Given the complexity and interconnectedness of all these issues, careful consideration is critical to successful solutions that have the necessary widespread support from dairy farmers and the broader industry. We’re trying to move as quickly as we can. But we also have to move deliberately and take the time to get this right. The task force is working through a series of issue-specific working groups. When they get done, they’ll report their findings to the Economic Policy Committee, which will make recommendations to the Executive Committee and the NMPF Board.
Along with our own efforts, we’re engaging in dialogue with other interested parties as well. I’m in communication with Michael Dykes, my counterpart at the International Dairy Foods Association, which also has a group working on some of these same issues. A number of our member cooperatives are also members of IDFA, which should help facilitate consensus development. My sense is that we may be more deeply “in the weeds,” if you will, in examining some of these issues, and that’s to be expected given the FMMO system is a producer focused program.
We are also working closely with USDA, talking with them in a collaborative fashion, asking questions and gathering feedback.
We also want to solicit input from other relevant groups whose views are important in these discussions. This is an issue that will affect all producers. We want to make sure that producers are informed and understand as best they can how this program functions, because it is very technical, as you all know. There is lots of misinformation, lots of misunderstanding. And frankly, FMMO discussions need to focus on seeking solutions rather than on posturing for undefined “change” that doesn’t materialize when it’s time to make complex decisions.
In the past year, a few industry observers have talked up the need for “reform” or “simplifying” federal orders without offering specifics of what that means. If the net effect of federal order modernization is simplification, there is nothing to suggest that will benefit producers. This is where NMPF and its members, as representatives of the bulk of U.S. milk, become indispensable to any solution.
Click here to see more...