program was extended through August 2007. Lawmakers had to once again extend the MILC program through September 2007 in order to renew the program through the 2007 Farm Bill. Under the congressional budget rules, this one-month extension triggered the additional dollars needed to fund the program in the new farm bill.

The one-month extension of the MILC was included in the supplemental appropriations bill passed earlier this year. Dave Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, pushed for the extension in the House. Sens. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., led MILC efforts in the Senate.

With MILC now in the most recent version of the farm bill, members of the House Agriculture Committee are expected to consider that and other dairy provisions when reviewing the entire bill next week. The farm bill package will then move to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

About AMPI

Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) is a dairy marketing cooperative with more than 4,000 farmer-owners, 5 billion pounds of milk and $1 billion in annual sales. Members operate dairy farms located throughout the Midwest states of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota, North Dakota and Montana. They own 15 manufacturing plants and market a full line of consumer-packaged dairy products, including the Cass-Clay^® brand. For more information about AMPI, visit the cooperative’s Web site at www.ampi.com.

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